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Most, if not all, states offer a variety of license tags for automobiles. South Carolina offers more than 400, many to support causes or organizations, from colleges to gold star families, or wildlife and habitats, from trees to turkeys and elk. Some are offered out of support and respect, such as veterans or POWs. Some are more whimsical features of South Carolina culture, like the shag dance, or even Parrotheads, the fanatical followers of Jimmy Buffett.

For the past couple of months a group of state regulators, utility executives, representatives of the state’s fledgling solar energy industry, and environmentalists have been meeting in Columbia trying to come together on a new plan that could determine the future of residential solar energy use in the state.

Over 100 soldiers from South Carolina are still missing and unaccounted for, from the Korean War. July 27 marks the 65th anniversary of the armistice that ended the war. The war started in June of 1950 and over the span of three years, more than 36,000 American soldiers were killed. Friday, remains believed to be of 55 US troops killed during the War, were returned to the United States by North Korea.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has identified legal services as one of the most significant unmet needs of homeless and poor veterans. The University of South Carolina's School of Law recently opened a free, veterans legal clinic to address this demand.

The clinic is located on the third floor of the law school, open from 9am to 5pm weekdays and follows the university's holiday schedule. Walk-ins are welcome, but director Clyde Gore, Jr. recommends making an appointment.

A new law that went into effect July 1 drastically changed the way advanced practice nurses can provide care in South Carolina.

Senate Bill 345, which Gov. Henry McMaster signed into law earlier this year, eliminated the 45-mile limit for advanced practice nurses (APRNs) to provide care. Prior to the new law, APRNs had to be within a 45-mile radius of a supervising physician in order to practice.

Columbia has a rich history of being a cotton/textile mill town. The Olympia and Granby Mills are located just outside of the downtown area, next to the Congaree river. Like many places in Columbia, this historic area is growing. The Olympia-Granby Historical Foundation was created in 2014 to promote activities within the Olympia and Granby Mill Villages. Since then, the group has also worked  to bring new life to the building that served as the one-room, Olympia School. Foundation members Sherry and Jake Jaco talk about their four-year journey to preserve history.

Chris Crolley wears a long, grey, shirt only those who work in the sun instinctively know to wear.  His blue eyes reflect some of the button-up’s hue, as he looks out beneath his worn, woven hat with a small, winged pin.  He knows what makes tourists and locals alike go “ahhh”.  He’s been giving tours of Mount Pleasant’s Shem Creek for 30 years.

Dozens of students participate in an after-school program at Hopkins Elementary School in rural Richland County. After most of their classmates have gone home for the day, these kids go to the library. Plates, pasta shells, and measuring cups are scattered across the tables. And they’re focused on the TV.

Snoring can ruin the sleep of millions of South Carolinians, and it doesn’t do the snorer any good, either.  Sleep expert Dr. Robert Puchalski says vibrations in the throat cause snoring, and by the passing of air through a tight space in the upper airway, in the way that wind instruments create sound.  At least half of people snore, according to USC sleep specialist Dr.

At the University of South Carolina, the Moving Image Research Collection has established a reputation as one of the top film archives in the country. Curator Greg Wilsbacher says Newsfilm Collections at USC has received some notable donations over the years—including footage from the United States Marine Corps. But it all started with a donation in 1980 from the Fox Corporation, containing countless hours of newsreels and outtakes from the turn of the 20th Century.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is planning a major change to its gun background check system in an effort to keep  more weapons out of the wrong hands.   

Examiners will be given access to a large, previously untapped database of more than 400 million records as they determine when gun purchases can go through nationwide.  But for the survivors and victims’ families in a Charleston, South Carolina church massacre, the change did not come soon enough.

It’s a common plot for an opera: an endangered female character awaits rescue from the male lead.  But Ludwig van Beethoven wasn’t generally one to settle for common.

In his opera Fidelio, it is the female protagonist who saves the day. Disguising herself as a prison guard named “Fidelio,” the courageous Leonore rescues her ailing husband, Florestan, from his imprisonment.

As technology changes the way patients and health care providers see each other, it’s also changing how our doctors document our health records.

More practices in South Carolina are using telehealth equipment, allowing clinicians to connect to patients through video. The South Carolina Telehealth Alliance’s Michael Haschker says integrating an electronic medical records system into that equipment is crucial for the success of any telehealth program.

Small scale brewing operations like River Rat and Hunter Gatherer in Columbia are representative of the growing craft beer industry in South Carolina and nationwide. For this story we spoke with Kevin Varner, founder of Hunter Gatherer Brewing, about the laws he helped pass back in 1995 that gave brewers more freedom to run their operations. We also sat down with River Rat brewmaster Drew Walker, who talked about how brewers work to stay on top of such a rapidly changing industry.

57 years ago, nine young African-American students of Friendship Junior College in Rock Hill were arrested for attempting to desegregate the all-white lunch counter at the McCrory's variety store. One of those students was James Wells. He died Sunday, July 8th in his hometown of Rock Hill. The decision Wells and the other young protesters made, following their arrests, would help shape the civil rights movement throughout the South. 

Friday was a special day for lovers of the Southern diet: National Fried Chicken Day!

  According to a recent analysis by the U.S Chamber of Commerce, South Carolina will be among the state’s hit hardest by the looming trade war, threatening the more than $30 Billion dollars in goods exported from the state each year.  The state exports cars, steel products, refrigerators, soybeans and many other goods putting it in the top three states in the country that relies on exports and imports.

According to the U. S. Chamber, almost 580,000  jobs in the state are tied to trade, and there are more than 6,000 companies operating here that export goods around the world.

Seconds count when it comes to a suicidal patient and getting them to the care they need. EMS personnel often find themselves dealing with mental health patients. Because they do not have psychiatry expertise, EMS often has to transport these patients to the ER where they will sit until they can get a correct diagnosis. However, this could take hours and leads to the emergency vehicles being tied up while they may be needed for more urgent needs in their county.

During the last two weeks of June, the University of South Carolina's School of Earth, Ocean and Environment was home to Girls Go for I.T., a camp for middle school-age girls who are interested in learning about computer science and programming. South Carolina Public Radio's Laura Hunsberger and Clayton Sears went to USC's campus to see what the girls are creating and to talk with the professors who started the program, Dr.

This year's session of the SC General Assembly has finally ends, as lawmakers pass a wide-ranging plan to address the V.C. Summer nuclear debacle.

As South Carolina Lede heads into summer hiatus, host Gavin Jackson is joined by Post and Courier reporters Jamie Lovegrove and Andy Brown to discuss the results of the Republican gubernatorial primary runoff as well as legislation passed by state lawmakers this week dealing with the failed V.C. Summer nuclear project.

On Saturday, June 16, around 50 young adults, ages 18 to 25, gathered in the Richland Main Library in Columbia. All of them, in some capacity, were activists, hoping to gain the skills to influence change in their own communities with the training of the Obama Foundation as members of its newly minted Community Leadership Corps, or CLC.

On this edition of South Carolina Lede, host Gavin Jackson is joined by Jamie Lovegrove, statehouse reporter for The Post and Courier, and Meg Kinnard, South Carolina reporter for The Associated Press, to break down this week's primary runoff debate between Republican gubernatorial candidates Gov. Henry McMaster and John Warren. 

The two remaining Republican gubernatorial candidates faced off Wednesday, June 21 at the Newberry Opera House for a debate co-sponsored by SCETV and the Post and Courier. Governor Henry McMaster and businessman John Warren positioned themselves as the experienced politician and the political outsider throughout the night as the top vote earners from June 12’s primary sparred over healthcare, education and statehouse corruption.

This edition of Narrative features an interview with veterans Dan Stover and Sheldon Bullock. Stover served in the Marine Corps during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Bullock served in the Army during the First Gulf War in Iraq. As co-facilitators at The Big Red Barn in Blythewood, they help provide services for veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In a conversation recorded by South Carolina Public Radio, they discuss how PTSD has affected them personally, especially as they had to confront misconceptions about the disorder.

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The tale goes something like this: a young man gets a flat tire late one night in 1988 while driving near Scape Ore Swamp, and gets out of his car to change it. Then, from the shadows emerges a creature that’s green, wet, seven feet tall, with three fingers, red eyes and scales. As the young man scrambles to drive away, the creature viciously attacks his car.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16,000 South Carolinians lived in nursing homes in 2015.

Some nursing home residents can still be mostly independent, while others require constant care. Dr. Russ Blackwelder, the associate medical director at The Village at Summerville, says his patients will do better if they stay in their home environment and avoid the hospital whenever they can.

But the doctor can’t be at the facility 24/7, and for years that meant automatic hospital trips for patients that needed to be seen.

Entering its sixteenth year, the Southeastern Piano Festival will once again bring rising talents and seasoned performers alike to the University of South Carolina School of Music and other venues around the city of Columbia. The festival, which takes place from June 17th-23rd, is comprised of a series of performances, learning opportunities, a community outreach event, piano competition, and winners’ recital.