Do you consider yourself to be a Carrie Bradshaw-meets-Dan Savage nightlife- and sex-obssessed wit? Maybe you think of yourself as a Bukowski-level barfly and a fly-on-the-wall scribbler who could out-gonzo Dr. Gonzo? If so, Charleston City Paper wants to see what you’ve got. We’re looking for a writer for our Scene section who can report on Charleston nightlife and society — the good, the bad, and the fugly. Please send three samples to Managing Editor Chris Haire, haire@charlestoncitypaper.com. No phone calls.
Curious as to why former 9th Circuit Deputy Solicitor Blair Jennings is seemingly in every other news story these days? (That’s an exaggeration of course. He’s only seemingly in every other other news story.) Well, the Post and Courier reports:
Beyond their debates, forums and other appearances, the solicitor’s battle seems destined to be fought on TV, and Jennings goes into the airwaves fight with a built-in advantage. Shortly after losing his job as deputy solicitor, he was specially hired by Berkeley County Sheriff Wayne DeWitt — who this week confirmed he’s endorsed Jennings — as both the legal counsel for the sheriff’s office and as a press spokesman. The department already had a designated public information officer, former radio personality Dan Moon. But the move gave Jennings widespread exposure on nightly news reports, including this week at a methamphetamine lab bust. He’s on a $5,000 monthly retainer working for the department and earns another $35,000 a year as a part-time prosecutor for 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe in Dorchester County. In mid-May, Jennings will become a full-time assistant solicitor in Dorchester County, picking up the caseload of former deputy solicitor Don Sorensen, who resigned after being caught up in the recent Hanahan poker raid. But Wilson has the power of incumbency.
For some reason, I’m thinking of that ole show starring Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd. What was it called? Oh yeah, Moonlighting. Honestly, I have no idea why that suddenly came to mind.
ABC News 4 localizes the whole girl-girl-girl-girl-girl-girl-on-girl video that we’ve all seen numerous times now. I’ve got a lot more to say about this, but I’m going to hold off for now. But I did notice at least a single moment of compassion in the video. Of course, it’s not directed toward the girl getting the beat down, but to a set of shelves. That’ll still score you karma points won’t it? Give the clip a watch again.
So was it just a regular ole poker game between friends? The P&C sheds a little more light on the recent poker party bust.
Gamblers had to have $300 cash just to sit down at the table, and there was no limit on the betting, Clark said. After midnight, the buy-in went up to $1,000, he said.
Other games of chance were set up around the room, Clark said. He said refreshments were on the house.
Le Chiffre was unavailable for comment.
I have said it before and I will say it again, when it comes to newspapers, the best writers on staff are the sports reporters. And in the case of the P&C, Ken Burger is the best of the best. Just check out this column on the start of the Masters:
Welcome to the Freak and Fluke Masters.
Those words have actually been spoken here in the sanctity of Augusta National Golf Club this week as we prepare to kick off the 2008 Masters Golf Tournament.
Neither word is considered customary language in this grand old game that prides itself on gentlemanly behavior and decorum.
Indeed, they seem oddly out of place.
Like suddenly seeing a couple of dirt bikes flying down the hill on the 10th fairway.
Or somebody fishing in Rae’s Creek from the Hogan Bridge at the par-3 12th.
Or a bathing beauty in a bikini sunning in the bunker next to the 18th green.
To hear these words uttered in the context of professional golf is akin to hearing a preacher cuss in church or a Mercedes rumble by without a muffler.
And yet, they are now part of the vernacular, the official record of the game’s most prestigious and pious golf tournament where wordsmithing was once considered a gentleman’s sport unto itself.
Yeah, it’s pretty funny that under current state law Monopoly and Yahtzee might be illegal, but it’s even funnier that the Charleston Sheriff’s Office has a crew of ninjas at it disposal. OK. Not really. But it’s not too far from it. The Post and Courier has a new report on the recent poker party bust:
While the law might not change, the case already has brought about some retooling of the Sheriff’s Office policies concerning the use of ski masks to protect the identities of officers during raids and other operations.
Cannon first expressed concern about the practice after a December raid at a Hanahan restaurant to seize video gambling machines. Some customers said they were frightened because they mistook the officers for robbers. Some card players at Reyes’ house had similar complaints.
The Sheriff’s Office also took some jabs on talk radio for having masked investigators who resembled ninjas on hand to process poker suspects who surrendered at the county jail on Monday. One attorney dubbed it a “costume party.”
Sheriff’s Maj. John Clark said undercover officers have real concerns about protecting their identities, particularly if that might compromise ongoing cases. But in poker raids and similar vice operations, the Sheriff’s Office will try to substitute uniformed deputies for those officers to avoid using the masks and creating confusion, he said.
ABC News 4 also has a report on the activities of Al Cannon’s Foot Clan. And the discussion of wholesome card games continues, this time courtesy of attorney Andy Savage and Sheriff Cannon himself:
“I don’t think you can go home and play go fish with your children tonight if this is how it’s gonna be interpreted,” said Savage.
Sheriff Al Cannon responded to a similar comment Monday, defending the law as being reasonably enforced.
“That’s not my interpretation of the law and I don’t think any police officer out here is going to charge a grandma for playing UNO,” said Cannon.
At least not unless she has $40,000 stuffed in her mattress.
The Nancy Cook gaffe continues. And this time, the NAACP chimes in. The P&C reports:
The NAACP became involved in this issue because it’s one of equity, said the Rev. Joe Darby, vice president of the Charleston branch. People sometimes erroneously think that the NAACP is involved in matters tied only to black people, he said.
This just in: AAA will now offer roadside assistance to skateboarders.
Former 9th Circuit Deputy Solicitor Blair Jennings is back in the news again, and once again, none of it is, on the surface, related to his campaign for the 9th Circuit Solicitor office. For a brief period of time, he was popping up in the press as the public information officer for the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office; other times it was as the legal counsel for the Berkeley County Sheriff’s office. (Funny, I feel like I’ve written this exact same thing before. It’s fitting, I guess. Mostly it’s just lazy. But, shh, don’t let anybody else know.)
In the latest sighting, the Blair Witch discusses the recent Berkeley County meth lab bust in a Live 5 report. His title this time: Berkeley County Legal Advisor. Watch the campaign commercial, er, I mean, news report here.
Will Folks at FITSNews has report that claims to show off Sen. Glenn McConnell puny sense of humor.
The P&C reports that Charleston City Council has reduced the penalties for smoking in a bar:
Also Tuesday, City Council revised Charleston’s smoking ordinance in response to a recent court decision, making violations of the smoking ban a civil fine of no more than $25, rather than a criminal offense with the potential for up to 30 days in jail.
Want to know what happens to toothless smoking bans? Well, in the case of Honolulu the result was widespread civil disobedience. Dean Carrico of Honolulu Weekly reports:
Cliff is one of the few people involved in the fracas with a personal stake in the outcome, and he claims his business dropped by at least 75 percent. ‘After that, I begged the owner to let my customers smoke,’ he says. ‘I even offered to pay for any fine we might get out of my own pocket.’
Eventually the owner capitulated. Cliff brought the ashtrays out for the first time in February. ‘It wasn’t an immediate change,’ he says, ‘but it did start picking up. After two weeks I was up–not back up to original levels–but I was the first person to break one thousand [dollars] in the till since the ban passed.’
It wasn’t long before other bartenders followed his example.
‘Even now, it’s voluntary,’ Cliff says. ‘If a bartender is worried, or doesn’t want to deal with it, they can put the ashtrays away and make people go outside. Our customers know we’re taking a risk.’
I’m guessing for a good many folks on James Island today is like VE-Day, Xmas, and Y2k all rolled into one. It’s a time to celebrate like it’s 199-whatever. According to an ABC News 4 report, Wal-Mart has nixed plans to expand on James Island.
Round one goes to the islanders in the fight to stop a Wal-Mart expansion. The issue has been a point of contention on the island. But, public outcry forced the retail giant to change its plans.The retail giant is done pushing the expansion project. The Islanders for Responsible Expansion, the group in protest of Wal-Mart’s plan, says this isn’t over by a long shot.”Their plan is off the table, they heard the community loud and clear,” said Charleston councilman Gary White.
I don’t know about you, but isn’t it a little funny how Wal-Mart has become the new, I don’t know, litter. At the very least smoking in restaurants. Or leaving your toddler in the back seat of the car while you step into the convenience store to play video poker. The kind of cause that gets some folks all in a petition-signing frenzy, a particular form of self-righteous madness that is nearly indistinguishable from an epileptic fit. And I guess it helps that all the hip masses know that Target is where all the cool kids shop these days.Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the best opening to a story all week. Congrats to the Post and Courier’s Prentiss Findlay:
A rusty bicycle frame, empty beer cans, nets and a diesel generator are scattered on a Shem Creek hummock dotted with palmetto and oak trees.A warning is scrawled on a white wooden table surrounded by four chairs near torches: “If you get caught on the island or docks you’re going to get arrested.”The island, not much bigger than a large living room, connects to a dock where a half-sunken sailboat with a broken boom and tattered sail is moored. An aged shrimp trawler, “Freeloader III,” is tied up nearby. No one can be seen aboard.The town, which bought the property in January, wants to clean it up and will hold a public hearing Tuesday.
Love that attention to detail and the ability to establish a narrative at the same time. Prentiss, your award is in the mail, um, just as soon as we can figure out what that prize is.According to the P&C, Sen. Jake Knotts wants to protect whistle blowers who speak up during the Senate’s investigation of the S.C. Highway Patrol.
“The people who know best are the people who have had to live it,” said Knotts, R-West Columbia. “We need to make sure they have assurance there will be no repercussions.”Troopers have come forward privately over the years and more frequently recently, Knotts said. The fear of retribution, though, has stopped many from voicing their concerns publicly, he said.
That’s good and all, but who will protect us from Jake Knotts?Speaking of the HPD, The State reports that:
A special state Senate panel has launched an investigation into problems at the Department of Public Safety in the wake of allegations about how some troopers have treated black motorists.Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, who led the Senate Judiciary subcommittee meeting Thursday, said information from the five-member panel will be used by the full Judiciary Committee to evaluate Gov. Mark Sanford’s nominee for the department director.
Call me crazy, but I’d say that while the senators probably want to get to the bottom of what’s going on at the HPD, you can be rest assured they’re also looking for a chance to give the governor a hard time.
Live 5 has the strangest story of the day, one that involves a School Board member and a proposal straight out of a late-night-drinking-session-smack-talk fest. (You know the kind I’m talking about, the one where you actually suggest that turning Manhattan into a gigantic prison makes sense, that the votes of the educated should count more than the stupid, and that, yes, Rocky D is occasionally funny.)
Charleston County School Board Vice-Chair Nancy Cook suggested sterilization as a way to reduce unwanted pregnancies, now she admits it was an extreme position.
On Thursday, April 3, 2008 during the 9am hour of WTMA’s “The Morning Buzz” Cook said the following:
“We’re not standing up as people and saying we’ve had enough of that. We’re not paying for another baby, maybe one, but after that we’re taking the baby and maybe you get sterilized. I know that sounds extreme…”
Regardless, her comments are raising a few brows.
“I don’t know what I said in the heat of the moment, what I was talking about, but I’m saying we have a problem,” Cook said
In the funny pages, a perfectly reasonable way to fight crime is to dress up as a giant bat and punch every criminal in site. In real life, that wouldn’t work so well. Forget bullets. The ACLU would put an end to masked vigilantism right quick.
Speaking of other crime fighting tactics that might work in the comics but not in the real life, Live 5 reports on state Attorney General Henry McMaster’s proposal to put an end to parole. Really? I mean, our jails and prisons are maxed out as already, and for some reason, I don’t think folks round here are going to cotton to the idea of raising taxes to pay for more jails.
But according to Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson, the threat of no parole will, well, we’ll let Wilson tell you:
“When they hear that there is no parole, it could have an effect on the would-be criminals, but it’ll definitely have an effect on those who chosen that line of work,” she added.
Ah. The ole deterrent argument. How’s that worked out for us … over the entire course of human history?
News 2 reports on an outbreak of sexy deeds going down at one area church.
Cathedral of Praise in North Charleston is leading a sermon series for families about sex, marriage and parenting, but it’s the first topic that’s getting people talking.
“It’s not like it should be hush hush,” said mom and youth leader Lori Stephanoff. She says there’s no better place to teach teens about sex than the church rather than mainstream media.
Adds, church youth pastor Megan Turner:
“Our method behind advertising was not to create shock value but for people to talk to their neighbors, co-workers and say hey my church is discussing this issue and I’d love for you to come.”
Oh, Megan. You naughty minx.
The Post and Courier has a report on the status of the immigration reform bill. Feel free to read it. What stood out for me was this line:
In a review of the legislation, The Post and Courier found that half of its provisions restate existing law while others create an enforcement nightmare.
Here’s the thing: as far as I can tell, these problems aren’t discussed anywhere else in the article. If this bill is going to be an enforcement nightmare, dang it I’d like to know how.
Sen. Mike Fair’s proposal to tax porn mags has been approved by the Senate Finance Committee, according to a Greenville News report. The measure would add a 20 percent surcharge to the price of each magazine. Where did Fair get that amount? Good question.
Fair said he pulled the 20 percent number “out of the air,” figuring 10 percent wouldn’t be enough.
“Out of the air”? Yeah, I think I would have been happier if he had said it came to him in a vision.
News 2 reports on a proposal from state Sen. Mike Fair to tax porn mags.
State Senator Mike Fair wants to add a 20 percent surcharge on magazines like Playboy and Hustler that show frontal nudity. He says the tax hike would raise $385,000 dollars for the state to pay for tracking devices for sex offenders.
And his reasoning goes like this:
“Just as we’re trying to do with cigarettes, we have tried to do and continue to try to do with alcohol, is lets the users of those products pay for some of the consequences that come from that,” Fair explained.
I tell you. All of this baffles me.
My first question: I would like to ask Fair is if he has any peer-reviewed proof that looking at nudie mags transforms otherwise upstanding citizens into sex crazed maniacs?
My second: Do people still buy porn mags? It’s not like the internet doesn’t give it away for free. Just saying.
Speaking of vice related matters, North Charleston City Council is considering imposing a smoking ban in all public places, according to a Post and Courier report. While the proposal will likely lead to a fierce debate, it’ll probably also lead to a lot of hyperbole too. Like this statement from North Chuck Councilman Bob King:
“We shouldn’t be the only jurisdiction in the area not to have this,” King said. “We want to get away from the situation where anything goes in North Charleston. It’s a quality of life issue. There’s nothing worse than going into a restaurant to eat and have somebody light up next to you.”
“There’s nothing worse”? I mean, I can think of a few things. Like picking up the paper in the morning and finding that it’s a soggy mess. Or running out of milk when after you’ve poured a bowl of cereal. Or having to get up from the john to get another roll of TP.
Things aren’t looking so good for Shem Creek shrimpers according to this ABC News 4 report.
The controversy is over the dock which was part of land recently purchased by the town of Mount Pleasant. An inspection called the dock unsafe, that’s why the city had asked the shrimpers to leave.
News 4’s Josh Cascio reports that fixing the dock could cost $1 million.
The State reports that the General Assembly is considering a ban of salvia divinorum, a type of mint that, avert your eyes kiddies, will get you real high. Best, or is that worst, of all, it’s legal.
Oh. You’ve never heard of salvia. Well, let The State enlighten you:
Psychic effects of the drug, long used by the Mazatec Indians in Mexico for ritual healing and prophesying, include hallucinations, seeing bright lights and overlapping realities, according to the federal agency, which lists adverse effects of lack of coordination, dizziness, and slurred speech.
The effect can be like a mild version of illicit mushrooms, but the trips don’t last as long, said Matthew Gever, a policy associate with the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The P&C found a local tie to a recent tragedy in Maryland in which a father drowned his three children. It’s a horrible situation for sure. My heart goes out to the children’s grieving mother, who, the P&C reports once lived in Lowcounty. (The father also called the Charleston area home for a time.) What’s particularly odd about the article, aside from the fact that the P&C is reporting on this meaningless connection, is how the article gives the reader the impression that the mother is dead.
Amy Castillo’s peers and instructors in the pediatrics residency program at the Medical University of South Carolina say she was well-liked. They expressed disbelief at the horrible news regarding the family of the bubbly, vivacious, smart doctor they remember.
Dr. Williams Basco of Mount Pleasant was in the pediatric residency class one year behind Castillo. “Amy was the kind of resident you always wanted to be on call with,” Basco said. “She was a great colleague.” She was generous and helpful, he said, “very vivacious.” They played on a recreation league volleyball team together.
“She was good at what she did and she loved what she did,” Basco said. She was voted best senior resident, he said.
Local resident Michael Caristi said his wife, Dr. Kimberly Caristi, was a year behind Castillo in the pediatrics residency program. “She (Castillo) gave a lot to the Lowcountry when she was here caring for needy people,” he said. Michael Caristi described her as outgoing, compassionate and vibrant. “All-American glowing smile,” he said.
I know it’s Monday morning, but I think everybody in the Carolinas should stop what they’re doing and raise a pint for the boys at Davidson. Hide in a broom closet if you have to or crawl under your desk, but you’ve got to give a salute to the Wildcats.
Now, on to less important things.
First up, the Isle of Palms is considering fining folks who make sandcastles and then fail to tear them down before they wander off down the beach. The Post and Courier reports:
Under a new proposal, beachcombers could get a $128 to $500 ticket for not flattening sand castles and not filling in holes when they’re through. City leaders intend to discuss the proposal more in the next month.
Silly, yes. Let’s see what a tourist and the mayor have to say about it:
“Someone has too much time on their hands,” Lussier’s husband Steve said. “Police have got better things to do than sand castle enforcement.”
Police and Mayor Mike Sottile said enforcement would be nearly impossible. They would have to watch the creation from start to finish and then catch its sculptors as they walk away.
It appears that this is one proposed law that is made of sand. (Hey. They’re cliches for a reason, you know.)
Are some state Highway Patrol officers secretly wearing white robes under their uniforms? Sen. Robert Ford has something to say about the recent trooper videos. And what he tells The Greenville News might surprise you if you’re accustomed to only hearing knee-jerk reactions from politicians.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with white patrolmen beating up on black people,” he said at a weekly televised Senate news conference. “A lot of blacks have to take a lot of responsibility for this.”
Ford said there may be as many as 40 videotaped incidents that could surface at the time of confirmation for the next director of the Department of Public Safety. He suggested the Legislature should hire former State Law Enforcement Division Chief Robert Stewart, who retired this year to become a consultant, to view trooper videos over the past six or seven years and report what he finds.
Here’s another report out of the 864, involving two rival families of Bob Jones grads facing off in the race for a Statehouse seat. And trust me, this is odd. The Jonesers march in lockstep. The News reports:
Bryan Haskins, the 23-year-old son of state Rep. Gloria Haskins, R-Greenville, filed a primary challenge to Republican County Councilman Robert Taylor whose daughter, Wendy Nanney, is Rep. Haskins’ primary opponent. Nanney’s husband, Tim, is Greenville County’s register of deeds, but is unopposed for re-election.
Taylor is a dean at BJU. Rep. Haskins’ late husband, Terry, whose seat she won after his death in 2000, was a BJU graduate and actively involved in the university community. Both Nanneys are BJU graduates. Gloria Haskins attended the school.
News 2’s Brad Franko has made a stunning admission — he fell victim to one of Google’s annual April Fool’s Day pranks.
This is yet more proof that Google is indeed taking over the world!
Check this out…Google is working on a plan to provide internet service by having you flush your wires.
They send out PHDs…no they’re not doctors, they’re Plumbing Hardware Dispatchers who connect you to the global data networking system.
They appear to be serious…WHAT WILL THEY THINK OF NEXT?!
I guess tomorrow, we’ll find out. (In related prank news, the Joker apparently has something sinister planned for April Fool’s Day. Check out Clown Travel Agency tomorrow.)
An Associated Press report on Barack Obama appeared the P&C this weekend discussing the candidate’s days at the exclusive Punahou High School in Honolulu.
The story tells a tale that we’ve all heard before — a black student gets a scholarship to a private high school where his skin color immediately brands him an outsider. However, what the report fails to mention is that the majority of students at Punahou are of Asian or mixed Asian descent. This omission is further compounded by the reporter who, aside from Obama’s sister, interviews a former white classmate, and mentions that Steve Jobs (a white guy/AOL founder) and Kelly Preston (a white gal/John Travolta’s wife) attended the school.
That said, this line was particularly interesting:
As one of the few black students at Punahou, he remembered in his memoir someone wanting to touch his hair and being asked whether his father ate people on his first day of school.
You want to know how lame I am? Sure you do. I fell asleep last night before the start of the second half of the UNC game. That’s sad.
Speaking of news that’ll bring tears to your eyes, Live 5 reports on a very tragic situation at an Edisto Island Post Office. It seems that the PO parking lot is being systemically mauled by potholes. E-gads.
White drives to the Edisto Island Post office a few times a week and says she is frustrated with all of the parking lot’s potholes.
“First of all it’s a safety hazard and it also harms your vehicle, plus it’s an eyesore,” she said.
According to White, the post office attempted to patch the holes up in the past, however, their quick fixes aren’t measuring up now.
There are nearly 10 potholes in the parking lot, some of them even ankle deep, which creates a huge headache for drivers.
Live 5 is also reporting on a pair of Cuban defector now playing for the Charleston Battery. And I say, good for them. But I’ve got a question: If Cuban defectors aren’t illegal immigrants than who is? Just saying.
So a fairly damaging video is making the rounds allegedly showing the cavalier approach that the Charleston Fire Department apparently took when it came to training newbies. While it’s not exactly on the same caliber of the we-hurt-ourselves-for-your-pleasure-and-a-six-pack-of-Miller-High-Life stunts as, let’s say, a vid from the Jackass crew, it does feature a little of that old Dickhouse-style camaraderie. News 2 reports on the video and its unexpected star — a teddy bear wearing a shirt with “I’m a fuck up” written on it.
This video is from inside training drills the department has run for years.
“I’m a f*** up.” The inscription, too offensive to read on the air, but for years, this bear has been passed from one Charleston firefighter to another.
“You messed up, you would have to wear it until the next guy messed up, then take off and hand it to him,” said Charleston firefighter Bill Haigler.
Haigler, a firefighter with the city for almost five years, not surprised by the content we showed him, but not happy either, though his concerns stretch far past a stuffed animal.
“This is their intro into the CFD and if you see someone doing something wrong and you keep on doing it wrong, you’re not breaking the cycle of getting around to doing it right,” said Haigler.
Folks living and working in the lower peninsula are apparently all a-feared up about crime in their ‘hood, according to this Post and Courier report. One shopkeeper had this tale to tell:
Five men entered The Tavern Wine & Spirits on East Bay Street, gathered up $200 worth of alcohol and left without paying. Owner Gary Dow thinks — but isn’t entirely sure — that one of the men showed him a pistol grip in his waistband, as though to show he meant business. Dow recalled seeing through the front window a couple pushing a baby carriage as the incident unfolded.
What does Police Chief Greg Mullen have to say about crime in the LP?
“The reality of it is, every Monday I look at what’s happening in the city. I have to look at the map of the city where the crime is happening. And it’s definitely not in that area.”
Home video killed the X-rated theater business, as anyone who has seen Boogie Nights knows. But it looks like that type of movie-going experience is making a comeback … in Mt. Pleasant of all places. News 2’s Jenny Fisher reports on the case of the Palmetto Grande flasher. As usually, Fisher asks all the hard questions:
She asked, “When you say, ‘exposing himself,’ is he standing up, what is he doing when he gets in the theater?”
Cheney replied, “He has been sitting down as is watching the movie, and people have noticed peculiar behavior to where they look over and see him and notice what he’s doing.”
Police say the man attended a 10:45 p.m. showing of “Miss Pettigrew.” He walked in after the movie started. Then, police say he sat down, exposed himself and performed a sexual act.
Jenny asked Detective Cheney, “Do you think this guy actually means to be seen by other people?”
He replied, “This latest incident would say that. He sat a seat away from this young lady and I don’t there was any way she couldn’t see him.”
Former 9th Circuit Deputy Solicitor Blair Jennings has been in the news an awful lot lately, and none of it is, on the surface, related to his campaign for the 9th Circuit Solicitor office.
For a brief period of time, he was popping up in the press as the public information officer for the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office; other times it was as the legal counsel for the Berkeley County Sheriff’s office.
Now, this time he’s quoted in a News 2 report on the death of a CofC student involved in an accident with an EMS vehicle; the tragic accident took place in downtown Charleston.
Attorney Blair Jennings says that the box, which is standard in each Charleston County ambulance, could be crucial in this case because investigators don’t have both sides of the story.
“You could have five people witness an accident and give five different descriptions of what happened. So anytime you have something objective that’s just facts that’s certainly going to help any inquiry,” Jennings said.
Who needs campaign signs when you can score time on TV?
The Post and Courier reports on a debate over the name for a new North Charleston middle school. One group wants to name it after Daniel Jenkins, who founded the Jenkins Orphanage back in 1891.
“He did so much during the turn of the century for orphans, for young black kids,” Douglas said. “I think the committee felt like out of all the names, he was not only an educator but a humanitarian because of his desire to care for the downtrodden and those who needed care the most.”
I hate to be all nitpicky — actually I don’t mind it — but “turn of the century” doesn’t mean what it used to mean.
Just wanted to point that out. The State has an interesting report on the rates that Highway Patrol officers taze blacks and whites.It’s one of those reports that appears to make a statement about racial disparity but ultimately doesn’t. (See, previous P&C stories on the disproportionate rates of expulsion for blacks and whites.)
In this case, the numbers show that more blacks are tazed than whites, but what doesn’t appear to be factored in is the exactly what lead officers to taze the individuals in the study. That’s what’s important, not skin color. At least not yet. Here’s an account of one tazing incident:
The video shows Williams arguing with Hardee from the moment he walks up to her Honda Accord in the parking lot of the Burger King where she worked.
The trooper asks at least 19 times to see her driver’s license and registration.
Williams, 26, insists she has done nothing wrong and starts making calls on her mobile phone.
She walks to the passenger side of the car as Hardee follows her, asking for documentation. He begins telling her that she can be arrested for failing to follow a lawful order.
Williams points her finger toward the trooper’s face, occasionally shouting.
She returns to the driver side of the Honda, leans inside, gets her purse and starts to walk into the restaurant, saying she is late for work.
Hardee, a 17-year patrol veteran, orders her to stop, then pushes her to the hood, warning she is about to be arrested.
With her back to Hardee, she continues to ignore his demands. He then fires the Taser from about two feet away. The electrified darts strike her on the back. Four minutes has lapsed since he approached her.Williams screams in pain and collapses. “Oh my God. I can’t believe you did this to me.”
She then threatens a lawsuit at least 44 times. At one point, Williams tells the trooper, “Thanks for making me rich.”
Ronald McDonald and Dave Thomas were unavailable for comment.
Remember that deer report a week or so back (you know, back when Haire of the Dog returned for the first time)? You know, the one in which an officer allegedly fired a dozen or more shots into a deer. Well, the P&C has a follow up, one that highlights a truth: Eyewitness accounts are often wrong.
North Charleston police determined that an officer fired seven shots at a wounded deer alongside Dorchester Road earlier this month and did not violate any departmental policies.
Live 5 has report on an Iraq War protest in Marion Square, one acknowledging the fifth anniversary of the invasion. Go to the video clip and witness the tepid outrage for yourself. This one exchange stood out:
“When you see wrong, you speak out against wrong. You speak out for right,” said O’Fish, who spoke out along with a dozen other people.
“There are many things to fight for over here. If we’re going to declare war, let’s declare war on education,” O’Fish said.
I don’t know about you, but if I was a 10 year old boy that’s one war I could get behind.
Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the online version of the Moultrie News.
An ABC News 4 reports sums up the trouble with the sex predator bill quite nicely:
It sounds like a law that sounds good on paper but probably would not have a lot of effect. A thousand feet is not very far and I think for children to be truly safe there has got to be other measures,” said Boys and Girls Club volunteer Nancy Worley.
One sex offender who asked not to be identified agreed with the bill but did say that if someone wants to break the law there won’t be much that will stop him.
Who knew there were grocery stores that would let you buy goods on credit? I mean, hasn’t Visa kind of made that unnecessary. Live 5 reports on a grocery store in a one-grocery store town that was damaged by last weekend’s tornadic activity.
The P&C’s outdoor guy David Quick has a response to the recent report from Prevention magazine designating Mt. P as one of the nation’s most walking unfriendly cities.
Some might say that living in a place such as Mount Pleasant requires you to drive somewhere, to burn expensive
and dirty fossil fuel, in order to take a walk. I contend otherwise. The fact remains that walking, like running, is so versatile that most of us are limited only by our creativity and will. Many of us are too lazy to walk.
My neighborhood is too small for twice-daily walks and/or runs with my Jack Russell terrier, Ozzie. So I venture in all directions beyond the periphery, behind supermarkets, shopping centers, through apartment parking lots and nearby subdivisions, and down a utility easement that some people call a “greenway.” That might sound unappealing, but I find it to be satisfying.
I won’t spoil the ending to the piece, but it’s worth checking out.
Each day City Paper managing editor Chris Haire takes a hard look at the source of all ill in modern society — the media — in all of its diabolical forms. (Cue the menacing music. Fire up the lightning strikes. Where's a werewolf when you need a good howl? Hungover from a bender, perhaps.) This site is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended, especially those well-coiffed guys and gals on the tellie. (Truth be told, the site is actually a love letter to local media, but we've only adopted a down-with-the-MSM approach to appeal to talk radio tin-foil-hatters out there. Ruff ruff.)
