Wrongful death lawyer Near Me Florence, SC

FLORENCE – At Victors, a downtown Florence restaurant, an Italian winemaker with noble ties laughed with a local farmer, and they discussed the hard work of growing food.

Count Sebastiano Capponi is the owner and wine producer of Villa Calcinaia, a 500-year-old estate just outside of Florence, Italy. He often travels to the U.S. to visit restaurants that serve his estate’s luxury, organic wines.

Victors and Executive Chef Shelby Griffin welcomed him with a five-course dinner reception the evening of Sept. 20, pairing his Italian wines with traditional Southern flavors.

“Good evening, Florentines. I'm also Florentine,” Capponi said as he welcomed diners.

Capponi’s family once helped rule the city of Florence for 400 years before the Medici, a powerful dynasty, conquered the city in the 15th century, he told the crowd.

During the dinner, he visited each table in the restaurant, shaking hands with the men and kissing the hands of women in a traditional Italian greeting.

Tickets for the five-course event cost $165, and local farmers whose crops were used to prepare the dishes were invited to attend. The dinner featured ingredients from Rebecca Farms, Marsh Hen Mill, GroWild Acres and Ellerbe Farms.

Harold Ellerbe grew the corn used in the sweet corn panna cotta. Similar to Capponi, he is following in his father’s footsteps of being a farmer. Ellerbe said he was moved by the appreciation shown to both him and the wine maker.

“It lets me know that we're all connected, no matter where we're from. We're all connected in what we do,” Ellerbe said. “I have no experience with growing wine, and the wine vintner probably has no experience with growing corn, but together we can blend our talents together and produce something that people enjoy, and that's what it's all about.”

Ellerbe also noted that it’s community appreciation, such as what was shown by Victors’s invitation, that motivates him to continue planting year after year. It is recognition, he said, that society did not always give.

“It's a lot different than what my dad probably could have expected, and he did the exact same thing,” Ellerbe said. “It brings me to a point of where we have come as a society, as a community, that we honor the ones that grow our food. My dad's been gone for 28 years, and I know he would be proud of where we are.”

Capponi introduced each of the five wines as they were served, walking between tables with a paper map and telling the story behind each name, which were all tied to his family history.

For example, the first course was paired with Mauvais Chapon Brut, a sparkling wine named after an insult hurled at Capponi’s ancestor by the king of France.

“Florence in 1494 was besieged by the French troops, and the king of France had requested a series of demands to relieve the city from the siege,” Capponi said. “And the Republic of Florence appointed my ancestor, Piero Capponi, to go and parley with the king.”

However, his ancestor ripped up the contract the king presented – a scene immortalized in a statue on the facade of the Uffizi Gallery, one of Italy’s most visited art museums.

According to Capponi, the king then called Piero “a naughty Chapon,” the French version of his last name that means “the castrated rooster.”

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, S.C. (July 22, 2026) – MUSC Health officially broke ground on the future MUSC Hollings Cancer Center at Florence Medical Center, marking a significant milestone in expanding access to comprehensive, state-of-the-art cancer care for patients across the Pee Dee and northeastern South Carolina.

Expected to open in Winter 2027, the new cancer center will be a three-story 63,000-square-foot facility located on the MUSC Health Florence Medical Center campus. The facility will serve as a regional hub for advanced cancer care, extending the reach of South Carolina’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center.

The MUSC Hollings Cancer Center at Florence Medical Center will bring together a comprehensive range of cancer services under one roof, including medical oncology, radiation therapy and infusion therapy. The facility will also provide patients access to clinical trials, research opportunities and specialized therapies, allowing more individuals to receive innovative cancer care close to home.

The groundbreaking represents the next phase of MUSC Health Florence Medical Center’s integration into the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. Through this network, local physicians and patients gain access to nationally recognized cancer expertise, groundbreaking research, innovative treatments and expanded clinical trial opportunities.

“Today’s groundbreaking marks a transformational moment for healthcare in the Pee Dee,” said Jason Cox, MUSC Health-Pee Dee Division interim CEO and COO. “The MUSC Hollings Cancer Center at Florence Medical Center will bring nationally recognized cancer expertise, advanced treatments and groundbreaking clinical research closer to the patients and families who need them most.”

The center is designed to create a seamless continuum of care for patients at every stage of their cancer journey, beginning with screening and diagnosis and continuing through treatment, survivorship and supportive care. By bringing together multidisciplinary cancer services in a dedicated facility, MUSC Health aims to enhance patient convenience, improve coordination among care teams and expand access to emerging therapies.

The new facility also reflects MUSC Health’s commitment to increasing participation in cancer research and clinical trials across the state. Through the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, patients in the Pee Dee will have greater opportunities to participate in studies evaluating promising new treatments and therapies that may not otherwise be available in community settings.

“As South Carolina’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, MUSC Hollings Cancer Center is committed to ensuring that patients throughout the state have access to the most advanced cancer treatments and clinical trials available,” said Raymond N. DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., Hollings Cancer Center director. “This new facility extends that mission by bringing innovative therapies, leading-edge research and multidisciplinary expertise directly to the Pee Dee so more patients can receive exceptional cancer care close to home.”

The MUSC Health Hollings Cancer Center at Florence Medical Center is expected to become a cornerstone of cancer care delivery in the region, furthering MUSC Health’s mission to improve health outcomes and expand access to high-quality, compassionate care for all South Carolinians.

### About MUSC

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the state’s only comprehensive academic health system, with a mission to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates nearly 3,500 students in six colleges and trains more than 1,060 residents and fellows across its health system. MUSC leads the state in research funding from the National Institutes of Health, including National Institute of General Medical Sciences COBRE awards. For information on our academic programs, visit musc.edu.

As the health care system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality and safest patient care while educating and training generations of outstanding health care providers and leaders to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. In 2025, for the 11th consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health University Medical Center in Charleston the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.

MUSC has a total enterprise annual operating budget of $10.1 billion. The more than 36,200 MUSC members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers, scientists, contract employees, affiliates and care team members who deliver groundbreaking education, research and patient care.

About MUSC Hollings Cancer Center

MUSC Hollings Cancer Center is South Carolina’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center with the largest academic-based cancer research program in the state. With more than 150 faculty cancer scientists and 20 academic departments, it has an annual research funding portfolio of more than $50 million and sponsors more than 200 clinical trials across the state. Hollings offers state-of-the-art cancer screenings, diagnostic capabilities, therapies and surgical techniques within its multidisciplinary clinics to provide the full range of cancer care. Dedicated to preventing and reducing the cancer burden statewide, the Hollings Office of Community Outreach and Engagement works with community organizations to bring cancer education and prevention information to affected populations. For more information visit, hollingscancercenter.musc.edu.

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.