Esther Elizabeth Reed is to be sentenced Wednesday in federal court in South Carolina.

The 30-year-old Reed has pleaded guilty to federal fraud and identity theft charges. She faces up to 47 years in prison and $1 million in fines.

Reed used the identity of a missing Traveler's Rest woman to get into Columbia University. Investigators say they don't think Reed was involved the woman's disappearance in 1999.

Reed's lawyer argues her client suffers from a number of mental ailments due to an emotionally abusive family member and didn't mean to do harm.

Beecher, a senior who will graduate from USC in May, signed with Liberty last week and will play his final season for the Division I-AA school in Lynchburg, Va.

Beecher, who was not asked to return to USC for his fifth season, committed to the Flames during an official visit this month, his mother, Pam Beecher, said Tuesday.

Because Beecher will pursue a graduate degree (Christian leadership) not offered at USC, Pam Beecher said he would be eligible to play under NCAA rules.

“We are so excited for Tommy and Liberty University,” Pam Beecher said. “What great people up there. It’s just a perfect fit.”

The measure sponsored by GOP Sen. Greg Ryberg of Aiken is on the agenda Tuesday in a Senate subcommittee. It would tie the surcharge to employees' body-mass index, a weight and height measurement.

The proposal follows a vote last August to increase health insurance premiums of public workers who smoke. The smoking surcharge is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2010. It was approved by a five-member board that oversees the state budget.

Smokers called it an unfair increase, since smoking isn't the only bad habit that increases health care costs.

South Carolina has among the nation's highest rates of obesity and diabetes.

The Anderson Independent-Mail obtained an e-mail from Clemson Provost Doris Helms, which didn't say how many jobs would be cut from areas like registration, financial aid, graduate and undergraduate studies.

Helms says there are about 125 people working in those departments.

She says Clemson will not cut its core academic faculty and staff.

Clemson has already cut its budget by $38 million this year and is bracing for the possibility of more cuts before the fiscal year ends June 30.

The company had $105 million in secured bank debt that was due today, part of $440 million worth of debt due between February and March. Last month, Muzak said it had received a 22-day extension on the $105 million debt. The company said today that it and Muzak's major creditor constituencies are committed to completing restructuring negotiations.

“Muzak is a solid business with an outstanding customer base, but we are burdened with substantial debt obligations established over a decade ago,” Chief Executive Officer Stephen Villa said in a statement. “We intend to move through this process as quickly as possible and we firmly believe that this course of action will better position Muzak for long-term success.”

Muzak has 1,250 employees, including 550 in Fort Mill. It designs and installs professional sound systems for businesses, and provides other services, such as promotional music for corporate branding.

-- The Charlotte Observer

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