SC News

When the U.S. Treasury released its list of jurisdictions that would be getting money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act, someone had to tell the Greenville County Council that the county was on it.

“Somebody said, ‘Hey, I think I saw you guys on a website,’” said Council Chairman Butch Kirven. “We looked and printed out the list, and sure enough, there we were.”

Along with the listing was the amount of money the county would be receiving to help recharge its COVID-choked small business economy – $91.4 million.

Musicians nationwide, like many performing artists, have had their shows cancelled indefinitely by concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.   South Carolina artists were no less affected, but Jesse Colin Young found a way to still communicate with his audience by making videos that his wife posts online on Facebook, YouTube and other sites.   

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for May 23, 2020, we take you to the Isle of Palms as residents return to the beaches, look at how some communities are planning economic relief packages, and learn about the use of the promising COVID-19 treatment remdesivir in the Palmetto State.

On this first episode of Spoleto Backstage for 2020, hosts Bradley Fuller and Geoff Nuttall discuss one of Geoff’s most memorable performances from the past decade of the Spoleto Festival USA Bank of America Chamber Music Series: a 2013 concert including Antonio Vivaldi’s Chamber Concerto in G minor, RV 107, Max Bruch’s String Octet in B-flat major, and André Messager’s “Tzigane” Theme and Variations from Les Deux Pigeons as arranged by longtime chamber series clarinetist Todd Palmer. Following a recording of that performance, Palmer shares how he came to discover the Messager work. 

  S.C. General Assembly Will Have Final Say

SC Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to receive the first set of recommendations next week on how the state should spend just under $2 Billion Congress provided for expenses incurred by state and local governments, hospitals, and schools and colleges during the public emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal aid has some pretty big strings attached to it, namely that the $2 Billion can only be spent on expenditures directly related to the coronavirus outbreak.

Even before the much-anticipated Memorial Day weekend, Lowcountry beaches once vacant because of a potentially deadly pandemic, were crammed with people. 

"We were over run," says Isle of Palms Mayor Jimmy Carroll.

"People came out in droves that we haven't seen before in my 60 plus years of living on the Isle of Palms.

The Beach Debate

Pictures of the island showing tents and bathing suit clad bodies dotting the coast blew up on social media.  Some saw families responsibly enjoying the sun and sand.  Others saw a simmering petri dish.

The Medical University of South Carolina’s hospitals in Lancaster and Chester are mostly back to being fully staffed. A little more than a month ago, around 75 of MUSC Health’s 900 layoffs happened at these two Upstate locations, but Scott Broome, the CEO for the Lancaster and Chester locations, said he expects a fully returned staff by July 1.

It’s a far cry from where the hospitals were just weeks ago.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for May 21, 2020, we take you to the final meeting of Gov. Henry McMaster's AccelerateSC taskforce, visit a local barbershop as costumers return, and hear how some are looking to the past for guidance on moving forward in a COVID-19 world. Plus, we listen to your voicemails, and more!

Latest COVID-19 numbers released by SCDHEC show the total number of people confirmed to have the virus, in the state, at 9,175. The agency’s May 20 Coronavirus update also showed the number of residents who died from the disease had reached 407.

Almost half of the COVID-19 fatalities in South Carolina (as of the week of May 5) were black residents, despite the demographic comprising just over a quarter of the state’s population (according to the 2010 Census, African Americans make up 27% of SC’s population).

It was the fall of 1918.  Charleston had quickly gone from a bustling city to a vacant, ghost town.  People were quarantined for five weeks because of a deadly  pandemic.  They were restless, eager to get back to business as usual.

Sound familiar?

Under Quarantine 1918

"Something we all in Charleston are experiencing right now happened in a very similar way,” says College of Charleston historian Jacob Steere-Williams.  He's been studying pandemics for 20 years.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for May 19, 2020, we look at the results of a Clemson University Palmetto Poll on South Carolinians' opinions on COVID-19, learn more about antibody tests being developed in the state, and take you to happy hour at a local establishment to see how they're navigating a new world.

Earlier this month, the South Carolina Forestry Commission estimated the that tornadoes that hit the state on April 13 destroyed close to 4,300 acres of trees. In dollars, that adds up to about $4 million in losses to South Carolina’s timber industry.

While that’s less than 1 percent of the state’s timber economy overall, it’s not an evenly distributed sum. Smaller landowners, with 20 to 40 acres and who lost a few acres of trees on April 13,  could face some significant losses, says Patrick Hiesl, assistant professor of forestry operations at Clemson University.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for May 16, 2020, we look at how a majority of State Senate Republicans want to check Gov. Henry McMaster's emergency powers, and what he thinks about it. Plus, the governor tours a plant that produces practical face shields for non-medical applications, Dr. Linda Bell explains why are testing numbers don’t provide the entire picture, and more.