South Carolina’s most famous band in recent memory, Hootie and the Blowfish, keeps doing its part to help out the Palmetto State and be true to its home. Doing good things for your home, after you go big and make the bucks, is something that needs to be celebrated more often. Wednesday night, Hootie played a show in the Lowcountry to help kids get what they need to get back to school.
The band – Darius Rucker, Soni Sonefeld, Dean Felber, and Mark Bryan – concerned about cuts in education, staged their first homegrown concert at the Family Circle Tennis Center on Daniel Island in 2003.
That night, fans brought enough school supplies to fill a large school bus. More supplies will be collected at this year’s concert, scheduled for Wednesday night, and sent to Title I schools in the Charleston School District. The supplies given out during the day Wednesday were donated by 40 companies and agencies.
The Homegrown Roundup is an offshoot of the effort. This year, the event’s fourth, supplies went to help more than 1,000 students from four Charleston elementary schools.
Rucker, who recently has achieved stardom in his own right as a country music singer, said the band always felt a need to give back to South Carolina.
“I think it was when we were born. This is our home,” said Rucker, wearing a University of South Carolina national champion baseball hat. “Our kids go to school here.”
Keep it up, gentlemen.
We really like the College of Charleston. Our step-father went there, and if an insane ex-girlfriend hadn’t showed up when we were touring campus, we might have started off there instead of VCU. Now, it turns out that the school in the most historic area of the Holy City is going for high-tech. You can now visit the campus on your phone.
School officials said the download is the first of its kind in the country. It was developed with City Slicker, an interactive development company based in Charleston and run by 1990 College of Charleston graduate Tommy Dew.
“Students are already coming to the College of Charleston from as far away as Singapore,” said Jimmie Foster Jr., the college’s director of freshman admissions. “Now, with the iPhone app, they won’t have to get on a plane to experience the college. Whether they are on campus or not, they’ll be able to take a guided tour – and meet some of our students – any hour, any day.”
City Slicker developed the application for the college for free as a demonstration for other institutions that might want to buy one, said Stan Gray, the college’s director of strategic communications.
Gray said the college could work with City Slicker to develop a separate application to spotlight specific aspects of the school or in an attempt to raise money.
“But right now, it’s just a recruitment tool,” Gray said.
The application, called “College of Charleston Tour,” is available as a free download from the Apple iTunes app store.
Well, how about that? All the fun of rolling through the campus without paying bank just to park your car.
The State Ethics Commission report on Gov. Mark Sanford’s indiscretions regarding use of state money and campaign dollars was released today, but we’re not sure if this thing is really worth a damn or not. A few of these charges, here or there, might lead to a fine or a stern rebuke from the General Assembly. But, when they come across, one after one, it looks like the members of the House may have a case. According to the report, there will be a hearing at SEC offices at an undisclosed date to deal with the findings.
USE OF PUBLIC OFFICE FOR PERSONAL FINANCIAL GAIN
Section 8-13-700(A), S.C. Code ann., 1976, as amended
37 counts
Upgrade on flight
- Graz, Austria to Frankfurt, Germany (2005)
- Frankfurt, Germany to Charlotte, N.C. (2005)
- Chicago, Ill. To Tokyo, Japan (2005)
- Tokyo, Japan to Shanghai, China (2005)
- Beijing, China to Chicago, Ill. (2005)
- Charlotte, N.C. to London, U.K. (2006)
- London, U.K. to Charlotte, N.C. (2006)
- Charlotte, N.C. to Munich, Germany (2007)
- Munich, Germany to Paris, France (2007)
- Munich, Germany to Charlotte, N.C. (2007)
- Washington, D.C. to Beijing, China (2007)
- Beijing, China to Washington, D.C. (2007)
- Columbia, S.C. to Atlanta, Ga. (2008)
- Atlanta, Ga. to Sao Paulo, Brazil (2008)
- Cordoba, Brazil to Buenos Aires, Argentina (2008)
- Buenos Aires, Argentina to Atlanta, Ga. (2008)
- Upgrade on flight from Charlotte, N.C. to New York, N.Y. (2009)
- Upgrade on flight from New York, N.Y. to Warsaw, Poland (2009)
Improper use of state plane
- Spartanburg, S.C. to Clemson/Oconee County for a county party dinner (2005)
- Columbia, S.C. to North Myrtle Beach, S.C., transporting a Governor’s Office staffer, then North Myrtle Beach, S.C. to Columbia, S.C. for staffer and himself to receive a haircut (2006)
- Columbia, S.C. to Mt. Pleasant, S.C. for a book signing (2006)
- Mt. Pleasant, S.C. to Aiken, S.C. for a birthday party for a contributor (2006)
- Lewisburg, W.Va. to Brunswick, Ga. for family for a personal weekend (2006)
- North Myrtle Beach, S.C. to Columbia, S.C. for son’s sporting event (2007)
- Columbia, S.C. to Greenville S.C. for House Republican Caucus reception (2007)
- Columbia, S.C. to Greenwood, S.C. to Charleston, S.C. for Reason Weekend dinner (2008)
- Columbia, S.C. to Myrtle Beach, S.C. for family to attend “soft” opening of Hard Rock Park (2008)
Campaign funds for personal use
- Receiving $40 for activity not related to the campaign (2006)
- Receiving $329.40 for expenses from attending the Alfalfa Club Dinner in Washington, D.C. (2007)
- Giving $610.30 to staffer Marisa Crawford to attend the Republican Governors Association meeting (2007)
- Receiving $181.23 for direct marketing, telephone, Internet and/or cable services at the Governor’s Mansion (2008)
- Receiving $280.16 for direct marketing, telephone, Internet and/or cable services at the Governor’s Mansion (2008)
- Receiving $297.89 for direct marketing, telephone, Internet and/or cable services at the Governor’s Mansion (2008)
- Receiving $864.90 for expenses from the Republican Governors Association meeting and a hunting trip in Ireland (2008)
- Receiving $79.95 for direct marketing (2009)
- Receiving $96.95 for direct marketing and a presidential inauguration ticket (2009)
- Receiving $159.90 for direct marketing (2009)
When we wrote about Sen. Larry Grooms, who is running for governor, sending out Facebook messages suggesting you become a fan of his, we thought maybe people would stop. After all, it just looks silly.
Welcome to the party, Charleston Mayor Joe Riley.
Solicitor Barney Giese saw his luck take a turn for the better when he saw his DUI charge dropped from a June 29 arrest in Charleston. Instead, he plead guilty to the two other charges of improper turning and driving a vehicle the wrong way up a one-way street. According to Giese’s attorney in The State, there was no plea deal. It was Giese’s first arrest on a DUI offense.
From the way it looks, there may have been mistakes by the officers on the scene, but combined with a good attorney, Giese seemed to come out OK after all was said and done.
He had a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage,” flunked three of four field sobriety tests and refused to give a breath sample at the police department, according to the incident report. His license was automatically suspended under state law for refusing the breath test, the report said.
The main incident report references a supplemental report about the traffic stop, also requested by The State.
But Charleston Police Sgt. Debbie Fritts said later there was no supplemental report, explaining the investigating officers had mistakenly cited it, and no other written reports by assisting officers.
Giese was with a female passenger when he was stopped, Charleston police spokesman Charles Francis told The State this week. He said he didn’t know the identity of the woman, who was not charged.
The incident report makes no mention of a passenger. But Fritts, who oversees the department’s records section, said this week that isn’t unusual in a DUI stop in which there were no injuries or a collision.
Friday, Savage said his client had been drinking before the stop, though not at a level that rose to a DUI charge.
He declined to discuss how many drinks Giese had consumed before his arrest and whether there was a woman in the car with him when he was stopped.
In a statement, Giese said, “I regret that this incident occurred. I apologize for any embarrassment that I have caused to my family, my staff, and to the people of Richland and Kershaw Counties.”
He could have faced a sentence between two days and one month in jail. Instead, the solicitor will have to pay $339 in fines.
Sen. Robert Ford, a bought-and-paid-for member of the school choice types, was seduced with the intention of getting a chance to become the Democratic nominee for governor. Beside the fact that most Dems would have thought he was mental before, his ridiculous conversion to Howie Rich‘s point of view certainly didn’t win him many fans among the donkey persuasion.
And, it doesn’t seem like he will do much persuading any time soon. While Sen. Vince Sheheen has over $460,000 in the bank, and Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod is repping $155,000, Ford has all of $31 to mess around with. Really. He can barely pay for dinner for three people at a decent restaurant with that sort of cash. Even worse, almost all of the money he raised in the second quarter came from himself.
So, how about we declare this effort by Rich’s heimwehren dead and move on?
The Charleston City Paper, who we like (seriously), had a bit of fun with their own random ads on Wednesday by taking a screen cap of their own site featuring an American Apparel ad that had a gentleman wearing a pink shirt that read, “legalize gay.”
For what it’s wort, we were initially as confused as anyone else, since the U.S. Supreme Court had already legalized sodomy between mixed- and same-sex couples. Pretty legal, aye? But, then, we noticed the small print, which read, “Repeal Prop 8 Now!”
Proposition 8 is the California referendum that was on the ballot last year that made gay marriages illegal in the Golden State. We think that sucks, but, hey, a friend of our’s marriage was still allowed, so that’s good for him. Oh, and he used to be a strident Republican (he’s a big-time entrepreneur), but had to flip because of the social conservatism. That should be a lesson, guys.
Thing is, Prop 8 has no standing in South Carolina. Thank God.
Barney Giese, the Fifth Circuit solicitor (covering Richland and Kershaw counties) was pulled over and arrested for DUI in Charleston on June 29. According to The State, he gave away his lack of sobriety when he went the wrong way up a one way street in the Holy City.
“We are looking forward to resolving this matter as soon as possible …” Giese said in a statement. “It would be inappropriate for me to comment on this incident except to say that I am consulting with my attorney and law enforcement to determine the best resolution of this matter. I will continue to serve the people of Richland and Kershaw counties as I have for the past 15 years.”
Giese was apprehended at 11:42 p.m. at 130 Market Street at the Charleston Place Hotel, driving a blue Lincoln sedan. He’s currently in his fourth term and is up for reelection in 2010.
Here is the section of the police report directly dealing with the arrest:
The British high command, believing — rightfully — the South was a hotbed of loyalist sentiment, launched its Southern strategy by attacking Charleston. Soon, the siege was over, Charleston was captured and the King’s army began working its way north.
During this time, the Wolfe family, at its plantation on the Congaree River 21 miles from Columbia, was giving whatever supplies and provisions it could to the Palmetto State contingent of the Continental army. As well, Emily Geiger, a relative by way of marriage and from a neighboring homestead, was filling out her resume as a heroine of the Revolution by spying for the American cause.
Commander-in-Chief Gen. George Washington sent Gen. Horatio Gates to deal with the British menace. Gates had been the man who stole the glory from Gen. Benedict Arnold earlier in the war and probably gave Arnold the push he needed to flip sides. Gates was not a good choice. As his lines broke at the Battle of Camden, Gates quite literally turned tail and rode away as fast as his horse would take him.
Like Abraham Lincoln roughly 80 years later, Washington had to deal with some incompetent generals before he appointed the best of the best. Following Gates’ run for the hills, Washington put Gen. Nathanael Greene in charge of the Southern operation. Greene scored some wins and played cat-and-mouse with Gen. Charles Cornwallis before he and Washington forced the British against the sea at Yorktown, with French ships blocking the escape.
During the battle at Yorktown, the King’s forces attacked several of the American earthworks, round structures no more than 10 yards by 10 yards. The fight was not pretty. It was not heroic. It was what war is — it was horrible, bloody and inhumane. The two armies went at each other in hand-to-hand combat for 30 minutes.
Just imagine a mêlée of men, fists, bayonets, knives and whatever else is handy. A full 30 minutes, just trying to survive, killing out of self-defense. War isn’t glorious, something to be aspired to. It should always be the last option, and seen as a failure of men to resolve their differences by normal means.
Hey, tourists! Enjoying Charleston? Yeah, we do too. Nice town. Don’t be gay now, y’hear?
The sign above, placed on I-26W between the Mark Clark Expressway and Aviation Avenue is telling WR, and the rest of the straights out there, that it is OK to be straight. That’s a load off our minds. What with straights being about 90 percent of the population, or so the conventional wisdom goes, it only makes sense to feel like a persecuted minority, right?
The group who purchased the ad simply calls itself by its Web address, “turn2god.org.” From all appearances, it’s totally anonymous, with nothing on the Web site to tell you who is behind the group and an anonymous site registration. We could go into all the crazy talk these guys get into, but Greg Hambrick at the Charleston City Paper beat us to it.
- The Bible says that homosexuality is a sin. It’s not our place to interpret the Bible (leave that to King James).
- It doesn’t matter if you were born gay. You should repent and resist temptation (like Justin Timberlake videos, for example).
- Gays are trying to bully straight people into approving of gay marriage and gay rights. Apparently, gay activists “commonly” assault little old ladies (Honey, my savvy banter is a lot mightier than my puny left hook).
- The kicker is an assertion that gays should not be protected from targeted violence. Their suggestion is that there is more gay-on-gay domestic violence than hate crime incidences. (Well, it would make sense that gay relationships are just as rocky as straight ones. Does that make hate crimes OK?)
- Homosexuality is a mental disorder (but this kind of website is totally sane).
Sometimes, you’ve just got to laugh to avoid seriously contemplating the ignorance running rampant in our state.
