South Carolina Focus

With her windows rolled down, Erica Veit gives me a lift at the ferry boat landing on Dafuskie Island. The other passengers, mostly tourists, scramble for golf carts. There are few paved roads and no grocery store, hospital or police. The hour long ride from Hilton Head Island was a sign. This place is remote and intriguing. “There’s a lot of history. There’s a lot of mystery,” says Erica as she stops at the island's only gas pump. “There’s a lot of natural beauty.” She’s tall with a contagious

In 2011, Donald Brock, Jr. found an old comic book on a shelf, inside one of his father's properties. "I looked at it. It look reasonably old." Brock said, the conditons in the warehouse were not that great, so "I swiped it and said I would go online and see if its worth anything." The comic book was an issue of the Brave and the Bold 28, "w hich is the very first appearance of the Justice League." Brock said he sold the comic, a decision he still regrets, but the sale produced a few hundreds

As Baby Boomers retire, their children, the Millennial generation, are coming into the workplace, behind the in-between Generation X. University of South Carolina Sociology Professor Rob Ployhart says millennials differ from their predecessors in some key ways: they are the first generation to grow up completely in the digital age, and they expect the companies they work for to be technologically savvy. Certain ideas about millennials picture them as spoiled, self-obsessed techno-nerds that don

Stacy Pearsall's office is tucked away in an upstairs bedroom of her Charleston area home. Her service dog Charlie checks in occasionally, tail wagging, making sure she's alright. Above her desk, hangs a collection of spoons; small, some silver, simple and ornate. Stacy says she handpicked them for a loved one during her travels overseas, someone who has since passed away. They reflect her love of service and a discerning eye. The 38 year-old is a photographer, a master of the moment and light.

During its recent Learn Freely Fest, Richland Library launched newly-acquired short story dispensers for the public to try. The sleek, black and organge device allows people to select a one, three or five minute story to print. Richland Library is one of only four libraries across the country to receive the dispensers. Its a part of a program called Fostering Creative Community Connections, a project to promote reading; community engagement; library programs and services; and creative expression

Evidence of soccer’s enormous growth in America is the September kickoff of the inaugural season of the Midlands’ new semi-pro soccer team, the Soda City Football Club. It’s the third team in the state in the 170-plus team United Premier Soccer League, joining Spartanburg and Charleston. Coach and co-owner Patrick Burnette says soccer is exploding in the U.S., and thanks to small but dedicated clubs around the state, the talent pool is strong. Player Hunter Haynes says it’s all he’s ever wanted

August 21 will bring the first concert in five years to Columbia’s Williams-Brice Stadium a when Beyoncé and Jay-Z make a stop on their On the Run II Tour . For Columbia local and Beyoncé superfan Merrell Johnson, this is an especially big event. “I’ve been a fan of hers since Day 1, way back when Destiny’s Child first formed. I remember hearing them…it was me and my sister, riding in the back of the car. I was like, ‘Who are these girls? They’re amazing.’ And I love what she has grown into, as

It was the first week of August, 2017 when then SCANA and SCE&G CEO Kevin Marsh told state regulators that the $9 Billion V.C. Summer Nuclear Reactor project was being scrapped before it could produce a single kilowatt of power. The magnitude of the action set off a tumultuous year that has left the futures of SCE&G and its partner in the project, state owned utility Santee-Cooper in doubt. The largest business failure in state history put thousands of construction workers out of work,

Most, if not all, states offer a variety of license tags for automobiles. South Carolina offers more than 400, many to support causes or organizations, from colleges to gold star families, or wildlife and habitats, from trees to turkeys and elk. Some are offered out of support and respect, such as veterans or POWs. Some are more whimsical features of South Carolina culture, like the shag dance, or even Parrotheads, the fanatical followers of Jimmy Buffett. Department of Motor Vehicles

For the past couple of months a group of state regulators, utility executives, representatives of the state’s fledgling solar energy industry, and environmentalists have been meeting in Columbia trying to come together on a new plan that could determine the future of residential solar energy use in the state. In 2014, a state law went into effect aimed at jump-starting solar. The law, known as Act 236, authorized a program known as net-metering, whereby electric customers installing solar at