Local theater is found both in quantity and quality throughout South Carolina. Today we hear from representatives of two of them: Columbia’s Town Theater is the oldest continually operating community theater in America, and will turn 100 in 2019. It specializes in musicals, but presents other known plays as well. Across town, Trustus Theater employs professionals to bring audiences new productions that sometimes “push the envelope.” These and many other theaters across the state help their

Charleston resident Frank Abagnale has helped the FBI and numerous government agencies and corporations detect and stop fraud for more than 40 years. His expertise in the field comes largely from the fact that between the ages of 16 to 21, Abagnale was himself a scam artist and check forger, whose international exploits are recounted in his book “Catch Me if you Can,” and a major motion picture of the same name. Today, however, Abagnale is glad to have left his life of crime in the past, and has

It’s been two months since Hurricane Matthew devastated cities across the east coast. In Lumberton, North Carolina, a Robeson County town hit especially hard by the storm, people are still seeking relief aid. Many families are still displaced from their homes, but many more are starting the steps to rebuild. That’s where the Robeson Church and Community Center comes in. Outside the building, a line of people await any help they can get. Inside, the center and the Red Cross have joined forces to

Nonprofits working in the Midlands of South Carolina are hoping Christmas lights will shine focus on flood recovery. They also hope charitable giving will boost donations during the gift-giving season. 14 months after the flood, South Carolina Public Radio talks with two homeowners, celebrating the holidays on opposite sides of recovery. A Lot to Celebrate This Christmas 14 months after the October 2015 flood, Mary Daden is now living in her repaired Marstellar Street home. The day her home was

A committee of The South Carolina House of Representatives has been at work attempting to revamp the state’s outdated tax code, the collection of laws and regulations that prescribe how the state collects tax revenues. This year that's expected to be over $7 Billion. In creating the special tax policy committee, House Speaker Jay Lucas called the state’s tax laws a "patchwork quilt" and called for a dramatic transformation of the tax code. The General Assembly has tackled the issue of tax reform

Cries of “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Hanukkah” or “Happy New Year” can ring hollow for those afflicted with the phenomenon known as holiday depression. Psychologist Fred Medway says holidays are so charged with memories that if one experiences, for example, a loss or other unhappy event during the holiday season, it can trigger sad memories in future seasons. According to University of South Carolina nursing professor Sue Heiney, symptoms of holiday depression can include sleeplessness, change in

Most men don’t frequent beauty parlors, but Arthur “Cotton” Erskine of West Columbia visits his every day from Thanksgiving to Christmas to prepare his hair and long beard for a role he’s portrayed for years: Santa Claus. “Santa Cotton,” as he is known, becomes the Jolly Old Elf for events such as Christmas parades, private photo sessions and store appearances, sometimes with as many as six appointments a day. He is “Ho Ho” to his grandchildren, and here he discusses the fun of dealing with

On an overcast day in Sumter County, there’s a community center with a huge RV parked outside. FEMA is stenciled across the front of the vehicle and wires hanging out the back are snaking their way inside. The RV provides internet and phone service to the Cherryvale Community Center ,where FEMA has set up their short term Mobile Disaster Recovery Center (DRC). It’s one of the last recovery center’s open in the state before Hurricane Matthew flood victims can no longer apply for FEMA grants or

It’s expected to be early 2017 when Gov. Nikki Haley becomes the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster becomes Governor. However the developments are already impacting the 2018 elections.

Many people distinguish themselves in the worlds of sports, entertainment, writing and other endeavors. Ed Currie of Fort Mill has distinguished himself in a much hotter manner: he holds the Guinness world record for the hottest pepper on earth, his self-developed Carolina Reaper. He grows many varieties of peppers for the food industry, but it’s the Reaper that makes some hot-sauce aficionados rethink how tough they are. In addition to setting people’s insides on fire, however, Currie says the