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For the past several years the issue that’s dominated the state legislature has been the future of Santee Cooper, the state-owned public power utility.  Santee Cooper in effect produces electricity for over two million customers in the state. State lawmakers have been pondering what to do with the utility since the failure of the giant VC Summer nuclear project in the summer of 2017.  Many have concerns about Santee Cooper’s Management, and the almost $7 Billion debt it's now carrying following VC Summer.

Leading up to the 2020 election, the South Carolina Lede is keeping you up to speed on what the candidates are saying on the campaign trail in the Palmetto State with these "Trail Bites" mini-episodes.

On this edition for the week of February 13, 2020, host Gavin Jackson sits down with Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer in Chester, South Carolina to talk about his campaign and the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries.

Besides bottles, cans, and paper, York County residents can recycle lots of things that might surprise them -- fluorescent bulbs, for instance; shoes; cooking oil. 

But while you can’t put that stuff at the curb, you cantake it to one of the county’s 16 collection centers. Find out what you can take and where you can take it by clicking here.

Four weeks into this year’s session of the state legislature there has been lots of debate, but little movement on several education bills.

The Senate is slowly working its way through the massive School Improvement Bill with no end of debate in sight.

Senators have turned in several late nights debating the bill and it seems the longer its debated, the more complicated some of the issues become.

A new museum in Orangeburg county celebrates South Carolina residents who fought racial injustice. The Cecil Williams Civil Rights Museum features over 500 photographs, most of which were taken by Williams. After years of trying to get local support for a civil rights museum in the area, Williams said he used thousands of dollars of his own money to create a place where the images and stories of those who helped shape American history can displayed.

As the College of Charleston celebrates its 250th birthday, at its center is Randolph Hall.  Built in 1820, students still gather here. 

Less prominent, an organization that tries to help the school comes to terms with  its past, the Center for the Study of Slavery.

"You are sitting in the office of the center right now," says Dr. Bernard Powers.  He founded the center two years ago after retiring from the history department.

Beginning October 1st of this year, anyone who wishes to fly on a commercial aircraft, access a federal facility, or enter a military installation will be required to present their passport, military ID, or their Real ID. Back in 2005, Congress passed the “Real ID Act” in response to the 9/11 Commission's recommendation that the Federal Government set the standard for the issuance of IDs, like driver’s licenses. To date, all 50 states and territories are fully compliant with the Real ID requirements. 

Health officials around the world are scrambling to stay ahead of the coronavirus outbreak plaguing parts of China. But Dr. Melissa Nolan, an infectious disease specialist at the University of South Carolina, says influenza is a far bigger cause for concern.

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Recently in South Carolina and around the world, events were held to observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day.  January 27 marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.  The Holocaust killed an estimated six million European Jews as well as many other victims of the Nazis, including Soviet prisoners of war, Poles, gypsies, homosexuals, the infirm and more.  

Teacher Bill of Rights Defeated

When the State Senate re-convenes next week it will begin its’ third week of debate on an omnibus School Improvement Bill.  For the past two years it’s been the General Assembly’s first priority.  It aims to update an array of state policies to produce better educated students, and perhaps most importantly shore-up the teaching profession by keeping good teachers in the classroom and to entice new teachers to the profession.