SCIWAY News, No. 16 – October 1998

In This Issue

• 14 State Candidates Have Campaign Web Sites
• Graphical Link to SCIWAY's Election '98 Page
• Visit Piggly Wiggly on the Net
• New and Notable South Carolina Web Sites
• South Carolina Picture of the Week
• Emerald City Specials Caboose
• Upcoming Festivals, Shows, Events
• An Evening in Beaufort

14 State Candidates Have Campaign Web Sites

With the 1998 general election just a month away, it's time to start learning more about who's running for what and who we want to vote for. This year this job is easier–and different–because many of the candidates for state and federal offices have campaign websites. You can find all of these sites on SCIWAY's new Election 98 page (https://www.sciway.net/gov/election98.html - page no longer exists). This page also includes links to the South Carolina Election Commission, the text of this year's four proposed constitutional amendments, state and national political parties, and other relevant sites.

Some of the campaign websites are surprisingly engaging, perhaps because they give statewide and congressional district candidates a chance to do something rare: communicate directly with the general public for more than 30 seconds. If you think about it, most of what we know about political candidates is based on what the media choose to tell us ... and what candidates can afford to tell us through newspaper ads and short radio and television commercials. Because of their relatively low cost and wide accessibility, websites provide all candidates an equal opportunity to talk to us directly.

After spending a modest amount of time at these campaign sites, I feel I know considerably more about the candidates (as people) and their priorities. This is especially true for those candidates who are running for less visible offices–meaning everything but governor and United States senator.

No election campaign would be complete, of course, without some statistics and trivia. and since we all need to start getting our minds in shape to cope with the waves of poll results, vote predictions, and post-election analyses that are rolling our way, here are some trivial statistics to begin your conditioning.

First, South Carolina Democrats are clearly ahead in the Web site race: 8 of the 13 Democrats running for contested statewide or Congressional district offices have campaign websites, compared with only 3 of their Republican opponents.

Republicans, on the other hand, have done a much better job of choosing their last names. In the same 13 contested races, 8 of the Republicans have names that are alphabetically prior to their Democratic opponent's. Uncanny.

More seriously, I hope each of you who plans to vote this year will take time to learn more about your choices by visiting the candidates' Web sites. and I hope that in the future all candidates will develop sites that provide voters more information about themselves and their plans than sound-bites, commercials, and printed advertisements permit.

If you know of a South Carolina campaign Web site we've missed, please send its address to news@sciway.net, and we will add it to SCIWAY's Elections '98 page.

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Graphical Link to SCIWAY's Election '98 Page

If you would like to add a link to SCIWAY's Election 98 page to your Web site, you are welcome to use the small graphical button on SCIWAY's home page (https://www.sciway.net).

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Visit Piggly Wiggly on the Net

SCIway would like to welcome our newest advertiser, Piggly Wiggly Carolina. You can visit The Pig on the Net at, where else, http://www.thepig.net. This new Web site has a growing collection of recipes, information on new products, and an interesting "shop by department" online shopping list you can add to gradually, then print to take to the store. Or better yet, give to someone else to take to the store!

Top of SCIWAY News No. 16

New and Notable South Carolina Web Sites

BI-LO Center - Greenville

UPDATE: On October 1, 2013 facility renamed Bon Secours Wellness Arena

Town of Batesburg-Leesville - Lexington County

http://www.batesburg-leesville.org

Columbia College Center for Women Entrepreneurs

http://www.businessforwomen.org/ - site no longer exists

Grrreenville Grrrowl Hockey Team

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenville_Grrrowl - team disbanded in 2006

Committee to Save the City (Three guesses ...:)

This Web site no longer exists.

New Ellenton - Aiken County

This Web site no longer exists.

North Charleston Coliseum

http://www.northcharlestoncoliseumpac.com/

Rock Hill School District

http://www.rock-hill.k12.sc.us

South Carolina High School League

http://www.schsl.org

South Carolina Registry of Sex Offenders

https://scor.sled.sc.gov/ConditionsOfUse.Aspx

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South Carolina Picture of the Week

In the July issue of SCIWAY News (https://www.sciway.net/sn/sn13.html), I announced SCIWAY's new South Carolina "pictures project" and asked readers to contribute their photographs and art work. Since then, we've received some excellent pictures, and we've finally figured out how to give them the visibility they deserve.

Starting Columbus Day (October 12), we will display a thumbnail version of the "South Carolina Picture of the Week" in the upper right corner of most SCIway pages. When you click on this small picture, you'll see a larger version, some information about the picture, a credit for the photographer or artist, and a link to an appropriate Web site.

Once a South Carolina Picture of the Week has completed its run, we'll move it to a related SCIway page for a longer stay. and in time we plan to collect these pictures in an online album.

For more information about SCIWAY's South Carolina pictures project, please visit https://www.sciway.net/forms/pictures.html.

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Emerald City Specials Caboose

In last month's article on the special passenger trains that will depart from Greenwood the weekend of November 14-15, I said that South Carolina has just two remaining Amtrak routes. Several readers quickly let me know that I had overlooked the Crescent, which passes through Spartanburg, Greenville, and Clemson on its journeys between New York and New Orleans (http://www.amtrak.com/crescent-train). I'm glad to learn this, and I appreciate the corrections.

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Upcoming Festivals and Events

For the latest information on upcoming South Carolina events, please see https://www.sciway.net/calendar.html.

South Carolina State Fair - Columbia, Oct 8-18

Fall for Greenville - Oct 9-11

Judgement House: a Halloween Alternative - Greenville, Oct 9-31

Taste of Charleston - Boone Hall Plantation, Oct 11

Lee County Cotton Festival - Bishopville, Oct 16-17

Race for the Cure (5K and one mile) - Charleston, Oct 17

South Carolina State Rock Swap - Aiken State Park, Oct 24-25

South Carolina History Day - Columbia, Oct 27

Shrimp Festival and 5K Run - Beaufort, Oct 31

Radio-Controlled Aircraft Fly-In - North Augusta, Nov 7

South Carolina Environmental Symposium - Pawleys Island - Nov 11-13

A Christmas Carol - Columbia, Nov 27-28 <

Top of SCIWAY News No. 16

An Evening in Beaufort

In early August I had the genuine pleasure of speaking at the Institute of Government for County Officials about using the Internet to help citizens. This institute, which was held on Hilton Head Island, is offered every summer by the South Carolina Association of Counties (http://www.sccounties.org).

That afternoon on the way back to Charleston, I took a short detour to what has become one of my favorite places in South Carolina: Beaufort's Waterfront Park. This cool, peaceful, uncrowded place stretches along the western bank of the Beaufort River perhaps half a mile. As you sit in one of the many swings facing the river, Lady's Island is in the distance before you and Beaufort's historic district is immediately behind you.

There's so much I like about this park that it's hard to decide where to start. But I'll begin with the beautiful trees, mostly live oaks, that provide the park its peaceful shade and coolness. Of course, the breeze off the river helps too. And the broad view of this river and the miles of bright green marsh and blue sky behind it make you stop what you're doing and just stare at their beauty.

In addition to the park's handsome river walk and comfortable swings and benches, there's an impressive new playground that's been added since I last visited. There's also a row of interesting restaurants that border the landward side of the park. Since it was a wonderfully cool evening, Julia (my second daughter) and I chose one that had a patio facing the river.

This turned out to be La Sirena (Italian for "The Mermaid"). If I lived in Beaufort, I would be a regular there. The menu was a little more sophisticated than I like, but the view and the atmosphere and the service were perfect. I rose to the occasion and ordered a pizza and a Pabst Blue Ribbon. Like most South Carolina restaurants, they no longer serve Pabst. But the pizza was light and delicious, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the legion of sprinklers march in circles on the green between the restaurant and the river. Sprinklers have their own beauty.

If you would like to see some pictures of the view from our table that evening, you can find them by clicking the sailboat picture on SCIWAY's home page (https://www.sciway.net).

And if you would like to spend a relaxing evening or weekend in one of the most beautiful places in South Carolina, I encourage you to visit downtown Beaufort and its Riverfront Park. The city's Chamber of Commerce (http://www.beaufortsc.org) calls Beaufort the "Queen of the Sea Islands," and I'm beginning to understand why.

Top of SCIWAY News No. 16

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