TheState.com: Local / Metro

Korean War airman laid to rest in Upstate

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:56 EDT

EASLEY | The remains of a U.S. serviceman declared missing in action during the Korean War have been laid to rest in Easley.

The Greenville News reports that Capt. William Mauldin was buried Friday with full military honors at a graveside service.

The Pentagon says Mauldin was flying a reconnaissance mission over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea when his plane was hit by enemy fire and crashed. Mauldin's remains were identified using DNA.

The Pentagon says Mauldin is the third serviceman from South Carolina declared missing after the Korean War whose remains have been identified. There are still 113 others from the state who've not been found and about 8,100 U.S. servicemen overall still listed as missing in action from the war.

Photo feature: A matter of faith

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:50 EDT

Dennis Day, 54, waits for a ride outside of His House Ministries Thrift Shop on Thursday in West Columbia after walking from Lexington to look for a job. Day said he had no money and nothing to eat, but ‘the good Lord will provide. You can’t lose faith.’

Auction of funk yields surprises

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:09 EDT

The auction of James Brown’s personal possessions by Christie’s in New York on Thursday produced some jaw-dropping surprises.

But the $857,688 brought in from the more than 300 items sold was on the short end of the auction house’s pre-sale estimates.

Still, there was intense interest in some items. A medical bracelet engraved with Brown’s name and noting he was diabetic and allergic to penicillin was projected to go for $200 to $300.

The final tally: an astounding $32,500.

Paul Shaffer, band leader for “The Late Show With David Letterman,” was one of the bidders on the bracelet. An unnamed private bidder won it.

Ex-trooper indicted + video

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:32 EDT

A former S.C. Highway Patrol trooper seen on video repeatedly kicking a suspect in the head was indicted Thursday on charges he violated the man’s federal civil rights.

John B. Sawyer is charged with violating the civil rights of Sergio Cardini, whom he was arresting after a chase on Interstate 95 in 2006, U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins said.

The federal indictment alleges Sawyer unnecessarily struck and repeatedly kicked Cardini, causing him bodily injury. Sawyer’s actions willfully deprived Cardini of his constitutional rights to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer, the indictment states.

The widely seen video, recorded from the trooper’s dashboard camera, shows then Lance Cpl. Sawyer running up to Cardini and repeatedly kicking him after the man laid on the ground as ordered by officers.

Cardini had been ordered out of the dump truck he was driving after officers chased him for miles May 28, 2006.

Building Our City: Rolling on the riverfront

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:57 EDT

About $400 million in private development has popped up around the Three Rivers Greenway since construction of the line of riverfront parks began in 1997.

Not bad on an initial public investment of $7 million to build them.

And the greenway is expected to continue to be the backbone of growth on both sides of the Congaree, said Mike Dawson, executive director of the River Alliance, a regional, nonprofit group that guides investment along the rivers.

“We had two strategic priorities,” he said. “Opening up the river to public access and increasing the tax base. In both respects, the greenway is doing its job and will continue to do it.”

So far, a total of 14 private projects with links to the greenway — residential, retail and office — have been built, are being constructed or are close to breaking ground.

At Columbia Metropolitan Airport, a test program lets pilots board easily

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:19 EDT

Pilots at Columbia Metropolitan Airport can bypass regular passenger security screenings with a new Transportation Security Administration test program.

Starting Thursday, pilots will walk through their own security gate where a TSA agent will then check their badges against a federal pilot database.

Columbia Metro is one of three airports using the test program, known as crewPASS, said Eric Beane, the TSA’s federal security director in Columbia. The program was mandated by Congress as the nation tries to work through kinks in its airport security programs.

A separate gate for pilots could speed security checkpoints for general passengers, Beane said.Because pilots go through FBI criminal investigations and other monitoring, they don’t need to take off their shoes and belts and have bags screened along with regular passengers, said Bill McReynolds, a FedEx pilot and representative of the Air Line Pilots Association.

“Where’s the risk? Is the risk with the guy flying the plane?” Beane said. “Pilots already go through extensive amounts of background checks and daily monitoring on terrorist watch lists.”

Union mayor quits, is indicted

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:09 EDT

The mayor and zoning administrator of the city of Union were charged Thursday with accepting kickbacks from local contractors — part of a number of corruption cases that have swept through South Carolina’s small towns in recent years.

Mayor Bruce Morgan, 57, and zoning administrator Jeffrey Lawson, 40, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Columbia and charged with conspiring to accept kickbacks in return for doling out government contracts, U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins said.

As part of the scheme, which dates to November 2007, Wilkins said, the men raked in $30,000 from at least three separate contractors.

Morgan and Lawson are both charged with conspiracy. Morgan faces an additional four counts of using his official position to extort payments in violation of federal law. Lawson faces two counts of the same.

If convicted, the men each face a maximum of 20 years in prison, as well as fines up to $250,000 for each count.

City of Columbia water bills going online

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:19 EDT

Columbia’s water customers can soon pay their bills online with credit cards — and the city promises to pay any extra fees that come with the service.

Paying bills with a credit card often carries two extra charges: a merchant fee, which goes to the credit card company, and a portal fee, which goes to the service provider that processes the payment.

Most companies add these charges to their customers’ bills, but City Council members voted unanimously Wednesday to have the city pay those fees for its customers.

“It’s a convenience for us. It’s something that we want to encourage people to do,” Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine said.

Now, the only ways to pay a city water bill by credit card are over the phone or in person.

A more urban future for growing greenway

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:19 EDT

The Three Rivers Greenway is opening a new phase in its development.

Up to now, the greenway’s parks have been geared toward pure recreation: Lovely paths along the rivers’ edge for hikers and bikers.

But new sections being built or planned on the Columbia side of the river have a more urban feel — hardscapes to a great degree intended to be even larger economic magnets.

Taxpayers are being asked to kick in another $14 million to build these parks, and $77 million for a grand, 74-acre regional waterfront park that will anchor USC’s Innovista research campus.

“We want to keep going forward,” said John McArthur, incoming River Alliance chairman. “We need to keep adding to the greenway to keep the momentum going.”

Charges against magistrate dropped

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:19 EDT

Charges were dropped Thursday against a Lexington County magistrate accused of stealing a statue last year from his sister-in-law’s yard.

Special Assistant Attorney General Vinton D. Lide requested petit larceny charges be dropped against Oak Grove Magistrate Jamie T. Lucas, his wife, Pamala, and their friend, Jessica R. Kub.

There was lack of sufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, Lide said.

Lucas has been suspended by the S.C. Supreme Court since Feb. 6. His attorney, Heath Taylor, plans to file a motion with the court for Lucas to be reinstated.

Lucas had no comment after Thursday’s court hearing.

Drilling off S.C. may not be issue

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:09 EDT

CHARLESTON — While national momentum grows to lift a ban on offshore oil drilling, geologists say it’s unlikely there will be rigs off South Carolina anytime soon because there’s simply little oil to be had.

President Bush says the nation should lift the long-standing ban on drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

And Citizens for Sound Conservation, a group based in Charleston, announced this week it will push Congress to eliminate the ban in next year’s federal budget.

State Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, said this week he will propose a measure in the state Legislature to allow drilling off the S.C. coast.

But geologists say there is little to drill for.

Man gets 14 years in sex case

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:19 EDT

A Mexican national was sentenced Thursday to more than 14 years in prison after participating in a sex trafficking ring that lured young Mexican women to the Carolinas, forcing them to work as prostitutes in Columbia, Greenville and Charlotte.

One of the women was a 14-year-old who thought she was coming to work at a restaurant.

Jesus Perez-Laguna admitted to conspiring to transport the teen across the borders between the U.S. and Mexico and between North Carolina and South Carolina to engage in prostitution, federal authorities said.

He also was sentenced to supervised release for the rest of his life and will be subject to deportation proceedings after completing his prison sentence, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald said.

A co-defendant, Ciro Bustos-Rosales has already been sentenced to almost six years in prison in the case.

Under the angel oak’s branches

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:32 EDT

CHARLESTON — Charleston City Council has approved plans for a development near the historic Angel Oak on the South Carolina coast.

The well-known, 65-foot-high oak with a circumference of 25 feet is the centerpiece of a small city park on Johns Island.

The nonprofit Sea Island Health Care Corp. sold 42 acres of nearby land for the development three years ago to help it out of bankruptcy.

The corporation has provided services to Gullah residents since the civil rights era.

The (Charleston) Post and Courier reports the development will include a buffer around the oak.

Legislature approves new video poker ban

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:59 EDT

RALEIGH — The N.C. Legislature has agreed to eliminate a new form of video poker games that is being played in North Carolina.

The House and Senate gave final approval Thursday to a bill that would expand the state’s video poker machine ban to retail promotions that allow people to play games resembling slot machines.

A customer purchases a phone card or other item at a retail store. The person then goes to a computer terminal to play a game similar to a slot or video poker machine to reveal the prize.

The bill now goes to Gov. Mike Easley.

S.C. State president to get $200,000 salary

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:59 EDT

George E. Cooper, who began his tenure as S.C. State University’s president Wednesday, had his compensation package determined at a Board of Trustees meeting Thursday.

Cooper, a former top official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will earn an annual salary of $200,000. He will receive an annual $25,000 housing bonus, a one-time $10,000 moving allowance, the use of a vehicle and paid membership to professional and social organizations.

Cooper’s compensation is in line with that of his predecessor, Andrew Hugine, who earned $220,000 per year.

Oconee County campground closed after bear rips tent

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:59 EDT

ANDERSON — U.S. Forest Service officials closed the Long Bottom Ford Campground in Oconee County after a black bear ripped open a camper’s tent in search of food.

The Forest Service said in a statement that a mother bear and three cubs also were seen at the campground, which was closed Thursday, the Anderson Independent-Mail reported.

Forest Service spokeswoman Michelle Burnett says no one was injured at the campground.

All campers have been asked to leave as soon as possible. The statement from the Forest Service says the campground will remain closed for at least a week while the site is monitored.

Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Skip Still said that once food sources are removed from the campground, the bear and her cubs likely will leave.

Man gets 17½ years for assaulting officer

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:59 EDT

A man was sentenced to 17½ years after pleading guilty to assaulting an Immigration Customs Enforcement officer in.

Isaac Abdi Hashi, 27, admitted that the attack on the officer was unprovoked and that he had planned to assault any male immigration official who approached him, said U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins. Hashi heated a mixture of water, baby oil and hand lotion and threw the concoction in the officer’s face.

The officer suffered second-degree burns on his face and still suffers from headaches and vision problems. He missed 45 days of work as a result of their injuries.

Hashi last lived in San Diego and is a native of Somalia but was sentenced in Columbia.

Lawmakers votes for tighter truck-bed rules

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:59 EDT

RALEIGH — The minimum age for a child to ride in a pickup truck bed in North Carolina will likely go up.

The House and Senate gave final approval Thursday to raise the age from 12 to 16 and remove an exemption for children who live in 32 rural counties. Motorists who violate the law could be fined $25. The new limits still wouldn’t apply if an adult sits with the child.

The bill now heads to Gov. Mike Easley’s desk.

The bill’s supporters say the current law has failed to prevent child injuries and deaths. The bill nearly failed in the Senate earlier this week after opponents complained that the restrictions fly in the face of parents deciding what is best for their children.

Contributing: Staff writers Dawn Hinshaw, Wayne Washington and Ishmael Tate and The Associated Press

Richland County sends out tax notices

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:59 EDT

Notices go out today to more than 10,000 new property owners in Richland County, letting them know they will be paying higher taxes in 2008.

This is the first year for a new state law requiring people who buy or inherit property to pay taxes based on the sales price.

Richland Assessor John Cloyd estimated the county will receive $6.6 million in additional revenues this year from the change.

Previously, a new owner’s first-year taxes were based on the prior assessment of their home.

While 10,032 property owners will get notices from Cloyd in coming days, they won’t know how much they owe the county until property tax bills go out in November.

S.C. State’s new era

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:46 EDT

ORANGEBURG — The sounds of hammering and scraping punctuate the summer air at S.C. State University, as workmen toil to bring an old residence hall back to use.

It is a project they are approaching with great care, not unlike the university-wide restoration George E. Cooper hopes to oversee as the school’s new president.

Cooper, a former top official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, began his tenure Wednesday with a 5 a.m. walk at the athletic track, followed by a meeting with the former administration’s staff, followed by a meeting with an alumnus who presented a $20,000 donation to the school. Then, he met with local media, the new football coach and out-of-town media and took a brief stroll to a dining hall, where he bent his long frame down to shake hands with students.

All before noon.

Cooper, 63, will need to sustain the type of energy and enthusiasm he demonstrated on his first day to return the shine S.C. State lost after the messy end of Andrew Hugine’s presidency.