In case you missed it: Columbia advances Assembly Street plan; THC bill returns
.png "Plans to make Assembly street safer to pedestrians include reducing lane widths, larger areas for pedestrians to wait and wider sidewalks.")
From a highway crash involving a Newberry County deputy to a legislative battle over THC edibles, it was a busy weekend across South Carolina. Here are some of the top stories from The State this weekend, April 25-26.
Here are key takeaways:
• Lake Murray recovery: A search that began Saturday ended Sunday night when dive teams recovered the body of a man who went underwater while trying to help a person in distress in a Newberry County portion of Lake Murray — at least the third water death reported at the lake in April.
• Deputy injured: A Newberry County deputy was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after a presumed drunk driver hit his patrol car head-on Saturday night; Steven Ray Hyler, 46, was charged with DUI and booked into the Newberry County Detention Center.
• THC edibles debate: South Carolina’s House sent a conflicting hemp bill back to the Senate that both bans THC edibles and restricts them to adults 21 and older, likely sending the debate to a conference committee.
• Assembly Street redesign: Columbia is moving forward with a roughly $21 million plan to redesign Assembly Street between Pendleton and Lady streets, narrowing lanes and adding wider sidewalks to make the six-lane downtown thoroughfare safer for pedestrians.
• Voucher program probe: The Legislative Audit Council approved an investigation into South Carolina’s school voucher program, focusing on whether the Department of Education improperly extended scholarships to home-educated students.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.