Man uses woman’s credit card, accused of murder
A Charleston man is accused of using his girlfriend’s credit card to buy beer after strangling her to death in their apartment, The Associated Press reported.
Kathy Hawkins was found dead Thursday with her empty purse behind her, after likely being killed two days earlier, authorities told AP.
David Reagan was arrested and charged with her murder.
Hawkins’ credit card was used several times after her death, and a convenience store camera shows Reagan buying beer with Hawkins’ card Friday, according to court records and investigators, AP reported.
Reagan was being held without bail in Charleston County jail.
Columbia homeless plan draws national attention
Columbia’s homeless have drawn significant attention recently and have now caught the eye of The New York Times.
In an article that runs in today’s print edition, The Times’ Alan Blinder writes in-depth about how the city is responding to its growing homeless population at a time when its downtown is making a push for economic and aesthetic redevelopment.
Columbia City Council voted unanimously this month to move forward with a proposal that would attempt to remove the homeless from downtown streets by busing them to a shelter 15 miles outside the city, a controversial plan widely supported by business leaders.
“The unanimous vote epitomized how Columbia’s dueling realities — a rush of self-confidence among political and business leaders and continuing poverty for others — have become driving forces of public policy,” Blinder writes.
The article, titled “South Carolina City Takes Steps to Evict Homeless From Downtown,” was published online yesterday and in today’s print edition.
3 men, 1 dog rescued from capsized boat
Three men and a dog were rescued from the Saluda River in
Greenville after their boat capsized around midday Sunday, The Greenville News reported.
The trio were fishing when their 10-foot jon boat became caught in rapids, hit a large downed tree and capsized.
Firefighters rescued two brothers, ages 15 and 17, a 48-year-old friend of the family and a small dog who had been holding onto a tree in the river. Two of them were wearing life jackets.
The current was strong, and the 48-year-old man was showing signs of hypothermia when he was pulled from the river, responders told The Greenville News.
“But he was being a man and did not want to go out first. He wanted those kids out first,” Deputy Fire Chief Tommy Thomas told The Greenville News.