Staff reports | Just days after Tropical Storm Idalia blew through South Carolina with fury, the long Labor Day weekend holiday is now in people’s view. It will be the third busiest of the year so far, the Federal Aviation Administration predicts. Travel is up 4% domestically and 44% internationally, based on their bookings of flights, hotels, rental cars and cruises, according to AAA.
Those hitting the road can expect higher prices at the pump, with a national average of $3.83 per gallon, and South Carolina ranking in the top 10 in the country for the highest gas prices. The average price in the Palmetto state is $3.50 per gallon, according to AAA.
In other recent news:
Idalia’s flood levels will be monthly high tide norm, researchers predict. Twenty-five years from now, the monthly king tide alone will cause the same level of flooding that occurred during Tropical Storm Idalia, sea-level rise projections show. The 9.23-foot tide was the fifth-highest on record for the city. According to preliminary cost estimates from Moody’s Analytics, Hurricane Idalia caused between $12 billion and $20 billion in damage and lost output.
S.C. abortion ban stands at 6 weeks after state Supreme Court refuses to rehear case. The state Supreme Court will not reconsider its ruling on South Carolina’s abortion ban, keeping it illegal at roughly six weeks into a pregnancy. Meanwhile, here’s a story on how S.C.’s abortion law sounds to transgender men. For gender-expansive people in general and for transgender men in particular, South Carolina’s ban on most abortions after six weeks raises scary questions for the future, they say.
S.C.’s rural vote is in decline, hitting poor Black communities the most. South Carolina’s rural vote is dying in majority-Black counties across the state, with low voter turnout and participation in poor Black communities.
S.C. judge gives OK to $10.3B forever chemicals settlement. A Charleston federal judge has given preliminary approval to a minimum $10.3 billion settlement 3M Co. has proposed to settle the first phase of litigation over “forever chemicals” that contaminated public water systems.
Recreational boating has $6.5 billion impact in S.C. The industry has had a $6.5 billion economic impact in the state, said a nonprofit, which represents the state’s boat and fishing tackle manufacturers, citing a study from the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
Charleston area Democrats have a primary Tuesday for state Senate seat. The three progressives vying to represent the overwhelmingly Democratic district – state Reps. Wendell Gilliard, Deon Tedder and J.A. Moore – all have ideas about how to tackle the district’s woes from violence to education and gentrification. But their biggest issue may be voter turnout.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!