Local crime, high school sports, county politics, events tonight, and business closings — the daily Pee Dee report from HERE Florence.
From the HERE City State DeskCOLUMBIA, S.C. — Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks open the 2026-27 women’s college basketball season as the No. 1 team in a major national preseason Top 25, ahead of UConn and Southern California. The ranking landed as SEC Tipoff got underway and again lists South Carolina among…
From the HERE City National DeskSAN FRANCISCO — Kristaps Porzingis remains unavailable for Golden State with no return date after missing camp and the entire exhibition slate, then resurfacing at the team building this week. Club officials said Wednesday the 7-foot-3 big man is still dealing with the same undisclosed…
From the HERE City National DeskNEW YORK — League referees are putting flopping at the top of the 2026-27 enforcement list, and a preseason whistle on Knicks guard Jalen Brunson showed how quickly the standard can bite. During a Madison Square Garden exhibition on Oct. 12 against Minnesota, Brunson took…
From the HERE City National DeskBETHANY, Okla. — Southern Nazarene University announced Thursday the death of Crimson Storm safety Tyler Ulrich, a week after he left an away game on a stretcher, and scrubbed this weekend trip to Southwestern Oklahoma State. Ulrich was 21. He went down Saturday in Arkadelphia,…
From the HERE City National DeskLOS ANGELES — Milwaukee finished off Los Angeles, the two-time reigning World Series champs, on Thursday night, taking National League Championship Series Game 4 by a 6-4 score at Dodger Stadium and completing a four-game sweep that sends the franchise back to the Fall Classic…
From the HERE City National DeskDENVER — Wil Lutz drilled a 53-yard kick in overtime Thursday night, and the Denver Broncos escaped with a 17-14 result against Seattle at Mile High Stadium after JaQuan McMillian picked off Sam Darnold on the first sudden-death drive. Seattle opened overtime and faced third-and-7…
From the HERE City National DeskMINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota coach Niko Medved spent more than seven minutes after the Thursday exhibition ripping the NCAA for how it rolled out a five-seasons-in-five-years eligibility model, saying the timing and legal fallout have left hundreds of players and coaches in limbo. Medved said he…
Events
FLORENCE, S.C. — In Florence, neighbors marking Domestic Violence Awareness Month can gather Saturday night for prayer and conversation on Oakland Avenue. The program runs late afternoon into evening at the Community Empowerment Center, with the street address posted as 1113C Oakland Avenue. Peterson, who is organizing the night, said…
Business
FLORENCE, S.C. — Shoppers in the Pee Dee will finally get a Publix of their own next month, when the Florida-based chain cuts the ribbon on a Florence store. Doors at the Palmetto Place location are set for 7 o'clock on the morning of Nov. 18, company spokespeople said this…
Business
FLORENCE, S.C. — Florence National Cemetery, the veterans burial ground that dates to the Civil War, is close to adding 15 more acres, a move staff say would open room for roughly 4,000 more graves. The cemetery now spreads across 22 acres and holds about 14,000 gravesites. Staff said the…
Business
FLORENCE, S.C. — Florence shoppers will get their first Pee Dee Publix when the chain opens a 46,791-square-foot supermarket at Palmetto Place and brings on about 140 associates. Company media staff put the ribbon-cutting for Wednesday morning, Nov. 18, with the doors unlocking at 7 o'clock. Jared Glover, Publix's media…
News
FLORENCE, S.C. — Bus riders in Florence who finish work after dark could soon have a way home, as the Pee Dee Regional Transportation Authority prepares to stretch its evening hours and patch a long midday hole in its Saturday schedule. The changes follow public hearings this week where riders…
Politics
FLORENCE, S.C. — Florence City Council on Oct. 12 green-lit a local ordinance that opens monthly face-to-face Citizen Engagement Sessions with the mayor and city manager, giving neighbors a path outside the packed regular meeting agenda. Sessions would run about an hour and a half. Anyone wanting a slot would…
From the HERE City State Desk
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Attorney General Alan Wilson, the Republican nominee for governor, rolled out a cost-of-living platform on Thursday that centers on taxes, fuel, insurance and power bills. The biggest promise is to do away with the state income tax while reworking how South Carolina taxes property. Wilson also wants…
From the HERE City National Desk
QUANTICO, Va. — Federal contracting papers show the FBI lining up a yearlong, no-bid deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship to put special agents through mixed-martial-arts defensive tactics at the bureau academy here. The Sept. 30 paperwork argues only the UFC can deliver the full mix of striking, clinch and…
Hyper-local coverage across Florence
Reach thousands of engaged Pee Dee readers every day — section sponsorships starting at $149/month