Anna B. Mitchell , The Post and Courier; Ex-Spartanburg prof took leave to help his ailing, 93-year-old dad. Then he was fired.
"A federal jury on April 23 awarded $309,000 to a former Spartanburg Community College professor who was fired after taking two days off to care for his ailing father."
Spencer Donovan, The Post and Courier Greenville; Pickens Co. library board fires director without explanation after sweeping policy overhaul
"Trustees of the Pickens County Library System voted to remove the library’s director with no explanation after nearly two hours of private discussion.
The move comes after library staff were directed by the board to review more than 86,000 books in the children’s and teen sections, an effort that is expected to last a year. The library canceled a slew of events and stopped interlibrary loans to reassign staff members’ time for the review.
Policy changes in Pickens follow recent fights over the types of books accessible at local libraries nationwide. Many of the debates have surrounded access to books that touch on themes about LGBTQ identity or racism.
During a special called meeting the evening of Feb. 24, the library’s board of trustees voted 5-2 to terminate Executive Director Stephanie Howard effective immediately. Howard, a Pickens County native, started in her role in 2019...
Howard holds a Master of Library Science degree from the University of South Carolina and has more than two decades of library management experience.
In 2025, she was given the Intellectual Freedom Award by the South Carolina Library Association. The annual award “recognizes members of our community who have contributed to an awareness of intellectual freedom and censorship issues in South Carolina libraries,” the SCLA description states."
Caroline Spikes , Live5WCSC; Academy breaks down ethics of Mount Pleasant Police cheating accusations
"Ten Mount Pleasant Police Department officers accused of cheating on a self-administered online test have prompted the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy to review protocols for online testing.
The officers are accused of cheating on an online recertification for a breathalyzer device. Academy Director Jackie Swindler said this is not the first time the academy has seen an officer attempt to cheat online."
Caitlin Herrington , The Post and Courier; SC librarians wore rainbow lanyards when a Pride display was canceled. Then they were fired.
"Despite having a seasonal display for Pride Month for years, Hinson canceled it in 2023, according to the lawsuit filed June 12.
Concerned about the discriminatory message it sent to LGBTQ+ staff and patrons, the 61-year-old Andrus respectfully vocally objected to the decision and engaged in “protected activity” — wearing a crocheted rainbow lanyard that she’d made the previous year, the suit said.
Some of her colleagues saw this as political activity, the suit claims, including one who held a closed-door meeting with Hinson before leaving their position in July 2023.
Andrus felt the elimination of the Pride display was discriminatory against her LGBTQ+ colleagues, children, patrons and public at large, according to the lawsuit. It created a “created a hostile work environment for any LGBTQ+ colleagues and colleagues with LGBTQ+ children and associates.”
Despite having more than 20 years of service with the county library and being Hinson’s second-in-command, he stopped most communication with her, she said in her affidavit.
In early September 2023, a colleague with a transgender child who had also spoken out about the display and worn a rainbow lanyard was called into Hinson’s office and fired. Andrus was called in next."
Nadra Nittle, The 19th; These two states are responsible for most of the nation’s school book bans
"More than a dozen new state and local policies contributed to the escalation of book bans over the past year. They include Iowa’s SF 496,which took effect last year and has been interpreted to mean that books with sexual or gender themes should be barred. According to PEN America, the law prompted thousands of book bans during the 2023-’24 school year, compared with just 14 bans in the state during the previous school year.
Florida’s HB 1069, which also took effect last year, mandates that books challenged for “sexual conduct” must be removed as they undergo review. PEN America said the statutory process the law created for book banning and “the state guidance building on it” has led to a spike in statewide book bans. In Florida and Iowa combined, roughly 8,000 book bans were recorded.
In Wisconsin, the Elkhorn Area School District banned more than 300 books for months on end, PEN America found. The books were removed after a single parent challenged them, but after the district reviewed the titles, they were eventually returned to the shelves, albeit with restrictions such as parental permission to check out certain titles. The organization expects newly enacted laws such as Utah’s HB 29, South Carolina’s Regulation 43-170 and Tennessee’s HB 843 to cause more book bans this school year.
The Utah law requires all schools in the state to ban a book once three school districts have found it objectionable. South Carolina’s regulation bans books with sexual subject matter and gives the state Board of Education the ability to censor works statewide. The Tennessee law requires schools to remove books with gratuitous violence or sexual content...
Censorship is an issue that has drawn attention from the 2024 presidential candidates. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign platform accusesPresident Joe Biden’s administration of “using the public school system to push their perverse sexual, racial and political material on our youth.” In July, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, criticized book bans while speaking to the American Federation of Teachers union in Texas.
“While you teach students about our nation’s past, these extremists attack the freedom to learn and acknowledge our nation’s true and full history,” she said. “We want to ban assault weapons, and they want to ban books. Can you imagine?”
, Fstoppers; Photographer Sues Church Over Copyright Infringement
"A photographer is taking legal action against a small church in South Carolina for allegedly using his photograph without consent.
Erin Paul Donovan, a photographer from New Hampshire, has initiated a federal lawsuit against Wightman United Methodist Church in Prosperity, South Carolina. Donovan claims that his photograph, depicting New Hampshire’s White Mountains, was used on the church's website without his permission, specifically as a thumbnail for a sermon video dated June 2021...
The suit further alleges that the church not only used the image without authorization but also removed Donovan's copyright notice, name, and watermark from the photograph as it originally appeared on his website."
Savannah Moss, Greenville News; Greenville County Library System committee votes 5-1 to eliminate all displays. What to know.
"“I asked our library staff to research if there was another library system that had eliminated themed displays. They did not find any. In other words, we appear to be the first to eliminate theme displays,” Pinkston said. “Are we blazing a trail that others will soon follow? Or are we overreacting to a containable problem?”"
By Stephanie Mirah smirah@postandcourier.com, The Post and Courier; Despite scathing resignation, Greenville library leaders silent on Pride display removal
"Greenville County public library leaders have remained silent about who directed staff to remove Pride Month displays in June, despite a trustee’s scathing resignation that called for the board chair and the library system executive director to step down."
