WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | WIS Perspective: An editorial by General Manager Donita Todd
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If you listen to local radio, a proposed tax could dramatically impact your listening experience.
It sure is good to see South Carolina in a positive light on the national news. I'm talking about the Boeing announcement. After months of ridicule over some very embarrassing events, our state finally has big news we can be proud of.
Congressman Joe Wilson and some other members of Congress have proposed an amendment to a health care reform bill in the House. The amendment would require all senators and house members to enroll in the bill's public insurance option.
Columbia firefighters do a lot more than fight fires. In many cases, they are first responders to medical emergencies. But in Richland County, policy dictates that when the county Emergency Medical Service responds to a scene, only trained EMS personnel may drive the ambulance to the hospital.
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men.
Edward Kennedy, a US Senator since 1962, has passed away after losing his battle with brain cancer. Kennedy was 77 years old and was the third longest serving Senator behind Strom Thurmond and Robert Byrd.
Two months ago, I spoke to you about the disgrace Governor Mark Sanford brought to his office when his extra-marital affair and the cover-up were exposed.
The hottest topic around right now is health care reform. If you haven't informed yourself on this matter yet, you need to. There's a lot of misinformation out there, not to mention scare tactics, and you should consider all the facts before deciding where you stand.
Since the DUI arrest last month of Barney Giese, the chief prosecutor in Richland and Kershaw counties hasn't said much about it. He's apologized to his family, staff, and constituents. But after the DUI charge was dropped and Giese pleaded guilty to lesser charges, he's been largely silent.
Five hundred and fifty-four. That's the number of people who took advantage of free swim safety courses recently offered by the City of Columbia and the YMCA.
Nine years after the Confederate flag was moved from the State House dome, the flag remains on the capitol grounds. And it's still an issue.
Recently, representatives from Richland and Lexington counties, USC and the City of Columbia took a bold step together. They traveled to Washington, DC, and collaborated in the presentation of eight regional transportation infrastructure projects seeking funding at the federal level.
Governor Mark Sanford has disgraced his office, betrayed and publicly humiliated his wife and four sons, and seriously damaged his reputation. The admission that he left the country to visit a secret lover in Argentina has damaged him both politically and personally.
Are you satisfied with the accomplishments of this year's legislative session? I'm not.
Thanks for letting me respond to Donita Todd's editorial on City Finances. Ms. Todd says that the City should have our check register online. I agree. The City of Columbia over the last two years has experienced bookkeeping problems in our Finance Department that are embarrassing and unacceptable.
Have you ever been hungry because you couldn't afford to buy food for yourself or your family? In South Carolina right now, thousands of people have to make the agonizing choice between paying for food and paying their utilities or medical bills. Hunger in our state is real -- and getting worse.
Columbia's city government is under fire for flagrant accounting and money management mistakes.
In today's economy, most of us need to stretch our dollars and make smart purchases
The Big Switch to digital television is almost over. Next month, WIS will turn off our channel 10 analog signal and broadcast only in digital. All digital TVs, analog TVs with converter boxes, and TVs hooked up to cable or satellite are ready for the change. But surveys tell us that thousands of you still are not ready.
Columbia has many wonderful celebrations of the arts. From Artista Vista to Color the Arts, to Art in the Park and many more, the performing and visual arts have been showcased, and many events draw good crowds.
Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota are both prominent Republican governors. Both face huge budget shortfalls, and both have criticized the federal stimulus program. But the Minnesota Governor is not refusing the stimulus money.
Double-digit unemployment is a reality in South Carolina -- it's now 11 percent! And in counties like Allendale, it's even higher. Our state has nearly a quarter million unemployed. It's a grim picture. But is it hopeless? No.
A new Allstate Insurance ad makes a compelling case to restrict some dangerous teen driving behaviors. It said, "Remember all the stupid things you did behind the wheel when you were a teenager? Now, add a cell phone, a vanilla soy latte and an MP3 player."
The Obama White House has denied Governor Sanford's first request to use $700 million in stimulus monies to pay down state debts. Meanwhile, other state and city officials are lobbying for their share, and are already planning how to spend the $8 billion dollars slated for the state.
I am on the warpath against germs! Thousands of lost work hours, high medical bills and even deaths can be attributed to the careless spreading of germs by medical and hospital workers, both in and outside of the workplace.
Every so often, a story in the news cries out for justice. And the recent WIS News 10 investigation of a child bitten while in daycare is one of those stories.
The recession we're in is threatening the American dream.
Diabetes is a chronic disease that results from having too little insulin in the bloodstream. It's the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S., and our state has the nation's second highest rate of diagnosed diabetes. About 9% of adults here suffer from diabetes, and it costs this state around $850,000,000 a year in medical expenses.
Two hundred and seven thousand, that's the staggering number of South Carolinians who were looking for work in December as the state's unemployment rate hit 9.5%. It could hit double digits for January.
For nearly two years, we've been telling you about "The Big Switch" to digital television. The date was February 17th -- next Tuesday. But now, Congress and the President have changed the date to June 12th.
An ancient story from the Bible carries a lesson for us today, and at the Christmas season, I'd like to share some thoughts with you from a devotional I read in "The Upper Room."
South Carolina taxpayers -- you and I -- are spending about 350 million dollars a year on prisons. Why? For one thing, this state locks a lot of people up. We are seventh in the nation in per capita prison population. And in the last twenty years, our prison population has more than doubled.
The economy is down, but this holiday season, according to South Carolina Secretary of State Mark Hammond, charitable solicitations are up in our state. We applaud the spirit of giving, but do your homework before you write a check. Not every charity makes the most of your donation.
Wouldn't it be nice to have all your personal health records available in one convenient place? Well, that is now possible through a pilot project called My Personal Health Record.
Last year, more than 30,000 people in our state got help from community action agencies, and many people probably don't even know where to turn for help. We have some suggestions.
Since last year, we've been telling you about "The Big Switch" -- the day less than 100 days from now that most TV stations nationwide will turn off their traditional analog transmitters and broadcast only digital signals.
The doom and gloom of the global financial crisis may be distracting us from something you and I can actually do something about -- focusing on getting ready for the recovery.
Attending a USC football game has become a very expensive, all day affair. The cheapest game seat most can buy costs at least $35, plus $10-20 for parking. Add a Coke and hot dog for $7.00, and the cost for four people approaches $175.
The new numbers came out recently showing how well South Carolina high school students are meeting federal standards known as adequate yearly progress, or AYP, and those numbers are not good.
Our first cold snap of the year reminded us of the urgent need for adequate shelter and rehabilitation for our homeless neighbors. WIS has spoken out about this issue before, but now there is a real chance to solve it -- if the City Council will just step up and do the right thing.
Domestic violence is pervasive in our state. The Violence Policy Center rates South Carolina second in the nation in the per capita rate of women killed by men in 2006, the latest year for which the FBI has data.
If you live in Lexington-Richland Five and don't know who's running for the district's school board, you have an excellent opportunity to see and hear the candidates who hope to shape and administer policy for your school district.
With the high price of gas and gas shortages, more people are riding a bicycle to work or to run errands. But that raises some prickly issues for our community.
Do you know why we vote on Tuesdays in November?
What interesting times we live in. Our nation is in an unprecedented financial crisis. At the same time, our elected officials face political jeopardy in an election year as they try to secure a bailout plan for the economy.
More than a million passengers have ridden the Midlands' bus service so far this year. It's called the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority, or RTA. For many, it's the only way to get to work. Yet, the future of this service is in jeopardy.
"I Believe." Two simple words have sparked yet another church/state controversy.
It's that time of the year when folks head to the water to cool off from our summer heat. Unfortunately for some, water may be an even greater challenge than the sultry weather.
It's about time. It's about time that the dash cam videotape of a state trooper threatening to kill a black suspect and using a racial slur during a traffic stop, became public.
As the new general manager at WIS, I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce myself - and to ask for your help.
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