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Bills will Zelnik brings kids to magic benefit military 7 new laws passed despite legislative congestion, debates BY COLLYN TAYLOR intern@theitem.com While debates about budgets and road improvements clogged the state Legislature, it was able to pass legislation pertaining to military members before the initial legislative session ended June 4. Seven total bills were passed in relation to members of the military with one bill still in the Senate Finance Committee. 7 new laws passed despite legislative congestion, debates The bill regarding in-state tuition for military personnel, veterans and their families takes effect on July 1. Military veterans, active-duty military and their families stationed in South Carolina will be eligible for in-state tuition at South Carolina colleges regardless of which state they are legally residents. Other bills that passed this session include the extension of property tax exemption to the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran. If the surviving spouse has a special license plate issued by the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, he or she has the tax exemption for life or until the surviving spouse remarries. Another bill passed at the tail end of the legislative session was one dealing with absentee ballots for deployed soldiers and others stationed overseas. In the bill, military personnel can cast a special overseas ballot from the South Carolina Election Commission for a state or national election. Two bills, which both took effect June 4, deal with military members and their children. In one, South Carolina Department of Social Services can report incidents of child abuse or neglect to military commands at the base where the personnel is stationed.
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PHOTOS BY KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Alexander Bean, 9, assists Zelnik the Magician with his show at Sumter Opera House on Wednesday morning as part of Sumter County Library’s Summer Reading Program.
Library hosts magician to encourage summer reading BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com
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uring his most recent visit to Sumter on Wednesday, the charismatic Zelnik the Magician transformed into the Amazing Magic Man to encourage local children to become everyday superheroes and bookworms. The Amazing Magic Man made a stop at Sumter Opera House during his quest to spread the magic of reading to children in South Carolina and North Caroli-
na and Virginia. But before Amazing Magic Man could use his super powers to fight evil, he asked the audience to help him find his missing sidekick, Magic Dog. The audience assisted Amazing Magic Man perform magic tricks and solve a riddle to locate the missing pup using the special phrase “reading is magic.” The superhero shared the various facts he learned about America through reading while he followed clues and took the audience on a journey to Washington, D.C.,
to visit the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and Smithsonian Institution. Amazing Magic Man told the audience that if anyone has a burning question, such as why Abraham Lincoln always wore a tall black hat, the answer could be found in a book. After solving the riddle with the help of the audience, Amazing Magic Man found Magic Dog in the library. Near the end of his performance,
SEE ZELNIK, PAGE A6
More people in water, more attacks PORTLAND, Maine — Federal wildlife protections are helping sharks rebound, but they aren’t the sole reason for the uptick in encounters between sharks and humans. Expanding human populations and growing use of beaches are major factors too, scientists say. Recent shark attacks in North Carolina and Florida have made headlines as the summer beach-going season gets into gear. Such attacks have become more common in recent years — the Florida Museum of Natural History’s
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A boy plays on a beach Sunday near the site of two Sunday shark attacks on Oak Island, North Carolina. Scientists suggested one of the reasons for the increase in shark attacks recently is that there are simply more people using beaches.
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ing to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimate. A spokesman for the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association said the figure is likely still rising because of the improving economy. Populations of some shark species have grown due in part to conservation efforts, such as a 1997 U.S. law that prevented the hunting of great white sharks. Dr. Bob Hueter, director of the Center for Shark Research at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida, said preservation and management have also helped repair
International Shark Attack File says the number of unprovoked shark attacks has grown in every decade since the 1970s. Shark researcher George Burgess, who publishes the file, said this decade is almost certain to set a record for shark attacks. “The fact of the matter is, while shark populations rebound and, hopefully, come to where they once were, the human population is rising every year,” Burgess said. “We’re not rebounding; we’re just bounding.” Americans made 2.2 billion visits to beaches in 2010, up from 2 billion in 2001, accord-
BY PATRICK WHITTLE The Associated Press
Sunny to partly cloudy today, continued heat; tonight, partly cloudy with 50 percent chance of thunderstorm. HIGH 101, LOW 76
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