Ars Technica: South Carolina lawmakers want to banish abortion talk from the Internet. “Known as the ‘Equal Protection at Conception—No Exceptions—Act,’ the bill would ban any website from hosting or publishing any information about accessing or self-inducing abortion ‘knowing that the information will be used, or is reasonably likely to be used, for an abortion.’”
Post and Courier: Oral history project aims to connect recent activism to larger civil rights movement. “About a year ago, local filmmaker Joshua Parks wanted to interview activists who were affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement in Charleston. He approached two staff members of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at the College of Charleston — Erica Veal and Daron Calhoun. Veal, an archivist, and Calhoun, coordinator of public programming and the Race and Social Justice Initiative, demurred. They weren’t eager to revisit the challenges and traumas of the recent past, Veal said. They told Parks, then a graduate assistant at the Avery, to circle back.”
Newspapers .com Blog: New Papers from Texas, California, Florida, Washington, and South Carolina!. “We’re excited to announce that in conjunction with our publishing partner Gannett, we’ve added 13 more papers from five states to our archives! These papers date back to 1910 and chronicle more than a century of local, national, and international news.”
College of Charleston: Avery Research Center Receives Grant to Support Oral History Project. “The Avery Research Center will use its grant to fund the Documenting the Arc Oral History Project (DTA) to continue its mission of preserving and documenting the Black experience of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Avery’s staff recognizes the need to be actively engaged in collecting stories and records of the current civil rights movement, and Documenting the Arc is an attempt to do just that. The project has two parts: video oral histories and a community submission portal.”
The State: SC breaks COVID record again with 16,600 cases, as omicron variant surges in state. “The state Department of Health and Environmental Control released three days of COVID-19 data on Monday showing that 16,630 cases were reported for Saturday. The following day, Sunday, the Palmetto State recorded its second-highest all-time case count, with 15,234 cases and 30 deaths. DHEC also reported 12,827 cases and 12 deaths for Monday.”
The Sun News: Horry hospital beds 90% full during omicron surge, leaving staff ‘emotionally drained’. “Hospital bed occupancy has reached 92.2% in Horry County, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), and positive tests are being recorded at a higher rate than at most points throughout the pandemic. In total, 701 hospital beds are in Horry County, 646 of which were occupied as of Thursday. COVID-19 patients make up 91 of the beds across the county.”
WSPA: SC Dept. of Corrections cancel all visitations due to COVID-19 concerns. “Visitations at South Carolina prisons are canceled this weekend due to COVID-19 concerns. The South Carolina Department of Corrections tweeted that both in-person and virtual visitations are canceled for the weekend at all institutions due to COVID-19 concerns.”
WLTX: SC Department of Juvenile Justice issues state of emergency over COVID. “As COVID-19 cases surge, it’s causing serious issues behind the fences at the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). That’s according to an email sent to DJJ employees from Acting Director Eden Hendrick. Hendrick said the omicron variant is spreading through the agency’s facilities and it’s creating major staffing shortages.”
WCSC: DHEC director says South Carolina Covid numbers are ‘flat out alarming’. “As the omicron variant sweeps across the country, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is reporting 5,911 new cases of Covid-19, 10 new deaths, and a 20.5% positive rate in the state.”
BuzzFeed News: Several People Who Attended A Midterm Strategy Event For Democrats In South Carolina Tested Positive For COVID. “Multiple people who attended midterm strategy meetings in South Carolina hosted by a subgroup of the Democratic National Committee have tested positive for COVID-19. Between 5% and 10% of the nearly 300 attendees were infected, BuzzFeed News has learned from two people briefed on the matter.”
Columbia Star: SCDHHS and Children’s Trust of South Carolina launch new resource to address social determinants of health. “The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS), in partnership with Children’s Trust of South Carolina, has launched Community Connections, a free 24/7 online database of resources that connects South Carolinians in need with available social and health care services across the state. Individuals can search for free or low-cost services like medical care, employment and job training opportunities, food and financial assistance, and education, transportation, and childcare resources in their communities.”
Greenville News: Greenville County GOP leader Pressley Stutts dies from COVID-19. “Greenville County Republican Party leader Pressley Stutts died Thursday morning after battling COVID-19 for nearly a month. Stutts’ death was confirmed by Dan Harvell, who represents the Anderson County Republican Party on the South Carolina Republican Party’s executive committee.”
ABC 4: Charleston City Council meeting erupts into chaos during public comment. “The Charleston City Council meeting on Tuesday night erupted into a shouting match during the hour and a half public comment. Most of the people shouting were against a potential mask mandate for schools in the city limits, which eventually failed to pass.”
Daily Beast: South Carolina School Board Loses Second Member to COVID—but Won’t Make Kids Wear Masks. “A school board in Horry County, South Carolina, has been rattled by the COVID-19 deaths of two members within months, just as kids in the district are returning to classrooms without a mask mandate in place. Board member Ray Winters, 50, died Monday from COVID-19, months after a board colleague, 52-year-old John Poston, perished from the deadly virus.”
Greenville News: Clemson, USC requiring masks after SC Supreme Court approves mask mandates for public colleges. “Clemson University and the University of South Carolina announced Tuesday evening that masks will be required in all buildings effective immediately, after the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that universities can require masks. Clemson said in a statement that the university will require masks for at least three weeks, as that is the greatest risk predicted by its public health experts and masks would significantly curb the spread of the virus.”
