The Tartan Day South Celtic Festival, March 22-25 continues to spread its wings figuratively and literally in its eighth annual installment. Benefitting the River Alliance, the event will touch four cities with four different events in four days, all without leaving the greater Columbia, S.C. region. The main event is the day-long “Tartan Day South Highland Games and Celtic Festival,” […]
We salute Wilean Grant Middleton, an unsung heroine
When Lower Richland County Church Deaconess Wilean Grant Middleton wakes up in the morning, she already has a list of good deeds she will perform that day, as she embraces the biblical words of Psalm 90, “Establish the works of our hands.” While there are numerous community awards for those in the public limelight, the 90-year-old is the kind of […]
Egg Hunting in the Historic Gardens
Historic Columbia invites you and your family to explore the gardens of Columbia’s oldest home during its annual Easter Egg Hunt from 10–11:30 a.m., Saturday, March 24 at the Seibels House and Garden. Easter egg hunts have long been held on the grounds of Historic Columbia’s properties. Since the 19th century, generations of Soda Citizens have celebrated Easter in the […]
Quirky Crimes in the Capital City
West Columbia Meeting Street: A man was arrested at 6 p.m. Friday after an officer on patrol spotted him riding his bike against traffic on the sidewalk. The bike also had no reflector lights or no front lights as it should to be used after dark. When the officer approached the man, who was wearing a hoodie and carrying a […]
Partisan politics
ASK US AT THE STARWith the partisan politics evident in much of the media these days, where can one turn for thoughtful content? If you watch cable news these days, your head can swivel as you change channels and lurch from one bias to the other. And online content can be especially one-sided, particularly on social media platforms. A New York Times writer said […]
Overcoming evil vines
It’s not a criticism; It’s an observationI started watching Man, Fire, Food on the Cooking Channel recently. Roger Mooking goes somewhere different every week and cooks dead animals. I think my grilling is improving. The show is entertaining and educational. The problem is I’m always trying something new and adventurous on the grill. The Woman Whose Garbage I’m Responsible For doesn’t like new and adventurous. She […]
Heated Debates and Frigid Frivolity
I’m just saying...“Honey, I’m FREEZING!” When I uttered these three little words the other day, my husband Marty was elated! The smile on his face was overjoyed and it lit up his entire face. I expected him to break out in the “Hallelujah Chorus” at any second! You see, as any woman “of a certain age” understands, there comes a time in […]
The Plight of the Basset Hound
40–SomethingBasset Hounds have issues. They get to walk around with 50-pound bodies on five-pound legs. They trip over their long ears, and their droopy eyes give them the look of something in constant need of Prozac. And who could blame them if they needed a little something to get through the day? Some Frenchies sure played a cruel joke on […]
Forest Acres City Council denies first reading to rezone land on Brentwood Drive
Well, nobody saw that coming. Both times. In a surprise twist, the Forest Acres City Council on March 13 denied on first reading a proposal to rezone property that would have allowed the redevelopment of several tracts of land on Brentwood Drive. With little discussion, the council denied the motion, and more than 50 people, some supporters of the project, […]
Richland County sheriff to host Iraqi police dignitary
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott will be hosting Lt. Col. Suhail Najmuldeen OLA of the Erbil Police College. This visit is an ongoing partnership between Lott and the Iraqi Police Services. The sharing of ideas, policies and procedures, and operations of our two law enforcement agencies is critical in fighting crime on all levels and crucial to the success of […]