Columbia breaks record for lowest morning temperature
Columbia saw record cold — 23 degrees — Thursday morning at the airport, The State reported.
Thursday morning’s temperature edged the previous Nov. 14 record of 24 degrees, which was set in 1977 and tied in 1983, according to the National Weather Service.
Record low temperatures were also recorded in Charlotte and Augusta, at 21 degrees, and in Florence, where the low was 22 degrees.
Columbia’s record low followed a rare November snowfall on Tuesday night, the result of a cold front making its way up the East Coast.
This weekend’s temperatures are expected to rise into the high 60s and low 70s, topping off at around 73 degrees Sunday and Monday.
Columbia lawyer to challenge for seat on USC Board of Trustees
Columbia attorney William Hubbard, one of the longest-serving members on USC’s board of trustees, will likely face a challenger next year, The State reported.
Former U.S. Attorney Pete Strom plans to run for the seat Strom holds. Strom practices law in
Columbia and said he has been approached about running for the board by other USC alumni. Hubbard has the second-longest tenure on the board, with 27 years.
Strom said that he wants to take a look at the rising tuition rates at the university and student safety concerns following recent issues in Five Points.
“Some (board) members think more about the U.S. News & World Report rankings than what’s needed in the small towns of South Carolina, where students need to go back and help their family businesses,” he told The State.
Nine arrested, 42 still sought in massive bank fraud case
Nine have been arrested and 42 are still being sought in an enormous bank fraud scheme in which Wells Fargo was scammed of $72,000, The State reported.
The operation’s four ringleaders gathered nearly 90 individuals to open new bank accounts at TD Bank, Wells Fargo and Woodforest Bank for as little as $100 or $200. The account information, starter checks and debit cards were given to the ringleaders who then used the accounts to defraud banks of over $100,000 over the past year.
Forty of the suspects involved were charged earlier this year after scamming TD Bank of $40,000,
“Financial crimes tend to go under the radar,” Sheriff Leon Lott said in a press conference Thursday. “Looking at that area … the amount is staggering.”
According to Investigator Odell Glennn, many of those arrested were cooperative with deputies.