Richland County, South Carolina

County Councilwoman Yvonne McBride spoke Wednesday at a grand opening and ribbon cutting for the Saint John Career Development Center at 3404 W. Beltline Blvd., inside Saint John Baptist Church.

With funding from Richland County, the center aims to provide free professional development classes and workshops to the community, enhancing lifelong employment skills and connecting residents with job opportunities.

Councilwoman Yvonne McBride and Council Chair Joyce Dickerson helped kick off Small Business Week at a news conference Monday at the Columbia Chamber. Several elected officials and business leaders took part in the news conference, which spotlighted the important role small businesses play in the local economy. Informative seminars geared toward small businesses took place throughout the week.

Councilwoman McBride took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony that celebrated the joint effort between Richland County, the City of Columbia and the Columbia Housing Authority to build 12 new houses for local low- to moderate-income families. Utilizing federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Richland County build two of the 12 homes, and the City of Columbia provided funding for the other 10. As the project’s owner, the Columbia Housing Authority will use approximately $59 million from other sources to complete the housing initiative. The new houses are the first step in a Lyon Street Neighborhood Redevelopment Project that aims to revitalize the area. For more information, click here.