| Assembly Street development receives parking variance The architects of a planned five-story, mixed-use development at the former Veterans Administration building say the variance is key to moving ahead with the project, which will include 83 apartments and 23,000 square feet of commercial space. S.C. unemployment claims top 700,000 in last 20 weeks The 8,909 claims filed for the week ending Aug. 1 represented the third straight week of decreases and a drop of 3,285 from the previous week, when initial claims dipped below 13,000 for the first week since March. | 