roofer in Columbia, SC

A hurricane is bearing down on Florida, and it will bring rain to the Midlands.

Hurricane Idalia is expected to make landfall over Florida’s Gulf Coast Wednesday morning before hitting the Georgia coast and then the Carolinas Wednesday night.

By the time Idalia impacts reach the Midlands, the hurricane likely will have been downgraded to a tropical storm or a tropical depression, but the Columbia area should still expect heavy rain as early as midday Wednesday. The National Weather Service expects between 3 to 6 inches in the area, with heavy winds Wednesday night.

As Columbia braces for rain, parts of the city are likely to flood. When historic rainfall came to Columbia last July, parts of Five Points were half a foot under water, and most area businesses spent the following day drying out their stores. It’s a common practice when storms roll through the area.

Five Points is one of the most flood-prone areas of the city. Parts of the University of South Carolina campus and the Shandon neighborhood also see routine flooding with heavy rains.

Columbia has attempted to bolster flood protections in parts of the city, but the measures often prove only partially effective in heavy rain.

Several years ago, the city completed a $1 million project at Martin Luther King Jr. Park meant to reduce flooding in the area. The work created a stormwater retention area to hold rainwater and to channel it through Five Points when flooding does occur. Assistant City Manager Clint Shealy previously said the city has seen significant improvements to the amount of flooding in Five Points since finishing that project, but he added it can’t prevent all flooding.

“There’s certain levels of events you just can’t design (for),” he said.

This map shows Columbia’s most flood-prone intersections according to information provided by the city of Columbia.

This map was created by a user. Learn how to create your own.

If residents do encounter flooded streets, experts urge caution. Do not drive through floodwaters, even if the water does not look deep. If a road is flooded, turn around and find an alternate route.

“It takes just 12 inches of flowing water to carry off a small car, (and) 18 to 24 inches for larger vehicles,” the National Weather Service warns. The water may also be hiding washed-out road surfaces, electrical wires, debris or other dangerous objects.

More than half of all flooding deaths nationally occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood water, according to the weather service.

Wells Fargo will lay off up to 525 employees in Columbia and shutter its office space at 101 Greystone Blvd. by June 30, 2024, according to information filed with the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.

The financial institution has been cutting down its real estate portfolio in addition to laying off employees nationwide, according to comments from the company’s Chief Financial Officer earlier this month, along with a letter from the banking company supplied to South Carolina’s workforce agency.

“...We need to concentrate Wells Fargo real estate investments in fewer locations or reduce space in existing real estate,” that letter, first obtained by the Post and Courier, reads.

Employees were notified of the impending layoffs Sept. 28, according to the filing.

“Wells Fargo continues to bring employees in non-customer facing roles together and to improve and modernize our workspaces. This will strengthen our customer-centric culture, collaboration, strong risk management, and innovation,” a spokesperson wrote via email when asked by The State for more information.

If employees at Columbia’s Wells Fargo choose not to transfer to a new location, they will be laid off.

“We will offer support to impacted employees, such as severance and career counseling,” the spokesperson added.

Michael Santomassimo, Chief Financial Officer for Wells Fargo, told attendees of the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference in mid-September to expect to see more layoffs at the company and a decrease in the company’s real estate portfolio, according to the Charlotte Observer.

The company has cut about 40,00 jobs in recent years, Santomassimo said at the conference, adding that the number of employees at the company has decreased every quarter since the end of 2020.

“Now, I’m not suggesting it’s going to be down every quarter forever, right. But I do think that there’s more to do,” he said at the time.

This story was originally published October 2, 2023, 3:34 PM.

In such a short life, Myers was a football star, military judge, lawyer, husband, and father.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina legal community is mourning the loss of iconic lawyer Stanley Myers.

Wednesday was a nightmare day for Russell Ott, after hearing about the passing of Stanley Myers. He's been a long-time friend of Myers and they met while they both attended the Citadel in Charleston.

"We went to football camp together and our coach put us together as roommates," he says, "Anyone that he ever came in contact with, got a glimpse of that great smile and great laugh and he would just carry on a conversation with anyone and everyone and treat them like family."

According to the Lexington County coroner, Myers passed away Wednesday from natural causes.

Myers leaves behind a wife and two kids and Ott says those were the focus of his life and goals.

Ott recalls, "I can't go back and tell you enough about the father that he was and the husband that he was. He was Superman to his two kids."

Myers was a partner at the Moore Bradley Myers Law firm in West Columbia.

He served as a lieutenant colonel in the South Carolina Army National Guard where he was a military judge, the first ever African-American to do so in the state. It's the kind of legacy that has inspired young men like Tyler Swain Mitchell. He's a 2022 Citadel graduate and recalls conversations with Myers, offering him advice in and out of the classroom.

"That was an inspiration for us. It was important that we see someone that only looks like us, that's been through the experience like we [have.] it's an experience like no other" says Mitchell.

While at the Citadel, Myers became friends with Tem Miles.

Now, as the West Columbia mayor, Miles tries to carry on the legacy of Myers while being a public servant.

He says, "Stanley was the type of guy that if I needed legal work in an area that I didn't practice, that I could send them to Stanley and I could know that they would be taken care of the same, if not better, and I could myself."

Kembrell Garvin was being mentored by Myers as a young student, and now as a member of South Carolina's House of Rrepresentatives, still received help from Myers.

"He called me last night when I was at a meeting, and he texted me right after that phone call. He said, 'Hey, I know we've been playing phone tag, but let's talk in the morning."

He rejoices, "So as we say in the Baptist church, I'm going to see Stanley in the morning, but not literally in the morning that we thought it would be. But it would be in that morning when both of us see our heavenly father."

According to Ott, Myers always had a helping hand and would love to give back, especially in his hometown of Swansea, South Carolina.

Ott says, "Each and every year he would do bicycle giveaways for the young folks here in Swansea. So this was home for him, he never forgot where he came from."

Funeral arrangements for Myers have not been released yet.

In Partnership with Experience Columbia SC

In Partnership with Experience Columbia SC

Southern charm and an easy-going attitude make Columbia a great place for families. In the heart of South Carolina, just 90 miles south of Charlotte, there are more activities for the whole family than hours to do them. Below, we’ve assembled a sampling of what’s in South Carolina’s capital city and the surrounding area for families:

Friday

After getting settled, it’s time to fuel up! Stop by Groucho’s in the Five Points district to try one of their famous sandwiches (Apollo Dipper, anyone?). After one bite, you’ll understand why the locals rave about this place. Once you’re stuffed, it’s time for an out-of-this-world experience at two of the Southeast’s best museums:

Take one step into EdVenture, a children’s museum, and you’ll spot Eddie, a 40-foot tall, 10-year-old boy that kids can climb to explore the human brain, heart, and stomach. From there, visit the busy bee farm or the neighborhood market, and be sure to check out the exhibits. Sit in the cockpit at the FLIGHT exhibit, and experience the sensation of flying over Columbia.

EdVenture shares a parking lot with the South Carolina State Museum, making it easy to keep the learning going. With four floors of art, science, history, and technology exhibits, the whole family will dig this spot. They’ve got a digital planetarium, 4D interactive theater, and Boeing observatory deck as well as a constant cycle of exhibits.

All of that hands-on learning and discovery will work up an appetite again, and you can satisfy those growling stomachs with a visit to Cantina 76 on Main Street. The Mexican-inspired menu has something for everyone to enjoy (and not to mention, hand-crafted margaritas for parents). Then, enjoy a mouth-watering treat from Sweet Cream Co. Hand-crafted with the highest quality ingredients, Sweet Cream Co. takes ice cream to the next level.

Saturday

Start the morning off with breakfast at Eggs Up Grill on Devine Street. Here, they have a “pick 3” option for the kiddos to get exactly what they want. We suggest ordering an extra plate of caramel apple pancakes to share, these delicacies are giant in size, and fluffy in texture, which makes them perfect for splitting before heading back to Main Street for your next adventure.

On Saturdays, experience Soda City Market with the family. Grab some Carolina popcorn, boiled peanuts, and coffee to keep everyone content while you stroll charming Main Street. The kids will likely have their pick of balloon animals or face painting, and they can watch magicians and musicians perform in the streets around them. All the while, you can grab some fresh produce and locally-made gifts. Don’t forget to stop in at Mast General. Your kids will like the barrels of candy and old-timey toys, and you can peak at some breezy outdoor fashion or the latest camping gear.

From there, check out the Columbia Museum of Art, just off Boyd Plaza in the heart of Soda City. The museum offers gallery scavenger hunts, art explorer backpacks, and a hands-on creative space to keep kids engaged while touring the museum.

Time to burn some more energy and go bananas at Frankie’s Fun Park. They’ve got an arcade, mini golf, go-carts, and more. Or give Plex HiWire a try. The trampoline park has locations in Irmo and Northeast Columbia. We’ve seen 12-year-olds and 30-year-olds enjoy jumping into foam pits.

Wrap up the evening with a family favorite: pizza at Za’s on Devine. Once you’ve cleaned your plates, head to Pelican’s Snoballs for a true, New Orleans-style snow cone.

Sunday

Get your day started with a strong cup of coffee, and a quick breakfast at smallSUGAR in The Vista district. Some caffeine and one of their delicious tartines will give you the energy boost you need to get to your last adventure of the weekend.

A trip to Columbia is incomplete without a trip to Riverbanks Zoo for animal spotting, giraffe feeding, and adventure-seeking. This is not your average zoo with its Waterfall Junction, rock climbing wall, and sky-high safari vertical ropes challenge. The zoo also features family-friendly signature events throughout the year, like Boo at the Zoo during the fall season.

Want to avoid the crowds? There are tons of options to explore the great outdoors. If you’re a hiking family, lace up your boots and head to Congaree National Park, South Carolina’s only National Park. Looking to kayak, canoe, or picnic? Saluda Shoals, located along the banks of the Saluda River, is a great place to spend the day. Their splash pad is perfect to keep the little ones cool and entertained on a toasty summer day.

Be sure to head to Experience Columbia SC’s website for more ideas on enjoying the region!

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Historians say virtually none of modern day Columbia would be what it is without the giant stone building in the middle of it all — the state house.

So, why Columbia? Why did early settlers choose this stretch of land?

“There was a lot of work to get to where we’re currently sitting,” State House Tour Office and Gift Shop Manager Becca Rhinehart said.

Centuries of work, really.

Columbia as we know it today is full of life with bustling businesses, higher education and the meeting ground for all things “South Carolina politics.”

It was all the result of a very tedious plan.

“Columbia is the nation’s very first planned state capitol,” Rhinehart explained. “So, from its origins to the execution of the planning, this was the first of its kind in America.”

Planned, meaning nearly every decision about the new city’s layout revolved around the state house.

Columbia was comprised of roughly 40 streets with each one named with purpose.

“Columbia was outlined as a two mile square. we have our wonderful city blocks, we can still navigate today, and the state house was in the center of it,” Rhinehart said. “We’ve kept the bulk of our street names since the origins, our north-south streets were named after people and the east-west were named after imports. So, there would have been things like blossom lumber, that sort of thing.”

Whaley Street was originally named “Indigo” Street after South Carolina’s second most important export crop in the eighteenth century.

Other examples are Laurel Street, named after laurel plants, and Blossom Street named after cotton blossoms.

Today, you’ll notice Washington Street is adjacent to Lady Street.

Washington Street was named after future president George Washington and Lady Street, after First Lady Martha Washington.

“They had planned for growth of their brand new capital,” Rhinehart said.

Yes, she said brand new capital — meaning Columbia wasn’t the original. So how did we get here?

We have to go back to the colonial times before S.C. was even an official state.

“Really, you would want to go back to the 1660s,” Historian, S.C. Department of Archives and History Dr. Edwin Breeden said.

In 1660, after years of civil war in England, Charles III re-claimed the thrown.

In exchange for their loyalty, the new king gifted a plot of land to eight noble men known as “the Lords proprietors.”

They called the land “Carolina” — a word taken from the Latin word “Charles or Carolus” — honoring King Charles.

To profit off their new land, the men created a government.

“The city of Charleston, or as it was originally known, Charles Town, was founded. and when it was established, it was the capital of a new English colony called Carolina,” Breeden said.

Charleston was the first settlement in the colony of Carolina and the first capitol up until the late 1700s.

Tt was here that Carolinians would take care of administrative duties — such as filing property deeds or making laws — but it wasn’t perfect.

“With the colony encompassing that large of an area. distance was one of the biggest challenges,” Breeden said.

“Charleston was far away from pretty much everyone else in the state,” Rhinehart said. “So, from Greenville to Charleston in the 1700s was quite a long haul by horse.”

It would have taken a week to travel that far by horse and over double that for settlers traveling from what is now North Carolina.

Roughly 150,000 square miles of land governed by just one city.

“There was a recognition really, from very early in the in the colonies history that this was a very large area to manage,” Breeden said.

The decision was made in 1712 to split the swath of land into separate parts: N.C. and S.C.

Now the government in Charleston belonged to only S.C.

After years of protests, the capital was still not in the ideal place for everyone to have equal access.

Therefore, the general assembly sought out a centralized location.

“Some people called Columbia nothing more than a pine forest,” Rhinehart said.

In the early 1700s, historians say Columbia was considered the rural frontier — home to only a few plantations and trading posts — but it quickly became more than that.

“Columbia in the center of the state was chosen with this location, lot due to the river systems here,” Rhinehart said. So, to our west, we have the Congaree River that is made from the Saluda and Broad, and at that time, and the 1700s, that’s as far inland as the boats could go. So, coming from the coast, inland Columbia was the natural drop off point, because the rapids grew too strong, and the rivers are shallow. So, this was a really great point for trade and a central location.”

Columbia had not been officially established by this point. In 1786, the S.C. General Assembly voted to legislate the city into existence.

The empty land was sold to farmers and businesses.

“They took their drawings and plans of the city to charleston, and they would have been near the old exchange building, taking notes and trying to get people to move to Columbia,” Rhinehart said.

After years of recruiting and fundraising, the move from Charleston was officially underway.

The money cooped from selling plots of land was used to build the new state house.

It took three years to complete the new wood capital from 1786 to 1789, but during construction tragedy struck back in Charleston.

“The original state house in Charleston actually had a fire,” Rhinehart said. “Their senate chamber had a fireplace, it got a little out of control, and there goes the whole most of that building. They did rebuild, but they were already on their way to making that new capital in Columbia.”

For nearly a century, the young city thrived building its name as the “new” capital of S.C.

However, in 1865, Union General William T. Sherman and his 60-thousand troops stormed Columbia.

At the time, the fire-proof building, soon to be S.C.’s third state house, was under construction and consisted of basically four stone walls.

Sherman ordered his troops to shell the structure in hopes of destroying it.

“They were across the Congaree River and aiming for the side of our building,” Rhinehart said. “We would have been the tallest thing on the landscape, which made it a really great target.

Next to it, however, was the wooden capital.

On the night of Feb. 16, 1865, it was reduced to ash by Sherman and S.C. was once again left without a functioning state house.

“Through 52 years, we had six different architects, different stages, walls, roof ceiling interior, and by 1907, we have a finished state house,” Rhinehart said.

The colossal structure is comprised of fire-proof materials like bricks made from mud of the Congaree River and the state stone, blue granite, produced in a quarry just four miles from the state house.

In 1990, more than 100 seismic isolators were installed under the building making it earthquake resistant.

“They never could have imagined tour buses and so much rocks, but the city has grown well with us,” Rhinehart said.

A virtually indestructible building resembling the resilience of the Palmetto State and all part of the plan.

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