Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky) is in town this afternoon for two events, largely in support of his book, The Tea Party Goes to Washington, co-authored by City Paper columnist Jack Hunter. Paul will be at The College of Charleston’s Randolph Hall at 3:30 p.m. for a lecture and Q&A before sprinting to the Barnes and Noble at 1812 Sam Rittenberg Blvd. at 5 p.m. for a book signing. I’ll note a quick observation, a release one of Paul’s advisers noted that the senator will be making trips in the next few weeks to Iowa, New Hampshire, and Florida — all key 2012 primary states. Hmm…

U.S. Rep. Tim Scott (R-Charleston) will host a town hall at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday night at the Charleston County Council Chambers. Expect some tension. Scott was recently the only S.C. GOP Congressman to support a three-week spending bill to keep the government running as Republicans and Democrats try to hash out differences on an annual budget. Many Tea Party conservatives are happy to see the government shut down until Democrats bow to demands for more spending cuts. The purpose of the town hall meeting is for Scott to explain the budget situation in Washington. I’m sure he’ll here some opinions from the audience, as well.

Charleston City Council will spend the next two days debating the $500,000 purchase of 6.5 acres that surround Angel Oak Park. There are certainly going to be some questions about spending this money, considering the developer has already promised to preserve the land. The Real Estate Committee will meet at 4:15 today in the first floor conference room at City Hall, 80 Broad St., to discuss the issue before it heads in front of City Council on Tuesday night at 5 p.m. at Stiles Point Elementary, 883 Mikell Drive. Also on the agenda, the council will be firming up redistricting plans. The framework may be easy to decide, but district slicing is going to be difficult as the city grows in West Ashley.

The city’s Traffic and Transportation Committee will meet at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Stiles Point Elementary to consider rickshaw changes. One change would mean replacing the existing token system, which has become complicated as new businesses owners have entered the market, with a competitive bid process. If approved, the change will go before City Council at 5 p.m.

There are a few things we’ve been following over the past few months that will come before the city’s Board of Architectural Review at 4:30 on Wednesday in the third floor conference room at 75 Calhoun St. A large six-story building at the corner of Meeting and Spring streets is up for consideration. They were sent back to the drawing board for some modifications during the last round. The Memminger Elementary redesign is also going before the board. Take a look at the shot in the gallery here, cause it’s a little different from the classic look that designers had first envisioned.

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