“If you let it sit, it creates a big domino effect. You let them paint on this, next time they’ll set fire to it and you see the neighborhood go down. This is just taggin’, braggin’, glue sniffin’ skateboard punks. This is not gang graffiti.”

Charleston Police Sgt. Trevor Shelor on graffiti downtown. Source: Charleston Regional Business Journal

Unpaving Paradise ·

Now that the state Department of Transportation has its new Cooper River Bridge, the agency is selling off parcels tied to the old bridge. The City of Charleston Planning Commission approved the rezoning of an .11-acre parcel at 303 St. Philip St. and 76 Fishburne St. from general business to diverse residential and opted to zone another .13-acre parcel of right-of-way nearby under the same zoning. The commission also approved zoning a 1.8-acre parcel of former right-of-way on Morrison Drive under general business zoning. The requests now go to City Council for approval.Voter drive on Wisteria Lane ·

This fall, the kids won’t be hawking overpriced wrapping paper or generic band candy. They’ll be asking parents to vote. Voucher foes Choose Children First and a smattering of teacher and administrator associations are sponsoring a voter drive for schools.
“It’s the only place in the community that everyone comes together,” says spokeswoman Rachel Dean.
Schools with the highest percentage of newly registered voters will be eligible to win a $1,000 donation. Aside from getting more people out to the polls in November, the project is also expected to instill the value of voting in young people, Dean says.
Any school is eligible. The promotion of any candidate during the voter drive is prohibited. Registration is at www.choosechildrenfirst.com. Schools better get on the ball, registrations have to be submitted to the election office by Oct. 7, the deadline to register for the Nov. 7 election.

$10.8 million

That’s the amount of a grant awarded to the Medical University of South Carolina from the National Institutes of Health’s Center for Research Resources. Part of $117 million in grants, the money will be used to increase research capabilities at the school’s Center for Developmentally Based Cardiovascular Diseases. Source: The National Institutes of Health

$291,295

That’s the average price for housing and utilities in the Charleston region, according to a study by the Council of Community and Economic Research. Source: Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce

“I hope she’s the candidate, because nothing will energize my (constituency) like Hillary Clinton. If Lucifer ran, he wouldn’t.”

The Rev. Jerry Falwell during a Friday session of the “Value Voter Summit,” claiming the New York senator has a better chance than Satan to galvanize social conservatives. He said Sunday that the comment was made in jest and that “everyone laughed.” Source: The Associated Press

250,000

That’s the average number of people who are expected to have HIV and not know it. The Centers for Disease Control recently released new recommended practices that suggest routine testing for anyone between the ages of 13 and 64, regardless of their risk for contracting the virus. The new recommendations replace earlier suggestions that urged testing in prevalent areas or for at-risk individuals. Source: The Centers for Disease Control

Over 800

That’s the number of employees of Goodwill Industries of Lower South Carolina. The nonprofit organization recently opened its new superstore next to Carey Hilliard’s on Rivers Avenue.


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