Lucy Valeski

The State

The State •

‘That’s my peace and quiet.’ SC landowner protections pitted against pipeline needs

Rhonda McAlhaney and her husband, Jay, host family dove hunts with their four grandchildren, all boys, on their properties in Hampton Counties. McAlhaney also does conservation work, including prescribed burns and leaving the old timber uncut. She is 63, retired, and has lived in Hampton County her entire life.

Across the swamp, her 90-year-old mother lives on three tracts of land that have been in the family for over 100 years, McAlhaney said.

Under no circumstances does McAlhaney want an und...
The State •

Did SC really give data centers $800M in sales tax breaks last year?

While debating whether to allow data centers to keep their tax breaks next year, South Carolina lawmakers believed the large server warehouses’ exemptions cost the state more than $800 million last year.

But the cost of data center sales tax exemptions might actually be lower than $1 million under new numbers sent to The State newspaper Monday.

Exempt sales by data centers hit $13.8 million in fiscal year 2025, according to the South Carolina Department of Revenue. That’s the amount that could...
The State •

A Trump stop, debate flub and big spending shape last week of SC’s GOP Senate runoff

Glenda Brady, a Spartanburg County resident, hoped a forum where each Republican U.S. Senate runoff candidate spoke to voters about their platform in Greenville on Monday would give her an answer on who she should support.

She left still unsure who to vote for. Brady, who described herself as very tuned in to politics, said she wants someone in the Senate who will do what they say they will do.

“The abortion issue is important,” Brady said Monday. “The military is important. The border is impo...
The State •

Lindsey Graham, 71, rose from small town South Carolina to President Trump’s ear

Congress lost one of its most influential members Saturday evening when Lindsey Graham suddenly died after nearly a quarter of a century in the U.S. Senate.

He died July 11 from “a brief and sudden illness,” his office said in a statement sent at 1:54 a.m. Sunday. He turned 71 two days earlier.

The preliminary cause of death was an aortic dissection — a tear in the aorta, the body’s main artery — due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to the medical examiner of the District...
The State •

Court ruling, Trump influence makes SC House want to begin redrawing congressional maps

The South Carolina House lined up a chance to redraw its congressional maps Wednesday, joining an effort pushed by President Donald Trump to gain more reliably Republican seats in the South ahead of the 2026 midterms. Now, it is up to the state Senate to keep that chance alive.

The primary elections are scheduled to take place in 33 days, and the General Assembly has just four days before any incomplete bills will be dead.

Some lawmakers were also aiming to get out early of the State House ear...
The State •

‘Wild West’ for THC drinks, edibles stays as hemp regulation deal collapses in SC

About a quarter of sales at Jadoon’s Market in North Charleston come from sales of hemp products.

A complete ban on hemp-derived THC drinks could have led the local market to cut jobs and a strict regulation would force them to drop some inventory and restructure their entire store, said Owais Jadoon, who co-owns the store with his father.

So, when a long-debated psychoactive THC regulation died in the South Carolina legislature Thursday afternoon, Jadoon felt a “massive relief.”

“It would ha...
The State •

Will Dominion merger benefit SC ratepayers? Regulatory scrutiny over deal sought

Just four days after Dominion Energy and state utility Santee Cooper were given permission to build a large natural gas plant in Colleton County, another utility made a blockbuster announcement impacting South Carolinians.

Dominion Energy, which serves customers in the Midlands, and Florida-based NextEra want to merge and serve 10 million customers throughout the Southeast.

Before any formal regulatory filings on the merger, some have been asking whether it would benefit South Carolinians, or...
The State •

Questions surface about roles of SC House speaker, Senate president in mega utility merger

The roles of House Speaker Murrell Smith and Senate President Thomas Alexander in the proposed Dominion Energy-NextEra utility merger are sparking questions about whether their efforts could unduly influence the state Public Service Commission.

The PSC, a seven member commission chosen by the Legislature, is tasked with ensuring the $67 billion deal is in the public interest. Dominion and NextEra combining would create a huge utility, servicing 10 million customers across Florida, North Carolin...
The State •

Funding the arts ‘includes us,’ says LGBTQ+ chorus denied grant by SC

Mary Adam was first introduced to the Greenville Gay Men’s Chorus as an audience member. The 36-member group performed at her church.

“It’s usually a family event,” Adam said. “It’s all very lighthearted and positive and meaningful. Honestly, some of the songs might get more serious about a gay experience. Many times, you see people in the audience being brought to tears at connecting to whatever the message of that song might be. So it’s very powerful and, to me, just very important.”

Adam be...
The State •

A decade after deadly floods, Midlands dams are still in bad shape

Many of the most dangerous dams in Richland and Lexington counties are still in bad shape a decade after the deadly flood that killed nine people in Columbia.

Nearly a third of Richland and Lexington County’s most dangerous state-regulated dams are in “poor” or “unsatisfactory” condition, according to inspection reports reviewed by The State. And over 50 of the counties’ 121 hazardous dams don’t have a required plan detailing what to do if an emergency does happen, records show. The State obtai...
The State •

SC Election Commission averts $1 million monthly fine on 2024 ballot scanner loan

Less than a week after rejecting a plan to avoid a $1 million monthly fine, the South Carolina Election Commission agreed Monday to a deal to pay a multimillion dollar loan late.

The agency responsible for handling elections took out roughly $33 million in loans to pay for machines to count ballots, just over a month before the November 2024 elections. Now, the agency is several weeks past due on a roughly $11 million payment to TD Bank, according to a contract obtained by The State from the S....
The State •

NextEra doubles bill discount for Virginia in megamerger. SC customers left out

A massive merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra may lead to discounted bills for customers, but Virginia residential ratepayers would receive credits for double the time of their Palmetto State counterparts.

Virginia Dominion customers will receive an average $10 monthly bill credit for four years if the megamerger is given all necessary approvals, according to a Monday news release. The utilities previously planned two years of bill credits but said it would double the deal for Virginia r...
The State •

How SC’s Lindsey Graham became one of the U.S. Senate’s most influential members

A maverick that wasn’t afraid to buck his own party. A staunch supporter of Israel and Ukraine. A fraught ally and eventual close friend of President Donald Trump. A force in budging the country’s Supreme Court further right.

South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham, one of the most powerful lawmakers in the U.S. Senate, served a long, transformational and sometimes controversial three decades in elected office.

Graham, 71, had not yet finished his fourth term in the upper chamber and was running for a...
The State •

Why did LLCs donate more than half of SC House budget chair’s ’25 campaign cash?

Editor’s Note: This is the first installment in Follow the Money, a new series examining who is funding the campaigns of South Carolina’s most influential lawmakers — who are up for reelection in November.

May 22 was a strong day of fundraising for state Rep. Bruce Bannister, a Greenville Republican and one of the most powerful members of the S.C. House of Representatives who is up for reelection in November.

On that day, $23,000 in donations flowed into his campaign account from one single ad...
The State •

Is a data center operating or planned in your SC county? Here’s a map

Do you know about other local data center ordinances in South Carolina? Have any information about proposed data center developments? Send an email to lvaleski@thestate.com.

As some embrace and others reject new data center development in South Carolina, it can be difficult to know where the more than 20 warehouses used to power AI and other digital services are showing up in the state.

Some residents want to keep new data centers out of their communities, citing fears that the infrastructure...
The State •

‘Truly Trump country.’ Political muscle decisive for Graham’s victory in SC

A smiling U.S. Sen. Darline Graham walked on stage Tuesday evening to a Pitbull song after becoming the Republican Party’s U.S. Senate nominee. Excited supporters chanted “Darline” and held signs reading “South Carolina is Graham Country”

But in her acceptance speech, Graham, the sister of a South Carolina political giant, told supporters the state was “truly Trump country.”

“I want to thank President Trump for all of his support and his endorsement,” Graham said. “...Our victory would not hav...
The State •

SC Democrats want to break GOP supermajority in House. Can they swing 6 seats?

With Democratic candidates competing in every South Carolina House race this year, the state party hopes to win 42 of the 124 seats to break the Republican parties’ supermajority. But political scientists say it will be challenging for the minority party to gain at least six seats.

In a state where politics are dominated by Republicans, the South Carolina Democratic Party spent months trying to recruit someone to run for every state House seat. By the March filing deadline, the party had a cand...
The State •

Dominion, NextEra make case for megamerger to SC, includes $10 monthly discount

Dominion Energy and NextEra filed an application with South Carolina regulators to merge into one mega-utility Wednesday, though new details of the deal have not assuaged detractors’ concerns about the potential impacts to ratepayers.

The companies want South Carolina utility regulators, the Public Service Commission, to determine the planned $67 billion merger will be in the public interest. A decision could be made by January 2027.

The megamerger would give South Carolina customers about $38...
The State •

GOP-controlled SC Senate kills 2026 redistricting push despite Trump pressure

The South Carolina Senate killed a proposed congressional map for the 2026 election as thousands of voters went to the polls Tuesday, rebuking pressure from the White House to create seven reliably Republican districts.

With a record number of primary voters casting their ballots around the state Tuesday, the Senate’s Republican supermajority could not muster enough support to limit debate and force a final vote on a new congressional map.

“The deadline has passed, voting has begun,” said stat...
The State •

Who tells SC’s history? Heritage Act update etches monuments, memorials in stone

At Halsey Creek in Charleston, a new historical marker recognizes the site of a colonial plantation and a supply point for a brutal loss for the Patriots during the Revolutionary War.

The Gibbes Landing marker was put up in 2024 by the Preservation Society of Charleston to recognize the historical impact of the area. Later, the organization added a QR code to the corner of the plaque, which sends visitors to a page with historical maps, timelines and photos.

But president and CEO Brian Turner...
The State •

SC spent more than $30M on new voting ballot scanners. Senator says money ‘wasted’

After taking out more than $30 million in loans for new voting equipment before the 2024 general election, the new ballot scanners work similarly to the former machines, state Election Commission executive director Jenny Wooten told lawmakers Tuesday.

The state Election Commission agreed to pay more than $28 million for ballot scanners and other new voting equipment in late 2024. With additional sales tax and interest, the cost ballooned to nearly $32 million, Wooten said Tuesday. Former execut...
The State •

SC residents push back on data center growth. Will state regulate AI-warehouses?

Touring the land was more important than the house when Jennifer Singleton was looking to purchase property in Colleton County about four years ago. She wanted to retire in a home surrounded by nature.

“When we went to look at it, my wife immediately went inside the house, and she’s like, ‘Are you not coming in?’ ” Singleton said. “And I’m like, ‘Nope. I want to walk the property. I want to see the surrounding area. I want to see the property itself, the acreage. ’”

On her 12 acres, Singleton...
The State •

Utilities trying to tamp concerns over planned SC gas plant, environmentalists say

Utilities are using a new South Carolina energy law to justify a request environmental advocates argue will tamp opposition to a proposed massive natural gas plant in Colleton County.

The Sierra Club, a national environmental nonprofit, wants to participate in a Public Service Commission case determining whether a proposed large natural gas plant in Colleton County properly protects the environment and ratepayers. Two local nonprofits, the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League and the Sout...
The State •

Rising power bills, rising energy demand. SC bets big on new generation.

South Carolinians’ power bills will go up over the next couple of years, but how much will likely depend on whether utilities accurately predict demand, a task that has grown more challenging with the rise of data centers.

Before approving nearly $700 million for new South Carolina power plants earlier this month, state lawmakers expressed concerns over how those investments could impact residential power bills. The new power plants from state-owned utility Santee Cooper will help meet explodin...
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