Adoption Attorney Near Me Florence, SC

FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) — The Medical University of South Carolina Florence on Wednesday broke ground on its new Hollings Cancer Center facility.

This new facility will provide local patients with access to specialized cancer treatments that would typically require travel to Charleston.

The 63,000-square-foot facility aims to extend MUSC’s reach as the only National Cancer Institute in South Carolina and one of 74 such institutes nationwide. This designation signifies that MUSC has passed federal government evaluations for excellence in laboratory research, patient care, prevention and education.

Speakers at Wednesday’s ceremony highlighted the importance of patients receiving care without extensive travel. Dr. Paul Davis, a member of the MUSC Board of Trustees, emphasized the challenges patients often face.

“Many times, these patients have to travel for hours to receive special treatment, whether it be a clinical trial or some special treatment,” Davis said.

Charlene Lowery, a cancer survivor, shared her experience of traveling to Charleston for treatment with her husband. Lowery noted that while they were able to make the journey, it can be a significant obstacle for others, particularly those who are older or lack transportation.

“To have something of this caliber coming here to Florence, where people wouldn’t have to do the traveling, especially the ones that are of age that don’t have transportation,” Lowery said.

She added that instead of inconveniencing family members or paying for transport, patients will now simply need “picking up the phone and getting someone to bring them right here locally.”

The Pee Dee region, where Florence is located, is identified by MUSC as one of South Carolina’s most underserved areas with a high incidence of disease. MUSC Pee Dee Division CEO Jason Cox affirmed the institution’s commitment to the area.

“We would love for everybody there to know that we are making a significant investment right here in The Pee Dee, which is one of the most underserved areas in the state of South Carolina and has one of the highest incidence of disease,” Cox said.

He concluded that this investment is intended to “improve the health and the health outcomes of our community.”

The new Hollings Cancer Center facility is expected to open by the summer of 2027.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WBTW. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WBTW staff before being published.

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Eric Cooper is a multimedia journalist at News13. He joined the team in September 2024 and covers stories in the Pee Dee. He is a native of Cades in Williamsburg County and a proud graduate of Kingstree Senior High School and Benedict College. You can read more of his work here.

Someone who bought a ticket prior to Tuesday night’s drawing won the Mega Millions $800 million grand prize, according to South Carolina Education Lottery officials.

Although that ticket was sold in Florida, someone who purchased a Mega Millions game in South Carolina didn’t walk away empty-handed, officials said Wednesday in a news release. A Mega Millions player in Florence narrowly missed out on the game’s grand prize, coming one number short of a stake in the $800,000,000, according to the release.

For coming so close the person who bought the Mega Millions ticket in Florence will receive a $20,000 jackpot, officials said.

Now a search is underway for the winner.

The five-figure winning ticket was sold at the On The Loop gas station/convenience store at 1301 2^nd Loop Road, according to the release.

The winning numbers from Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing were 34, 48, 49, 59, 70 and Megaball: 12.

The winning ticket bought in Florence matched four white ball numbers and the gold Megaball number, lottery officials said. The Megaplier number was 2, and the prize was doubled from $10,000 to $20,000, officials said.

The odds of matching four white balls and the gold Megaball are 1-in-893,761, according to the release.

The winner has 180 days to claim the prize, according to lottery officials.

The winner will be allowed to retain some privacy, as South Carolina is one of 11 states — along with Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Virginia — that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.

“Sign the back of your ticket and put it in a safe location until you’re ready to come forward to claim the prize,” lottery officials said.

For complete information on claiming prizes, go to sceducationlottery.com.

On The Loop will receive a commission for selling the winning ticket, when it is turned into lottery officials.

Because a grand prize winning ticket was sold, the payday for a winner in Friday’s Mega Millions drawing will be $20 million, according to the release.

Tickets are $5, with a megaplier included.

The odds of winning Mega Million’s grand prize are 1-in-290,472,336.

FLORENCE — The city of Florence has completed an expedited project that increased the size of certain water and sewer upgrades for a battery plant, a year after construction on the plant was paused.

AESC, a Japanese manufacturer also known as Envision Automotive Energy Supply Co., announced its $1.6 billion investment to the Pee Dee region in late 2022 as part of a plan to supply batteries for electric cars to be built at BMW's Upstate campus and in Mexico, according to past Post and Courier reporting.

The announcement marked a big economic development opportunity for the Pee Dee, with the plant expected to produce 1,600 jobs. But in June 2025, AESC announced it was pausing construction due to “policy and market uncertainty.”

An AESC representative told The Post and Courier via email July 10 that nothing has changed since the company’s December 2025 statement, which reinforced AESC’s commitment to the area: the 1,600 jobs and $1.6 billion in direct investment but confirmed that the project remains paused.

The timeline for when AESC will unpause construction on the plant remains unclear, even after the $4.1 million upgrades were completed last month.

The water and sewer upgrades and extension of Florence’s infrastructure systems serve the Florence Global Technology Park, of which AESC is the anchor tenant, City Manager Scotty Davis said.

The city of Florence, which provides water to Florence County, fast-tracked its plans to upgrade the water and sewer systems and increased the size of its projects in light of AESC’s arrival. Davis said the upgrades would have taken place regardless of AESC but at a smaller scale.

Davis said he remains hopeful that AESC will continue its project in Florence, but having an industrial park that is ready for industry is an advantage in and of itself. Even without AESC, he said, the water upgrades could help draw in additional industry.

“In the economic development arena, speed to market is the number one goal,” Davis said. “How fast can you get to market? Well, we have now we have an asset that will allow industry to get to market immediately. That's a big plus when we're competing with other cities in South Carolina and even other states.”

Florence currently has 10 industries interested in the county, according to Davis.

Florence won’t be able to entice all 10, Davis said, but he expects one or two to choose Florence.

“When you're talking about industrial parks and the readiness of industrial parks, you have to understand how significantly important that is for this community to be in a place to have an industrial park that is ready for build or already constructed,” Davis said.

Another one of AESC’s incentives was a $20 million training facility for employees of not just the battery plant but other Pee Dee industries as well.

That training facility has now been completed and is up and running.

FLORENCE COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — Construction contractor Clayco Inc. has filed a verified complaint against AESC Florence LLC, alleging the company failed to pay more than $26.2 million after suspending work on its battery manufacturing plant in Florence, South Carolina, according to the complaint.

The complaint says Clayco and AESC entered into a design-build contract on March 9, 2023, for construction of the AESC South Carolina Battery Plant.

The project was scheduled for substantial completion by June 1, 2025. AESC leases the project site from Florence County under a lease memorialized in March 2024.

Clayco alleges AESC unilaterally suspended the project on June 8, 2025, after the contractor had substantially performed its contractual obligations. The complaint says Clayco incurred additional costs to secure the site, pay subcontractors and wind down operations, but AESC failed to pay for completed work and related expenses.

The lawsuit seeks recovery of $26,213,875.80, plus pre and post-judgment interest, attorney fees and court costs.

Clayco makes the following three primary legal claims:

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In addition to monetary damages, the complaint says, Clayco asks the court to order foreclosure and sale of AESC's leasehold interest to satisfy the alleged debt and requests a jury trial on all issues eligible for trial by jury.

The complaint is verified by Clayco CEO Anthony Johnson. The allegations represent Clayco's claims and have not been heard by the court.

Construction came to a halt last June due to policy and market uncertainties, according to AESC spokesperson Brad Grantham.

Grantham sent us the following statement last week:

"The project remains paused and we remain committed to delivering 1,600 jobs in the region and over $1.6 billion in direct investment."

AESC Spokesperson Brad Grantham gave ABC 15 the following statement:

“AESC has invested over one billion dollars in Florence, and we remain committed to the region and to our job and investment goals. We do not comment on pending litigation, yet we remain confident of a timely resolution on this matter.”

Anthony Johnson, CEO of Clayco, gave ABC 15 the following statement:

"We are deeply disappointed that AESC continues to ignore its financial obligations while the project remains suspended and our contract has not been terminated. Despite Clayco’s successful performance—with no complaints from the owner—we paid every subcontractor in full, including demobilization costs, using our own funds to protect the project and the construction community. AESC’s failure to honor its commitments has caused significant financial harm to subcontractors and Clayco, including substantial lost opportunities. We intend to recover every dollar owed through all available legal remedies."