News and Views from Around the State: June 2, 2025

"Catfish wrasslin'," more commonly known as noodling,
is a unique way of fishing for catfish by hand, typically 
done during their spawning season. Noodlers insert their hands 
into catfish burrows, often under logs or rocks, and attempt 
to "wrestle" the fish out. It's a risky activity, as catfish will 
defend their nests by biting, and other animals like alligators
can inhabit the areas. (Photo credit: Philip Gentry)

SC POLITICS: DID SC LAWMAKERS VIOLATE CONSTITUTION BY VOTING THEMSELVES A PAY RAISE? The South Carolina Constitution, Article III, Section 19, suggests that is the case.  “No General Assembly shall have the power to increase the per diem of its own members.” FITSNEWS reports Former Democrat Sen. Dick Harpoolitan is considering a lawsuit if Gov. Henry McMaster doesn’t veto the raise.

SOUTH CAROLINA: CRIME: JUDICIAL: WHEN AND WHY IS THE DEATH PENALTY SOUGHT IN SOUTH CAROLINA: 15 death sentences have been handed down in South Carolina since 2005. How is it determined which cases seek the death penalty in the state.  

GREENVILLE: EDUCATION: Greenville Technical College ranked among the top ten community colleges in the nation by Newsweek.

AIKEN COUNTY: SAVANAH RIVER SITE CELEBRATES 75 YEARS:  Savanah River Plant, now called the Savanah River Site started in 1950 at the request of President Harry Truman to support American nuclear weapons program during the Cold War. Seventy-five years later, South Carolina recognizes the positive impacts SRS has made and continues to make on behalf of American national security and families, US Congressman Joe Wilson writes in an op-ed.

HORRY COUNTY: CRIME: 11 INJURED IN MEMORIAL DAY SHOOTING IN LITTLE RIVER: Ten people suffered gunshot wounds during an altercation on a charter boat during a Memorial Day weekend private party in Little River. One other person suffered an “unknown non-gunfire related” injury, Horry County Police Department said.

SC POLITICS: GOVERNORS RACE: Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, and potential candidate for Governor in 2026 told Aiken Republican Club members she supports a system where judges would be nominated by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. She also told the group as “an accountant by trade” she is a fan of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

AIKEN COUNTY: EDUCATION: PROPERTY TAXES: Aiken County Board of Education approved a budget increase of $26.1 million by a vote of 7-1. That’s 9.88% higher than last year’s budget. The board also increased the millage rate on property taxes for the first time in more than a decade. Here’s what’s in the budget and how the millage rate increase affects property taxes.

WILLIAMSBURG COUNTY: RULES FOR THEE NOT FOR ME: This is a county car, and I am a county employee. A county employee told a citizen that she could park wherever she wanted when confronted about using a handicap spot at the Williamsburg County Public Service Administration Building.  

SPORTS: COLLEGE BASEBALL: COASTAL CAROLINA ADVANCES TO FOURTH NCAA SUPER REGIONAL: A sacrifice fly by senior outfielder Sebastian Alexander in the bottom of the eighth inning was the only and winning run of the championship game Sunday night, as the Chanticleers defeated East Carolina 1-0 to win the Conway Regional. It’s the fourth time the Chanticleers is headed to the NCAA Super Regional and the first since their 2016 National Championship.

SPORTS: COLLEGE BASEBALL: CLEMSON GETS BLOWN OUT AND ELIMINATED FROM OWN REGIONAL TO END SEASON: Clemson hosted a regional only to be blown out 16-4 by Kentucky and eliminated from the NCAA tournament.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE: THE HISTORY OF FROZEN PIZZA THAT WAS ALMOST A NOTHING BURGER: Nearly one million Americans will eat a slice of frozen pizza today and never know that the lucrative industry was almost a flop. In fact, pizza as a whole was an exotic food brought to America by Italian immigrants at the turn of the 20^th century and never took off until American GIs returning from Italy after WWII craved it. J. Mark Powell explains more in Holy Cow! History.

OUTDOORSMEN: WRASSLIN’ CATFISH: It’s more commonly referred to as noodling, a unique late spring outdoorsmen sport that certainly has its followers, but not much of a mainstream appeal. My grandpa used to do it… You know, when men were men or.. uh.. whatever.