News and Views from Around the State: Wednesday, August 27, 2025

College Football returns this week!
South Carolina University, Williams Brice Stadium,
 Nov. 2, 2024, a sold-out crowd before Texas A&M game.
The Gamecocks upset No.10 Texas A&M 44-20. 
Photo by Tony J. Spain, Palmetto Examiner

 SOUTH CAROLINA: LAW: South Carolina’s blasphemy laws are still on the books: South Carolina is one of six states that still has anti-blasphemy laws and is punishable by jail. It’s a misdemeanor to use blasphemous, profane, or obscene language at or near a house of worship. Who knew?

SOUTH CAROLINA: ENERGY: ENVIRONMENT: A map of a secret gas pipeline route through South Carolina revealed: A secret gas pipeline colluded by energy companies, politicians and bureaucrats. What could possibly go wrong? Everyone wants energy. No one wants rolling black outs, but no one wants what needs to be done to get energy in their backyard.

COLUMBIA: Conversion Therapy ban vote didn’t pack as much political punch for elections as some advocates expected: Shocking, issues that affect 1 percent of the population have little political punch. I’d have never guessed.

SOUTH CAROLINA: CHARLESTON: BUSINESS: SC PORTS AUTHORITY CEO RESIGNS WITH NEARLY $1 MILLION SEVERANCE PACKAGE: You think I could walk into my job and quit today and walk out with pay, contribution to my retirement and a consultant gig with a $350 an hour fee on an as needed basis for said company? That’s what now former SCPA CEO Barbara Melvin did last week.

SOUTH CAROLINA: EDUCATION: Editorial: Free public charter and private schools on the rise: Stephen Gilchrist makes the argument for charter and private schools that have more parent and community involvement which makes for safer and better education choices that leads to more marketable skills for a robust economy. “Data shows that communities with dynamic charter school sectors experience higher levels of educational attainment, greater economic growth, and increased competitiveness.”

SOUTH CAROLINA: HORRY COUNTY: DEMOCRAT PARTY: Horry County Democrat Party to hold a new convention with State Party overwatch: The South Carolina Democrat party has granted an appeal to the Horry County Democrat Party to hold a new 2025 convention to ensure elections are conducted fairly and transparently under the party rules. The State Party will oversee the election and announce the new date soon.

SOUTH CAROLINA: REPUBLICAN PARTY: SCGOP “runs like organized crime” with Chairman Drew McKissick, “the boss”: “The 2025 SCGOP convention was full of illegally credentialed collaborators posing as delegates” in a tactic that was used to stop her candidacy for state chair in its tracks, says Barbara Arthur in a piece for FITSNEWS.

COLUMBIA: FORT JACKSON: MILITARY VETERANS: Unclaimed veterans given ceremonial burial at Fort Jackson National Cemetery: Five veterans without family to claim them was laid to rest Friday at Fort Jackson National Cemetery with full military honors provided by American Legion Post 193, Chapin, S.C.

SOUTH CAROLINA: SPORTS: COLLEGE FOOTBALL: NCAA clears Gamecocks top running back to play in 2025: This is huge news for Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks! The Gamecocks have received confirmation from the NCAA that transfer running back Rashul Faison will be available to play in 2025, granting him another year of eligibility. Faison is a transfer from Utah State where he rushed for 1,109 yards and eight touchdowns on 198 carries and posted five 100-yard rushing games.

MIDLANDS: IRMO: SPORTS: Irmo to hold a community celebration for Irmo Little League: A fan celebration of the Irmo Little League team after their historic run is scheduled for Sept 3, 6:30 p.m., Friarsgate Park, 1712 Chadford Rd., Irmo. These kids deserve it! They made Irmo and the entire state of South Carolina proud and brought us together in community with their determination, never quit attitude and sportsmanship. 

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About the Author: Tony Spain is a former candidate for Richland County Council 2020 and an award winning former military photographer and journalist while in the Public Affairs Office for the U.S. Army. His photos and writing have been published in numerous publications such as The Commercial News, Danville, Ill.; The Paraglide, Fort Bragg, N.C.; Soldier of Fortune Magazine; The State Newspaper, Columbia, S.C., and more.

He lives in Columbia, S.C.

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What Say You? Got something you'd like to say? Letter to the Editor (Guest Column), praises, criticism, hate mail, news story tip or just want to say, howdy. Send them to Tony@palmettoexaminer.com

News and Views from Around the Stare: April 13, 2025

 

Columbia: Despite rain and a chance for storms, a large crowd showed up to see National Conservative Talk Show Host Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA, at the University of South Carolina campus Monday. The event was cut short because of rain, but a great interaction was had with several students who disagreed and agreed with Kirk. 

Pickens County: The South Carolina Forestry Commission announced Tuesday the Table Rock and Persimmon Ridge wildfires are 100 percent contained. More than 10,000 acres were burned in the largest wildfire in South Carolina history.

Lowcountry: The South Carolina Regional Development Alliance reports that the first quarter of 2025 has brought significant growth to South Carolina’s Lowcountry counties. 

SC Supreme Court: South Carolina’s highest court rejected the last major appeal from Mikal Mahdi Monday to spare his life. Mahdi is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on Friday for the ambush killing of an off-duty police officer.

Aiken County: The Masters, pimento cheese, green jackets, and tax breaks? How real estate lobbyists got the Masters exemption, a 14 day a year rental income exemption, into the US Tax Code.

Food and Drink: Charleston: Restaurants worried about profitability with tariffs on wine and that diners may just stay home, which could ruin an already stable wine industry. Not the wine! And yes, I want cheese with my whine!

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What Say You? Got something you'd like to say? Letter to the Editor (Guest Column), praises, criticism, hate mail, news story tip or just want to say, howdy. Send them to Tony@palmettoexaminer.com

SC Senate vs SC Treasurer Curtis Loftis in latest Columbia swamp fight that’s lasted more than a decade

South Carolina Treasurer, Curtis Loftis, finds himself in a Columbia, S.C. swamp fight with South Carolina senators who say they want to remove Loftis from office for “willfully neglected duties” stemming from a $1.8 billion accounting error, which only existed on paper and does not involve actual money.

The senate and the Columbia swamp are playing political games and trying to ruin a good man, but this is not new. This is a swamp fight that has been going on for nearly a decade. They’ve never liked Loftis. They’ve wanted to oust him since he blew the whistle in 2013 on the mismanagement of the State pension.

Do you remember when the SC Investment Commission cost the state $7billion on bad investments and the swamp in Columbia, then tried to go after Loftis? Palmetto Examiner remembers.

We also remember when Loftis disclosed that the investment commission was paying hundreds of millions per year in hidden fees to their special interest Wall Street friends. The Senate finance committee has been after him since.

They’ll go after anyone that will not bow to them. It’s why they want to take control of the elected office to be able to appoint their own swamp creature.

The office of the treasury belongs to the people of South Carolina. They should always deicide at the ballot box who is in it, not power-hungry power broker swamp creatures in Columbia by appointment.