Latest South Carolina news, sports, business and entertainment

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

SC’s emergency director McKinney departing

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The director of South Carolina’s Emergency Management Division is stepping down from his post and the group’s chief of staff is serving as interim director.

George McKinney says he is leaving in mid-March and chief of staff Kim Stenson is stepping in as interim director.

The division comes under South Carolina’s military department, headed by Adjutant Gen. Robert Livingston, Jr.

Livingston said in a statement released Friday that he and Gov. Nikki Haley accepted McKinney’s decision to leave in order to commit more time to his family.

McKinney has served in the post for almost two years. He led operations through Hurricane Irene in September of 2011 and the response to the tornado in York county in November 2012.

NORTH CHARLESTON SHOOTING

Man surrenders in North Charleston shooting death

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A man has surrendered to North Charleston police in the shooting death of another man.

Police spokesman Spencer Pryor says 23-year-old Terrance Lance of North Charleston turned himself into police shortly before midnight Thursday.

Nineteen-year-old Rodriquez E. Henderson of North Charleston was shot and wounded on Thursday. Pryor says Henderson was taken to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston where he died.

Pryor said investigators think the shooting stemmed from a previous fight between the men.

Lance was being held on a murder charge in the Charleston County jail. It was not clear if he has an attorney.

CAB DRIVER KILLED

Man cleared in 2004 SC killing sues deputies

WALHALLA, S.C. (AP) — A man cleared in the 2004 killing of an Oconee County cab driver is suing the authorities who arrested him.

The Independent-Mail of Anderson reports that Lloyd Andrew Lash says in a lawsuit filed this week that his arrest and prosecution cost him lost earnings, degraded his name and caused him mental pain and suffering.

A jury deliberated a little more than an hour in 2011 before clearing Lash on all charges. He had been arrested in 2009 and charged with murder, attempted armed robbery and a weapons violation in the 2004 death of Seneca cab driver George Arthur Roberts.

Prosecutors say Roberts had picked up a man at a gas station and was found dead minutes later in his cab, which had gone down an embankment.

LEGISLATOR-ETHICS

Group wants Harrell to step down from leadership

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A political watchdog group says South Carolina House Speaker Bobby Harrell should step down as speaker while an ethics complaint against him is investigated.

The board of the state chapter of Common Cause says Harrell should not remain speaker while authorities examine complaints that he violated ethics rules. The ethics complaint brought by the South Carolina Policy Council was referred to the State Law Enforcement Division last week.

It alleges Harrell violated ethics rules by reimbursing himself $280,000 from his campaign account and by appointing his brother to a commission that nominates judicial candidates. The complaint also alleges Harrell used his position to help his business.

Harrell denies any wrongdoing and says he has no plans to step down from his leadership role.

SANTEE COOPER-POLLUTION

Environmental group complains about SC pollution

CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — An environmental group has filed a complaint with a federal agency about pollution at a Santee Cooper plant in Conway.

The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported the Southern Environmental Law Center filed with the Environmental Protection Agency and others on Thursday.

The environmental group says the state-owned utility is violating the Clean Water Act by allowing pollution at its Grainger electric plant to seep into the Waccamaw River.

Mollie Gore with Santee Cooper says there is no indication pollution is moving into the river.

Gore says the latest complaint is similar to allegations in a pair of lawsuits the group has filed about the Conway plant.

Frank Holleman with the center says it could sue in federal court if Santee Cooper does not stop the pollution.

EARLY CHILDHOOD SUCCESS

DHEC director discusses early childhood education

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The director of the state Department of Health and Environmental Control is speaking in Charleston about early childhood education.

Catherine Templeton joins a panel discussion Friday hosted by The Institute for Child Success and Nurse-Family Partnership Those two organizations work to improve access to early childhood care and education in South Carolina.

The discussion centers on how what the agencies are doing to promote early childhood care and education so youngsters will succeed later in school.

NATURAL GAS VEHICLES

SRNL, Ford study powering cars with natural gas

AIKEN, S.C. (AP) — Scientists at a lab at the Savannah River Site are studying ways to power vehicles using natural gas.

The Savannah River National Laboratory is partnering with Ford Motor Company, the University of California-Berkeley and BASF. The project is funded by a $5.5 million grant by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Researchers say they are looking at ways to develop high performance fuel systems to use next-generation metal-organic frameworks that can absorb natural gas at high densities.

Officials say the research at SRNL is one of 13 research projects splitting $30 million to find ways to harness America’s abundant natural gas supplies for cars and trucks, and expand the use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel.

ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS

USC hosts environmental educators’ conference

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A conference of college and university environmental educators from across the Southeast is being held at the University of South Carolina.

University spokeswoman Megan Sexton says the three-day session opens Friday with a keynote address by Christina Erickson, the sustainability director at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont.

Her talk is at 6 p.m. at Swearingen auditorium on the Columbia campus.

Erickson is speaking on programs for so-called “EcoReps,” or student leaders who work in residence halls to educate students about environmental issues. These student leaders can help other students learn how to live more environmentally friendly.

The event wraps ups Sunday with a tree planting.

HEART AND SOUL GRANT

Lowcountry group getting grant for heart project

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A group that works to find solutions to social and economic challenges in South Carolina is getting a grant to expand its program to battle cardiovascular disease among blacks.

The project from the Palmetto Project is known as Heart & Soul and works to educate people about ways to prevent heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease. Nearly 600 black churches around the state have participated in the effort that began 16 years ago.

Organizers are holding a news conference Friday in North Charleston to announce the new grant for the project. The Palmetto Project was selected from among 500 applicants nationwide for the award.