April 12 08:37 AM
Aplus.net denies service to City Paper
Twenty four hours after a Drudge Report link to Columbia City Paper’s Web site, services at Aplus.net are still suspended without just cause or explanation causing this paper’s Web site inoperable. The Drudge Report linked a news story involving a former employee at Wal-Mart throwing chickens at customers. At roughly 7 a.m. it caused traffic to spike, and the server response at Aplus.net was to shut down completely. 24 hours later there is still no response from Aplus.net and City Paper’s site is not responding and traffic has temporarily been redirected to this older site. This site is hosted by Site5 and has responded well to the few times stories have broke nationally.
This may take several days to get the old site back up and running thanks to Aplus.net’s lack of support. You may find the current issue on news stands and our apologies for the unexpected denial of service from Aplus.net. We are looking at other options such as hostgator or an additional Site5 account while they take their time to get back to us. If you have any questions you may send them directly to abuse@aplus.net .
April 11 10:27 AM
Clean up in aisle four!
Friday 4/11 only :Please note that due to site over load from being linked at the Drudge Report, this particular article has been re-linked to greenvillecitypaper.com a site we own but do not maintain. Please bookmark http://columbiacitypaper.com for the best in south east alt news and visit it again as it is more impressive than this temporary set up.-Regards, Publisher Paul Blake
ANDERSON
Fired Wal-Mart deli worker throws chickens at customers
Shanay Buie of Clemson may face charges for allegedly going berserk after being fired from the deli at an Anderson area Wal-Mart. According to an incident report, Buie returned to the Wal-Mart after her termination and “threw 2 chickens at 2 customers.” The report also states that the scorned woman destroyed two printers valued at $1,000 each and broke two sets of dishes valued at $400 per set. So far, no arrest has been made.
Liquored up mourner finds trouble en route to wake
An Anderson man pleaded guilty to malicious destruction of property and public disorderly conduct after he allegedly threw a brick through a woman’s window while en route to the wake of his friend’s recently deceased wife.
Ronnie Greer, 28, was found not guilty of an assault and battery charge stemming from allegations that he also grabbed the woman by the arm and tried to force her to drink from a bottle of liquor.
“Me and her are good friends,” Greer told the court, according to the Anderson Independent-Mail. “I was riding my bike to a friend’s and she slaps me with a brick.”
According to April Thompson, 27, she hit Greer in the head with a brick after he grabbed her arm and proffered the bottle. She then ran into her house at which point Greer tossed the brick through her window and fled on his bicycle before police arrived. According to a second incident report, Greer cursed police later that evening when they found him staggering in the middle of Thompson’s street, apparently making his way back home.
FLORENCE/MYRTLE BEACH
Bishopville overrun by buzzards
Like an invading Mongol horde or renegade motorcycle gang, up to 200 large turkey vultures have overrun the town of Bishopville, roosting atop cable TV towers, buzzing area homes and generally unnerving local residents.
“When you first see that many, you worry that there’s something dead—human or animal,” Bishopville resident Judy Morrow told the Sumter Item. The police have so far not found anything that would attract the buzzards and a biologist with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture has assured city officials that the birds are migratory and should move on in a couple of weeks.
In the meantime, town officials decided to send the birds a message last week and with the aid of a USDA official, reportedly hung a dead buzzard in a tree to discourage the birds from roosting there. Though they subsist primarily on carrion and road kill, turkey vultures have been known to tear and sometimes consume roofing shingles, automobile upholstery and window caulking among other things, according to the USDA. Large colonies of buzzards are also notorious for defacing public property and downing power lines with inordinate amounts of dense, foul smelling feces.
“We don’t want any buzzards in Bishopville,” Bishopville City Administrator Gregg McCutchen, told the Item. “They are not welcome here.”
CHARLESTON
Isle of Palms may enact sand castle building ordinance
Isle of Palms city council is considering an ordinance that would require beachgoers to demolish their sandcastles before leaving the beach. Violators could be fined anywhere from $128 to $500, or roughly three years allowance for the average American 7-year-old.
Authorities are still trying to figure out a way to police the ordinance and would have to monitor all phases of a sand castle’s construction and then witness the builder leave the site in order to ticket them. Builders may temporarily leave the job site to splash in the water or eat an ice cream cone, but would be required to demolish any construction prior to leaving the beach for the day. So far, the ordinance would not require authorities to seize the small plastic shovels and pails that are often used in sand construction projects.
February 28 12:05 AM
The Privatization of America’s Infrastructure
Our friends at Project Censored, a media research group at Sonoma State University, recently released their annual report of the most alarming stories that were virtually ignored by the national press last year and that will probably continue to be ignored in 2008. Columbia City Paper recapped underreported environmental stories last year, so for this installment we pulled out the most alarming stories specific to social and human rights issues. Sleep well… -Todd Morehead
Read this storyFebruary 27 11:45 PM
Here come the tolls...
S.C. highways may be controlled by private firms in the near future
(a sidebar to this issues cover story Privatization of America’s Infrastructure)
The South Carolina Dept. of Transportation has public-private partnership (PPP) legislation in place.
Read this storyFebruary 27 11:41 PM
Rediscovering Black History
it’s just been buried
History, like theology, inspires the passions and genius of some, the scorn and ridicule of others. Like theology, history is never concluded. It periodically must be re-imagined, reconstructed and re-written to keep it fresh and relevant.
Read this storyFebruary 27 11:36 PM
Letters to the reader
Imagine an elderly statesman from the Pee Dee or Lowcountry squeezing off a denture-rattling warning shot from a .357 Magnum he can barely lift
Read this storyFebruary 27 11:34 PM
Regional Briefs
mmm methamphetamine…hey maybe I should drive to the police station in a stolen car to demand my evidence back?
There’s a whole bunch of dumb criminals in this issues Regional Briefs:
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February 27 11:12 PM
A Dull Ache
THE WEASEL SYNDROME
“I’m a politician, which means I’m a cheat and a liar, and when I’m not kissing babies, I’m stealing their lollipops,” Dr. Jeffery Pelt from The Hunt for Red October.
Read this storyFebruary 27 11:09 PM
The Conservation Hotlist
For the last three years, the Conservation Bank has been the most important source of funding for land conservation in South Carolina. For only $70 million, the Bank has protected 134,171 acres of vulnerable natural and historic lands.
Read this storyFebruary 27 11:06 PM
Mr. Meaner's Crime Watch
29204 No good deed goes unpunished: A 25-year-old man offers to buy a 26-year-old homeless woman lunch and the two are waiting in line for the food together. The man hands the woman a $20 bill and – what happens? – the lady snags it and takes off running. Cops later catch up with the ungrateful vagrant, who no longer has the money, and the man tells the officers he wants to teach her a lesson by putting her through the ringer of the system. Another day in the Capital City where we put the B, the U and M in Columbia; 2500 block Powalski Street.
Read this storyFebruary 27 11:03 PM
Frustrated Sanford shows bad judgment
Sanford scores big on bad judgement
Read this storyFebruary 27 11:02 PM
Support Local Music
Information about City Paper’s all local music stage in Five Points at the March 15th festival…
February 27 10:46 PM
Talk no, vote yes!
A weird new tactic is highlighting the troubling extent to which the news media fails to hold our elected officials accountable. First, a politician calls a press conference where he issues a strident declaration for or against a bill. Big headlines follow. Then, when the matter comes up for a vote, he votes exactly the opposite of what he had said he would. And no one pays attention.
February 27 10:36 PM
KingPin's hip-hop events and review
Hotep!!! Black History Month is currently in full effect, so be sure to take some time to improve yourself. Just got back from checking Chrisette Michele tear PURE (Old Comedy House) down. Showcasing her debut album I AM (Def Jam), she went through all her hits and got crazy love from South Cak. Shouts to RockStar Entertainment (Jermaine and the whole fam!!!) for bringing her down. Great show!! Let’s get to it!!!!
Read this storyFebruary 27 10:35 PM
Movie and Game Reviews
So there’s lots strange this time around. I’m reviewing an awards show, a book adaptation, a video game and a parallel review. And on top of all that I’m gonna rave about something I haven even seen yet! So let’s get cracking…
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