COLUMBIA — Police could arrest anyone who, after being ordered to stay back, comes within 25 feet of on-duty law enforcement or medical personnel under a proposal advancing in the South Carolina House. Similar laws passed in other states have yet to survive a legal challenge on First Amendment grounds. That didn’t dissuade the House […]
COLUMBIA — If you had the power to solve one problem in South Carolina, what would it be? That’s the question asked by the South Carolina Forum, an initiative that seeks to bring together a true sampling of people across the state to find consensus-driven solutions that legislators can turn into law. The effort officially launched […]
COLUMBIA — The Senate’s revision to legislation cutting state income tax rates would give more South Carolina taxpayers a break in year one. Under the amended bill approved 39-5 Tuesday, 43% of tax filers would pay less this calendar year — which means tax filings due in spring 2027. Almost 23% would pay more, while […]
A group of state legislators heard an update Tuesday on a North Charleston rail yard that’s costing taxpayers at least $550 million, but the discussion was almost entirely out of the public’s view. Micah Mallace, the head of the S.C. State Ports Authority, told members of the legislative Joint Bond Review Committee that the latest […]
COLUMBIA — The first debate between Republicans running for governor in South Carolina will be two weeks later than previously announced. The kickoff GOP primary debate will be April 1 at Newberry Opera House, the state Republican Party announced Tuesday. That’s instead of March 17 at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, as announced in late […]
COLUMBIA — Legislation increasing the minimum punishment for people who create or share images of child sex abuse received unanimous approval Tuesday by the South Carolina Senate. The bill would have the biggest impact on people previously convicted of a sex crime. The 44-0 vote followed the quick adoption of one amendment. As amended Tuesday […]
COLUMBIA — A paperwork slipup on payments that South Carolina companies make into a safety net fund for laid off workers can cost small business owners thousands of dollars annually, business organizations warn. Missing a payment notice can spell a nearly 9,000% rate increase. Ending such a spike is part of legislation that seeks to […]
ROCK HILL — California Gov. Gavin Newsom checked two boxes this week for potential presidential hopefuls: releasing a memoir, out Tuesday, and spending time talking to voters in South Carolina. He spent the day before the release of his memoir “Young Man in a Hurry” in the Palmetto State, doing meet and greets in Berkeley […]
COLUMBIA — The body of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. will lie in honor in the South Carolina Statehouse next week. At the request of the Jackson family, members of the public will be able to pay their respects to the civil rights icon and two-time Democratic presidential hopeful on March 2. A ‘servant leader’ […]
Danny Ford II, son of Clemson University’s first national championship football coach, says a crisis at his family farm fueled his bid to lead South Carolina’s Department of Agriculture. Ford, 40, launched his campaign Monday at Upstate Livestock Exchange in Williamston, a livestock auction house in Anderson County. The announcement makes him the fourth Republican […]
COLUMBIA — In almost 22 years leading the state Department of Agriculture, Hugh Weathers has worked to help connect South Carolinians to food grown in the state. The 69-year-old agriculture commissioner decided soon after winning re-election in 2022 that he wouldn’t seek another term. Now one year from retirement, he’s ready to spend more time […]
After two deadly shootings in four months, South Carolina State University President Alexander Conyers is seeking to reassure students, parents and staff shaken by the tragic events and concerned about safety on campus. “Our campus is grieving,” Conyers told about 500 people who tuned in to an online address Thursday evening. “These were not abstract […]
COLUMBIA — Anyone who missed the Revolutionary War exhibit at last year’s State Fair will have plenty of chances to catch it. The SC250 Commission’s display will remain in its spot at the State Fairgrounds for the next several years, with no closing date in sight, officials for the State Fair and the commission charged […]
COLUMBIA — Seniors could get bigger property tax breaks based on how long they’ve lived in South Carolina under a bill the Senate unanimously advanced this week. Still pending is a plan to cut income taxes for some residents, which the House passed last year. The Senate will return to that bill Tuesday, likely with […]
COLUMBIA — Senators grilled the state superintendent Thursday over her department’s decision to give taxpayer-funded education vouchers to homeschooled students despite legislators saying they never wanted that. The money was intended to cover private school tuition and other costs associated with attending a school outside a student’s zoned public school. That includes for transportation, tutoring […]
Clemson University is among 31 colleges nationwide to sever its partnership with a program that aims to increase the number of Black, Hispanic and Native American doctoral students and professors within the country’s business schools. Clemson’s participation in The Ph.D. Project landed the school and more than 40 other colleges under investigation last March by […]
COLUMBIA — South Carolina judges could allow a pregnant woman convicted of a crime to stay in her home until and after the baby is born under proposed legislation making its way through the Statehouse. The bill gives judges the discretion to put a pregnant woman who is not a danger to herself or the […]
“And another thing…” The Rev. Jesse Jackson always wanted to mention another thing. As a reporter, I might have had deadlines shouting and other stories clamoring. But Jackson had something on his mind — and he would not let me hang up. All his life, Jackson burned to share his vision of a more equal, […]
COLUMBIA — The race to be South Carolina’s next agriculture commissioner is officially a three-person contest. Cody Simpson, former agriculture adviser to Gov. Henry McMaster and a Trump administration appointee, announced Thursday that he’s running for the job. His announcement comes two weeks after both McMaster and President Donald Trump publicly encouraged the fifth-generation Clarendon […]
COLUMBIA — Pay raises for state employees and teachers, improvements to roads and bridges, and upgrades to prevent a future ballooning in South Carolina’s costs for federal grocery aid are part of a first draft of the next state budget approved Wednesday. The spending package approved unanimously by the House budget-writing committee totals $15.4 billion, […]