Issuing their third ruling on abortion since 2022, justices unanimously decided state law’s definition of “fetal heartbeat” — the sound of which makes an abortion illegal — applies to when an ultrasound first detects cardiac activity.

Attorneys for Planned Parenthood argued the ban that took effect in August 2023 should apply at nine weeks rather than six, since the heart doesn’t actually form until roughly the ninth week of pregnancy.

One of America’s aviation pioneers may be more famous for her international contributions to flight, but she’s also likely one of the key reasons Anderson County moved to build a more modern airport.

Anderson School District Five’s free Summer Lunch Program will run from May 27-July 18 for any child aged 18 or under. Meals are provided without regard to race, color, sex, age, disability, religion or national origin or free and reduced meal price status.

Anderson School District Five and Culinary Services will provide an average of 2,300 meals per day as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Summer Feeding Program.

Councilmen Kyle Newton, Luis Martinez, Greg Steele and Councilwoman Bea Thompson voted against the measure.

Anderson County is combining Dolly Cooper Park’s two largest annual events for a day-long series of activities, with the Saluda River Rally and Rhythm on the River scheduled for June 7.

It’s Mother’s Day, a time to honor our mothers who are still with us or remember the ones who have gone on before us. For some of us, this is good, but not so much for others.

Mother’s Day is one of those strange holidays where many folks set aside a few hours to have lunch with their mom, or devote an hour on the phone if miles between are too great.

But it’s also a time that offers too brief moment to properly acknowledge the never-ending role of motherhood.

AnMed Health’s 21st annual Teddy Bear Clinic on Saturday served not only as a children's introduction to doctors and nurses, but as a community open house for the new Piedmont facility.

Families lined up to visit the event, some with stuffed animals in hand while others were given a teddy bear, to demystify doctor and hospital visits for children (and their parents) through a series of activities and displays offering simulation of medical procedures with the teddy bear, or other stuffed animal as the patient.

The legislation, H.3276, passed the House and Senate earlier this year and sent the final version to McMaster last week. Those in violation of the law face a $100 fine for a first offense, and other infractions within a three-year period would cost them $200 and two points on their motor vehicle record.

A 180-day warning period would begin Sept. 1, during tickets would not be issued.

Anderson County is one of seven counties in South Carolina to close offices Friday to mark Confederate Memorial Day, S.C. is one of seven Southern states that still hold a day for the memorial. It is only an official holiday in three states.

It’s a good time to reflect upon and study the history surrounding the reasons for the continued support for the day, a uniquely American holiday, particularly in the South.

Though statues in general have largely lost their place as a public tribute, Confederate statues still dot town squares across the South, where more than 700 statues and memorials reside, including the one on the courthouse square in Anderson. Workers installed the Confederate memorial in downtown Anderson in 1902.

In 2022, the S.C. Senate passed a bill that would make Juneteenth a floating holiday, but it died in the S.C. House. In March 2022, the Senate also passed a bill that would allow public employees to choose Juneteenth as a paid holiday, but the House sent it to a committee where it died without a hearing.

The vote means data centers also will continue receiving sales tax credits for the computer equipment they purchase.

Utilities’ efficiency programs won’t be held to a set standard in terms of energy savings.

And power companies won’t be required to give landowners an earlier notice when construction of power plants, power lines, substations and pipelines impact their property.

The vote was not along party lines. The “no” votes came from three Democrats and eight Republicans

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Anderson Vets Helping Vets of Anderson will host “The Lost City Regatta,” May 17 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at The Shores of Asbury, 1600 Asbury Park Rd. to benefit the organization’s mission.

The event will feature a cardboard boat race (to register visit VHVA.org), music, a pirate costume contest, games and food. Admission is free and the public is invited.

In 2020, Anderson County’s 2020 pedestrian fatality rate per 100,000 population was 5.89, the highest in South Carolina and markedly higher than the state’s rate of 3.65. The number of pedestrian fatalities highlights the need for sidewalks, biking trails and/or lanes, safer routes to school, and ADA accessibility in Anderson County. 

The county’s goal is to engage the community, and working with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, develop a plan that results in zero pedestrian deaths by 2045.

The Anne Frank Center, support programs for foster children, and treatment for sickle cell disease were among the proposals for state aid the House rejected Tuesday amid a pause in budget earmarks.

Rep. Jermaine Johnson knew his proposed additions to the state budget package stood little chance of passing.

But the Columbia Democrat wanted his colleagues to hear more about the aid they were dismissing by refusing to fund any earmarks.

His 37 amendments — all unsuccessful — were offered as the House revised its $14.4 billion spending package ahead of negotiations with the Senate on a final budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. Spending that’s already the same in both chambers’ plans, such as teacher raises, is locked in.

Council approved Matt Reeves, Jamie Cantrell and Garrett Beatty as the county’s members of the commission. All three have extensive business experience and have agreed to serve. The municipal members are expected to be appointed in the next two weeks.

The commission will be tasked not only with prioritizing roads, but crafting the actual referendum, which will include the priorities for the funds. That referendum would then require three readings by the county council to be put on a ballot for November.

If approved the tax will raise approximately $35 million per year for county roads, municipal roads and bridges. Currently Anderson County has a $350 million backlog of road/bridges work that is largely unfunded.

It’s graduation season, and Anderson County high schools have scheduled their ceremonies beginning next week.

Here’s a roundup of the dates and times for the county’s public high school graduations

Civil Rights leader Andrew Young is scheduled to speak at Anderson University’s Spring Commencement exercises Friday at 9 a.m. on the school’s Alumni Lawn.

Young’s career includes ministry, civil rights activism, politics, diplomacy, and international humanitarian work.

A commission consisting members from county council, the City of Anderson and other townships in the county is in place to craft the actual referendum. If approved the tax will raise approximately $35 million per year for county roads, municipal roads and bridges. Currently Anderson County has a $350 million backlog of road/bridges work that is largely unfunded.

The Belton Area Museum is sailing the high seas with their new exhibit, “Pirates: Preface to Independence.”

The exhibit opened Sunday, with displays of items used from the 1600s through the late 1700s, including nautical items, swords, coins, seafaring equipment, navigational tools for the sea, and shackles. Also on display are modern day pirate-themed books, artwork, decor, and other memorabilia.

But it is in such complicated details that the men and women who serve in our local governments serve us best. Many are not elected officials, they are civic employees who grind away at the bureaucracy and minutiae that are required to keep our infrastructure in place, our water running, toilets flushing, law enforcement and fire departments ready, elections running and efficient, roads repaired, bring in new jobs, protect us from those who have less than honest intentions and numerous other small public services that most would likely go unnoticed unless they were neglected.