Adult novelty store to make case to stay open
Columbia’s only adult novelty store will have to make its case for its business license to be renewed, The State reported.
Taboo, an X-rated shop on Devine Street, will close on Jan. 1, 2014 if its license is not renewed. Store representatives will appear before a hearing officer at City Hall this Thursday to make the case to keep their doors open.
Store manager Larry Boyer told The State that Columbia’s ordinance keeping sexually oriented businesses closed between midnight and 6 a.m. hurt the store, as “peak business hours” for adult shops are after midnight.
The regulations were passed within days of Taboo’s 2011 opening and included a land-use zoning requirement the shop didn’t meet. Its license will be renewed if representatives can prove the regulations have been a financial hardship.
Risk highest in Five Points early Sunday mornings
It’s most dangerous to be in Five Points around 2 a.m. on Sundays between the 700 and 800 blocks of Harden Street, The State reported.
A newspaper analysis revealed there have been 11 incidents of gun violence in Five Points since 2010. Nearly half of those incidents happened on the 700 and 800 blocks of Harden Street, with two people injured on the 700 block.
Interim Columbia Police Chief Ruben Santiago concurred, saying the most likely time to be the victim of a shooting in Five Points is between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. on Sundays.
This analysis could lead to increased patrols on those two blocks after midnight on Friday and Saturday nights, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott told The State.
“You don’t spend your resources and time six blocks away,” Lott said. “You go to where the trouble spots are.”
Effort to create new Midlands county stalled
An effort to create a new county on the north side of Lake Murray appears to have stalled, The State reported.
The creation of the county, which was suggested to be called Birch County, was suggested about 10 months ago. It would mirror the area of Lexington-Richland School District 5, where students from communities like Irmo, Ballentine and Chapin attend school. The county would come from parts of northern Lexington County and northwest Richland County.
Some community leaders told The State the effort faces long odds and they haven’t heard of any further developments in the plan since its proposal.
The idea would be subject to a referendum only if it cleared a series of legal obstacles and enough residents sign a petition. No one with the movement has spoken about revising current guidelines, lawmakers told The State.