COLUMBIA

The chief architect of Gov. Mark Sanford’s new state budget is leaving government to return to the barbecue chain he founded.

Deputy chief of staff Chad Walldorf, 36, left Charleston-based Sticky Fingers in late 2002 to join Sanford in Columbia.

Walldorf, who was paid $82,400 a year, played a lead role in designing the highly detailed “activities-based” budget Sanford unveiled this week.

Sanford also announced Friday that former state Rep. Rita Allison and aide Jarrett Martin have been appointed deputy legislative liaisons.

Allison now earns $66,950 as spokeswoman for the Commission on Higher Education. Martin earns between $38,000 and $42,000, but that will be raised to reflect added responsibilities, Sanford spokesman Will Folks said.

• S.C. lottery marks its third anniversary

The state lottery — which has sold more than $2.4 billion in tickets and awarded more than $1.4 billion in prizes — marked its third anniversary Friday.

State income tax collected on winnings greater than $500 totaled more than $18 million in three years, and the lottery has transferred more than $713 million to the Education Lottery Account for appropriation by the Legislature.

K-12 programs have received more than $266.7 million in lottery funds. More than $534 million has gone to higher education and more than $8.2 million to public libraries.

STATEWIDE

• Forums to tout school choice plan

The campaign to generate support for Gov. Mark Sanford’s school choice proposal kicks into gear early next week with four forums around the state.

Sponsored by the S.C. Policy Council, the S.C. Center for Grassroots and Community Alternatives and the Parents in Charge Foundation, the events will feature appearances by David Limbaugh, an author, commentator and lecturer; former Washington, D.C., City Councilman Kevin Chavous; and Brian Jones, an attorney for the U.S. Department of Education. Each begins at 7 p.m.

• Rock Hill — Monday at the Baxter M. Hood Center, York Technical College (Limbaugh)

• Florence — Monday, at the Florence Civic Center (Chavous)

• Greenville — Tuesday, at the downtown Greenville County Library (Limbaugh)

• Columbia — Tuesday, at Embassy Suites Hotel on Greystone Blvd. (Chavous and Jones).

They will be speaking in favor of a bill that proposes giving income tax credits to parents who opt to send their children to a school other than their neighborhood public school.

MYRTLE BEACH

• Pavilion project draws criticism

City leaders are questioning the financial status of the California developer picked to redevelop the Myrtle Beach Pavilion Amusement Park.

Officials also complained Thursday that the project is not moving as quickly as expected. They hope to add shops, restaurants and attractions there to redevelop the pavilion site from a summer spot into a year-round hub of activity.

Barry Landreth, president and chief executive officer of Webster Realty Investors, denied that his company is in financial trouble and said it has $2.2 billion in assets with a debt load of less than 40 percent. He said he has raised $80 million toward the pavilion project from private investors and publicly traded companies. He did not name any of the investors.

Delays have come because the project’s size has grown, Landreth said.

But Burroughs & Chapin Co. Inc., the pavilion’s owner, is not happy with the progress of the project or Webster’s performance.

Contributing: Jeff Stensland, Bill Robinson, The Associated Press