Coastal business | NASCAR SpeedPark Myrtle Beach adds batting cages

Coastal Business

MYRTLE BEACH

Attraction adds batting cages

NASCAR SpeedPark Myrtle Beach has added a new attraction - batting cages.

Two batting cages that have slow and fast pitch softball or baseball ranging from 30 to 70 miles per hour opened Friday.

A token, which is good for 15 balls, costs $3.50 and there is a discounted rate for multiple tokens. Bats and helmets are included and all batters are required to wear closed-toe shoes.

The attraction is open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

CHARLESTON

Canadian factory scouting locations in Low Country

A Canadian maker of high-strength plastic wall panels for homes is looking to set up a manufacturing plant in or near the Charleston region that could create up to 380 jobs.

Terry Ball, chief executive officer of Toronto-based Innovative Composites International Inc., said Monday that the company is in negotiations with state and local officials over incentives that are available for the expansion.

The exact location of the proposed manufacturing operation is still being determined, but ICI wants to stay close to the Port of Charleston.

The jobs at the factory would include engineering and production positions, but hiring hasn't begun. ICI expects that its first shipments will be ready to be exported by the end of next March.

Prices for the houses using the plastic wall panels run between $20 to $40 a square foot, or $8,000 to $16,000 for a typical 400-square-foot unit, depending on the options the buyer chooses.

Ball said he sees a 5 million-unit market for housing in developing countries.

SOUTH CAROLINA

IRS warns against scammers

The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayer to be on alert for scammers trying to persuade them to file false claims.

The tax agency issued the warning after seeing a recent rise in email phishing scams, but an exact count isn't available, said IRS spokesman Mark Hanson.

The agency first started monitoring phishing schemes in the spring of 2008. In its first year, more than 17,000 taxpayers sent emails saying they had been targeted by scammers in 240 different schemes originating from 28 different countries.

Popular claims include refunds or rebates on Social Security benefits,teaming with churches, claims for the economic recovery credit program or recovery rebate credit and claims that Treasury Form 1080 can be used to transfer money from the Social Security Administration to the IRS.

Taxpayers who think they are the targets of scammers can call the IRS at 800-829-1040 or visit irs.gov.