COLUMBIA, S.C. - The retirement of U.S. Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings and the race to replace him was the top story of 2004 in South Carolina.
In this election year, politics dominated the news, with the first-in-the-South Democratic presidential primary, the governor's problems with the Legislature, the minibottle referendum and the new tattoo law all making it into the top 10 stories of the year as voted on by members of The Associated Press.
The busy hurricane season, with seven storms affecting South Carolina, and the burial of the crewmen from the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley made the list as well as the trial of a former Carolina Investors chairman.
Another top story was the fire at a Comfort Inn in Greenville that killed a half-dozen people. State Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Sharpe also made headlines for being indicted, accused of accepting money from an organization involved in breeding and raising birds for cockfighting.
But it was the state's 82-year-old Democratic senator that took the No. 1 spot.
Hollings' political career spanned more than half a century as a state legislator, governor and member of the U.S. Senate, where he spent the past 38 years.
He delivered his final Senate speech Nov. 16, criticizing his colleagues as he always has for their spending and free-trade policies.
"I know that we can do better," said Hollings, known for speaking his mind in a deep Southern drawl.
The race for his seat was between three-term U.S. Rep. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and Democratic state Education Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum along with a few third-party candidates.
DeMint got 54 percent of the vote in the general election, giving South Carolina two Republican senators for the first time since Reconstruction and strengthening GOP domination in the Senate.
Four other political stories made the top 10 list.
AP members voted South Carolina's first-in-the-South Democratic presidential primary in February as the No. 4 story of the year.
North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, a Seneca native, got his only primary win in the Palmetto State. Edwards went on to serve as the running mate of presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
Politics were contentious in the South Carolina Statehouse, too, with Gov. Mark Sanford sparring repeatedly with the Legislature - the No. 5 story of the year.
Sanford is the first Republican governor since Reconstruction to preside over a GOP-controlled state Legislature. Despite being from the same political roots, the two sides repeatedly clashed on vetoes, polling questions, a threatened lawsuit and the governor's agenda.
Legislators squealed in outrage when Sanford carried two squirming piglets into the lobby outside the legislative chambers to emphasize what he saw as pork-barrel budget spending. The General Assembly agreed with the governor on just seven of his 106 vetoes.
And there were big changes for two of South Carolina's peculiar laws: minibottles and tattoos.
As the only state in the nation requiring minibottles to be used to serve liquor in restaurants and bars, South Carolina voters passed a constitutional amendment to allow lawmakers to decide how drinks are served.
About 60 percent of voters approved the amendment to get rid of minibottles, the eighth biggest story in the state.
The Legislature is expected to pass a law next year to allow businesses to serve drinkers from larger free-pour bottles, although lawmakers my keep minibottles as an option.
Coming in 10th on the top stories list was the bill legalizing tattooing.
South Carolina was only one of two states prohibiting people from getting tattoos when the House and Senate compromised to pass a law removing the ban. Oklahoma is the other state.
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control Board approved new tattoo regulations in November, but the creation of new regulations means it will be months before it's legal to get a tattoo.
After the Legislature adjourned for the year, South Carolina experienced a costly hurricane season.
There was almost $150 million in damage and cleanup costs from the two hurricanes - Charley and Gaston - that made landfall in Charleston County and the seven total storms that affected the state. This was the No. 2 story of the year.
The tracks of four storms moved across the state, setting a new yearly record for twisters, 84. Frances alone spun off 45 tornadoes in a state that averages about a dozen a year.
Three storms, Charley, Frances and Gaston, resulted in federal disaster declarations for parts of the state.
Meanwhile many Upstate residents dealt with another kind of financial disaster in 2004.
More than 8,000 investors lost $278 million when Carolina Investors went under in 2003. Investors were told they would get 18 cents back for each dollar invested as part of a civil settlement approved in November.
In the year's third-biggest story, Earle Morris Jr. was convicted of securities fraud as former chairman of the Pickens-based Carolina Investors. Morris, a former lieutenant governor and ex-state comptroller, was sentenced to 44 months in prison for scheming to defraud investors and misleading them to keep money in the company as it slid into bankruptcy.
Another lifelong politician landed in court this year, accused of getting money from an organization involved in breeding and raising birds for cockfighting.
A federal and state investigation of the cockfighting operation resulted in the indictment of state Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Sharpe, which came in No. 6 on the top stories of the year. He is accused of accepting at least $20,000 to help a group avoid legal trouble.
A fatal fire at a Greenville motel was the seventh biggest story of the year.
The fire, which was ruled arson, killed six people and injured 12 others last January. No one has been arrested in the case.
The five-story Comfort Inn was built in 1988 before building codes required sprinkler systems. It has remained closed since the blaze.
Coming in at No. 9 was what organizers called the last Confederate funeral.
Thousands of re-enactors and members of the public attended the April burial in Charleston for the eight-member crew from the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, which was found off the South Carolina coast nine years ago.
The crewmen, in coffins draped with Confederate flags and pulled on horse-drawn caissons, were laid to rest 140 years after the vessel became the first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship.
The hand-cranked Hunley made history on Feb. 17, 1864, when it rammed a spar with a black powder charge into the Union blockade ship Housatonic near Charleston. The Housatonic sank, but the Hunley never returned from the mission.
"These men taught us and they will teach future generations the meaning of words like honor," state Sen. Glenn McConnell said at the funeral. "Their spirit will live beyond the horizon of time."
Here are the Top 10 South Carolina stories of 2004 as voted on by AP members statewide:
No. 1 - U.S. Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, D-S.C., closes his political career that spanned more than half a century as a state legislator, governor and U.S. senator. U.S. Rep. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., defeats Democratic Education Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum for Hollings' seat, giving South Carolina two GOP senators.
No. 2 - Busiest hurricane season in decades causes almost $150 million in damage as two hurricanes make landfall in Charleston County and a total of seven storms affect the state. For the first time in more than a century, the tracks of four storms move across the state. Tornadoes spawned by hurricanes help South Carolina set a new yearly record with 84 twisters.
No. 3 - Former Lt. Gov. Earle Morris Jr. is convicted, Larry Owen pleads guilty and a civil settlement of 18 cents on the dollar is reached in the Carolina Investors' bankruptcy in which more than 8,000 investors lost $278 million when the Pickens-based company collapsed last year.
No. 4 - South Carolina holds the first-in-the-South Democratic presidential primary in February, giving North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, a Seneca native, his only primary win.
No. 5 - Gov. Mark Sanford spars repeatedly with the Legislature, even bringing piglets to the Statehouse to emphasize what he calls pork barrel spending and threatening a lawsuit over packing different issues into a single bill.
No. 6 - An FBI and SLED investigation of a cockfighting operation results in the indictment of state Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Sharpe. He is accused of accepting at least $20,000 from an organization involved in breeding and raising birds for cockfighting in exchange for helping the group avoid legal trouble.
No. 7 - A January fire at a Comfort Inn in Greenville kills six people and injures 12 others. The fire was ruled arson, though no suspects are arrested.
No. 8 - South Carolina voters pass a constitutional amendment on minibottles that allows legislators to decide how drinks will be served.
No. 9 - Thousands of re-enactors and members of the public attend the April burial in Charleston for the crewmen from the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, called the last Confederate funeral. Descendants of the crewmen also attend.
No. 10 - Legislature passes a bill allowing tattooing. The state Department of Health and Environmental Control Board approves new tattoo regulations in November, but getting a legal tattoo is still months away.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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