🌱 SUV Crashes Into House + Police Awarding Gift Cards

Happy Friday, people of Columbia! Here's everything you need to know to get this day started. Here's everything worth knowing around town today.

First, today's weather:

A shower and thunderstorm. High: 76 Low: 65.

Here are the top three stories today in Columbia:

1. An SUV collided into a Columbia home overnight on Wednesday. The house was located on Tree Street. There were no serious injuries in the incident and the driver was charged with a DUI. (WLTX.com)
2. The Columbia police department is partnering with Advanced Auto Parts to help drivers with simple traffic violations. Police are pulling drivers over for simple infractions but instead of a ticket, they're giving drivers gift cards to fix them. Advance Auto Parts gave the police $2,500 in gift cards to award to drivers. (Abccolumbia.com)
3. The Columbia City Council passed a new budget method for 2022-23. This method allows funds that are not being used in some departments to be allocated to others. The plan will go into effect when the new budget is finalized on Jul. 1. (WLTX.com)

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Today in Columbia:

• Heart 'n Soul Dinner And Dance For A New Year At Senate's End (6:00 PM)
• Walker Hayes At Township Auditorium (7:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• Vista Guild and Main Street District have partnered on a new mural in Columbia. (Columbia Star)
• Start building your career! Every Wednesday the City of Columbia Public Works holds open interviews from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. at 2910 Colonial Drive for multiple vacancies! (Facebook)
• Join Columbia OBO and Benedict College Women's Business Center for a six-week online course offering a celebratory capstone luncheon on Apr. 9! (Facebook)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Divorce & The Home – the Spring Housing Market – Vesta's South Carolina Hub (March 22)
• American Diabetes Association Diabetes Alert Day: Understand Your Risk (March 22)
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You're officially in the loop for today. I'll be in your inbox tomorrow morning with a new update!

— Dan Casarella

About me: Dan Casarella is a writer, podcast producer, and small business development specialist who formerly worked in late-night television. He’s produced many talk segments, including with President Joe Biden, Kobe Bryant, and Chadwick Boseman. Dan studied Media Studies and Production at Temple University. He also enjoys running, painting, and the highs and lows of Philadelphia’s sports teams.