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Charleston Southern Buccaneers (7-19) vs. UNC Asheville Bulldogs (22-7)

The Line: UNC Asheville Bulldogs -9.5 / Charleston Southern Buccaneers +9.5 ; Over/Under: - (Get latest betting odds)

The Charleston Southern Buccaneers and the UNC Asheville Bulldogs meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Kimmel Arena. Charleston Southern is currently 8-19 overall. The Buccaneers lost to Winthrop in their last game. As for UNC Asheville, they’re 22-7 on the season after a Saturday win versus Gardner-Webb. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Charleston Southern Buccaneers

The Buccaneers have had a pretty rough season so far, and they went just 7-13 over their first 20 outings. Charleston Southern is just 1-6 since then with losses to Gardner-Webb, High Point, USC Upstate, Radford, Campbell and Winthrop in the last six.

In the Saturday matchup versus Winthrop, Charleston Southern took a 40-35 deficit into the break. The Buccaneers were outscored 35-32 from there and lost 75-67. Tyeree Bryan was tops on the team with 23 points and five rebounds.

UNC Asheville Bulldogs

Over on the Bulldogs’ side, they hit a 16-6 run through their first 22 games this year. UNC Asheville is a nice 6-1 since then with wins over Campbell, High Point, Winthrop, Presbyterian, Radford and Gardner-Webb. The lone loss came to USC Upstate.

On Saturday against Gardner-Webb, the Bulldogs held a slim 29-28 edge in the locker room. UNC Asheville closed the game on a 46-35 run and won it 75-63. Drew Pember led the team on a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

ANDREW’S FREE PICK

I’ll lean toward UNC Asheville here. The Bulldogs are on a great run these days; they’ve lost just one game during this calendar year. The scoring has been pretty solid as well, with 70 or more points in nine of their last 11 games. These teams last saw each other back on January 18 in a 73-63 Bulldogs win at CSU Field House. With the Buccaneers struggling lately (and most of the season), I don’t see Charleston Southern getting close in the road rematch.

This is a part of The Post and Courier’s Q&A series throughout Black History Month highlighting Black musicians in Charleston. We feature local Black creatives throughout the year, but wanted to profile some of these Lowcountry talents during February.

Harlem Farr, who goes by Hrlum, performs in local soul and funk band The Psycodelics in addition to her solo music.

Q: Tell me more about yourself and how you got into music.

A: I’m 23, originally from Spartanburg. I started playing piano by ear at age 6; that pretty much started my whole music journey. A few years later, I learned how to read music and then went on to join my school’s choir and orchestra (violin). Being involved in various music ensembles throughout my life has been absolutely crucial to my musical development. I’m the musician I am today because of it.

I came to College of Charleston in the fall of 2017 to study music (B.A. Music Theory/Composition, B.A Spanish ’21). During my time there, I got connected with local musicians, some who were classmates. The summer before my freshman year was when I began writing my own music. I’d share and upload demos to SoundCloud.

My music, or whatever I thought I was doing for that matter, happened to pique the interest of my peers. Things led to another, and eventually I started performing outside of school recitals and concerts. I played my first house show in Charleston in January 2019.

Q: What projects have you been a part? I know the Psycodelics is one; what is it like being in that band?

A: If I had to recall something cool, it would probably be scoring and acting in a Toms Shoes commercial back in 2022.

As for the band, I joined Psycodelics as a background vocalist in 2021, a year or so after its inception. It’s been invigorating, to say the least. It feels like I’m part of something that my higher self knew about a long time ago. It just makes sense.

Q: Can you tell me more about your influences musically? What are you inspired by when writing original music?

Q: I grew up listening to a lot of ’70s and ’80s funk and R&B, so those influences are etched in there, but to my core I’ve always been attracted to smooth tranquil sounds, reminiscent of jazz. Artists I look up to include Esperanza Spalding, Minnie Riperton, Elis Regina and Stevie Wonder.

My physical and tangible creative process looks like getting in some comfy clothes, turning the lights to a purplish-pink and lighting a candle or incense. And then of course getting frustrated with the digital audio workstation, but alas, we get it done. I usually write the music first and then follow up with the lyrics. However, I believe that the creative process is also found everywhere in life. It’s me going to shows, talking to my peers and loved ones, translating Portuguese lyrics, learning a new song.

Q: What else do you do?

A: Fun Fact 1: Aside from performing, I also teach in an after-school music program. I help students with songwriting, music theory, and playing guitar and bass.

Fun Fact 2: I consider myself a Brazilian music enthusiast and practitioner.

Q: What do you have going on in 2023?

A: I’m playing some music festivals this year with The Psycodelics: Peachfest, Summer Camp, Echoland and more. I’ve also got other exciting things soon to be announced. This year I just want to continue making and sharing my music, following the current of wherever these sounds take me.

On Feb. 23, 1945, American Marines raised Old Glory during the Battle of Iwo Jima. The photo depicting the group has become one of the most iconic photos in U.S. history, as well as signifying one of the deadliest battles of the war.

For weeks, American and Japanese troops fought for control of the strategically located island. The battle ultimately ended with a costly victory for the Americans.

So this week, let’s remember the Battle of Iwo Jima with this week’s trivia.

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NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Mayor Keith Summey is considering possibly removing North Charleston from the Charleston County School District (CCSD).

According to the mayor's office, Summey requested city legal counsel to review the idea of pulling out of the CCSD and having North Charleston take over the schools.

Summey, who left the morning of Feb. 22 for vacation, was not available for comment. He is expected to return on Feb. 27, according to his office.

The mayor's office said the proposal was due to concerns towards the CCSD's treatment of North Charleston students and schools, which had been discussed in 2022.

The CCSD issued the following statement in response to Summey's proposal:

"Mayor Keith Summey’s proposal to withdraw North Charleston schools from the Charleston County School District (CCSD) and instead house them in a department within the City of North Charleston would fail students. Such would duplicate administrative costs and result in less funding per pupil for both academic support and capital improvement."

"Mayor Summey's assertion that the city contributes more than what it receives from CCSD is untrue. In fact, North Charleston has historically received well above the CCSD average funding for construction and facilities maintenance."

"North Charleston’s schools currently account for 30.32% of the district’s total student population yet receive approximately 35.6% of funds allocated for schools. In addition, the average budgeted per-pupil allocation in FY2023 for North Charleston schools was $16,645.18 compared to that for all other CCSD schools at $14,171.06; isolating North Charleston’s schools served through Acceleration Schools boasts a $19,532.61 per-pupil allocation."

"Claims that academic efforts in North Charleston schools have not been successful are also misleading. Most recently, for example, three North Charleston schools were removed from the state improvement designation list while others made significant gains."

"Rather than benefiting students, withdrawing schools from CCSD would exacerbate educational disparities between geographic areas that CCSD has worked to address. Likewise, the assertion that creating a smaller district would ensure children in North Charleston have greater opportunities is simply misguided. Smaller schools and smaller districts have historically been less-able to offer such access and opportunity."

"The District calls on Mayor Summey to address his concerns directly with CCSD leadership so that adults can avoid negative outcomes for students, parents, and educators. The mayor has not reached out to the district directly since February 2022, after which he and Superintendent (Donald) Kennedy met with other district and city officials."

Summey voiced concerns towards the CCSD's treatment of North Charleston's students and schools last February. He said North Charleston was "short-changed" in a letter to the district, which he read aloud in a Facebook video.

At the time, state Rep. Marvin Pendarvis announced consideration of creating a new district for North Charleston's schools. Summey said a new school district is a last resort, but possible.

Summey met with district officials later in February 2022.

"CCSD Board members, staff, and I had a productive meeting and have opened dialogue to improve public education and school facilities in North Charleston," the mayor said.

After the meeting, the CCSD sent a follow-up letter to Summey in April 2022.

A Charleston business consultant has been indicted on charges of insider trading in shares of Eastman Kodak Co., with federal prosecutors alleging he and a family member used confidential information to reap as much as $1.5 million in illegal profits.

James A. “Andrew” Stiles was arrested Feb. 23, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which is handing the case. His cousin, Edward G. “Gray” Stiles, was taken into custody in Richmond, Va.

The government alleged that the two 37-year-olds broke federal securities laws by misappropriating information “about potential government loans to be made to the Eastman Kodak Company to finance the production of Covid-19-related pharmaceutical components.”

According to the charges, Andrew Stiles was an executive at a business identified only as “Company-1” that was collaborating with Eastman Kodak on the pandemic drug project. His employer also was helping the former film giant apply for a government loan that became public on July 27, 2020, when a $765 million “letter of interest” was announced.

“In the following days, Kodak stock rose substantially, at one point increasing to more than 2,500 percent above the closing price prior to the news,” prosecutors said.

Before the financing deal became public, Stiles had been sharing confidential information about the status of the loan transaction with his Virginia cousin, who asked in a July 9, 2020, “coded” text message for an “update on the film we sent off a few weeks ago to get developed.”

“Maybe 2 weeks out,” Andrew Stiles said

“I can live with that hahaha,” Gray Stiles replied.

The government said they bought a combined 140,000 shares of Eastman Kodak between June 2020 and the day the financing letter was publicized. They sold all of the stock after the announcement, according to government documents. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission estimated that the illicit gains totaled more than $1.5 million.

The Stileses are charged with six counts of securities fraud, which carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a fine of $5 million for each, said Dean Secor of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charleston. They also face one count of conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 penalty, he said.

In a parallel civil lawsuit, the SEC said that Andrew Stiles used insider knowledge once before to make money in the stock market. While working as a consultant to Novavax Inc., the commission said, he bought and sold 1,844 shares of the biotechnology firm “based on material nonpublic information about the company’s efforts to secure funding to develop a Covid-19 vaccine. This trading garnered Stiles more than $45,000 in illicit profits.”

Stiles appeared in U.S. District Court in Charleston for an initial hearing Thursday. Still shackled and wearing shorts, a golf shirt and flip flops, he didn’t speak except to answer routine questions from the judge. He was to be set free on a $500,000 unsecured personal recognizance bond that requires two co-signers.

Gray Stiles also was to be released, according to Virginia court records.

They’re both required to appear at a March 1 hearing in New York City.

NORTH CHARLESTON — City leaders are on track to increase the salary of the mayor to $218,310 a year, a 12.6 percent increase over incumbent Keith Summey’s current pay of $193,880.

The full City Council will take its first vote on the matter Feb. 23 after its finance committee earlier voted 8-2 to raise the pay for the city’s mayoral position, making North Charleston’s mayor the highest paid in South Carolina.

If passed, the mayor and council member salaries would go into effect in January 2024 — after the city’s November municipal election.

The city contracted the outside firm of Management Advisory Group to analyze the salaries of the mayor, City Council and employees. MAG recommended a 20 percent increase for the mayor, which would’ve put the mayor’s pay at $234,000.

City staff instead recommended a 12.6 percent raise, equal to the raises employees have received over the past three years.

The firm also recommended an increase for other elected officials. The city’s Finance Committee, which includes all members of the council, voted the same day in a 6-4 vote to also increase the salaries of North Charleston City Council members from $20,657 to $23,260 a year.

MAG said the salary increases are meant to “more adequately compensate for the time and effort to do their jobs involved in the diligent performance of their responsibilities and bring the city in line with comparable cities within the state.”

MAG did a similar analysis in 2019, after which City Council approved the current pay for mayor and council. The new salaries will go to whoever is elected in the city’s November general election.

North Charleston has a full-time mayoral position, as opposed to some other governments where the mayor might serve in a part-time capacity.

First elected in 1994, Summey, 75, has remained tight-lipped about his political future, though several sources inside City Hall have said Summey has told them he does not plan to run for an eighth term. He told reporters at City Hall on Feb. 22 that he’ll make a decision within 30 days.

“I love what I do,” Summey said. “In a couple of weeks, I’ll be 76 years old. I have four beautiful grandkids. I’ve got to make up my mind. I’ll do a final sit-down in the next couple of weeks with my family and make it a family decision.”

Summey’s financial activity for a potential political campaign has been mostly dormant. His campaign finance reports show no fundraising activity for 2022.

North Charleston is one of two large South Carolina municipalities that use a strong-mayor form of government in which the mayor runs the city’s day-to-day operations acting as a chief administrator. In Charleston, Mayor John Tecklenburg earns $214,394.39 annually.

Elsewhere throughout the Palmetto State, mayors of larger cities mostly act as elected officials who preside over council meetings while hired city mangers run daily operations of local government.

Columbia City Manager Teresa Wilson makes $228,314, according to 2021 data provided online by the city. At the time, then-Mayor Steve Benjamin earned $75,000. Greenville manager John McDonough earns $278,512, according to the Municipal Association of South Carolina. Part-time Mayor Knox White makes $24,000.

The uncertainty surrounding the North Charleston mayoral position is one of the reasons Councilman Bob King voted against the salary bump. King said he may have supported the pay raise if Summey had planned to run for reelection.

That said, $213,000 is still too high of a salary, King said.

Councilman Ron Brinson, who also voted against the pay raises, said the timing of the proposals isn’t ideal.

“I think with all that’s going on in the economy, it’s just not a good look,” Brinson said.

The full City Council will have to make a final decision on the new salaries. Council meets at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 to make an initial vote inside City Hall.