JUST WHAT YOU PROBABLY DID NOT NEED TO HEAR AT THE START OF A HOLIDAY WEEKEND, COVID-19 CASES ARE ON THE RISE THIS SUMMER. THE C-D-C ESTIMATES NUMBERS OF INFECTIONS GROWING IN 36 STATES, INCLUDING SOUTH CAROLINA. NUMBERS FROM TWO WEEKS AGO ESTIMATE ABOUT 250 CASES STATEWIDE, OBVIOUSLY FAR FEWER THAN THE PANDEMIC OUTBREAK. IT IS A DIFFERENT VARIANT FROM WHAT WE’VE EXPERIENCED BEFORE AND THIS SUMMER, THE VIRUS HAS BEEN REPORTED IN WASTEWATER. OF COURSE, THIS NEWS COMES OUT THE SAME WEEK AS THE F-D-A APPROVES NEW COVID VACCINES THAT SHOULD BE AVAILABLE IN PHARMACIES NEXT WEEK, BUT WITH NEW VACCINATION ORDERS THAT ONLY RECOMMEND SHOTS FOR THOSE OVER 65 OR THOSE WHO HAVE CERTAIN UNDERLYING CONDITIONS. IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE COVID, CALL YOUR DOCTOR. IN THE MEANTIME, KEEP WASHING YOUR HANDS.
THE WORD ‘RICH’ CAN BE DEFINED IN A LOT OF WAYS, BUT USING THE FINANCIAL DEFINITIONS, BEAUFORT COUNTY IS THE SECOND ‘RICHEST’ IN THE STATE, BEHIND ONLY CHARLESTON COUNTY. THE FINANCIAL TECH COMPANY SMART ASSET HS COLLECTED DATA ABOUT PROPERTY VALUES, INVESTMENT INCOME AND MEDIAN INCOME AND SAYS FIVE OF THE TEN WEALTHIEST COUNTIES IN THE STATE ARE HERE IN THE LOWCOUNTRY. BEAUFORT COUNTY’S MEDIAN INCOME IS ACTUALLY A TICK HIGHER THAN CHARLESTON’S, BUT THE BIGGER CITY HAS MORE INVESTMENT INCOME AND SLIGHTLY HIGHER HOME VALUES. BERKELEY COUNTY IS THE THIRD ‘RICHEST’ COUNTY IN THE STATE, YORK COUNTY OUTSIDE CHARLOTTE IS 4TH WITH GREENVILLE 5TH AND JASPER COUNTY NOW 10TH.
THIS MIGHT BE GOOD NEWS TRUMPETED BY BEAUFORT COUNTY’S PUBLIC INFORMATION TEAM. THE STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES ANNOUNCED THAT THREE COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBERS, THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR AND ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR ALL GRADUATED FROM A MULTI-CLASS, MULTI-YEAR TRAINING PROGRAM DESIGNED TO GIVE COUNTY OFFICIALS THE SKILLS TO DEAL WITH CRITICAL ISSUES. YOU MIGHT WONDER WHY THEY’D NEED THESE CLASSES, BUT THEY ALL SAY THEY LEARNED FROM THE EXPERIENCE, AND THAT CAN’T BE A BAD THING.
AND FOR THIS LABOR DAY WEEKEND, MICHAEL PEARSON WILL BE A FREE MAN, LET OUT OF THE CLARENDON COUNTY JAIL AFTER SERVING 15 YEARS OF A 60-YEAR SENTENCE FOR AN ARMED ROBBERY IT IS NOW RULED HE DID NOT COMMIT BACK IN 2010. PEARSON’S CONVICTION WAS OVERTURNED BACK IN 2014, BUT THE STATE SUPREME COURT OVERTURNED THAT DECISION AND SENT HIM BACK TO PRISON. IN RECENT WEEKS, HIS NEW LAWYERS FOUND OUT THAT HIS CO-DEFENDANT ON THE CHARGES HAD FULLY CONFESSED AND THAT PEARSON HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CRIME AND EVEN MORE RECENTLY, A MAN NAMED BY THAT CO-DEFENDANT CORROBORATED THE STORY THAT PEARSON WAS INNOCENT. PEARSON HAS BEEN GRANTED A NEW TRIAL, BUT THE PROSECUTORS SAY THAT HE WILL LIKELY NOT TAKE PEARSON BACK TO COURT. STATE LEGISLATORS FROM CLARENDON COUNTY SAY THEY PLAN TO PUSH REFORMS AND NEW STANDARDS ON EVIDENCE. AFTER BEING RELEASED, PEARSON SAID THAT ‘JOY IS OVERCROWDING ANGER RIGHT NOW” AND ‘HOPEFULLY THIS WON’T HAPPEN TO NOBODY ELSE’.