How much do Americans love South Carolina? It depends.

Polls are fun, and some are funny. One was released this week that is a little sad, a little scary.

It comes from Public Policy Polling, a company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, that has had phenomenal results in its short history. In fact, the Wall Street Journal ranked PPP as one of the top swing state pollsters in the country during the last Presidential election.

So PPP conducted a

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Haley to state's children: Want state parks? Pay up.

If you live in NORTH Carolina, your access to all of North Carolina's state parks is absolutely free. Even after the new conservative legislature imposed some fees for some services last year, admission remains free statewide.

That's because in North Carolina, people regard some spaces, programs and services as necessary to promoting a high quality of life for all its citizens. So North

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Some South Carolina facts for discussion in quiet rooms

Some fascinating facts about South Carolina's people, wealth, businesses and home ownership were updated by the U.S. Census Bureau late last month, and they offer a snapshot worth considering.

Here are only a few notes:

How many are we? Our 2010 population totaled 4.625 million, an increase of 15.3 percent over the 2000 census. It would appear that despite all the rhetoric advising Americans

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What is South Carolina's story?

Yesterday, I posted a note about an unfortunate letter written by a Charlestonian and published in Andy Brack's Statehouse Report. While the correspondent proposed sweeping the seamier facts and figures reflecting South Carolina's reality under the old rug, I suggested that we might be more authentic if we addressed those bad outcomes and changed our ways to make future reports better.

Brack

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Breathe deep the summer breeze; 2011-2012 comes next month

Summer doesn't end until September 21, but summer break expires in less than a month's time, educators. Don't look now, but for those on traditional school calendars, the start of the 2011-2012 school year is now mere days away.

This note from the Times and Democrat in Orangeburg comes like ice-water to sunburnt cheeks:Edisto High School will hold a Freshman Camp again this year for rising

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