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In the year since a deadly interstate bridge collapse in Minneapolis, just one of those spans has been fixed, although the state transportation chief says none of South Carolina's bridges are unsafe or likely to collapse

An analysis by The Associated Press shows South Carolina is one of the nation's four worst states in responding to bridge needs since the Minneapolis collapse. Each of those states have tackled work on only one of their 20 most heavily traveled, structurally deficient bridges.

In South Carolina, that single span is S.C. 171 over James Island Creek near Charleston, where work began years before the I-35 span collapse in Minneapolis.

Improvements are planned for two other South Carolina spans: the U.S. 76 bypass at U.S. 521 in Sumter and U.S. 21 over Albergotti Creek near Beaufort. But there are no plans for 17 other structures, including four on I-26 near Columbia carrying 325,000 cars daily and three on I-385 near Greenville that carry 113,000 cars daily.

"While we assist the plant in correcting the problem, people should avoid coming into contact with the water," said David Wilson, chief of DHEC’s Bureau of Water.

People also should keep their pets away from the water.

The high bacteria levels in the water can lead to nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, fever, headaches, diarrhea and eye, ear and nose infections.

Swimming advisory signs have been posted at popular points near Riverbanks Zoo.

The leak in a basement water line was repaired Tuesday night around 10 p.m. and air conditioning was restored to the main hospital this morning.

The Children's Hospital at 7 Richland Medical Park remains without air conditioning, spokeswoman Tammie Epps said. It should be restored early Thursday, hospital officials said. If the systems runs without problems, patients will be moved back to the Children's Hospital Thursday evening.

The leak also threatened the power system at Children's Hospital, so power was shut off and all 55 patients there were moved to the Palmetto Health Heart Hospital and the former children's area of the main hospital, Epps said.

Children's Hospital is running on generator power, and patients will not be moved back until normal power has been restored, she said.

More than 900 Gamecock Club members received seat upgrades, the department said.

Season tickets will be mailed out Friday with a delivery date by Aug. 9

"We are thrilled to provide improved football seating for so many of our members whose passion and support is at the heart of Gamecock Athletics," Gamecock Club Director Patrick McFarland said in a news release. "Our goal is to consistently battle for championships, and we can again be sure that this year, when our opponents come to Williams-Brice Stadium, they will be facing a sea of garnet."

Seat assignment location upgrades were made for 927 Gamecock Club members, which is equivalent to 2,000 seats.

Three days after the family was told they were the stars of an upcoming “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” episode, two excavators chomped into their home like big yellow T-Rexes. By midafternoon Wednesday there was only a gap on Sudbury Road where the three-bedroom, two-bath house had stood since 1961.

An attorney for Andrew Hugine (hew-GEH'-nee) says the lawsuit filed Wednesday accuses the trustees board chairman of intentionally downgrading Hugine's job performance so that he would be fired.

Hugine was fired in December for poor performance in academics and not keeping up the university's infrastructure. He had been president since July 2003.

U.S. Department of Agriculture official George E. Cooper took over as president on July 1.

His attorneys say Hugine is seeking damages of up to $1 million from the university and up to $2 million from the individual defendants.

The State Law Enforcement Division said Wednesday that Shannon Fowler was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, enticing a child from school and violating test security regulations.

Authorities say the North Augusta teacher had sexual conversations with the student and encouraged her to tell parents she was actually talking to another student.

Fowler is also accused of picking the student up from school, buying her a prepaid cell phone and giving her answers to a standardized test.

Jail officials said Fowler was released on a personal recognizance bond. It was not clear if she had an attorney, and a number listed for Fowler was out of service.

Women who would like to try out for the 12th cycle of the show, starring Tyra Banks, will get a shot Aug. 9 at the Renaissance Charlotte hotel in South Park. Tryouts will be 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Casting agents say they are interested in women 18 to 27 years old, at least 5-foot-7 and a U.S. citizen.

Applicants should bring three photos of themselves – a facial close-up, a full-length shot in clothes and a full-length photo in a swimsuit. Producers say they are looking for a variety of models including plus size models.

Winner of “Top Model,” which airs at 8 p.m. Wednesdays this fall on the WB network (WJZY, Channel 46), gets $100,000 and a modeling contract.

Nearly 46,000 gave, boosting giving 58 percent over the previous year. The one-year record for giving had been $96 million, given in 1997-1998.

The giving breaks down like this:

• $32.6 million for student support, including scholarships, assistantships and fellowships

• $4.5 million for faculty support, including endowed professorships and chairs

The attorneys for Jerry Buck Inman asked a judge on Wednesday not to allow prosecutors to mention Inman's record during his upcoming trial in the death of Tiffany Marie Souers.

Authorities have said a bikini top used to strangle Souers was still wrapped around her neck when she was found in her off-campus apartment in May 2006.

Inman spent about 18 years in prison for rapes he committed as a teenager and is a registered sex offender in North Carolina and Florida.

A judge will rule on the request later. The trial has been scheduled for September.

The department wants anyone with information about the death of Raymond Randolph Jr. to call in.

Randolph's body was found July 27, 2005. He had been shot to death outside a vacant house at 109 Everett Street in Columbia.

Information about Randolph or the shooting can be called into Crime Stoppers at (888) CRIME-SC. A cash reward is offered for information that helps the department's Cold Case Unit.

Vicinity of 109 Everett Street:

Pascoe told The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg that a State Law Enforcement Division investigation found nine of the tickets were pleaded down to reckless driving, while the tenth was dismissed.

The handling of the tickets issued by trooper David Smith came under extra scrutiny because the defense lawyer in eight of the cases was state Sen. Brad Hutto. The Orangeburg Democrat has said the cases were dealt with properly.

The cases were more than 3 years old, on average, and charges were not dismissed in any of the eight cases involving Hutto, Pascoe said.

"It was a red flag, but once you investigate it, most of these were just pled down," Pascoe said. "It was nothing out of the ordinary."

It wasn't, however, the top overall beach-related search - that honor went to the phrase "nude beach."

Of specific destinations, here were the rankings:

Shanquan Pickett died Saturday about a day after someone struck him about the head and body with a round metal object.

Sheriff Kenney Boone says the teen was arrested about 7 p.m. Tuesday and is being charged with homicide by child abuse. The teen's name has not been released because of his age.

Boone says a hearing is planned Thursday in Family Court in Florence.

Prosecutor Ed Clements III told the Morning News of Florence he wants to charge the boy as an adult.

There were 26 people on board - 23 passengers and three crew members - who were fishing off Miss Calabash II when the Coast Guard got an initial call at 8:40 a.m. from another vessel, the Lucky Strike, that the Calabash boat was on fire, said Lt. Commander Eric King with the U.S. Coast Guard.

All of the passengers and crew members were safely recovered as they were picked up at 9:28 a.m. by Samaritan boaters in the area, King said.

Officials also launched a helicopter from Savannah, Ga., and one from Charleston along with two small boats from Oak Island, N.C., and two small boats from Georgetown, King said.

Officials do not know at this time what started the fire.

Prosecutor Jerry Peace says a probate judge made the ruling Tuesday. Last week, another judge said Bixby was incompetent to stand trial because he suffers from dementia.

Authorities say Bixby and his son ambushed a sheriff's deputy and state constable in Abbeville County in 2003 over a land dispute with the state Transportation Department.

Steven Bixby has been sentenced to death. His mother is serving a life sentence because she knew what her family planned but didn't tell authorities.

Peace says Arthur Bixby will stay in jail until mental health officials decide where to place him. Peace says Bixby could be tried later if he becomes competent.

Wall Street is expecting quarterly reports from names such as Office Depot Inc. and Corning Inc. And big reports are due Thursday and Friday on the overall output of the U.S. economy and employment. Some investors could refrain from making big bets ahead of the key economic barometers.

In any case, investors will continue to watch oil after it hit a two-month low Tuesday and led to the rally that more than made up for a sharp pullback in stocks Monday. Light, sweet crude fell 45 cents to $121.74 in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. A weekly Energy Department report is due Wednesday that should offer insights into domestic demand for energy.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 23, or 0.20 percent, to 11,396. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 1.30, or 0.10 percent, to 1,263.00, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.75, or 0.15 percent, to 1,844.75.

Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, was unchanged at 4.04 percent from late Tuesday.

Cooley Springs-Fingerville Fire Department Assistant Chief Tony Phillips told the Herald-Journal of Spartanburg the men sought shelter Tuesday evening as a storm gathered.

Phillips says the bolt struck the dirt at the men's feet, knocking them to the ground.

Phillips says most of the men suffered minor burns, blisters on their feet or tingling. He says a few struggled to stand.

Orchard owner James Cooley says the men were up and talking a few hours after they were struck and are all expected to recover.

"Red", a chow-mix, was found dead outside a gate of the shelter Monday. His legs had been tied together and he had marks on his body indicating he had been dragged, leading workers to fear he was the victim of cruelty.

But investigator Jonathan Blackwell told the Herald-Journal of Spartanburg that an elderly neighbor of the shelter found the dog dead last weekend under a bush and knew he lived at the shelter.

Blackwell says the man didn't have the strength to carry the dog back to the shelter, so he tied the rope around the animal's legs and dragged it back, placing the dog where he thought the body could be found.

Authorities charged Lloyd Gary Logan with assault and battery with intent to kill and inflicting or allowing the infliction of serious bodily injury upon a child, said Lt. Jerry Waldrop of the Rock Hill Police Department.

The child's mother has not been charged in the incident, Waldrop said.

According to a police report, Ariel Brice of the same address suffered internal injuries as well as injuries to her bones and teeth and other lacerations.

She is listed in good condition Tuesday at Carolinas Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The USC coach claimed that someone working for a Clemson fan site has been mailing recruits and sending them articles about Gamecock players having brushes with the law. He didn’t name the site, and the publishers of two Tiger fan sites denied the allegation.

Spurrier opened a news conference by pointing out that marijuana possession charges against Dion LeCorn were dropped on Monday.

“Usually when a guy’s arrested for whatever, that always make the headlines. And the guy that runs the Clemson Web site, he likes to send those articles to recruits all over the state,” Spurrier said after a golf media outing at Woodcreek Farms Country Club in Elgin.

“So I just wondered if he sends the articles about all charges dropped. So you guys that know that dude over there, tell him he can add that one today hopefully when he sends them out.”

Andersen said the district’s attorney asked him not to attend the meeting, which opened with board chairwoman Paula Hite acknowledging rumors about Andersen’s status with the district.

“I thought you might want the facts,” Andersen’s e-mail said. Other efforts to reach him Tuesday were unsuccessful.

The board has called a special meeting at 7:30 a.m. Thursday to discuss a personnel matter.

Board member Ed White said things might be clearer after that meeting.

The new effort was the brainchild of House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston; Rep. Dan Cooper, R-Anderson; Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston; and Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence — arguably the state’s four most influential lawmakers. The idea was also endorsed by new University of South Carolina president Harris Pastides and others in the business community.

The plan would create a Knowledge Sector Council to brainstorm ways to foster young companies with good ideas and attract established high-tech firms. The bottom line? More pay for S.C. workers.

As outlined in the job plan:

• Commerce would handle manufacturing, distribution and service jobs.

Developers Wade Caughman and Wes Taylor have let a contract to buy a prime four-acre tract on the West Columbia Riverwalk slip.

A year ago, Caughman and Taylor signed a contract to purchase the property from the city for $3.85 million.

Caughman said he had trouble inking tenants for office space in Rivertown, the planned $20 million, three-story, 150,000-square-foot complex of shops, restaurants and offices on Meeting Street between State Street and Alexander Road.

The property is on the most-used section of the Three Rivers Greenway and promised to be the centerpiece of Vista West, a West Columbia retail district at State and Meeting streets.

The two, Councilman Norman Jackson and Councilman-elect Kelvin Washington, were contacted last week by the Office of Special Counsel.

At issue is whether their positions at the state highway department would allow them to curry favor with their county constituents, blurring the lines between work and partisan politics.

Both are Democrats. Jackson’s job involves highway planning and engineering, while Washington works in technology and data analysis.

Jim Mitchell, a spokesman for the Office of General Counsel in Washington, D.C., confirmed that complaints were received about each man. He would not say who complained.

The result? More inexperienced people riding powerful machines during rush hour traffic — and more motorcycle deaths.

Last year, the S.C. Highway Patrol worked 121 fatal motorcycle wrecks, the highest number in 10 years, Sgt. Kelley Hughes said.

Unlike other states, where motorcycle fatalities largely are caused by motorists’ refusal to share the road, South Carolina’s spike in deaths is a result of a lack of training on the part of the motorcyclist, Hughes said.

The S.C. Department of Public Safety is trying to change that.

The Ginn Co. plans to build a combined 1,500 hotel rooms, condominiums and town houses on a 200-acre site on the Cooper River next to the Ravenel bridge.

The project, called The Promenade, also includes an amphitheater, stores and offices. Earlier plans for a golf course were dropped.

Buildings will sit on concrete piers reaching as many as 100 feet into the ground through the buried trash and soil to bedrock. The company also has spent $5 million hauling in fill to better cover the landfill.

The company and city are holding three days of workshops to get public feedback.

A report issued Tuesday by Horry County said police and emergency officials did an excellent job handling the two weeks of biker rallies this year. And vendor permit sales brought in just enough to cover expenses, the report said.

“Horry County is going to continue to work to make these bike weeks — both events — better and safer for the visitors and the residents,” said Councilman Bob Grabowski, chairman of the council’s public safety committee.

The two bike rallies have been under fire this summer as Myrtle Beach voted to raise its property tax to pay for studies on how to best get rid of the 10-day Harley-Davidson spring rally in the middle of May, which attracts mostly white bikers, and the five-day Atlantic Beach Bikefest around Memorial Day, which attracts black bikers.

But Myrtle Beach covers just 23 square miles and essentially is an island surrounded by Horry County, which has made no decision on whether to discourage the rallies. Myrtle Beach spokesman Mark Kruea said the mayor likely will ask County Council to join the city in the next few months.

School House Road, 2300 block: A man was arrested at 6:45 a.m. Wednesday after a patrolling officer saw him trying to break in to a house. The house was empty and clearly marked with no-trespassing signs. The man was on the screened porch and apparently trying to force open a window. When the officer approached, the man ran through the screen on the porch, destroying the screens, and tried to get away. He headed for nearby woods but was apprehended after a brief foot chase, a report said. The pursuing officer had minor injuries because of the chase, so a charge of resisting arrest was added.

LEXINGTON COUNTY SHERIFF

Condor Route, 100 block: Police were called to a subdivision at 8 a.m. Saturday after several residents awoke to find their cars vandalized. The cars were all hit with green paint, and each car had been covered in obscene writing. A witness gave deputies an address where he had heard what sounded like spray paint cans being shaken. When officers arrived, the same color paint was on the bushes and grass around the house. Neighbors said juveniles lived alone in the house. Police tried to get in, but no one came to the door.

RICHLAND COUNTY SHERIFF

Jesse Sainz IV, 29, died at the scene of multiple injuries, Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said. He was not wearing a seat belt, Watts said.

David James Speight, 30, was arrested Monday morning near the Citadel Mall, police say.

David Evans, 39, was captured a few hours later in North Charleston, Sheriff Al Cannon said.

Julius Clifton Barfield, 35, was arrested Monday morning at a Goose Creek apartment complex.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie has accepted the plea from Michael Corbett, who claimed to be a member of the Marine Corps from 1966 until 1978, U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins said.

Corbett faces a maximum of 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Wilkins says a sentence will be imposed later.

Corbett received the benefits from 2002 through 2006. The prosecutor says Corbett acknowledges he never served in the Marine Corps.

— The Associated Press

Michael J. Nettles, 20, and Kevin R. Cole, 16, are accused of robbing Jimmy’s Mini Mart on Meeting Street on July 21.

They already are charged with robbing Kangaroo Express on Sunset Boulevard on July 21 and Li’l Cricket on Meeting Street on July 12, police said.

Nettles also is accused of robbing a Cayce convenience store.

Investigators say the men wore wigs that might have belonged to Nettles’ grandmother.

“Red,” a chow mix, had lived at the shelter for at least 10 years. The dog’s body was found near the shelter gate Monday afternoon, The (Spartanburg) Herald-Journal reported. Red had been missing since Friday.

It appears the dog’s back legs were tied with a green plastic clothesline and it was dragged behind a vehicle, said Judy Wyles with the animal rescue group Project Zero.

The Cherokee Humane Society is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

Contributing: Staff writer Lee Higgins; The Associated Press

Among the charges resulting in arrests and citations were DUI, driving without a license, and drug possession.

The state’s Drought Response Committee recently categorized the drought’s in Anderson County as “severe,” the second highest of the five drought categories, The (Anderson) Independent-Mail of Anderson reported Tuesday.

Lee Alan Smith, 50, awaits sentencing.

FBI agents searched Smith’s residence in November 2007, when he admitted to receiving child pornography over the Internet, the release said.

— Lee Higgins

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control strongly disputed the findings of the Natural Resources Defense Council, accusing the group of using incomplete or erroneous data.

Among 1,214 samples taken and tested at 22 beaches along the South Carolina coast last year, 13 percent had bacterial contamination exceeding the maximum safety level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to the NRDC.

That figure was almost twice as high as the 7 percent national average, and it was much higher than the totals for neighboring North Carolina (2 percent) and Georgia (4 percent).

“South Carolina did notably worse than the rest of the Southeast in terms of the quality of its beach water,” said Nancy Stoner, director of the environmental organization’s clean-water project. “Nationwide, we’ve had no improvement that we can find in addressing the sources of beach-water pollution and in cleaning up the beaches.”

David Pacheco was taken into custody at the scene of the Saturday night shooting, authorities say.

Police say Pacheco was in a sedan that cut off a pickup on a rural road. The sedan slowed in front of the pickup, causing a minor wreck, police say.

Pacheco is accused of getting out of the car and firing several shots, killing Victor Arce, 36.

Researcher Matthew Carpenter of the Hollings Cancer Center sampled air quality two years ago in 23 bars and restaurants in Charleston and 11 more in Mount Pleasant.

Samples were taken again after both towns passed smoking bans last year. The result was a 94 percent reduction in air pollution with air quality well within standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

GAY MARRIAGE

In 2006, 78 percent of general election voters agreed to ban same-sex marriage, in response to a question engineered by Republicans.

LOTTERY

In 2000, 54 percent of general election voters agreed to establish a state-run lottery supporting education. And 84 percent voted to eliminate property taxes on cars and trucks in questions engineered by Democrats.

Efforts Monday to reach Peter Lamb, who resigned as a part-time magistrate several months ago, and his attorney were unsuccessful.

Lamb can never serve on the bench again without the state Supreme Court’s permission.

Efforts to reach members of the state Office for Disciplinary Counsel, the agency that oversees the conduct of judges, also were unsuccessful.

A reprimand is the strongest punishment the Supreme Court could give Lamb because he already had resigned, the court’s opinion said.

BEIJING — Just over a week before the Beijing Olympics, a militant Islamic group’s claims of responsibility for bombings in China have fueled unease about security.

The government has assured its people and the Olympic community that heavy security will ensure a secure games. But its clampdown has smothered a broad array of groups, many with grievances against the government but without a history of violence.

Stirring the latest concerns were videotaped threats purporting to be from an Islamic militant group. They surfaced last week in the name of the Turkistan Islamic Party — a group Chinese and Western terrorism experts say is an offshoot of a secessionist group from China’s Central Asian frontier with ties to al-Qaida.

In it, hooded men stood in camouflage fatigues with Kalashnikov guns and claimed responsibility for explosions in four cities in Western China in recent months, including two bus bombings last week in Kunming city that authorities said killed two people and injured 14.

State Republicans are criticizing a Newberry County proposal to ask voters about using video poker revenue to offset property taxes.

Attorney General Henry McMaster has said such a proposal violates state law, and top Republicans said the idea is a ploy to draw Democratic voters to the polls this fall.

The ballot question is only advisory and is not legally binding, county elections officials said.

The chairman of Newberry County Council said that while he is interested in the poll results, he does not support bringing back video poker. Councilman Henry B. Summer said he wanted to draw attention to things state government should be funding.

• Earned a master’s degree in social work from New York University

• Taught school and was a social worker in New York; moved to Columbia in 1986

• Her second husband was journalist and civil rights activist John H. McCray, who died in 1987. Married John Nickens in November .

• Began publishing poetry in the late 1980s; first collection published in 1993

By the time she was in her 70s, Carrie Allen McCray Nickens had already had a long and productive live. She had taught school and been a social worker, earned a master’s degree and was active in the civil rights moment.

But she still had another career in her.

At 73, she began writing seriously, and during the final two decades of her life published poetry and a book exploring the lives of her grandmother, a freed slave; her grandfather, a Confederate general; and their child, her mother.

Nickens died Friday. She was 94 .

Columbia City Council members are discussing whether to ask voters for permission to use property taxes to help operate the struggling bus system.

The option emerged after the regional transit board voted Monday to plan for reduced bus service next year amid concerns that local governments won’t figure out how to keep the system running past June.

But Mayor Bob Coble cautioned that chipping in Columbia property taxes would require cutting other services and wouldn’t produce much money — a few hundred thousand dollars for a $12 million bus system.

He emphasized that bus riders should anticipate cuts in service.

Superintendent Scott Andersen was absent from the Lexington-Richland 5 school board’s regular meeting Monday, and board chairwoman Paula Hite quickly acknowledged the swirl of conjecture regarding Andersen’s tenure.

“Unfortunately, there have been many rumors circulating in the community,” Hite said. She said she did not know where Andersen was Monday night.

District 5 spokesman Buddy Price said it is rare for the superintendent to miss a board meeting.

Efforts to reach Andersen were unsuccessful Monday.

In the latest expansion of her culinary empire, celebrity chef Rachael Ray has launched a charity-driven line of dog foods based on recipes she has created for her pit bull, Isaboo.

Ray, who came to fame with her “30 Minute Meals” Food Network show, said all of her proceeds from sales of Rachael Ray Nutrish pet foods will go to Rachael’s Rescue, which she founded to help at-risk animals. The outspoken dog lover regularly features recipes for pet food in her magazine, Every Day With Rachael Ray.

“It seemed like not a lot of extra time to donate to something that could potentially raise millions of dollars for championing these little creatures that can’t speak for themselves,” Ray said. A line for cats also is planned.

Ray’s pet charity group recently selected its first beneficiary, a terrier mix named Spirit that made national news earlier this month after a man was caught on videotape savagely beating it at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Headline-grabbing food poisonings from raw foods are prompting new interest in technology — from super-high pressure to irradiation — to get rid of some of the bugs. It won’t be a panacea, though: Far better to prevent contamination on the farm than to try to get rid of it later.

“This is never an excuse for a dirty product,” warns University of Minnesota infectious disease specialist Michael Osterholm.

But it’s impossible to prevent all contamination in open fields. And increasingly popular ready-to-eat foods — salads already washed and bagged, fruit peeled and sliced — allow another processing step during which a single slip-up can introduce pathogens.

Washing, even with chlorine or other chemicals, only gets rid of surface contaminants, not germs that sneak inside the fruit or vegetable. Enter high-tech options.