N.C. Voter ID Law to Block 218,000 Registered Voters from Primary

North Carolina’s new voter ID law goes into effect for the first time during the March 15 primary, and 218,000 registered voters do not have an acceptable form of government-issued ID now required to vote.

Ethelene Douglas, an 85-year-old African-American woman who grew up in the segregated South and first registered to vote in 1964, was one of them. Her struggle to obtain the necessary ID vividly illustrates the problems with the law.

In September 2012, Douglas’s niece, Clara Quick, took her to the DMV in Laurinburg, North Carolina, to get a state photo ID. Douglas was told she needed a copy of her birth certificate to get an ID. So they traveled across the state line to Dillon, South Carolina, where Douglas was born, to find her birth certificate. But the government office there said she needed a photo ID to get a birth certificate, and Douglas was caught in a seemingly unresolvable catch-22. (This account comes from an affidavit Quick filed in federal court.)

Her niece called the South Carolina’s Vital Records office, paid $17 for an expedited birth certificate, but still couldn’t get one. Instead, she was told to find her aunt’s marriage certificate, which was in Bennettsville, South Carolina. After getting that, they made a second trip to the North Carolina DMV, but were once again told Douglas couldn’t get a photo ID because she didn’t have a birth certificate.

They were so frustrated that they gave up trying for a time. In the fall of 2013, after North Carolina passed the voter ID law, they made a third trip to the DMV. An employee told Quick to get a census report to confirm her aunt’s identify, which she purchased for $69. Quick brought her aunt’s census report, marriage certificate, Social Security card, and utility bill during a fourth trip to the DMV in September 2014 and was finally able to get her the photo ID needed to vote.

It took two years, four trips to the DMV, two trips to South Carolina, and $86 in government documents for an 85-year-old woman to continue to vote. Quick called it “an absolute nightmare. There are other voters out there that do not have the money, time, access to transportation, and family assistance to obtain a NCDMV photo ID. It should not be this difficult to obtain an ID for voting.”

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S.C. Earthquake Drills This Week

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - State and local agencies are working this week to make sure South Carolina is ready for the big one.

Starting Monday, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division is hosting the state's annual earthquake disaster exercise. The agency says it is coordinating with county and state emergency response officials to test their abilities to recover from an earthquake.

The state Emergency Operations Center in West Columbia will be fully activated for the duration of the three-day exercise. Reporters can attend sessions each day, and there's also a mobile unit designed to simulate an earthquake.

Daylight Savings Time Warnings, Reminders

Time to spring into action: Daylight saving time is upon us.

Maybe it'll be a bit harder to drag yourself out of bed Sunday after losing an hour's sleep Saturday night.

But there'll be an extra hour of sunlight in the evening in the months ahead to play ball, take a walk and enjoy the outdoors.

The time change officially started Sunday at 2 a.m. local time.

• 5 ways daylight saving time messes with your health

It's also a good time to put new batteries in warning devices such as smoke detectors and hazard warning radios - and again, when standard time returns Nov. 6.

No time change in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.

Daylight Saving became an official American standard in 1966, and was created to conserve energy. Most of Asia, Africa and South America do not observe Daylight Saving.

Ga. May Spend $2 Million on "Fake Abortion Clinics"

Georgia lawmakers have approved state funding of up to $2 millon for unlicensed crisis pregnancy centers, dubbed “fake abortion clinics” by some advocates.

The bill, which specifies that abortion care should not be mentioned when discussing healthcare options for pregnant women, will now go before Governor Nathan Deal for his signature.

Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) are non-medical facilities that seek to counsel women out of having abortions. Many of these clinics have confusing names and advertising that suggest they provide abortion services, and others provide misleading medical information to discourage women from having abortions.

Often counselors will tell women that condoms are ineffective, that they will be unable to get pregnant again if they have an abortion, and that abortion and birth control cause cancer. There are more than 4,000 CPCs in the US and at least 12 states fund CPCs directly. 

State Senator Renee Unterman, the bill’s sponsor and the chair of the state senate’s Health and Human Services committee, told her colleagues before their vote on Thursday that crisis pregnancy centers “do a fabulous job because they offer alternative services other than abortion” and that “[i]t’s a better thing for people to have better decisions.” Unterman has said that the these centers provide positive alternatives to abortion and that they help reduce the number of abortions performed in the state through the ultrasounds and counseling they provide.

During debates on the bill, only female representatives spoke in opposition to its passage.

“If you want to decrease abortion, then let’s invest $2 million in sex ed,” state representative Stacy Evans said on the statehouse floor Friday.

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March 11: Something Fishy and is it Hartwell Lake or Lake Hartwell?

Bumper Peach Crop Expected for S.C.

South Carolina is one of the top three peach-producing states and 2016 looks to be a great year for the sweet, succulent fruit.

Andy Rollins, a Clemson University Extension agent, said from what he has seen and what growers have told him, the peach crop looks “pretty good this year.” Rollins specializes in fruit and vegetable crops in the Upstate.

“We normally have a cooler fall than we had last year and we also had extremely wet weather this year,” Rollins said. “But despite all of that, we still were able to get in all of our chilling hours. This year could be one of the best years ever for our peach crop.”

Chilling hours are the number of hours peach trees have in temperatures below 45 dgrees. Peach trees drop their leaves in the fall and go into a developmental state known as a period of dormancy. As winter progresses, the trees enter another state known as rest. While in the rest stage, the trees cannot grow. Chilling temperatures are necessary for the trees to overcome the period of rest. Budbreak and normal growth occur after a peach tree has come out of its rest stage. Depending on the variety, peach trees in South Carolina require approximately 800 to 1,000 chill hours, Rollins said.

Peach pest control for growers

While weather may not have created problems, San Jose scales have, Rollins said. San Jose scales are small insects that usually go unnoticed until the population injures the tree. The scales survive the winter as partially developed male and female adults. Development continues when the sap flow begins in the spring and they become fully developed about the time the peach trees are in bloom. This species does not lay eggs, but gives birth to crawlers that immediately disperse over the tree. There are four to six generations per year.

The insects suck plant juices and gradually hinder tree development. Scale is present at some level in every peach orchard. The adult stage is best controlled with oil applied while the trees are dormant. The crawler stage is best controlled after they have begun to hatch from their eggs.

When San Jose scales are detected, Rollins said to spray the trees with a dormant oil to smother the insect and that coverage is critical for control. Dormant oils can be applied before  when the temperature is above 40 degrees. The oil sprays work by smothering the overwintering adult females. They offer the best control when applied during the dormant season. Growers should spray the trunk and limbs to the point of runoff and read label directions.

Scales are almost always found on peach trees, making dealing with them more of a maintenance issue, Rollins said. Injury to peaches by scales is characterized by reddish/purple spots on the fruit.

“Even with the spots, the fruit is safe to eat,” Rollins said. “It’s ugly, but still safe to eat.”

It’s also nearing the end of pruning season, Rollins said. Pruning should be completed before the trees begin to bloom.

In addition to insects, peach growers also should be on the lookout for diseases. Brown rot and peach scab are two diseases of concern for peach growers.

“It is always critical that peach growers think about brown rot and peach scab,” said Guido Schnabel, Clemson plant pathologist. “These are the two main fruit diseases we deal with.”

For scab disease management, Schnabel advises applying targeted sprays after bloom. For effective brown rot management, pre-harvest fungicide applications are needed, he said.

To aid peach growers in integrated pest management, the Clemson Extension Service has a smartphone application, called My IPM. Created by Schnabel and Roy Pargas, a software designer, the Android version was released on Google Play in January 2015 and the iOS version hit the App Store in March 2015.

The app includes detailed information on around a dozen diseases and several abiotic disorders for each fruit, as well as tips on chemical and non-chemical disease management. It provides picture galleries that can be used to do in-field diagnostics and audios from regional experts, as well as interactive tables that can help growers design effective spray programs. In addition to information for peaches, the app also has strawberry-related information.

South Carolina produces the second largest peach crop in the United States. According to the United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service, South Carolina produced 69,000 tons of peaches in 2015. California produced the most and Georgia came in as the third largest producer of peaches in 2015.

More information about growing peaches in South Carolina is on the Peaches and Nectarines fact sheet. Growers also can find information in the 2016 Southeastern Peach, Nectarine and Plum Pest Management and Culture Guide.

Weekend Events to Usher in FLW Pro Tour Week's Activities

The most competitive circuit in professional bass fishing is coming to Green Pond Landing next week, with more than 170 anglers on the lake as part of the 2016 Walmart FLW Tour at Lake Hartwell presented by Evinrude.

The FLW competitors will usher in the event with a series of local appearances and events beginning this weekend.

On Saturday, FLW will feature Wal-Mart Pro Days, to be held at Wal-Mart stores in Anderson and Seneca. The Pro Days free events are scheduled from noon–2 p.m., and and will feature FLW Pro Anglers such as Matt Arey, Jeff Sprague, Greg Bohannon, Jimmy Houston, David Dudley, Scott Canterbury, Mark Rose and Nicole Jacobs. In addition, members of the Clemson University Bass Team will be on hand at the Seneca Pro Day.

At noon on Saturday, Grady’s Great Outdoors of Anderson will host the Lews Casting Challenge with David Fritts. The event will feature fishing tips from the Lews Pros who will also be givinig away a Lews Baitcasting Combo to one lucky attendee. Fritts is one of a few anglers to win the FLW Forrest Wood Cup and a Bassmaster Classic Championship.

Also on Saturday, the First Baptist Church of Belton will hold a “Meet the Pro’s” Night on at the church, located at 105 Brown Avenue in Belton. The event will begin at 5 p.m. with fishing seminars and breakout sessions given by FLW Pro’s followed by a BBQ dinner at 6 p.m. Among the pros scheduled to attend are Scott Martin, Mark Rose, Greg Bohannon, Glenn Chappelear as well as Anderson County native and FLW Pro Brian Latimer. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door.

On Tuesday, the Anderson County Museum will celebrate the opening of the new Lake Hartwell Exhibit, “62 Years in the Making,” with a reception from 5-7 p.m. The wine and cheese reception, sponsored by the Friends Board of the Anderson County Museum, is free and open to the public. The exhibit will feature a historical look at Lake Hartwell and will include such items as the 2015 Bassmaster Classic Trophy won by Casey Ashley of Donalds as well as some additional memorabilia from Ashley’s collection.

On Wednesday, as part of the FLW Tour’s community outreach initiative, FLW Tour anglers will visit students at Lakeside Middle School in Anderson from 8-9:30 a.m. to introduce students to fishing and outdoor activities in their community. During the presentations the pro anglers will reinforce how science, technology, engineering and math relate to outdoor activities as well as boating safety. The presentation will promote the sport of fishing and outdoor recreation and give youth the information they need to “Get Outdoors. Go Fish!”

The FLW tournament is scheduled for Thursday-Sunday, with boat launches beginning at 7 a.m. each moring at Green Pond Landing. 

On Saturday, the FLW Foundation and Anderson County will hold a Unified Fishing Derby, designed for young anglers and the Special Olympics athletes (all ages) in the area, at Chris Taylor Memorial Park near the Civic Center of Anderson. The derby, set from 9-11 a.m., will be hosted by FLW Foundation Pro Cody Kelly. Special goodie bags will be given to the first 50 participants who sign up for the event. Rods and Reels will be available for use, however, children are welcome to bring your own. Bait will be donated by DMF Baits. First and Second Place awards for biggest fish caught will be given from the FLW Stage. For more information or to register, email Judith.allen@flwfishing.com

Hosted by the Anderson Convention & Visitors Bureau, the FLW tournament will bring many of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals and co-anglers casting for top awardsof up to $125,000 cash in the pro division and up to $25,000 cash in the co-angler division.

Stouffer's Recalls Lasagnas, Lean Cuisines, DiGiorno Pizzas

Nearly three million boxes of frozen DiGiorno pizzas, Stouffer's lasagnas and Lean Cuisine meals are being recalled after customers said they found pieces of glass in their food.

Nestle USA, the company behind the brands, said no injuries have been reported.

The food maker said the glass may have come from the spinach used in the recalled products. It said an investigation is ongoing.

The recall covers about 2.98 million individual boxes, including four varieties of DiGiorno pizzas, five types of Lean Cuisine meals, four Stouffer's lasagnas and one Stouffer's spinach souffle. Nestle USA listed each recalled product on its website, including the production codes on the boxes and the "Best Before Dates.":

Nestle USA recall information: http://www.nestleusa.com/media/pressreleases/nestle-digiorno-stouffers-lean-cuisine-voluntary-recall

Expect Traffic Changes for St. Patrick's Day Events Downtown

Traffic along Main Street in Anderson will be affected for the Race the Rainbow Fun Run, 5K and 10K, along with the St. Patrick's Parade on Saturday, with the closing of the 100 block of E. Whitner from 7 -11 a.m.

Race Routes

- 1 Mile:  8 am - 8:30 am - Courthouse North to Clinkscales on North Main; turn South to Courthouse  - 5K Race:  8:30 am - 9:30 am - Courthouse North to 2100 block of North Main; turn South to Courthouse  - 10k Race:  8:30 am - 10 am - Courthouse North to Moultrie Square; right to Duckworth Lane; left to Boulevard Heights; sharp right to Bellview Road; right to Bannister Street; left to Boulevard Heights; left to Brookview Drive; right to Bellview Road; right to Fenwick Way; left to Ravenal Road; left to College Avenue; left to Price Street; left to Boulevard Heights

The St. Patrick's Parade in the Electric City is set to start between 10-10:30 a.m. at North Main and Tribble streets, and continues along Main Street to River Street.  Roads will reopen as the parade proceeds down Main Street.

Senate Passes Road Bill

The South Carolina Senate has given final approval to a bill that offers an additional $400 million to state roads and changes the structure of the board that runs the Department of Transportation.

Senators passed the bill without debate Thursday, sending it back to the House.

The House passed its own bill last April that raises a tax on fuel. The Senate version takes the $400 million out of the general budget and allows the governor to name all eight members of the DOT's board.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Brian White said in a statement that the Senate bill is a plea for the House to use the budget to help the Senate avoid its inability to pass a comprehensive roads bill with a stable source of revenue.

2,500 Pound Great White Shark Caught off S.C. Coast

A man in South Carolina was able to reel in a massive 2,500 pound great white shark off the coast of South Carolina on Tuesday.

Outcast Sport Fishing shared photos of the shark captured by fisherman Troy Bowman of Bulls Gap, Tenn., around 2:50 p.m.

The shark reportedly jumped completely out of the water after being caught on the hook for about two minutes, but the group was ultimately able to reel it in completely.

"After an insane battle, we ended up getting her boat side at about 7 p.m. to apply an acoustic tag near the dorsal and take DNA sample from her pec fin," Capt. Chip Michalove wrote. "She swam off healthy and looking forward to finding out where our South Carolina great whites go."

Michalove said this represents the fifth great white he and his crew have encountered this winter and the third they have caught.

Half of American Diet Utra-Processed Foods

More than half of the average American diet is composed of so-called ultra-processed foods, a new study finds.

And these foods make up 90 percent of the excess sugar calories that Americans consume, the researchers reported.

Ultra-processed foods are concoctions of several ingredients, including salt, sugar, oils and fats. They also contain chemicals not generally used in cooking, such as flavorings, emulsifiers and other additives designed to mimic real foods, the researchers said.

"Decreasing the consumption of ultra-processed foods may be an effective way of reducing the excessive added sugar intake in the U.S.," said lead researcher Euridice Martinez Steele. She's from the department of nutrition in the School of Public Health at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil.

Ultra-processed foods include sodas, sweet or savory packaged snacks, candy and desserts, packaged baked goods, instant noodles and soups and reconstituted meat products, such as chicken and fish nuggets, she said.

By contrast, "processed" foods are foods made with added salt, sugar or other substances normally used in food to unprocessed or minimally processed foods, such as canned foods or simple breads and cheese, the study authors said.

Too much sugar increases the risk for weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay, Steele said.

"There is one relatively simple way to avoid excessive added sugar -- not replacing real food, such as minimally processed foods and freshly prepared dishes and meals, with ultra-processed food and drink products," she said.

In other words, drink water, pasteurized fresh milk and freshly squeezed fruit juices. And don't drink soft drinks, sweetened milk drinks and reconstituted, flavored fruit juices.

People should avoid products that don't require preparation, such as packaged soups, instant noodles, prepared frozen dishes and sandwiches, cold cuts and sausages, ready-to-eat sauces and cake mixes, Steele said.

The report was published online Wednesday in the journal BMJ Open