Category Archives: Midlands

Tomorrow is the Walk for Life!

Those of you who are joining me, I’ll see you at the appointed place and time.

This post is to thank my team members, who among them have raised $892 for the cause!

Doug Ross
Kathryn Fenner
David Knobeloch
Pat Dixon
Nick Nielsen
Buddy Johnson
Mark Stewart

And especially Doug Ross, who came up with $410 of that on his own! Yep, Doug gives me a hard time here on the blog now and then, but he just earned the right to continue to be contrarian. He’s definitely a made man on this blog.

As are all of my teammates…

Sheriff Lott will NOT be running city police dept.

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Jack Kuenzie reports this on Twitter:

Council debates alternatives as proposal for police management contract goes down in flames. http://plixi.com/p/47809808

The “alternative” apparently will be to go ahead and hire a new police chief — in other words, an individual who will have a vest interest in fighting any move to merge with the county force (NOT having a chief is what created the opportunity to do something smart and new) — and then appoint a commission to study the proposal the council just turned down.

I’d call that down in flames, all right — if that’s where they end up.

This is a terribly disappointing failure on the part of the new council — a failure to signal that it is willing to be bold in pursuing workable solutions for the city’s policing problems.

On a better note, the council DID approve the curfew, although the city attorney has concerns — concerns he doesn’t want to share with the public. So whether the curfew is enacted, and enacted effectively, remains to be seen.

And as I said before, the most promising action the council could have taken to show it was serious about solving the youth gang problem would have been to put Leon Lott in charge.

But Daniel Rickenmann, the swing vote, decided against that.

Here are Jack’s Tweets on the subject:

Cola city council splits on WHEN to discuss police mgmt. contract during today’s meeting. Gergel and Plaugh want to start now. Outvoted 5-2.

about 4 hours ago via ÜberTwitter

Passed Kevin Gray on the way to city council meeting. His protest of the police plan appeared to be pretty much a solo performance.

about 3 hours ago via ÜberTwitter

5 minute break before Columbia council begins debate on police management.

about 2 hours ago via ÜberTwitter

Kevin Gray’s protest outside city hall has picked up support. At least a half dozen now objecting to sheriff oversight of CPD.

about 2 hours ago via ÜberTwitter

Council members outlining views on CPD oversight. Mayor: get this off table today.

about 1 hour ago via ÜberTwitter

Tamieka Devine now speaking. She once led effort to blend county and city cops, then switched sides. Now wants to start chief search.

about 1 hour ago via ÜberTwitter

Rickenmann: Concerned about CPD leadership, inefficiency. But wants to hire chief, work on unified service. Could mean contract plan fails.

about 1 hour ago via ÜberTwitter

Rickenmann is swing vote.

about 1 hour ago via ÜberTwitter

Gergel motion for contract.

about 1 hour ago via ÜberTwitter

Sam Davis says CPD officers “humiliated”—by contract proposal.

41 minutes ago via ÜberTwitter

Gergel’s motion provides contract for sheriff up to end of his term at $8K a year.

35 minutes ago via ÜberTwitter

This contract plan appears likely to fail, 4-3.

32 minutes ago via ÜberTwitter

Rickenmann wants to start chief search, study unified service.

30 minutes ago via ÜberTwitter

Plaugh proposes hiring “outside interim chief.”

26 minutes ago via ÜberTwitter

Council debates alternatives as proposal for police management contract goes down in flames. http://plixi.com/p/47809808

18 minutes ago via ÜberTwitter

Motion now being formed to direct city manager to begin chief search, assemble commission to study unified service.

14 minutes ago via ÜberTwitter

Pretty good chance Columbia won’t have permanent police chief until next spring or later.

1 minute ago via ÜberTwitter

The State’s Adam Beam reports that the last proposal DID pass. Here are his Tweets:

Big vote today at City Hall on the sheriff contract. One person showed up for the protest rally.

about 4 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

At last check, council had a 4-3 majority to hire the sheriff.

about 4 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

But Mayor Benjamin’s compromise proposal (http://j.mp/a3MrEp) has thrown a wrench in things

about 4 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

Two of the four, Daniel Rickenmann and Leona Plaugh, said this morning they have concerns about the mayor’s proposal

about 4 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

Benjamin said before the meeting that a consensus was forming around parts of his plan. Declined to say what parts.

about 4 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

Not a big crowd on hand today. Most folks I’ve talked to said they believe council has already made up their mind, so why bother

about 4 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

But council did hold six public hearings on the issue, so you can’t say council didn’t listen

about 4 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

Now council is arguing about the order of the agenda items

about 4 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

Belinda Gergel just tried to move the law enforcement vote from No. 13 to No. 3

about 4 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

Mayor Benjamin made her submit it as a motion to be voted on. Failed 5-2. It’s getting tense already.

about 4 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

Open container violations in Columbia now come with $500 fine or 30 days in jail http://j.mp/bNOyQ0

about 3 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

Council discussing curfew ordinance, but wants to talk about it in a closed meeting

about 3 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

City approves curfew, but questions remain http://j.mp/bbZMtW

about 3 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

Showtime

about 2 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

Mayor Benjamin giving opening remarks

about 2 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

Reply Retweet

Benjamin: “I don’t believe there is a racial division.”

about 2 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

Benjamin: “This is the kind of issue that makes no one popular.”

about 2 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

Daniel Rickenmann says be wants to “hire somebody.” That means votes are not there for a contract with the sheriff.

about 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone

Someone just yelled out “Thank you Jesus” after Councilman Davis spoke against the sheriff contract

about 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone

Right now vote is 4-3 against the contract. No vote yet.

about 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone

Mayor Benjamin and Councilwoman Leona Plaugh having a sidebar. Lots of these are happening. http://twitpic.com/2t3xap

about 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone

Gergel wants sheriff now. Benjamin wants the sheriff now, chief in a year. Rickenmann wants a chief now but w/ a study of unified service

35 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone

Plaugh is offering “a substitute motion to the substitute motion.”

34 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone

This is starting to look like Inception.

33 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone

Sheriff contract is dead, largely because of Daniel Rickenmann.

22 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone

New motion: Hire a chief, and appoint a commission to study possibility of a unified force.

21 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone

It appears that motion will pass.

21 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone

Whew

21 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone

Gergel will vote against the motion. Said commission would take responsibility away from council.

17 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone

Motion passes 6-1. Gergel voted no.

3 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone

And now the mass exodus from City Hall. Council still meeting though.

3 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone

Mayor says city should have police chief by end of the year, but noted it is the city manager’s decision.

6 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone

So who will be accountable for effectively enforcing this new curfew? I can’t tell, but it looks like no one to me.

Please give the curfew a try, Columbia council

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My youngest daughter, the dancer, was between contracts with ballet companies and spent much of the summer in New York — staying with a friend in Brooklyn, but spending most of her time in Manhattan — working at a restaurant at night, taking ballet classes and working out at a gym in the daytime.

The place she was staying was at the border of Brooklyn and Queens, and disturbingly close to Bedford-Stuyvesant on the map. She was at a disadvantage in her neighborhood not speaking Spanish (I coached her with a few phrases, but there’s only so much you can teach in brief phone conversations). She rode the subway at all hours, often alone, because of her schedule.

Of course we worried. She’s 21, and therefore technically an adult. But not to me.

This past weekend was her first full weekend back in town. She went to a party for a friend in Olympia Saturday night. After that, she went to meet one of her best friends, who works late in Five Points.

It was the first time in the last few months she felt unsafe. The young kids milling about in Five Points, some apparently in gang colors, caused her to feel something she hadn’t felt in New York — or in Charlotte living there all last year.

I had heard from Five Points business people about the growing problem of teenagers who are too young to get into the bars loitering in the streets in large numbers. I had heard, recently, that THAT was the context of the shootings that have happened in the vicinity in recent months.

This made me start to think that — while I still think closing bars at 2 a.m. is a good idea — that wasn’t the solution to the violence. A curfew for kids under 18 sounds like a better solution.

This will probably set off some of my libertarian friends here on the blog, but I don’t care. This makes sense. And kids have no business on the street late at night.

To quote from the story in The State today:

Most anyone younger than 18 would be under an 11 p.m. curfew in the city of Columbia, and adults strolling a sidewalk with an open can of beer could land in jail for a month if two proposals before City Council on Wednesday become law.

Both changes in city ordinances are being driven by a summer of youth violence in Five Points, in which two men were shot in three incidents. The violence, reportedly springing from youth gang turf wars, has cut deeply into the revenue of merchants in the busy business district, which is popular with USC students, said Scott Linaberry, president of the Five Points Association.

I urge Columbia City Council to pass this curfew tomorrow.

I also urge them to keep moving toward merging city police and Sheriff Leon Lott’s department as soon as possible. Leon was working to address the gang problem long before any other local cops would even acknowledge there was a problem.

Well, there IS a problem. And it’s gotten pretty bad. And a curfew is one common-sense tool to use in addressing some of the problems that gangs bring.

As for the open-container proposal — I don’t know what I think about that yet. I’m not as clear on exactly how that plays into the problem that we’re trying to address here. Perhaps some of you are more familiar with that than I. But the curfew seems an obvious, reasonable step to take.

I get off the sidelines, and take a stand: Pass the penny sales tax for transportation

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Caroline Whitson speaks to the gathering at the Penny Sales Tax campaign kickoff.

You know that press conference that they had at the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce Thursday to support the sales tax referendum for transportation Thursday? I was there, and not as a blogger. I mean, I’m always a blogger — here I am writing about it — but that’s not why I was there.

I was there to support the referendum. Ike McLeese and Betty Gregory with the Chamber had asked a group of supporters (and I had told them I was willing to help) to show up so that the media people could see a nice cross-section of the community willing to stand up for it.

This would not be a big deal for most people, but it is for me. I’ve always been a professional observer, which is to say, I’ve always been on the sidelines. Sure, I’ve been telling people in writing where I stand on issues off and on since the early ’70s, when I was the editorial page editor of The Helmsman, the student newspaper at Memphis State. And ever since I joined The State‘s editorial board in ’94, I’ve not only written what I thought about all and sundry, but I’ve also always been clear about my views when I speak to groups in the community. In fact, since we were SO strongly against the state lottery, and we were so committed to using any venue we could in trying (against all odds) to defeat it, I actually argued against it in some public debates in the months leading up to the referendum. My good friend Samuel Tenenbaum and I had a regular road show going — he would be “pro” and I would be “anti.” I had right on my side, but of course his side won.

But this is different. I have agreed, in writing, to be a public supporter of an issue before voters on the November ballot.

Why have I taken this stand? Well, I’ll tell ya…

In some ways, it’s an unlikely place to start being involved. If I’d tried to predict it, I would have said I’d save myself for something big, and statewide — say, helping Vincent Sheheen get elected. As y’all know, I have held for many years that THE most important electoral decision voters make every four years is choosing a governor. With our state being so dominated by the Legislature, and the Legislature by nature being extremely resistant to change, the only way our state is ever going to stop being last where we want to be first and first where we want to last is for someone elected statewide to use the bully pulpit (which is about the only tool the governor has) to exert a counterbalancing force for reform and progress. And it is especially critical that Sheheen be elected rather than the Sanford disciple he’s up against. But beyond what I write here, I’m not doing anything to help him. (Disclosure: ADCO Interactive did the new Sheheen Web site, but I was not and am not involved with that project.)

But I got involved with this instead. Here are some reasons why:

I believe public transit is essential for our community to grow and prosper (as J.T. McLawhorn said at the meeting, public transit is a vital part of a community’s circulatory system, and without that, “You’re dead.”), and next year the bus system — a rather poor, lame excuse for public transportation, but it’s all we’ve got — runs out of money.
Every other venue for keeping it going has been thoroughly explored. And I think you will notice that those opposing this referendum don’t present a viable alternative. A community group spent vast amounts of volunteer time two years ago studying all of Richland County’s transportation needs. $500,000 worth of studies were done. This was the only viable way to do it, given the straitjacket that the Legislature puts communities in when it comes to taxing and spending. Ask Columbia College President Caroline Whitson, who chaired that effort: This is the way to do it. The unpopular temporary wheel tax that’s keeping it going now is not a workable permanent solution.
That revenue would also pay for a number of other needed improvements to transportation infrastructure — bike and hiking trails, and road improvements — that were identified through that same wide-ranging community conversation two years back. This answers those who say “I don’t ride the bus” (as if taxes were a user fee, but let’s not go down that philosophical rathole right now). This plan has something for everyone in the county. And it’s not a wish list; there is considerable community support behind each of these projects.
Funding from other sources for the road projects is not any more forthcoming — from state or federal sources, or anywhere else — than is funding for the bus system. This is truly a case in which a community has come together to determine it’s needs, and identified a sensible way to pay for it without asking for a handout — a handout that, as I say, isn’t coming. This is something Richland County needs to do for itself, and this is the best way available to do it.
It’s a fair way to pay for this. Some may protest that I don’t live in the county, so who am I to speak out? My answer to that is that THIS is the way to get people like me — who spend almost all our waking hours in Richland County, and benefit from its roads and other services — to pay our share. I’m more than willing to do it. Richland County residents who pay property taxes should be twice as willing, even eager.
Like many of you, I’m concerned about putting too much stress on the sales tax. Nikki Haley and the other lawmakers who wrongheadedly supported Act 388, and adamantly refuse to repeal it, badly distorted our already fouled-up tax system. They eliminated school operations taxes on owner-occupied homes by raising the sales tax by a penny. They did this on top of the fact that they had forced local communities to turn to a local option sales tax by proscribing or restricting other revenue sources. Because of all that, this is the only option local communities have for such needs as this. And of course, it also has the virtue I mentioned above. A magnet county like Richland, drawing people from all over central South Carolina, should rely more on a sales tax than other counties.
This method has been used with great success in other communities across the state — Charleston, Florence and York counties have benefited greatly. For a lot of the business leaders who are lining up behind this, watching those communities improve their infrastructure and get a leg up in economic development while we continue to fall behind is a huge motivation factor in supporting this.

There are other reasons that aren’t coming to me at the moment as I type this, which I will no doubt write about in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you might want to peruse this summary of the proposal.

The folks who turned out for the kickoff Thursday were a pretty good group. As I stood in the crowd listening to the speakers, I could see from where I was standing: Ted Speth (the first speaker), Steve Benjamin, Joel & Kit Smith, Barbara Rackes, Samuel Tenenbaum, Rick Silver, Emily Brady, Col. Angelo Perri, Cathy Novinger, Bernice Scott, Jennifer Harding, Chuck Beamon, J.T. McLawhorn, Candy Waites, Paul Livingston, Greg Pearce, Lee Bussell, Sonny White and Mac Bennett.

Here’s a longer list of folks who pledged ahead of the kickoff to support the campaign. But I know it’s not complete, because my name isn’t on it.

More about this as we go along. This campaign has just begun.

Area man says he’s not Alvin Greene

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My apologies to The Onion for using their “Area Man” gag, but since they stole it from those of us who actually used that lame, unimaginative, oddly comical construction many times without irony in the rush of getting a paper out every day, I guess I’m entitled.

Darrin Thomas

Anyway, even though this is from Rotary before last, I still wanted to share with you the story that Darrin Thomas shared with us when he did Health & Happiness Sept. 13.

Here’s the audio in case you’d like to listen to it.

Here’s a summary: First, he skilfully misdirected us by making us think this was another case of his being mistaken for Steve Benjamin. He’s had a real problem with that, and having confused white folks (at least, I assume it’s always white folks) repeatedly for that OTHER black man in a suit, we thought that was what this was about.

But it wasn’t.

It began with a trip to the supermarket, during which he noticed that an elderly woman standing near the turnip greens was staring at him with disdain — a look he hadn’t seen since he was in parochial school. He turned his attention to inspecting the produce, but when he looked up again, there she was, still staring at him “with this awful look.”

Finally, he decided to inquire. He said “Ma’am, have I done something wrong?”

She shook her head and said loudly, “You’re an embarrassment to our state!”

Flabbergasted, he said, “Pardon me?”

She repeated that he was an embarrassment to the state, and to everyone who had ever worn a military uniform.

He said, “Ma’am, I don’t understand, and I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.” By this time, several people had gathered around to witness the exchange.

Then the old woman said, “I’m no Republican, but I hope and pray that Jim DeMint destroys you…”

He took a moment to regain his composure, then said “Ma’am, I’m not Alvin Greene.”

She replied, “Yes, you are. [This next part is hard to hear because of the laughter of Rotarians, but I think she goes on to say…] I’ve seen you on TV many times. I know who you are.”

He denied it again, and said, “I can prove it to you. I’m not Alvin Greene.”

She said, “I don’t want to hear it. Get away from me!”

He was stunned, embarrassed and frustrated. He concludes: “Unfortunately, my family won’t eat this week, because I left the entire basket, and simply walked out…” He then conducted a tutorial on “How to distinguish Darrin Thomas from Alvin Greene:”

“I was never in the military.” The closest he got was when he wore a Boy Scout uniform.
“My idea for economic development would never include the creation of an action figure in my likeness.”
“While I did many things to procure dates while I was a student at the University of South Carolina, showing a young lady pornography was not one of them.”
If he were unemployed, yet had $10,000 in the bank, “Please know I would not invest in a campaign.”
“Thanks to my English teacher in high school, Darrin Thomas speaks utilizing complete sentences.”

He got a big round of applause. He deserves it, for being able to laugh at this.

Our goal? To raise more than $480 for Walk for Life

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Why $480? Well, because that’s how much my wife’s team has raised. And we can’t let her win, because she’s a girl.

And yeah, I realize some of my teammates are also girls, but I suppose they have their motivations, and I have mine.

OK, seriously, I have other, better motivations. Such as the fact that my dear wife is herself a cancer survivor — nine years after having stage 4 cancer, which had spread to her liver by the time we knew about it. A precious, walking miracle.

… which, when you think about it, gives her an UNFAIR ADVANTAGE in raising money for her team. How am I going to compete with that narrative? I mean, I may be an ad whiz, but marketing genius only gets you so far. So we’re just gonna have to work harder, aren’t we?

We’re well on our way, as it happens. If you go to the Web page where you can also sign up to contribute, you’ll see we’ve raised $305. So we need $175 or more. We can do this!

You can no longer “join” the team in terms of having your name show up on the page (I don’t know why they shut that off so early), but you can still contribute (the total on the page reflects new contributions), and still show up to walk with us at 8:30 a.m. at Finlay Park on Saturday, Oct. 2.

So come on! So far, Doug Ross, Kathryn Fenner, David Knobeloch, Mark Stewart and Pat Dixon have all signed up. David and Pat can’t walk that day, but we’re very happy to have their contributions.

So come on! But I already said that…

Election shocker: The vote is actually tomorrow!

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… if you live in Anton Gunn’s district, where Democrats are picking a nominee to go up against Sheri Few in light of Anton’s sudden decision to take a job with the federal gummint.

I got this today from Boyd Summers and the Richland County Democrats:

Let’s get ready!!!

A major decision will be made tomorrow regarding Rep. Anton Gunn’s seat in Northeast Richland and Kershaw Counties.

As many of you know, Gunn received a Presidential Appointment a few weeks ago to become the Director of Health and Human Services for the southeastern United States. Gunn was a rising force in South Carolina politics and had a proven ability to work on both sides of the aisle to get things done for his district.

The district includes the Sandhills region, the Summit, Lake Carolina, and many neighborhoods throughout Elgin and Lugoff. If you are not sure if you are in the district, check here!

The polls will be open tomorrow from 7am to 7pm.

There will be three candidates vying for the Democratic nomination. Check out this article featuring the candidates and their positions:

Mia Butler

Beverly Frierson

Todd Wood

We encourage you to vote in this primary so that we choose a great candidate to run against Tea-Partyist Sheri Few in November.

Also, it is imperative that we get active! We must make calls, knock on doors, and host events for Vincent Sheheen, Matthew Richardson, Ashley Cooper, Rob Miller, Paige George, our House District 79 nominee, and our County Council candidates. We are open for business and will work around your schedule so sign up to VOLUNTEER to bring progress to South Carolina. If you have any questions please call Joey Oppermann at (864) 934-7910 or Stanley Davis at (646) 322-5565.

For information on what’s happening around Richland County stay tuned to www.RichlandCountyDems.com!

I’m glad I don’t live in that Richland-Kershaw district, because I know zip about those candidates. If you DO live there, perhaps the above links will help.

Last chance to walk with Doug, Kathryn and me

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Last week when I put out the call for a blog team for the Walk for Life, Doug Ross and Kathryn Fenner generously volunteered immediately.

I had intended to keep the momentum going with a reminder each day, but I’ve had very little time for blogging this past week.

And now I see that the deadline for signing up is TODAY. I don’t know whether that means this morning, or noon today or midnight. But if you’d like to join the team, go to this link NOW and see if it will still let you in.

Here’s hoping I’ll see you on Oct. 2…

And people say such awful things about him…

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Bet you didn’t know that when he was passing through here (or perhaps sometime thereafter), W. Tecumseh bought a brick for Riverbanks Zoo.

Neither did I. I learned this quite inadvertently over the weekend during an outing with the twins. We happened to be closer to the bridge than to the tram station when we decided to head back to the car on the garden side of the river, so we walked, and discovered the above.

And to think, people say such awful things about ol’ War Is Hell. So he burned Columbia? A lot of those blocks were already messed up, as Chris Tucker, who apparently did NOT set the city on fire when he was here, might say…

Who wants to join me at the Walk for Life?

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My wife, a breast cancer survivor (Thank God for his tender mercies), told me the other night that she had signed me up for her team for the Walk for Life this year.

I said, “But I was going to form a blog team!”

So she said I’d better go ahead and do it. Instead of just talking about it the way I did last year. The deadline for participants to sign up is a week from today.

So I went to the website, and set up a team called “Brad’s Bloggers.” I had no idea what to set as a fund-raising goal, so I went with the default $100. That way, if y’all don’t come through, I can cough it up myself.

But you will come through, right? It’s on Saturday, Oct. 2, starting at 8:30 in Finlay Park.

You can sign up for the team by going to this link, clicking on “Join Our Team,” and following the prompts. Once you’ve done so, please e-mail me at brad@bradwarthen.com. Then, just before the event, I’ll send all those who contacted me info on where and how to meet so we can walk together.

So how about it? Let’s show ’em we bloggers are more than just a bunch of couch potatoes sitting in front of a laptop in our pajamas. Put on some actual pants, and shoes, and walk with us.

Candidate seeks Anton Gunn nomination

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I don’t know who else might have also filed for this, and I don’t know what to think of this person, but since the release just came in, I thought I’d share it with you:

MIA BUTLER FILES FOR HOUSE DISTRICT 79
Local businesswoman seeks to fill seat vacated by Rep. Anton Gunn
COLUMBIA, SC – Mia Butler, a business owner and entrepreneur with two decades of public and private sector experience in South Carolina announced late today that she has officially filed to become a candidate for the District 79 vacancy left open by Democratic Representative Anton Gunn.

Butler said she wants to use her business experience to bring a strong voice for job-creation and economic development to the State House. She also vowed to continue the example set by Representative Gunn to bring rational and effective leadership, focused on bringing both sides together to help address South Carolina’s challenges. “As a strong business woman with government experience, I know what it takes to streamline a budget and resolve issues that individuals and small business owners are facing. I have demonstrated it in my business for 8 years. You can’t have success in business without working with people to address their problems, effectively and efficiently. We need a strong leader who is focused on getting things done,” said Butler.

“I have lived in this district for the last 13 years. I’m raising my family here and I’m seeing the changes that are happening in our community. We need a leader who understands those changes and can make an immediate impact at the State House. I have the experience and the commitment to stand up for what’s right for our district and our state. I want to be an independent voice for our district,” stated Butler.

As the Principal of the corporate communications firm, McLeod Butler Communications, Butler has been a tireless advocate for small businesses, public education, crime victims, public safety and higher education institutions over the last decade. Butler’s professional experience includes launching and directing a statewide program for former South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon, receiving a gubernatorial appointment to direct one of the largest programs within the South Carolina Governor’s Office of Executive Policies & Programs under former Governor Jim Hodges and serving on the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, where she is an active member of the Chamber’s Small Business and Communications committees, as well as its Excellence in Education Council.

Business and political leaders praised Butler’s candidacy for the State House. Former Governor Jim Hodges said, “Mia Butler was a key member of the leadership team in my administration. She’s intelligent, hard working and has great ideas about job creation and educational improvement. I strongly support her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in House District 79.”

“From improving education, to passing comprehensive tax reform and creating jobs, we face many challenges in South Carolina.” Butler said. “We can meet those challenges, but it will require a leader who can hit the ground running and advocate on behalf of small businesses to spur economic growth opportunities. I know I can bring that to the State House.”

“I believe that Mia Butler will be a great Representative for Kershaw and Richland counties. She has demonstrated her leadership skills in business and she has a clear vision for improving our state,” said Steve Benjamin, Mayor of Columbia. “Mia believes in the South Carolina values of faith, hard work, community involvement, and independence.”
Mia Butler is married to Tracy Garrick. They, along with sons, Brian “BJ” and Cameron Butler reside in Lake Carolina.

So if Hodges is supporting her, does that mean she’s anointed? I don’t know. Not necessarily. More as I do know…

Remember, the Democrat who replaces Rep. Gunn faces Sheri Few in November.

Say hello to Daddy Warbucks, only with hair

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"Are you talkin' to ME?..."

Had an odd thing happen just a few minutes ago, as I was leaving a local drugstore, on my way back from taping something at ETV.

As I crossed the parking lot, I heard a small voice pipe up behind me, “Do you know where there are any jobs?”

Hearing no one respond, I turned and found a cute, petite, college-age (this was near USC) girl hurrying to catch up with me.

Once it was established she was addressing me, I asked, in order to have something to say, “What sort of job?” I was prepared for her to say almost anything, but not what she said: “Administrative.” Something ran through my head that the HR director at The State once told me about how young people today have unrealistic expectations of starting at the top.

I must have looked questioning, because she added, by way of explication, “You know, office work…”

“Well,” I told her, slowly, “I don’t know of anything at the moment…” searching my brain, thinking Wouldn’t it be cool to be able to live up to this girl’s unlikely expectation of me and actually connect this question with an actual job I’ve heard about, but came up dry.

Not wanting to leave it at that, I said, “Would you like to give me a card, so that if I hear of anything…?” with the alarm bells going off in my head as I realized how much that sounded like You wanna give me your phone number?, or how much it might sound like it to someone of her age and experience in life, but it was completely innocent, just what I’d ask of anyone else who told me he or she was job-hunting…

She, continuing to move on past me as I arrived at my car — I realized that we had kept moving the whole time — patted her pocket sort of nervously as though she would normally have cards, but had none today, and said, “No, I don’t have any cards on me…”

And I said, “Well, good luck!” And that was that.

She was bold as brass, which I suppose will stand her in good stead at some point. But what did I look like to her? Like Daddy Warbucks with hair, I suppose.

I didn’t have the heart to call after her and say, Honey, you just don’t know… it took me a year to find a job for myself…

Why spoil her illusions, especially when they are so flattering to me? She looked at me and thought me a powerful and magnanimous man, able to scatter jobs across the pavement like so many doubloons from a Mardi Gras float. Why spoil that, indeed?

Mojitos: The best new thing I’ve tried lately

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Since I’ve become a Mad Man, I’ve branched out a bit in my eating out. Since for me every unknown menu is like a minefield, my usual M.O. is to approach eating out the way a cautious commander approaches a military campaign: Only on familiar terrain using proven tactics — in other words, going to three or four places where I know the menu, and only ordering one or two things from it. (And don’t even eat out, if it can be avoided. Mamanem know what you can eat.) Hey, it’s kept me alive so far.

But Lanier, Brian and Lora eat out pretty much every day, and invite me along. So I’ve come to try and enjoy new things at Al Amir, and Nick’s, and Doc’s Gumbo Grill, the Mouse Trap and other places. I still pull them toward my old faves — Yesterday’s, Longhorn and the like — whenever I can get away with it, but my horizons have been broadened.

Today, however, I must report having enjoyed the best new thing I’ve tried since starting at ADCO. It was at Mojitos Tropical Cafe on Gervais, a place that just opened a couple of weeks back. It was fantastic, especially what I had — the pulled pork with saffron rice, black beans, sweet plantains and yuca con mojo.

We also had a great chat with the matriarch of the family that runs this joint and Salsa Cabana, Jane Fishburne, whose mother was Spanish and comes by this sort of cuisine honestly (although it’s her daughter, Lynette, who does the cooking). I gave her a card and urged her to consider a blog ad. She responded by saying that the Shop Tart has brought them about half their business so far.

So I’ve been scooped. In fact, the Tart even wrote about the place before it was opened. An excerpt:

Speaking of good stuff, Tracie and the Shop Tart spent a while chatting with owner Jane, who is in the process of opening another business, Mojito’s Tropical Cafe on Gervais in the space formerly occupied by night club Hush. She is awesome and introduced them to her daughter Lynette, who will be the chef at the new place. They also met Jane’s son Gabriel and his girlfriend Crystal, who might be the best-looking couple in all of Columbia, if not the world. They noticed the Shop Tart’s empty glass and insisted on getting her next round. They asked what she was drinking. She hesitated, not wanting to be greedy. “Vodka soda,” she answered, not wanting to admit to the pricey Grey Goose she has come to love. (Thank you, Fergie.) Crystal’s response? “Grey Goose, right?,” with a wink. Perceptive lady. (And yummy vodka.)

So she was ahead of the curve on that. Not to mention being way ahead of me on the blog ad front. Oh, well — her success is well deserved.

And Mojitos is deserving of all the success the Vista can provide. I’ll be going back, for sure. And if — no, when — you go, be sure to tell Jane you read about it here. And try the pulled pork. It was pretty awesome. For one used to barbecue, the more subtle flavorings on the meat were a really nice change of pace, and a great accompaniment to the beans and rice.

Oh, and watch out — while the place wasn’t crowded when I was there, Columbia’s Mad Men are discovering it, so it’s liable to be jammed before you know it. David Campbell from Chernoff Newman came in with a couple of others just as we were leaving. Dang, just like that guy Ted Chaough tracking Don Draper — every time I look in my rearview mirror, there’s Campbell…

Another step into the Innovista…

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Mike Fitts chronicles this latest step toward achieving the potential of Innovista:

A company based on the engineering smarts at USC — in students and faculty — has been launched to commercialize that prowess.

SysEDA, a 10-employee company that provides engineering software, is moving into the USC Columbia Technology Incubator.

SysEDA’s software has been developed over the years principally by Roger Dougal, professor of electrical engineering at USC. Dougal estimates that about 50 students in the past 15 years have provided refinements to it, and many students in the engineering school use it regularly as part of the their work.

The software, called a Virtual Test Bed, is designed to simulate the inner workings of electrical engines. Once it is offered in the Internet “cloud,” it will allow different engineers from around the world to see how their proposed modifications to an engine affect the entire system before a prototype is built….

The company already has a client: the Office of Naval Research.

Dougal has worked with the Navy for more than a decade as it has explored electric power options for its ships. Now SysEDA has a $2.4 million contract to work with global engine giant ABB on such engines and design systems.

SysEDA is working with the incubator and is also receiving mentoring from Bang! Technologies, a company that specializes in boosting tech companies through their growth phases…

Congratulations to all involved as they take one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of such steps that need to be taken for the Innovista to realize its potential over the next decade or two.

Randolph and Mortimer Duke, redux

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This afternoon at Rotary I found myself seated next to Boyd Summers, Richland County Democratic Party chairman. (Just to be ecumenical and UnParty, I also chatted with Richland County Republican Chairman Eric Davis after the meeting, so there.)

It was noted that he and I were wearing essentially the same tie, although mine was bow and his was not. Sort of a Palmetto variation on the old Brigade of Guards regimental stripe.

Anyway, having arrived way early for the meeting (I rode with Lanier Jones from ADCO, and as an ex-president of the club, he goes early), I had time for a digression. So I noted that we were like the Duke brothers, Randolph and Mortimer. I had to explain that the Duke brothers were the partners in Duke and Duke, the fictional Philadelphia commodities brokers in “Trading Places,” and that in every scene, they were wearing ties made from the same material, only Randolph (you know, Randy, like Randy Jackson of the Jackson five) wore a bow and Mortimer wore the more boring sort of tie.

When I was done with the explanation, John Durst said wow, you really notice detail, don’t you? I allowed as how I did, but that’s not really true. I mean, how could anyone NOT notice something like that — especially when one has seen the flick a certain number of times?

After the meeting, I got John to use my Blackberry to shoot the above photo, to record the moment. Aren’t you glad I did?

By the way, Joe Wilson noted to me that he, too, was wearing a similar tie. I nodded, but I was humoring him. His was like Boyd’s, except silver (as in, “Silver Elephant”) in the places where it should have been dark red. Obviously, Joe misread the memo.

Kick in a buck for the critters

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Just saw this notice over on the Web site ADCO Interactive created for Pawmetto Pipeline:

Friday, August 27 is Dollar Donation Day!

Sounds simple, but it is so rewarding. We are asking supporters and fans to donate $1 or more in our one-day dollar donation drive. The best part is that everyone can participate from your desk, home or wherever! We have over 4,000 members of our email community—imagine if each person gave $1.00 on Friday. What about $5? Or $10?

We’ll be tracking donations all day on our facebook page and posting pics of the sweet animals you’ve helped, so be sure to check in there often.

Where will all of the money go? Once we rescue dogs and cats from the county municipal shelters they still need a lot of care before adoption. All of our pets receive their annual vaccines, spay/neuter surgeries, a microchip, and heartworm and flea preventive before they hit the adoption events. However, sometimes the needs are greater. Some need heartworm treatments (up to $500), some need dental procedures (at least $200) and others need to be nursed back to health. We do not give up on any of our animals and we do everything it takes to make them healthy and happy once rescued. Help us help them this by donating $1 or more today.

Donate now

Just look what we can do with $1:

– If 20 people give $1 each, that will pay for kennel cough treatment for one dog

– If 100 people give $1 each, that will provide 3 cats with special-need diet food

– If 500 people give $1 each, that will pay to treat one dog with heartworms (we currently have 6 dogs needing treatment)

– If 1,000 people give $1 each, that will let us save 10 additional lives

Click here to donate now or follow our facebook updates.

Help us spread the word by forwarding this message to your friends.

OK, so I’m no Austin Meyer, but even I can afford to kick in a buck for the cause.

Tell Duncan and Scottie you saw the Yesterday’s ad here at bradwarthen.com!

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I hope y’all have noticed the blog’s new business model. See the new ad, at the top of the rail at right? Try it out; click on it…

Rather than relying on those fickle politicians, who come and go like people in the land of Oz, I’m now turning to the private sector. (Oh, I’ll still happily take political ads, and even pursue one now and then, but they’re not the blog’s future.)

Please welcome Yesterday’s, my first non-political advertiser!

I’m particularly pleased that Duncan and Scottie MacRae and the rest of the gang have bought my first non-political ad. It’s not all the meals and pints I’ve consumed there, and will in the future. It’s not just that Yesterday’s has the world’s only Warthen/Ariail Memorial Booth. It’s just that to me, Yesterday’s is quintessential Columbia, and the heart and soul of Five Points — and has been for over 30 years.

Duncan and I have been brainstorming about creating a “blog special” that my readers can ask for and that no one else can get — which would be a handy way for him to know that people are actually seeing the ad.

But in the meantime, when you go to Yesterday’s for lunch, or dinner, or to belly up to the bar — and you should, soon — tell them you saw the ad. I’ll be glad you did.

More on Rod Shealy, from his sister Sherry

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Photo courtesy of Nathan Ballentine...

The former Sherry Shealy has put up a couple of blog posts about her brother Rod, which you can find here and here.

An excerpt:

Rod was a gift to many people. He ran winning campaigns for lots of candidates who probably wouldn’t have won without him…

Two years ago, he had a cancerous brain tumor. He had surgery in August 2008; one hour after the brain surgery, he was on the cell phone doing business as usual. Rod quipped: “I can see the headlines now: ‘Shealy Survives Surgery; Dies of Boredom’.”

That surgery removed the tumor – totally – and he was fine.

At least for a while.

Some time during the summer of 2009, he learned that the cancer was in his lungs.

This year, we learned it was back in his brain.

Rod had maintained a very positive and upbeat attitude. Sometimes he said things like, “The folks at the hospital like me ‘cause everybody else is sick.”

I first ran for office in 1970; he helped me in that campaign and then ran every campaign of mine after that one. He ran my campaign for lieutenant governor in 1990; it’s was my first loss and I believe he took it harder than I did. …

When I asked him several years ago if it was too late to throw my hat in the ring for a particular race, he replied, “Yep. By about 34 years.”

Whether it was politics, family, or anything else, Rod enjoyed life to the fullest. He had a dry wit, a keen sense of humor and a heart of gold. He loved to play the guitar and sing. He loved being creative.

Other than in the hospital bed, I can’t remember the last time I saw him without a bright floral Hawaiian shirt. That was one of his trademarks. In fact, he went to an inaugural ball; like others, he wore a tuxedo – but with the Hawaiian floral print bowtie and cummerbund, along with tennis shoes, I believe.

We have the best blood! (Or at least the best Red Cross)

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Congratulations to our local Red Cross blood services. I just saw this release:

South Carolina Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross Ranked #1 in the Nation

Columbia, S.C.— The South Carolina Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross has been named the top performing region in the national Red Cross system. The South Carolina Region is one of 36 Red Cross Blood Services regions in the United States.

American Red Cross Blood Services regions across the country provide blood and blood products to more than 3,000 hospitals, making the Red Cross the largest single blood provider in the United States. The South Carolina Blood Services Region serves 54 hospitals in South Carolina and parts of Georgia.

The South Carolina Region was rated for high performance in areas including growth of red blood cell donations and distribution to hospitals, quality control, cost effectiveness and hospital satisfaction.

“We’re proud to be named the Red Cross Region of the Year,” said Delisa English, chief executive officer of the South Carolina Blood Services Region. “This accomplishment is only made possible by the tremendous support of our staff, volunteers, blood donors and blood drive sponsors who work hard each day to ensure blood products are available for patients in the South Carolina Region and across the nation.”

Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood. The American Red Cross South Carolina Blood Services Region must have 500 people give blood and platelets each weekday to meet hospital demand. Accident victims as well as patients with cancer, sickle cell disease, blood disorders and other illnesses receive lifesaving transfusions every day. There is no substitute for blood and volunteer donors are the only source.

How to Donate Blood

Simply call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. Blood can be safely donated every 56 days. Most healthy people age 17 and older, or 16 with parental consent, who weigh at least 110 pounds, are eligible to donate blood and platelets. Donors who are 18 and younger must also meet specific height and weight requirements.

About the American Red Cross

Governed by volunteers and supported by giving individuals and communities, the American Red Cross is the single largest supplier of blood products to hospitals throughout the United States. While local hospital needs are always met first, the Red Cross also helps ensure no patient goes without blood no matter where or when they need it. In addition to providing nearly half of the nation’s blood supply, the Red Cross provides relief to victims of disaster, trains millions in lifesaving skills, serves as a communication link between U.S. military members and their families, and assists victims of international disasters or conflicts.

# # #

First we have the national champion baseball team; now this.

Personally, I’m going to claim a measure of credit for this. No doubt the blood that I have given has contributed mightily, if only in terms of sheer quality of the blood collected here.

We still aren’t collecting enough of it, though, so get on down there and roll up a sleeve…