Hugine drops lawsuit against S.C. State
S.C. State University and its former president Andrew Hugine have settled the lawsuit Hugine filed after he was fired in 2007, the university announced Wednesday.
Hugine, now president at Alabama A&M University, unilaterally dismissed the suit, S.C. State said, "forever ending this legislation."
Hugine's dismissal was a sore spot for many S.C. State alumni, who praised him for the rise in academics and facilities the university experienced during his 33-year tenure at the school.
S.C. State officials seemed eager to have the lawsuit behind them.
"As Dr. Hugine begins his presidency at Alabama A&M University, the S.C. State Board of Trustees, on behalf of the university, wish him the greatest success," a statement from the university read. "The S.C. State family acknowledges and expresses its gratitude to Dr. Hugine for his 33 years of dedicated and dignified service to this great institution."
- Wayne Washington
Sex offender wins new sentencing on gun charge
A 51-year-old registered sex offender acquitted of rape charges in 2007 has won a new sentencing hearing on a federal gun charge.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday granted the request by Kenneth Glenn Hinson.
Hinson appealed in 2008, days after he was sentenced to 25 years in prison as a felon in possession of a weapon.
Hinson had served nine years in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl. Authorities found a gun on Hinson when they arrested him in 2006 after two teenage girls in Darlington County said he raped them in an underground room behind his home and left them for dead.
Hinson was acquitted on those charges. He was arrested immediately on the gun charge, however, and later sentenced to 25 years in prison. But the appeals court ruled that one of Hinson's three previous convictions that drove up the sentence, a drug charge, should not have been considered. The court wrote that the conviction for trafficking in cocaine was not a "serious drug offense."
Federal prosecutors said Hinson now faces a maximum of only 10 years in prison. No date has been set for the sentencing rehearing.
- The Associated Press
Columbia could reconfigure smoking ban
Columbia may follow the lead of neighboring Cayce in tightening its no-smoking law.
At issue is a loophole in Columbia's smoking ban that has allowed The Tobacco Merchant to sell beer and wine while still billing itself as a cigar bar. Cigar bars are one of the few places exempt from the city's workplace ban on smoking.
Darryl Smalls, the lawyer for the Harbison-area business, said beer and wine sales are "incidental" to the mainstay of the shop.
But Wednesday, members of City Council said they don't want to open the way for bars to sell cigars just so their customers can smoke.
Cayce's ordinance stipulates that tobacco shops cannot have retail beer and wine permits, city manager John Sharpe said. Sharpe said his council tightened its no-smoking proposal after reading about The Tobacco Merchant's run-in with Columbia's business license office.
The issue likely will come before Columbia City Council for a vote Feb. 17.
- Dawn Hinshaw
Parents can comment on Kershaw attendance lines
Kershaw County parents can make their view known on proposed changes in attendance areas for three Camden area elementary schools.
Meetings outlining the plan will be at 6 p.m. next week:
- Tuesday at Jackson Elementary.
- Wednesday at Camden Elementary.
- Thursday at Pine Hill Elementary.
About 1,400 students attend the three schools.
Any changes could be in effect as soon as the beginning of the academic year in fall, officials said. But completion of new facilities for Jackson could delay the start.
- Tim Flach
Man found dead in drive-through lane
A man was found dead Wednesday morning at a Kentucky Fried Chicken drive-through lane in Columbia.
Columbia police and the Richland County coroner are trying to identify the man, said Brick Lewis, a spokesman for the Columbia Police Department.
Employees of the KFC on Taylor Street near Millwood Avenue found a car blocking the drive-through lane when they arrived for work around 9:15 a.m., Lewis said. The man behind the wheel was not responsive, so the restaurant workers called 911.
Foul play is suspected.
People with knowledge of the incident are asked to leave a tip by calling Crimestoppers at (888) CRIME-SC or by going online at midlandscrimestoppers.com or by twittering to @midlandcstopper. Tipsters can also text a tip: TIPSC + your message to CRIMES (274637).
- Noelle Phillips
Court hears bike rally helmet lawsuits
MYRTLE BEACH - The state Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday over whether a city can require motorcycle riders to wear helmets, despite the lack of a state law requiring it.
State law doesn't require riders 21 years and older to wear helmets. But officials in Myrtle Beach passed 15 ordinances in 2008 to better regulate the two growing bike rallies held there each year. Residents for years had complained about noise, lewd behavior and road congestion that at times cut off access to some parking lots. One of the passel of laws approved was a requirement that all motorcycle riders wear helmets.
The court heard from litigants in two lawsuits Wednesday. The court will rule later.
- The Associated Press
This story was originally published February 4, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Hugine drops lawsuit against S.C. State."