State officials clarified a referendum Tuesday that will appear on the November ballot asking residents whether the state should drop the requirement that restaurants and bars use minibottles to prepare liquor drinks.

The Constitutional Ballot Commission drafted language for the referendum that will make it easier for voters to understand, Attorney General Henry McMaster said.

State law requires the ballot commission to determine whether or not a more simplified and detailed explanation should appear on the ballot along with language proposed by the Legislature. The commission is composed of the state attorney general, the director of the state Election Commission and the director of the Legislative Council.

The General Assembly voted this year to allow voters to decide whether to scrap a constitutional requirement that bars and restaurants use only minibottles. South Carolina is the only state in the nation that requires liquor to be sold in minibottles.

• Riverbanks gorillas outside for first time

The new gorillas at Riverbanks Zoo were allowed into their outdoor enclosure Monday, giving visitors their first chance to see the three males outside in the Ndoki Forest exhibit.

Chaka, Kimya and Mike moved from the Philadelphia Zoo to Riverbanks July 13, but they had been limited to the indoor section of the exhibit until they cleared quarantine.

The trio spent most of the day outside and are expected to use the outdoor exhibit more than the zoo’s first set of gorillas, said Riverbanks executive director Satch Krantz.

• Boiling water injures woman in argument

An argument between two women resulted in one of them throwing boiling water on the other, seriously burning her, Columbia police said.

Madeline Brown, 42, of Columbia was charged Monday with assault and battery with intent to kill, police spokesman Skot Garrick said. Brown, of 1718 Prescott Road, was being held Tuesday at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.

Rene Middleton, 34, of 5779 Ames Road, was taken to Palmetto Health Richland after she was burned on her head, face and upper body, Garrick said. She was expected to be flown to the burn center at Doctors Hospital in Augusta for further treatment.

The two women were arguing in Brown’s apartment when Brown threw the water on Middleton, Garrick said. Investigators don’t know what led to the dispute, he said.

• Woman pleads guilty to counterfeiting bills

A Gaston woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to making counterfeit currency, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Brenda Spires, 45, will be sentenced later, prosecutors said.

Spires made about $1,310 in counterfeit bills, prosecutors said. She tried to spend a fake $100 bill at a Kmart in West Columbia in April, prosecutors said.

The maximum penalty for each offense is a $250,000 fine and a possible 20-year imprisonment.

• Two sentenced in hospital fraud scheme

Two people were sentenced to prison for defrauding Palmetto Health Baptist of more than $201,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Dakalaikeya Perry, 28, of Columbia was sentenced to 12 months and one day. Sterling Motley, 31, of Wilmington, Del., was sentenced to 30 months. Both will be on supervised release for three years after they are released from prison. Each must pay $121,564.89 in restitution.

Authorities said Perry, Motley and others recruited people to falsely claim they were temporary hospital workers. They either did not work at the hospital or worked fewer hours than they reported. Motley and others turned in time sheets through a temporary labor service that issued paychecks to the people, who cashed them and gave some of the money to Motley.

He was given the longer sentence because of his extensive involvement in the scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Not only was he the hospital insider, but he concocted the scheme and was primarily responsible for recruiting others, authorities said.

• Richland 1 board candidates list grows

Celestine White-Parker is the second Columbian to file as a candidate for two at-large seats on the Richland 1 school board that will be contested Nov. 2.

White-Parker will pursue a four-year term on the panel that oversees schools in Columbia and southern Richland County.

Starting Aug. 20, the Richland County election commission will begin accepting filings by candidates who want to replace Richland 1 trustee Damon Jeter, who will vacate his seat on Nov. 9. Jeter is an unopposed candidate for Richland County Council with two years left on his school trustee term.

The winner of the at-large race to replace Jeter gets a two-year term. The filing for that seat closes at noon, Aug. 30. The filing deadline for all other candidates who want to serve four-year terms on Richland 1’s board is Sept. 3.

No candidates filed for school boards in Lexington County on Tuesday.

From Staff and Wire Reports