Thanksgiving is fast approaching. People are already out and about, purchasing Christmas presents. For weeks now stores have had holiday decorations on display, enticing customers to start their gift shopping early. It only makes sense, then, that we offe

Our country is over 22 trillion dollars in debt and growing. Reducing our spending is never easy especially for our government. We have a lot of obligations from Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, defense, veterans, infrastructure and more. There aren'

Alongside traffic and coffee, news radio is a staple of my morning commute. As I flip through the stations, I’ll sometimes hear a pundit lament that “Nothing is made in America anymore.” In reality, there are nearly 13 million manufacturing workers in the

Ten months down and two more to go. November is here and the countdown to the Thanksgiving Day feast has commenced. As our minds begin to wander toward turkey legs, cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, let us also remember that it is never

Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and PalmettoPride want South Carolinians to grab a bag and clean up our communities. Grab A Bag SC is a statewide litter pickup challenge inspired by Evette’s own experience picking up in her home community and even during her famil

A lot of us are faced with the impossible. We may have what seems to be impossible debts, physical illnesses, human relationships and vocational pressures. Too often we hear someone say, “Nothing is impossible” and we nod our heads nonchalantly in an unbe

“I need to get out of the South. Fall here is no good.” A woman from California said that. I don’t get the criticism. Fall in the Kingdom of Grits can be mighty pretty. And even if fall color is flat now and then, four distinct seasons bless the South wi

Amidst all of the pink ribbons recognizing October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, purple ribbons representing domestic violence awareness often get overlooked. Stating that October is also National Domestic Violence Awareness Month simply does not seem

Many have watched the powerful television report of Brandt Jean's act of forgiveness toward Amber Guyger who killed his brother Botham Jean. The scene of him hugging her and extending forgiveness toward her has been replayed over and again and invoked a s

They’re a staple of the incumbent politician’s toolkit: the countless recognitions, resolutions, proclamations, ribbon-cuttings, and photo-ops which are more ceremonial than anything else, but which nonetheless pay dividends for elected officials. Certain

We are guessing you’ve noticed the bright pink banner on the front page of the last three editions of The News Journal. It’s hard not to. All the pink you see during October, particularly the ribbons - is in reference to Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In

Two thin blue lines, beams from a Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center spotlight, patrolled the sky above Florence on Oct 3: One for Terrance Carroway, the other for Farrah Turner. Hundreds arrived at the Francis Marion University PAC to remem

First, let’s acknowledge the obvious: All is not well in South Carolina’s prison system. Its troubles have been pretty well-documented over the past few years, from inmates acquiring contraband – such as cell phones, drugs and weapons – to a deadly riot l

Dumb. As I wrestle with how to most clearly express my opinion on the decision to cancel next year’s S.C. Republican presidential primary, one word comes to mind: “Dumb.” For those who don’t know, here’s background: On Sept. 7 the executive committee of t

In case you missed it, a cigarette butt recycling program has launched in Florence! The program is a collaboration effort between Keep Florence Beautiful, Clemson Extension, and five local restaurants that are the hosts to recently installed receptacles.