STATE NEWS IN BRIEF

COLUMBIA

Study: Medical costs could be cut in prisons

A University of South Carolina study says the cost of medical care for state prison inmates could be lowered by hiring a private company to provide the service, said state Sen. Mike Fair, R-Greenville.

Fair said he would urge Gov. Mark Sanford and Department of Corrections Director Jon Ozmint to continue considering ways to privatize all or part of the prison health care system.

Fair is chairman of the Senate Corrections and Penology Committee. The State Budget and Control Board authorized $20,000 for the USC study.

Corrections officials had explored hiring a private group to offer medical care in the prison, Fair said, but they abandoned their efforts when the benefits seemed questionable.

COLUMBIA

Governor to host 'Open Door' session

Gov. Mark Sanford will hold another series of "Open Door After 4" meetings Monday.

It will be the 24th installment of the program that permits individual S.C. residents five-minute meetings with the governor to discuss issues on their minds.

Individuals wishing to sign up for one of these private meetings should call the governor's office at (803) 734-1999 beginning at 9 a.m. Monday morning.

CHARLESTON

Thanksgiving blaze kills woman, dog

A North Charleston woman and her dog have died in a blaze at their home.

Annette Maier, 52, died of smoke inhalation after her home caught fire at 1:40 a.m. Thursday, said Charleston County Coroner Susan Chewning. Her dog Thumper also was killed.

Fire investigators do not suspect foul play, Chewning said.

Neighbor Russell Willman rushed to the burning home to try to rescue Maier after she called him. "She said, 'Russell, honey, come get me,' and then the phone went dead," Willman said.

Maier was disabled by emphysema and lupus.

Willman tried twice to get past flames but couldn't. He said he could see the figures of his friend and her small dog standing in the hallway to the rear of the home.

"I did all I could to get to her," he said, "but the flames were so bad I had to get out of there."

COLUMBIA

Governor's Mansion to be festive for holiday

Gov. Mark Sanford and his family will get into the holiday spirit next week as the Governor's Mansion complex is decorated for Christmas.

This year marks the 150th Christmas celebrated at the mansion.

Decorating will begin at 10 a.m. Monday, as six live Christmas trees are presented to first lady Jenny Sanford. The mansion will be decorated by the Columbia Garden Club. The Lace House, another building on the grounds, will be decorated by the Charleston Garden Club.

COLUMBIA

Former bus station to become office

A plastic surgeon has bought the former Greyhound bus station on Blanding Street and will spend $500,000 shaping it into his office.

Dr. Richard Wassermann hopes the renovations will be as uplifting to the building as his work is to patients.

"Essentially, the building is a pretty stout structure," Wassermann said. "We'll be basically gutting the inside and refinishing it."

The Greyhound station, built in 1939, is on the National Historic Register thanks to its classic art deco design.

After Greyhound stopped using the depot in 1987, the building sat empty for two years. Then, Lexington State Bank turned it into a branch office, later bought by BB&T. The bank closed in 1998, and the building again sat empty until Wassermann hunted for a new place for his Plastic Surgery Consultants.

CHARLESTON

The Post and Courier hires managing editor

Steve Mullins has been named managing editor of The Post and Courier in Charleston.

Mullins, 53, is a Charleston newsroom veteran who has served as investigative reporter, city editor, assistant metro editor, assistant managing editor for special projects and assistant managing editor for features.

He was named S.C. Journalist of the Year in 1989 after leading the coverage of Hurricane Hugo and its aftermath. He became assistant managing editor for metro earlier this year and has had primary responsibility for news coverage. As managing editor, Mullins will be responsible for news gathering and the news department's operations and staffing.

LEXINGTON COUNTY

Former S.C. man charged in Virginia killing

A Manassas, Va., man sought by Charlottesville, Va., authorities in his estranged wife's killing was arrested Friday evening in Jacksonville, Fla.

Anthony Dale Crawford, 45, was waiting for money to be wired to a Western Union office at 5:30 p.m. Friday when officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office arrested him. He was in the car that belonged to his wife, authorities said.

In 1992, a Lexington County jury acquitted Crawford of marital rape after his previous wife pressed charges.

The body of Sarah Louise Crawford, 33, of Manassas, was discovered Monday at a Charlottesville motel. She had been shot once in the chest.

Crawford now is charged with first-degree murder, abduction, grand larceny and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Crawford was in the Duval County jail pending extradition.