We sure wouldn't be surprised. Last week, South Carolina's attorney general said he wants the General Assembly to give the state grand jury authority to investigate crimes against the environment. He also wants legislators to give his office greater power to prosecute these crimes.

There's some precedent: Last session, legislators gave McMaster greater authority to prosecute securities fraud. He then began investigating Carolina Investors Inc., and its former president and CEO was indicted last month.

This time, according to reports, McMaster says that standard police procedures are not as effective in investigating white-collar crimes. He said that a grand jury that operates like a federal grand jury, allowing it to subpoena witnesses or records, could help.

The U.S. Attorney's office normally investigates environmental crimes. Three years ago, then-Attorney General Charlie Condon had to turn over a case involving Tin Products of Lexington because of the state's limited prosecution ability, according to reports.

FEW SWITCHES

Number portability, the right to switch phone companies and keep your number, started last Monday with more of a pop than a bang.

The Federal Communication Commission rules that let consumers hang onto their digits were six years in the making, and industry analysts expected between 1 million and 9 million people to port their numbers when the starting gun fired.

But TSI Telecommunication Services Inc., a Tampa, Fla. company acting as a middleman in most of the switching, said only 80,000 people acted on their new portability rights last Monday.

Pundits said part of the low turnout could be chalked up to the wait-and-see factor. Folks wanted to make sure things were running smoothly before switching. Consumer advocates and FCC Chairman Michael Powell said that there would likely be some "kinks" as phone numbers were handed between phone companies big and small for the first time.

ADDY AWARDS

The Charleston Advertising Federation is asking for entries to its 2004 Addy Awards.

The Addy's are the industry's largest competition, recognizing the world's best advertising. The awards take place in three tiers: local, regional and national.

Addy's are not concerned with the organization's size, but rather with the idea. The competition recognizes all forms of ads from all types of media.

Submissions may be dropped off on Jan. 14 from noon until 6 p.m. at the American Theatre, 446 King St., in downtown Charleston. People must register at www.addycompetition.com before dropping off entries. Fees are $40 per entry for members of the federation and $55 for nonmembers.

BLACK FRIDAY?

Not really.

The day after Thanksgiving has long been called "Black Friday" because it's considered the one day stores can get their budgets out of the red and into the black because of the millions of customers jostling for bargains.

Media reports regularly refer to the day as the busiest shopping day of the year. Wrong.

The International Council of Shopping Centers says the Saturday before Christmas is actually the busiest. The council breaks down trends, although not all shopping centers include figures from all of their stores.

WE'RE NOT ALONE

Long before locals began buying their Thanksgiving turkeys, area radio stations began playing Christmas music. Charleston, apparently, is not alone.

According to the Associated Press, more than two dozen FM music stations ditched regular programming in November for an all-Christmas music format.

As many as 300 stations across the nation could follow suit, giving people plenty of options when they're in the mood for "Jingle Bells" or "Silent Night." Of course, for those eager to get away from all these holiday happenings, the radio no longer offers any solace.

The Christmas music phenomenon began a few years ago, when a few unorthodox stations began playing some holiday tunes before Christmas. In the process, they discovered something: When they played Christmas music, more people listened.

"It has been a proven home run in market after market," Brian Check, regional vice president of programming for Clear Channel Communications at WSNI-FM in Philadelphia, told the AP.

"Maybe it's the mood of the country. Maybe after 9-11, and with the war, people want an early pick-me-up, I'm not sure," he said. "But audience demand is what's driving this."

Or we have a thought: Maybe people just don't want to pony up the dollars for a CD they'll listen to only once a year.

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