Tag Archive

Wanted: Local Bike Routes For Google Maps

By Steve Shanafelt

Earlier today, Google Maps launched a new feature which allows users to get road directions and route suggestions specifically intended for bicycles. These routes take a variety of bike-related factors into account, such as the slope of the road, the traffic volume on the roads in question and the existence of bike lanes. For... »

Sparkle City Headlines: JournalWatchdog.com Gets A Makeover

By Steve Shanafelt

Several months ago, I reached out to Community Journals, the regional publisher behind the Spartanburg Journal, offering to help them turn their then-terrible website into something people might actually want to visit on a regular basis. Initially, there was some interest in the possible collaboration, but after I sent a list of simple, common-sense... »

Video: Spartanburg City Council, Dec. 15, 2009

By Steve Shanafelt

Due to a number of unfortunate factors (the holidays and the lack of a stable Linux video editor being the main culprits), I haven’t been able to edit and post the video from last-month’s Spartanburg City Council meeting until this week. I think I’ve resolved all of the big issues, and hopefully we’ll now... »

Sparkle City Headlines: Is The Spartanburg GOP Finally Getting Back On Its Feet?

By Steve Shanafelt

Although it’s a “staff reports” story (that is, a press release that may or may not be edited), this particular piece about the new Spartanburg GOP office is interesting for a couple of reasons. It’s the first sign that the local Republican party is finally moving forward after their ousting of former Chairperson Rick... »

City Council: Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Adopted

By Christopher George

City Council voted unanimously to pass the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan at Tuesday night’s meeting. Development of the plan was funded by the county and city governments as well as by the Mary Black Foundation and the Spartanburg area Transit Study. The plan calls for 253.7 miles of additional sidewalk... »

City Council: Westside Annexation Moves Forward

By Christopher George

After receiving a tongue-lashing from westside residents, City Council voted on Tuesday to move forward with the annexation of more than 800 properties in the area. The proposed annexation is expected to bring approximately 1,600 new residents into the city, and increase tax revenues by an estimated $500,000 per year. There was a full... »

Sparkle City Headlines: Court Ends Spartanburg Delegation Dispute

By Steve Shanafelt

The distracting, painful, embarrassing, almost-year-long debacle that was the Spartanburg County Legislative Delegation’s power struggle is finally — and definitively — over. It took a huge waste of time and nearly made a mockery of the region so a handful of yahoo state politicians could make a grab at power, but at least it’s... »

City Council: Seven More Properties Annexed In Hillbrook

By Christopher George

Councilman Junie White jokingly said to council, “I want to go over them again” after seven properties on Spartanburg’s east side were annexed individually in separate ordinances. All seven of the property owners had requested annexation through petition, and had to be annexed separately because while they are contiguous to city limits, they... »

Sparkle City Headlines: Justin’s Closes, Congressional Forum Gets Spicy, And City Council Gets Earful On Annexation

By Steve Shanafelt

Today is a historic day for the Spartanburg media. So historic, in fact, that you might want to go out and buy a copy of today’s newspaper to remember it by. It’s not because there’s some epoch-defining news. It’s because today, for the first time in months, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal’s local coverage is hitting... »

Flying Oskar: Unemployment and BMW

By Christopher George

Like many of Spartanburg County’s more than 17,000 unemployed workers, I spend a great deal of my time wondering and worrying. Part of that for me means that I usually read up on state and county’s unemployment statistics pretty much as soon as they’re released each month, looking for a silver lining... »

Sparkle City Headlines: GOP Campaigns Eye The 2010 Prize

By Steve Shanafelt

Given the bitter infighting within the S.C. GOP and the rise of Democratic-leaning populations in Charleston, Greenville and Spartanburg (at least within the city), the 2010 elections are certain to be heated, unpredictable and — if history is any guide — entertaining to watch. And with Sanford out of the Governor’s race, new power... »

Sparkle City Headlines: S.C. Supreme Court Hears Spartanburg Delegation Case

By Steve Shanafelt

Every so often, Spartanburg Herald-Journal reporter Robert W. Dalton crafts a very solid piece of journalism. They’re usually stories with a broad scope, and which examine some issue that impacts the local or state political system as a whole. His recent story on the state Supreme Court hearing the much-contested Spartanburg Delegation case is... »

Is There Candidate Bias At The Piedmont Republican Club Voter Forum?

By Steve Shanafelt

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from former Spartanburg GOP Chair Rick Beltram about a public forum his newly formed political group, the Piedmont Republican Club, is hosting at the Beacon next Saturday. And, to read the thing, it sounded very much like a well-intentioned means to get more information about the candidates out there... »

City Council: Monday, Sept. 28

By Steve Shanafelt

“We need to slow this down,” joked Mayor Bill Barnet, noting the rapid pace at which council was going through their agenda. With the minutes approved in short order, no one requesting public comment, and an agenda mostly concerned with consent items from the last meeting on the 15th, there was little in the... »

Sparkle City Headlines: Spartanburg County Legislative Delegation Goes To Court

By Steve Shanafelt

As many of you know, the Spartanburg County Legislative Delegation’s bickering over who is really speaking for the region has become a prime example of the growing ideological rift in the state. The division between the majority of the delegation (who want to elect their leadership through standard voting) and the breakaway faction of... »