A Fat Tuesday celebration at Dead Dog Saloon on Murrells Inlet’s waterfront ended hours before flames from what authorities say was an accidental fire ravaged the business.

Tourism in South Carolina continued to bounce back from the recession with growth in 2011, and officials anticipate more progress this year with plans that include adding technology to the state’s welcome centers, urging residents to vacation inside the state and doing more to push the state parks.

Dr. Anil Potti – the once-celebrated oncologist whose career faltered after the discovery that he fabricated cancer-treatment data for clinical trials at Duke University – has left Myrtle Beach-based Coastal Cancer Center in the wake of a “60 Minutes” television news report this month about his tenure at the N.C. university.

Atlantic Stage opens Neil Simon’s “Lost in Yonkers” comedy with a preview performance, then the run continues Thursdays-Sundays through March 11. Details at 877-287-8587 or www.atlanticstage.com.

Though international students come here on work visas each summer, their primary goal is not earning a lot of money.

Conway police are looking for a man wanted in a shooting that happened Sunday on Woodward Drive.

An S.C. House subcommittee took testimony Wednesday from Horry County residents regarding two pieces of legislation that effectively would remove the county’s solid waste flow control ordinance.

South Carolina banned video gaming a dozen years ago after a legal battle that went all the way to the state Supreme Court. But proponents of restrictive legislation advanced by a Senate Judiciary subcommittee Wednesday say that manufacturers of new gaming machines may have found a legal loophole.

Tearful family and friends gathered on the Statehouse lawn Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil for Tom Sponseller, a well-known lobbyist who disappeared Saturday.