EPI Center’s Literacy Summit gathers educators to advance innovative teaching strategies
September 16, 2025
The Center of Excellence for Educator Preparation and Innovation (EPI Center) recently hosted its Literacy Summit and Convening, a premier event that brought together over 200 educators from across South…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: education, life, on-the-move, technology
Richland Two announces 2025–2026 District Teacher of the Year
September 16, 2025
Richland School District Two announced that Jelayne King, a Special Education Teacher at Pontiac Elementary School, has been named the 2025–2026 District Teacher of the Year. Superintendent Dr. Kim D.…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: education, life, on-the-move
Blythewood Middle School teacher selected as a Palmetto Citizens Teacher of the Game honoree
September 16, 2025
Blythewood Middle School teacher Jordan Atkinson has been selected as a 2025 Palmetto Citizens Teacher of the Game honoree. The program, presented by Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union in partnership…
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The South Carolina State Museum announces new exhibition titled “From the Vault: South Carolina Art From the Museum’s Collection”
September 16, 2025
New exhibition also marks the re-opening of the Lipscomb Art Gallery The South Carolina State Museum unveiled “From the Vault: South Caroline Art from the Museum’s Collection,” a new exhibition…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: education, entertainment, life, local-industry, media, on-the-move, the-arts
Youth Justice Action Month
September 16, 2025The City of Columbia Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement invites the community for Youth Justice Action Month (YJAM 2025), a dynamic event uplifting young voices and promoting community-driven solutions.…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: conversations, education, government, health-care, life, non-profit, on-the-move, philanthropy
City of Columbia partners with Sistercare for third annual Toiletry Drive
September 11, 2025The City of Columbia is collaborating with Sistercare for the third annual toiletry drive. Sistercare is a nonprofit organization that helps victims and families recover from domestic violence. Please consider donating…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: government, life, non-profit, on-the-move, philanthropy, social-scene
First regional plan to eliminate HPV cancers as a public health concern released in the U.S.
September 11, 2025The HPV Vaccination Roundtable of the Southeast launches first U.S. regional plan to eliminate HPV cancers, starting with cervical cancer as a public health concern, across the Southeast. The elimination…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: education, government, health-care, life, non-profit, on-the-move
Prisma Health launches Sickle Cell Lifespan Center to provide comprehensive, systemwide care across all ages
September 11, 2025
Continuity of expert care from childhood through adulthood improves quality of life and prevents gaps in therapy Prisma Health has launched the Sickle Cell Lifespan Center, a newly expanded, systemwide…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: government, health-care, life, non-profit, on-the-move
A Whale of a Lamp
September 10, 2025
By Tom Poland I inherited an old Bible, so old I can’t determine its age. I see my ancestors reading that Bible by the light of a my kerosene…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
A Note To My Reader-Friends
September 10, 2025
By Tom Poland Last fall I knew something wasn’t right with me. The feeling worsened over the winter. Then one March afternoon a walk to the mailbox and back…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life
The City of Columbia invites YOU to join in the fun during Columbia’s 10th Annual Park(ing) Day
September 9, 2025
PARK(ing) Day is an annual open-source global event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public places. The mission of PARK(ing) Day…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: environmental, government, life, on-the-move
City of Columbia host second “Sistercare Saturday” on Saturday, September 13 at Boyd Plaza
September 9, 2025This is the last Sistercare Saturday event of the season. This is a fundraising event for Sistercare, which helps victims and families recover from domestic violence. Join us in Boyd…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: government, life, non-profit, on-the-move
City opens registration for the 2025 Mayor’s Walk Against Domestic Violence
September 9, 2025The 2025 Mayor’s Walk Against Domestic Violence will be held on Saturday, October 25, 2025 at Page Ellington Park, 2220 Gregg St, Columbia, SC 29201. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and for the 19th year,…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: government, life, non-profit, on-the-move
Lexington’s inaugural Week of Restaurants set for September 11–21, 2025
September 8, 2025
The Lexington Chamber and Visitors Center, in partnership with the Town of Lexington, is excited to announce the inaugural Lexington’s Week of Restaurants, September 11–21, 2025. This 11-day initiative will…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: food, life, on-the-move, restaurant
A conversation with my GPS
September 4, 2025
By Jeff Becraft There are several things I like about my phone. I like the camera… I really enjoy being able to just pull it out of my pocket…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
The Hometown Weekly
September 3, 2025
By Tom Poland In my youth we had a daily newspaper, The Augusta Chronicle. What we didn’t get every day was local news. That’s what made The Lincoln Journal…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Caffeine
August 29, 2025
By Tom Poland “Cocaine,” JJ Cale wrote it. Eric Clapton sung it. Clapton described the song as anti-cocaine and that seems to be the case, if you read between…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
The freedom of forgiveness
August 27, 2025
By Jeff Becraft There is no freedom in unforgiveness. We may try to talk ourselves into that our attitude and actions are right, and this is what we should…
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Learn about the M16 at West Columbia library – Sept 12
August 27, 2025
If you’ve served in the U.S. military in the last 60 years, you are quite familiar with the M16 rifle – intimately so, if you were in the Army or…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, military, on-the-move, veterans
Community Health Hub Event in Clinton: A Step Towards Better Health
August 23, 2025
The Clinton Branch is hosting a free Community Health Hub event aimed at supporting better health and wellness in the community. Join us on Wednesday, August 27, from 3:00–5:00 PM…
Read MorePosted in: laurenscountybuzz Category: health-care, life, on-the-move
The Fun Is in the Action: Lessons from Fairway Outreach
August 21, 2025
By Jeff Becraft Back in the Fairway Outreach days, when we were reaching out to inner-city kids and kids from children’s homes (abused backgrounds), one of the things I…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
Lonely Lone Star
August 21, 2025
By Tom Poland I’ve long felt that two South Carolina community names ascend to prettiest—Silverstreet and Lone Star. Those names, evocative and wistful, charm the ear. One conjures up…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move
A Lesson in Leadership from a Genuine Friend
August 13, 2025
By Jeff Becraft When I was a freshman, 18 years old, at Virginia Tech, I met a guy by the name of Rick Harman. Going in as a freshman,…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move
Grandma’s Petunias
August 13, 2025
By Tom Poland A Short and Sweet, Fragrant Memory Vintage petunias, those flowers my grandma loved, I saw them in youth. As I sort through my memory album they…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Queen Of The Shoals
August 7, 2025
By Tom Poland Her May-June reign approaches. The rocky shoals spider lily, Hymenocallis coronaria, will soon flaunt her crown of white, green, and gold. Exquisite, ephemeral, and periled. Much…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Celebrate Cool Creativity and Healthy Habits at the Library!
August 4, 2025
Two Fun Events for Kids and Teens This August The Laurens County Library System is keeping things cool this August with two fun, free programs designed to inspire creativity, encourage…
Read MorePosted in: laurenscountybuzz Category: education, food, life, on-the-move
Twelve No’s and a Yes: One Man’s Journey to Building a Business
July 30, 2025
By Jeff Becraft I have mentioned before that years ago I was with an organization called Fairway Outreach. One of the kids that was part of Fairway Outreach was…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move
Highway 13, Cemetery Road
July 30, 2025
By Tom Poland Pot holes pockmarked the old road. She promised a bumpy ride, but rivulets of tar stitched her together, and that was good enough for me. I…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc, laurenscountybuzz Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Regional leaders unveil unifying riverfront brand for Midlands
July 27, 2025On Thursday, July 24, regional leaders from the Midlands Business Leadership Group (MBLG) and the River Alliance gathered at the Saluda Riverwalk to unveil a new brand identity designed to…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: economic-development, life, marketing-and-communications, on-the-move
Focus, Interrupted
July 24, 2025
By Tammy Davis What a Former Mobster Taught Me About Going After What You Want Chaos tends to follow me around. I like to blame my unmedicated ADHD brain, but…
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What’s Vital Is Often Missed
July 24, 2025
So I needed to get a new driver’s license. This is one of the REAL ID driver’s license… because without it, I couldn’t fly. Now we don’t fly very often.…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
My Love Affair With Miss Zebco
July 24, 2025
By Tom Poland I fished many a farm pond as a boy. When I left my red-varnished cane pole for Miss Zebco, I fell in love. I filled my…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Blink Book Review: “Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism” by Sarah Wynn-Williams
July 17, 2025
By Reba Hull Campbell For anyone who hates social media – and Facebook in particular – you’ll get a real satisfaction from reading this book and all the awfulness surrounding…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
My Southland, Maybe Yours
July 16, 2025
By Tom Poland April, along a back road to Athens, G-A, I saw ghosts. Amid new homes a shed and barn cast blue shadows across brilliant-green grass. Then I…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Sequins at 3 AM and My First Night Alone in Vegas
July 16, 2025
By Tammy Davis Departure For years—maybe even decades—my college roommate invited me to join her family’s annual Vegas getaway, but I always had an excuse: too broke, too single,…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
Something to be glad about
July 16, 2025
By Jeff Becraft I have no micro-motor skills. Or if I have any, it’s very little. It takes me forever to get the key into a keyhole and to…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
Hanging together
July 10, 2025
By Jeff Becraft We just celebrated the 4th of July, Independence Day, in our country. Way back when the Declaration of Independence was signed, Benjamin Franklin said, “We must…
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Nailing Down A Mystery
July 9, 2025
By Tom Poland Old doors rife with nails. Rows and rows of nails. Studs. Like handsome lads, all in a row. All in precise order. I’ve come across two…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Summer Blink Book Review: “A Bit Much” by Lyndsay Rush
July 3, 2025
By Reba Hull Campbell Each summer during my personal reading challenge, I try to include at least one book of poetry. This isn’t my usual reading genre, but I like…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
Bathroom renovation update
July 3, 2025
By Jeff Becraft There are two bathrooms in our house. There’s one in the hallway, and there’s one in our bedroom. As the kids were growing up, they used…
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Give Blood, Save Lives: The Big Red Bus Returns to Laurens Library July 8
July 1, 2025
The Big Red Bus is rolling into town, offering Laurens County residents the chance to make a life-saving difference. OneBlood will host a community blood drive at the Laurens Library…
Read MorePosted in: laurenscountybuzz Category: health-care, life, non-profit, on-the-move
Mekong Memoirs: Come hear the story of a Vietnam veteran from South Carolina
July 1, 2025
Glen Inabinet was a bit farther along in life, a bit more mature, than the average draftee who went to Vietnam. He was an old married man of 25, and…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, military, on-the-move, veterans
Ren Faire Trivia Night at the Clinton Library Promises Medieval Fun for All Ages
July 1, 2025
Dust off your chainmail and sharpen your wits! The Clinton Library invites history buffs, trivia lovers, and brave knights of all ages to take part in Ren Faire Trivia Night…
Read MorePosted in: laurenscountybuzz Category: education, entertainment, life, non-profit, on-the-move, social-scene
The Songs Of Summer
June 30, 2025
By Tom Poland Nature blessed my boyhood summers with music. Cicadas’ rising-falling singsong gave days rhythm. Katydids chimed in evenings with a nightshift song backed by cricket twitter. The…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc, laurenscountybuzz Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Granddad’s Fiddle
June 25, 2025
By Tom Poland Long did Grandad’s fiddle hang on my mother’s living room wall. I could never walk by it without wondering … “What’s its story?” Best I recall,…
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A seat at the table
June 25, 2025
By Jeff Becraft Last week I was at a week-long retreat with a children’s home. As part of this retreat, we all have meals together. We wait until everyone is seated…
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DIY Dragon’s Eggs Workshop at Laurens Library Offers Hands-On Fun for Teens
June 22, 2025
Young adventurers are invited to the Laurens Library for a magical crafting experience on Monday, June 30 at 4:00 p.m. during the library’s upcoming “Crafternoon” event. As part of the…
Read MorePosted in: laurenscountybuzz Category: education, entertainment, life, non-profit, on-the-move, the-arts
Defy Expectations with Gravity Check! Juggling Duo to Perform at Laurens and Clinton Libraries
June 22, 2025
Prepare to be amazed as the Laurens County Library System welcomes the high-energy juggling duo Gravity Check on Thursday, June 26. This dynamic performance is part of the Knights of…
Read MorePosted in: laurenscountybuzz Category: education, entertainment, life, non-profit, on-the-move, the-arts
Identifying what’s most important
June 19, 2025
By Jeff Becraft I finally got another car. The car I was driving, which has been a fantastic car, was fifteen years old and had over 316,000 miles on…
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Lowcountry Land Trust invites public to help name entrance road at Angel Oak Preserve
June 19, 2025
Lowcountry Land Trust, a nonprofit committed to preserving Lowcountry landscapes and waterways for current and future generations, invites the community to help name the new entryway road leading into the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: life, non-profit, on-the-move
