For the first time, those in Augusta can log-on and weigh in on city spending. Should taxes go up, or should services get cut? The city website is offering a budget survey for those who want to give their two cents. WJBF News Channel 6’s George Eskola has the story.

The city of Augusta wants feedback from residents on budget issues. The catch? You must be a resident of Richmond County, and over the age of 18 to take part.

Officials at the University of South Carolina are warning residents near the Columbia campus of a possible fundraising scam. The university has gotten several calls from the public, reporting that college-aged people claiming to be students are going door-to-door to raise money.

It’s another chance for people living in Graniteville to have their voices heard on those new water rates. The South Carolina Public Service Commission is holding a public meeting on the rates. The meeting will start at 6:00 p.m.

Goshen residents wanted the skinny on what was in store for their neighborhood. Instead, they got the stonewall from the city. Even after several requests, they could not get a copy of the stimulus grant application that could bring $21 million to their neighborhood. Now, Augusta Commissioners want to know what happened. WJBF News Channel 6’s George Eskola has the story.

Those sky-high water bills have Graniteville and Vaucluse customers running out of patience. Customers now say they’re confused and don’t know whether to pay the bills, or not. And, many are taking matters into their own hands…and their own backyards. WJBF News Channel 6’s Joy Howe has more.

Residents in Goshen speak out against a plan to bring $21 million in stimulus money to their neighborhood. They fear it will bring with it low income housing because HUD money is involved, but one former HUD official says just because the department is involved doesn’t mean strings are attached. WJBF News Channel 6’s George Eskola has the story.

There’s a lot of concern over one Augusta neighborhood. Those who live in the Goshen area say they don’t want federal money…because that would mean low-income housing, but the federal dollars could mean big improements for another neighborhood. Well, Thursday night Goshen residents met again with city leaders to try and iron it all out. WJBF News Channel 6 photojournalist Corey Epps was at the meeting.

According to State Senator Shane Massey, a judge in Aiken has granted a temporary restraning order to prevent Avondale Mills Incorporated from implementing their water rate increases. Count on WJBF News Channel 6 for more information on this story as it becomes available.

A frustrating day is the way State Senator Shane Massey described it. He said there was no budging when it came to talking with the South Carolina Public Service Commission. Graniteville and Vaucluse customers will have to pay there outrageously high water bills by Saturday. WJBF News Channel 6’s Barclay Bishop has more.

It was a busy day at the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs Thursday. The agency sponsored a “shred day”, when consumers could bring in any personal documents they had and get them shredded for free. WJBF News Channel 6’s SC Capitol reporter, Robert Kittle, has more on how the cuts will affect SC residents’ complaints.

Upset residents are launching the stiffest challenge yet to Georgia’s touch-screen electronic voting system, arguing that there’s no way to ensure ballots cast are recorded and tabulated correctly. It’s a direct challenge to the electronic voting system adopted in 2002 in the aftermath of the Florida voting debacle that made Georgia the first in the nation to have uniform touchscreen voting statewide.

It’s because of violence, like shootings, that one Aiken housing development is seeing some changes. People living in Hahn Village, near downtown Aiken, now have a curfew and a resident ID card. But, it isn’t to keep tabs on those who live there…it’s to watch for people who don’t. WJBF News Channel 6’s Joy Howe has the story.

Residents in the Barefoot Resort area of Horry County may not have gotten all the information about last month’s wildfires from 911 calls, that may have been edited.

The Horry County wildfire destroyed 70 homes in the Barefoot Resort community in North Myrtle Beach, four weeks later the cleanup continues.