The Anderson County Sports and Entertainment Center is gearing up for some busy months leading up to Labor Day.

The Great Anderson County Fair kicks things off in May, followed by a May 24 countywide yard sale. The summer brings the return of the mammoth Rock This Country and a month later Celebrate Anderson celebrates Labor Day with Kool & the Gang.

The legislation, approved 41-3, saw major changes to the sweeping energy bill halted last session over criticism that proponents had fast-tracked it through the General Assembly. Backers say it strikes a balance, empowering utilities charged with meeting the state’s energy needs but in a way that’s more palatable to consumer and environmental advocates.

On April 1, the Trump administration slashed the organization that supported that research — the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or AHRQ — and fired roughly half of its remaining employees as part of a perplexing reorganization of the federal Health and Human Services Department.

Haskell, of Columbia, South Carolina, has done research and helped write AHRQ-published surveys and guidebooks on patient engagement for hospitals. The dissolution of AHRQ is dislodging scores of experienced patient-safety experts, a brain drain that will be impossible to rectify, she said.

Survey data gathered by AHRQ provides much of what is known about hospitalizations for motor accidents, measles, methamphetamine, and thousands of other medical issues.

“Nobody does these things except AHRQ,” she said. “They’re all we’ve got. And now the barn door’s closed.”

South Carolina’s Republican-controlled House passed a bill prohibiting state agencies, local governments and universities from violating federal discrimination laws with initiatives promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.

The bill also requires private businesses with government contracts to certify they don’t violate federal discrimination laws.

Anderson County Council on Tuesday approved the hiring of a consultant to aid in the rewriting/recasting of the county’s zoning ordinances.

Code Wright Planners will be paid $380,000 for working with the county to revise development standards for new home construction and subdivisions and make the regulations easier to understand for citizens and potential developers. The contract runs through April 2027.

After years of country music offerings, Rock and Roll Hall of Famers “Kool & the Gang” will headline this year’s Celebrate Anderson on Aug. 31. Kool & the Gang has performed continuously longer than any R&B group in history, and their groove of funk and jazzy arrangements have made them the most sampled R&B band of all time.

But that’s done by broadening and shifting the tax burden: 19.4% of filers would owe less in spring 2027, while a whopping 59.4% of filers would owe more; 21.2% would experience no change, according to the fiscal impact report by the state Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office released ahead of Tuesday’s first hearing on the bill.

CodeWright has worked with multiple counties and towns in North and South Carolina - including Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, Mills River, Weldon in North Carolina - to overhaul and clarify development standards. Their customization of unified development ordinances and zoning codes includes simplifying the language, more graphically driven design, an intuitive document structure that is easy to understand and continuous improvement.

Equestrians from across the Upstate welcomed a new member to the Dressage Foundation’s Century Club as Linda Hostetler and her horse made an appearance at the Upstate Equine Council’s Spring Fling Horse Show at the T. Ed. Garrison Area.

The club recognizes when the combined ages of the rider and the horse are more than 100 years, and with Hostetler 74 at age 77, and her horse age 24. Her trainer is Rachel Owens of Liberty Acres Dressage in Pendleton.

South Carolina drivers who pay as little as possible for their auto insurance would need to double their coverage under legislation passed Thursday by the Senate.

State-required insurance minimums set 18 years ago simply aren’t enough to cover any serious accident — and often, not even a minor one — which shifts costs to the people who aren’t at fault, senators said.

More than 500 visitors and students were on hand Friday for the official dedication of the Chadwick Boseman Fine Arts Center at the Southwood Academy of the Arts.

School officials, the president of the James Brown Foundation, who had befriended Boseman when he played the role of the soul singer, friends and family were part of the event which also included performances from Southwood students.

One of the East Coast’s top festivals, the festival showcases a juried art, which is a major draw for experienced artists.

The Jubilee is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m April 5 and noon-5 p.m. April 6.

Wildfires in the Upstate have grown exponentially over the past week, forcing mandatory evacuations as weather conditions and debris from Hurricane Helene impede efforts to stop the flames spreading.

No structures have been damaged, and no injuries or deaths have been reported, officials said during a Friday media briefing, one week after the first of the two fires started.

Photo by Mark Susko/Special to the SC Daily Gazette

The Anderson County Library’s Teen Vex Robotics Teams is heading for the world championships in Dallas in May.

The four-student team - Isabel Feldkamp, Cara Griesemere, Sam Smith and Banks Criswell – will compete in the middle school division against robotic teams from around the world.

The purpose of the meetings is to both inform the public and connect with the county agencies to see how the county council can help them accomplish their goals and objectives.

Belton City Administrator Alan Sims and his wife Jill Sims were recently honored for their contributions to the South Carolina State Association of Fire Chiefs.

Anderson City Council on Monday unanimously approved sending a request from a land developer for the annexation of 22 acres on the East-West Parkway just southwest of Kings Road to the City Planning Commission.

New details, not listed in the agenda packet, were revealed at the meeting suggesting that the proposal for eight acres of the property is slated for senior multi-family development. No details of proposals were announced for the remaining 14 acres, which is not unusual.

Emergency officials are reporting no injuries and no home damage so far from the Table Rock Fire in Pickens County and Persimmon Ridge Fire in Greenville County, according to state Forestry Commission spokeswoman Michelle Johnson.

Neither fire is contained. A statewide burning ban remains in place until further notice.

The request by the property owner, Anderson Real Estate Attorney Williams Richard McClellion, is seeking annexation of the property of the tax map identification TMS 121-00-04-009 north of the parkway for a planned development district. Approximately eight acres is slated for multi-family development. If approved on Monday, the plan would be sent to the City of Anderson Planning Commission which could consider the annexation at their April 1 meeting.

Downtown closed off streets around the courthouse to allow the kids to get up close and personal with a variety of big trucks and heavy equipment, including fire trucks, law enforcement vehicles, construction equipment, agricultural machinery, as well as meet the men and women who build, protect, and serve Anderson County.

The event is a partnership between the Junior League and the City of Anderson.