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Have a question about life in Columbia and the Midlands you want answered? Email Zoe at znicholson@free-times.com with the subject line "From Z to You."

Question: When will construction along U.S. 1/Augusta Road in West Columbia wrap up?

Transparency is important. This is a self-submitted question. But I drive this stretch of road — between Jarvis Klapman Boulevard and Wren Road — every single day. To say it's a headache for the hundreds of commuters who traverse it is an understatement.

The stretch of Highway 1 anchors much of West Columbia's big-box retailers, and is bisected by an I-26 exit.

The $9.9 million construction project is funded by the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program and is being managed by the state Department of Transportation, according to a SCDOT spokeswoman.

Aimed at improving safety on the bottlenecking corridor, the project is adding concrete curbed median along several stretched of the road, including between Lowe's Home Improvement and Methodist Park Road.

"The purpose of this project is to reduce the frequency and severity of crashes along the corridor while maximizing traffic operations," an SCDOT handout about the project reads.

The project got federal funding based on the frequency of crashes, according to SCDOT. And according to the state agency, raised medians reduce "crash potential" by limiting the areas where drivers can turn, thus limiting the stretches of roads two cars could come head to head.

According to reporting from The State, that stretch of road saw an average of 25 crashes a month in 2014 when a study was done ahead of the project.

The project has been in the works for more than five years, according to SCDOT records.

During my drive home April 16, the framework for the medians was in, but landscaping needed to still be added.

SCDOT said the construction is supposed to wrap up "in spring of 2025," which is ... right now. So let's hope that means any day now.

A fire at Providence Park Apartments in Columbia displaces a dozen families, causing extensive damage but no injuries.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A fire at the Providence Park Apartments in Columbia forced a dozen families from their homes Tuesday, leaving extensive damage but no injuries, according to the Columbia-Richland Fire Department.

The fire broke out earlier in the day and left residents like Thurmon Jamison grappling with the aftermath.

“Well, my son, he came and got me and when I finally got myself together, he rushed me out the door and then pushed me out the door and carried me, kind of carried me downstairs,” said Jamison, who was home when the fire began.

RELATED: Firefighters tackle blaze at Mid-Carolina Steel and Recycling site

Jamison said he’s unsure what his next steps will be, as he waits for updates on housing options.

“Well, they told me that my apartment was completely destroyed and The rest my…I just gonna have to wait and see what what they're gonna do, whether or not to give me another place or, you know, I need to go ahead and buy me a house,” he said.

Columbia-Richland Fire Department spokesperson Mike DeSumma said 12 apartment units were affected by the fire, with half sustaining direct fire damage and the others impacted by smoke and water.

“We estimated that about 12 of the units have been affected. 6 of those units are the ones on the far end. They've directly been affected by the fire damages and then because of the water operations we were doing, also the smoke, you know, the other 6 units have been affected as well,” DeSumma said. “We also had to cut power to the building for a time. We can only turn it back on for this half of the building, which was largely OK, but those 12 units are the ones that have been affected.”

The American Red Cross was on site to provide emergency assistance to displaced residents.

“We realized at the Red Cross that when we show up on a fire this is probably the worst days of many people's lives who've been affected by this fire and so we're just here um to provide some immediate comfort care to help them in their recovery process,” said Vareva Harris, regional program lead for the Red Cross. “Those When you lose everything, you need everything. And the most important thing that most of those families have needed in this moment is a hug and somebody to care and we have a team of Red Cross volunteers who are here to be able to provide that and some may need shelter, some may need to have medical needs some may need spiritual care, others may need mental health care and we're here to provide um some of all of those services.”

Jamison also offered a message to others living in apartment communities:“make sure they have good insurance.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Fireflies in the Lincoln Street tunnel. The "thousand-year flood" on Main Street. A heat island projected onto the Tapp's Building.

Three Columbia-specific climate phenomena are featured in an upcoming public art installation aimed at sparking dialogue about the Earth and how we treat it.

In honor of Earth Day April 22, the nonprofit One Columbia for Arts & History is launching a trio of augmented reality public art projects designed to inspire locally-specific conversations around the impact of climate change on the city.

Funded with support from the Midlands Council of Governments and created by the Florida-based digital artist Drake Arnold, the goal of the collection of these public artworks is to spark discussion around the impact of global warming, according to One Columbia public arts director Pamela Zeljak. To that end, two of the pieces will use augmented reality technology to invite viewers into a kind of experiential investigation.

The first of these, “Synchronous,” looks at the ways climate change could impact the synchronous fireflies at Congaree National Park.

The second, “Deluge,” examines how the 2015 flooding disaster could be a more common occurrence in the Midlands.

Those two installations will be placed at the head of the Lincoln tunnel off Lady Street and in the parklet next to Market on Main at the corner of Main and Lady streets, respectively.

The final work is a film installation about downtown Columbia’s status as a “heat island,” entitled “Heat Wave,” that will be projected on the Tapp’s Building on Main Street.

The Midlands Council of Government worked with One Columbia to outline the three topic areas and general concepts. Zeljak then enlisted Arnold, whom she knew from her days working as an arts administrator in Florida.

"We actually worked on an augmented reality mural project together (before),” she explained. “I knew that he could do the job, do it well and then turn it around pretty quickly.”

Zeljak and her partners in the project agreed such an approach would be a great way to easily engage passersby, in keeping with the mission of the project.

Arnold, who holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Digital Art from the University of Tampa, has made the use of augmented reality (AR) central to his practice, including developing his own AR app that overlays custom 3D animations that can be engaged interactively, as well as 3D fractal animations designed for live visuals and projection mapping for event installations. Many of his murals also use a simple QR code viewers can scan to get AR overlays superimposed over his two-dimensional creations.

“One Columbia always tries to balance these kinds of opportunities between local, regional and national artists,” said Zeljak. “It all adds to the cultural fabric of the city.”

The installations will stay up for at least six months following their Earth Day debut on April 22.

Zoe is the Editor of Free Times, mainly covering city life, arts and culture. Reach her at znicholson@free-times.com or on X @zoenicholson_

Over the years, the 1100 block of Park Street has been a stretch of parking spots, a sidewalk and a trash enclosure, but now the small space in the Vista is a permanent art exhibit honoring the past and art-focused future of the Columbia district.

The new wall relief includes two chiseled portraits of a 1921 South Carolina train conductor and Columbia artist Laura Spong, who made her mark as an abstract expressionist artist throughout the city and Southeast.

Spong had a long career in art but gained commercial success in her later years when she started renting a studio space at Vista Studios in the late 1980s. She hosted a solo exhibition celebrating her 80th birthday, and soon after, museums and collectors began paying large sums for her work. She passed away in August 2018 at 92, but her work is still featured across Columbia and the state.

Ohio-based artists David and Bethany Falter said the artwork, titled "The Convergence," represents the blending of history from the time train tracks ran through the center of Columbia to when Spong started making an impact as an artist. David Falter said the portraits portray perseverance and remind passersby that they can overcome challenges as a community.

"It's up and coming and it's still growing," David Falter said. "I think that we need to come together as a community, and to keep pushing forward."

The 13-foot-by-7-foot wall art took about a week to complete. The married couple spent multiple 12- to 13-hour days layering cement, drawing outlines, painting and working away at the wall with a hammer drill.

Bethany Falter said that during the project, she felt especially connected to Spong, who she said was dedicated to art, her family and her community. The late artist's legacy reminded Bethany Falter of a Bible verse.

"She was so instrumental in building up this city through art and her mentoring and her empowerment of women, young women," Bethany Falter said. "Because of her uprightness, because of who she was as a person, this city is what it is today."

Trey and Kershaw Spong, two of Laura Spong's six children, attended the artwork's dedication ceremony April 11 and said they were happy to see their mother honored.

"It looks like her, reminds me of her and I think it's just wonderfully done," Trey Spong said

Kershaw Spong explained how his mother was one of the early artists to start making an impact in the Vista's art scene. She dedicated her life to art and began her largest painting, which now hangs in the Koger Center, when she was 85, Kershaw Spong said.

"She would be befuddled by all this," Kershaw Spong said. "She would say, 'What's the fuss? I want to get back to my studio and paint.'"

Trey Spong said he hopes the mural will remind people of his mother's deep love for others and encourage them to care for their community as she did.

"You know, she was big on community and what we mean to each other," Trey Spong said. "The art was just sort of part of it, but it's really about the people."

The Congaree Vista Guild commissioned the installation. Executive Director Abby Anderson said the group unanimously voted to feature Laura Spong.

The public art piece is the newest of 17 artworks and murals installed around the arts and entertainment district. Another project is in the works to create a lighted installation in the Lincoln Street tunnel, according to past Free Times reporting.

Anderson hopes the two portraits will encourage people walking by to be curious and take time to connect with the artist's work and impact in Columbia.

"I hope people can appreciate it, because it's a mural, but it's also not a mural, it's a wall sculpture, but it's still kind of set onto the wall, so it's something really unique that I don't think that we have here in Columbia," Anderson said. "So I hope that as people drive by, they kind of go, 'Who's that? What's this?' And then they can come and approach it."

The artwork is located at the intersection of Park and Gervais streets next to Pearlz Oyster Bar. Those interested in viewing or purchasing Laura Spong's work can reach out to or visit Over the Mantel Gallery.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - A student organization is sparking controversy over an event being held at the University of South Carolina.

Later this month, Uncensored America will host an event with Fresh and Fit podcast host Myron Gaines titled “Why Women Deserve Less.”

Students against the event are calling this bigotry, while organizers say events like these are part of a larger effort to create uncensored student speech on university campuses.

Much like the roast of former vice president Kamala Harris last year, the university has stated that while it must provide meeting spaces for all student organizations, USC is in no way affiliated with the messaging of Uncensored America or any of its events.

Brooklyn Brown is the organizer of “The Art of Womanhood,” a counter-event described as “everyone vs bigotry” to promote and uplift women. The event is set to happen on the same night at the School of Art and Design.

Moms Demand Action advocate Melody McFadden will be the keynote speaker of the event

“I’m all for free speech being part of the J-School, but I think free speech is different than hate speech,” said Brown. ”I think they argue that they’re allowed to say whatever they want as American citizens. I agree, but it’s these sorts of rage-bait headlines that cause a lot of stress among the student body.”

“We would rather there be an environment and acceptance of unpopular opinions again, and hopefully we will get to that mission soon,” said Uncensored America’s Luca Miraldi. “I wouldn’t say that we’re using hot button issues or provocative titles just to get people to come to our event, and then use censorship as an excuse. I definitely would never say that.”

Both events are scheduled for April 22 and are free for students.

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