Edwards Visits Columbia Area
After Announcing for President
Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., spoke to a large, enthusiastic audience at Brookland Baptist Church in West Columbia on Dec. 30, one day after announcing that he is making another run for the White House. Edwards proclaimed his candidacy in New Orleans, the once-shimmering Gulf Coast city still ravaged by Hurricane Katrina and the incompetent government response to the 2005 storm. Born in South Carolina, Edwards won the state’s Democratic presidential primary in 2004 but lost his party’s nomination to John Kerry, who tapped Edwards to be his vice presidential running mate. They came within about 50,000 votes in Ohio of defeating Bush-Cheney. Since then, Edwards has worked at the grassroots level on poverty and other social issues. He faces a formidable challenge against early Democratic frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, but his time off the Washington radar could serve him well. At Brookland Baptist, about 1,800 people packed the church to hear Edwards speak. — EKW
City Considering Tax District
to Help Pay for River’s Edge
Columbia City Council is considering creating a special tax district to help pay for the proposed Village at River’s Edge project. In December, City Council unanimously authorized staff to plan a public hearing in February on a tax-increment financing (TIF) district. Developer Steve Benjamin wants to build the project, proposed as a mix of 275-plus townhouses, condominiums and single-family homes at the former Roosevelt Village site, in the Gibson and McRae streets area. Under an agreement by Benjamin that much of the Village at River’s Edge housing will be affordable, City Council has pledged about $1.8 million for infrastructure for the project. A TIF would dedicate new tax revenue to that commitment. — EKW
Sanford, Legislators Prepare
to Rumble Once Again
Get ready for the Sanford vs. lawmakers smackdown — raw part five. Yes, the General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene Tuesday, and Gov. Mark Sanford planned to start the fun Wednesday by unveiling his proposed state budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year, which begins in July. But if Sanford’s first four years in office are any indication, there will be plenty of fireworks between him and legislators before then. Initially, lawmakers praised the guv for producing thoughtful, detailed spending plans. Then they vilified him for his prankster ways, such as bringing pigs into the State House, when the Legislature overrode the vast majority of his budget vetoes. Let the rumbling recommence. — EKWCity Center Partnership Moves,
Survives Appeal by Businesses
City Center Partnership, a public-private effort to revitalize downtown Columbia, is moving from 1530 Main St. to the former SouthTrust building at 1201 Main St. The reasons for the move, which should be completed this week, include more affordable rent and closer proximity to city and regional economic development agencies, according to Matt Kennell, director of the partnership. Kennell says the partnership will remain in the Business Improvement District (BID), a special tax entity created to fund security and other improvement measures in the urban core. The move comes on the heels of an appeal of the BID by a handful of merchants. Mostly small business owners, they protested BID taxes to City Council on Dec. 13. Council members expressed sympathy for their complaints, then voted unanimously to uphold the BID. — EKWVigils Mark 3,000th Soldier
Killed in Iraq War
A candlelight vigil and protest commemorating the 3,000th U.S. soldier lost in the War in Iraq was held Dec. 31 in Columbia and Charleston. A third such vigil was scheduled for Jan. 2 in Greenville. Brett Bursey, director for the South Carolina Progressive Network, says the remembrances were held by peace organizations nationwide to keep the war at the forefront of the news. “We had about 50 people to show … mothers whose children are serving in Iraq, members of the religious community as well as those from the general peace community,” Bursey says of the Columbia vigil, adding that people often mistake his and other groups’ actions as unpatriotic or disloyal. “On the contrary, our efforts to bring them home are not against the troops,” he says. — MLAudit: Education Department
Cuts Costs, Could Save More
The state Department of Education has achieved significant savings by implementing some recommendations made by the Legislative Audit Council (LAC) in 2004, the Audit Council says in a new report on the department. The LAC is the investigative arm of the General Assembly. Of 41 recommendations the LAC outlined in its original review of efficiency and accountability standards in K-12 education, 51 percent have been implemented, yielding a savings of almost $5 million in annual operating costs. Some of the suggestions adhered to by the department included adopting federal lodging rates as agency policy, cutting the amount non-state employees spent on meals and lodging, and using the state’s contracted carrier for mail. The new LAC report noted a few additional areas where the department could save money, including consolidating cell phone service under one provider. — MLCayce Buys Wastewater Utility
After months of negotiations, the city of Cayce has closed on a $4.3 million purchase of the troubled Midlands Utility. Cited for numerous state environmental violations, Midlands Utility serves the Lexington County areas of U.S. 1 between Interstates 26 to 20 and Pine Ridge/U.S. 321. The deal had been in the works for months and required approval by the state, which occurred in October. The purchase is expected to add nearly 1,800 customers to Cayce’s rolls, including residents of more than a dozen subdivisions. Mayor Avery Wilkerson says the only change they will see on their monthly statements is Cayce as the billing entity. Under the purchase agreement, rates for current customers will remain unchanged for at least one year. Meanwhile, Cayce hired a company in November to build a new pump station for the Bellemeade/Lloydwoods area, and the city has been operating the Lloydwoods system since 2005. — RAElectric Car
Alive and Well in Midlands
After seeing the documentary Who Killed the Electric Car it might be a little surprising to find such a vehicle alive and well in the Midlands. Cayce resident Steve Isom showed off his “100 percent” electric car, imported from China, outside Cayce City Hall during a recent City Council meeting. One of the first in the Midlands to own an electric car, Isom says he and his wife Julie get a lot of stares and even some offers to buy the three-wheeled vehicle when they’re tooling about town. “I like the feeling of driving past the gas station,” says Isom, whose Zero Air Pollution (ZAP) Xebra sedan plugs into ordinary electrical outlets and goes up to 40 mph. He says it’s the only mass-produced electric vehicle on the market. “But more are coming,” Isom says, explaining that ZAP is supposed to introduce three new models this year, some with longer ranges and higher speed capabilities. “For the average working Joe who depends on their car to get them back and forth to work and can’t afford to keep paying what we’re paying for gas, it’s important to have options,” Isom says. The sedan starts at about $10,000. — MLState Students Make Gains
on Nation’s Report Card
The State Department of Education says South Carolina’s fourth- and eighth-graders led the way in improvements on the nation’s standardized math testing. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as “the nation’s report card,” the state’s eighth-graders had the best gains in the nation — increasing by 16 points over a five-year period — while the state’s fourth-graders tied with Idaho for second best — increasing by 18 points. Says outgoing state Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum, “NAEP is the only assessment that allows us to compare our results with other states, or with results for the rest of the nation. It’s good to be leading in math as well as science improvement.” South Carolina already had made gains in science, and NAEP results show the Palmetto State’s fourth- and eighth-graders improved their reading scores as well, coming in ninth and third in the nation, respectively. — ML
