A newly established South Carolina Senate Finance subcommittee held its first meeting to conduct a comprehensive examination of the state’s tax structure. The panel’s formation comes amid broader legislative efforts to review local and state revenue mechanisms, with lawmakers weighing tax-relief adjustments against funding necessities for aging infrastructure and agency services statewide.
An ACLU report based on state public records indicates that Black minors in South Carolina are detained at disproportionately higher rates than their white peers. The findings emerge as the South Carolina General Assembly continues to debate juvenile justice reforms, including efforts to crack down on violent offenses among youth while addressing systemic operational problems within the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ).
Four Greenville County municipalities—Greenville, Simpsonville, Mauldin, and Travelers Rest—have placed a penny sales tax referendum on the November general election ballot. The measures are made possible by the Municipal Tax Relief Act enacted earlier this year, which for the first time allows qualifying South Carolina municipalities to seek voter approval for an additional 1% local sales tax for capital projects and revenue flexibility.
Charleston City Council members voted to move forward a measure allocating $5 million from the municipal general fund reserve to finance merit bonuses across multiple city departments. The initiative is intended to bolster retention and recruitment within municipal public operations amid regional cost-of-living increases.
The Greer Commission of Public Works has formally requested $6 million in state infrastructure funding to support major upgrades to the city's drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities. The utility aims to address system capacity constraints driven by rapid residential and commercial growth across Greenville and Spartanburg counties.
West Columbia municipal leaders will commence construction on a transformation of the Meeting Street corridor next week. The planned infrastructure improvements aim to moderate vehicular speeds, expand pedestrian corridors, and enhance direct foot access for commercial districts between the River District and downtown West Columbia.
A Charleston review board has cleared a major apartment and commercial development planned for 295 Calhoun Street following years of revised proposals. Located adjacent to the Medical District and Alberta Long Lake, the development proceeds as municipal officials prepare to introduce a broader development master plan to address traffic, density, and public amenities across West Ashley.
The General Services Administration has placed the G. Ross Anderson Jr. Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown Anderson on its disposition roster. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and housing historic New Deal artwork, the divestment is part of a federal strategy to shed underutilized real estate footprints nationwide.
Charleston County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Michael Hendricks died in the line of duty following a multi-vehicle collision involving a tractor-trailer on Ladson Road. Hendricks, 33, had served with the sheriff's office since April 2023 in the agency’s Metro Unit. Law enforcement agencies across the Lowcountry held memorial tributes, with a patrol cruiser placed outside agency headquarters for public condolences.
A federal grand jury sitting in South Carolina returned an indictment against Colombian national William Holguin Mendez on charges of laundering approximately $135 million in illicit narcotics proceeds. Prosecutors allege the transnational network utilized cryptocurrency exchanges to obscure the origin of drug proceeds moving across interstate and foreign financial systems.
An Anderson County Sheriff's Office deputy resigned following an internal investigation into the unauthorized use of the department's Flock automated license plate reader system. The resignation highlights growing scrutiny over state and local law enforcement compliance protocols surrounding automated surveillance and data queries.
The Columbia Police Department has increased enforcement operations in the Five Points entertainment district after investigators recovered 97 spent shell casings and 82 live rounds from a weekend shooting that wounded three people. City officials and department leadership are targeting unregulated gatherings, late-night firearm violations, and crowd congestion in the commercial corridor.
Communities across the state are marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks through public ceremonies, school-wide moments of silence, and memorial stair climbs honoring the 412 first responders killed. In Columbia, public school curricula adjusted to teach events to students born decades after 2001, while events in Greenville and the Lowcountry drew local residents and retired emergency personnel who deployed during the 2001 response.
Faculty representatives at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg are expressing concerns regarding university leadership's administrative direction. Despite growing enrollment numbers and ongoing campus capital projects, staff representatives cite communication breakdowns and strained resource distribution between faculty operations and executive management.