GOOD NEWS: City offers new business license renewal system

Starting Jan. 5, the City of Charleston will allow business owners to renew licenses online through a new Customer Access Portal at http://charleston-sc.gov/cap.

The new online business license renewal system is a password-protected, secure system that can be accessed by businesses that receive a business license renewal notice in the mail.  Notices will be mailed the first week of January 2016 and to avoid penalties renewal is required by Jan. 31, 2016.

“This new online service has been a top priority for the City of Charleston.  Our goal is to make it as easy and convenient as possible for people to conduct business with our City and this is just one of the many things we are working on to facilitate convenience for the Charleston business community,” said outgoing Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr.

A City of Charleston business license is required for any organization or person that conducts business within the city, even if the business is physically located outside of city limits or the company or person has a business license from another city.

According to a news release, most businesses with an existing license can renew online by creating an account which will be verified by city staff within two business days.  Once accounts are confirmed users will go to http://charelston-sc.gov/cap and enter information typically provided on a written form.

In other good news:

• Begin With Books boost enrollment. The local literacy program had a net increase of 733 more children receiving a free monthly book through an affiliation with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a free books-by-mail program for pre-school children. The program, which ships more than 3,000 books to areas of the county per month, enrolled 1,434 new children in 2015. Some 607 children graduated from the program and another 94 moved, leading to a 36 percent increase in children served over 2014. In the coming months, the program is seeking more support to allow it to expand to North Charleston. More.
  
• Learning from The Chronicle. The Charleston County Public Library will host a two-hour panel discussion at 1 p.m. Jan. 16 to explore insights and answer questions related to The Charleston Chronicle, a black-owned newspaper that’s focused on black progress, tragedy and everything in between in Charleston over the last 44 years. The discussion, held in the auditorium of the main library on Calhoun Street, is free.
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