South Carolina Focus

October brings many things to South Carolina - more football, turning leaves, cooler temps (we hope!). And one of the fall's most anticipated events is the South Carolina State Fair. Long-time fairgoers have established many traditions they associate with the fair, but "meeting at the rocket" must be at the top of nearly everyone's list. The rocket, according to fair General Manager Nancy Smith, is actually a long-range intermediate range ballistic missle built in the 1960s and designed by

Suicide is on the rise in nearly every state (Nevada is the exception), the 10 th leading cause of death both in South Carolina and nationally, and for ages 15-34, the second leading cause of death in both state and nation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that suicide is up a distressing 38 percent in the Palmetto State. Though it’s too early to know just why the rate is climbing so high, Helen Pridgen, South Carolina Area Director for the American Foundation for Suicide

The city of Georgetown may get a bit of a reprieve as Hurricane’s Florence’s flood waters make a final push before heading out to sea. Georgetown County officials now say an updated flood anticipation map from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources shows a much improved forecast and is encouraging people who have evacuated to take a look and decide if it’s safe to return. That certainly was not the case a couple of days ago. The historic riverfront braced for as much as ten feet in

The Waccamaw River has yet to crest and people who fled Conway before Hurricane Florence and returned are now evacuating, either on their own or being forced to go. Debbie Long helped her mother-in-law move out of a neighborhood east of town near Crabtree Swamp just days before the National Guard moved in, pulling people from their homes. So how high was the water? “I don’t know,” she said. “The fire ants are doing their thing where they float and if you get close to them they will swim to you.

South Carolina is blessed with gifted writers. To celebrate this gift, a new program, “By the River,” premieres on ETV Thursday, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. Produced by ETV and USC-Beaufort, the show will feature in-depth conversations with Palmetto State authors and poets set against the backdrop of the Beaufort River. Producer Carolina Sawyer was amazed by the wealth of writers when she moved to the state a few years ago. Hostess Holly Bound Jackson, said the show will give writers time – full 30

Flooding will be a major concern for parts of South Carolina, possibly during and after Hurricane Florence makes landfall. The town of Nichols, in Marion county, experienced severe flooding in 2016 during the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. Disaster Recovery Coordinator Michaela Hufford shares what the town is doing to prepare for Hurricane Florence. "Everyone, rightfully so, is nervous about it. It is a really big storm and a lot of newscasters are comparing it to Hugo," Hufford said. Nichols

This summer thousands of people have attended home games of the Augusta Green-Jackets, Augusta Georgia’s minor league baseball. The team plays in a brand new stadium, SRP Park. The stadium however is located across the Savannah River in South Carolina in the City of North Augusta. The new, state-of-the-art stadium is the centerpiece of a re-vitalized North Augusta along its riverfront. North Augusta is just one of a number of smaller cities in the state bringing their downtowns to life by

Three years of back to back hurricanes and record floods have left many across the Lowcountry flood weary. Now the height of hurricane season is here. Scientists say climate change is to blame for increased flooding, creating more intense storms and rising sea levels. But it’s not just coastal homeowners who are worried. Some military leaders warn climate change is a threat to national security. “I will tell you around the country and the world, most of our U.S. bases are impacted by climate

NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Director Mark Geyer recenly announced that Vanessa Wyche was thethe next deputy director of JSC in Houston. Wyche is a native on Conway and a graduate of Clemson University. As Deputy Director, she will assist Geyer in leading one of NASA’s largest installations (JSC has nearly 10,000 civil service and contractor employees – including those at White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico). It also has a broad range of human spaceflight activities. Wyche

With the November elections just two months away, business leaders and political candidates are juggling the economic and political realities of the growing global trade war. South Carolina is one of three states in the country expected to be most affected by new tariffs on imports and exports.