show, and you can hear me every sunday evening, onpoint! with cynthia hardy. this week, we have the state of the city of columbia, 2016, where we are and where we are going. it is been a tough year for the city of columbia. we had a positive address, a host of thank you's for law enforcement, firefighters, first responders, and the efforts in this historic flooding thacaused millions of dollars. and the state of the city a strong, and the mayor is pointing out that we have unprecedented economic development, and has laid out and ambitious agenda for the future of the development of our city. but they warned us, the critics, that the city may be moving to last. and we need to not outpace

properly sustain ourselves. and 2016, where we are and where were going. and i have brian mccarthy sitting next to me, and we think that the information that we present is important for our viewews. >> especially, coming off of this very difficult year, the challenges that columbia faced during 2015, a natural disaster we will be dealing with for quite some time.>> and nobody knows better than the mayor. the state of the city, and you were probably very happy to deliver some good news. >> the city of columbia is a byron core and if you look at

both the public and private sector, unemployment has dropped over half of the last several years, and the capitol is doing well, and we want to grow, and we have the growth of the university, and we have seen some incredible efforts downtown. we have been great students of the public, and we have restored our reserves, fully restored our water sewage, and the infrastructure. and we just finished six years in a row with a budget surplus. we continue to invest in our police and fire departments, and we are being a leader. 300 mayors were at the white house a week ago, and we were singled out by the president of united states for the advances we have made, and helping to

just police department. and enhancing our communications, so some good things are happening. last year, obviously with the floods in october, were very region. but last year was a difficult carolina. the natural disasters and man- made. we started off with walter scott, and the charleston riding, the battle around the flag. i would say that south carolina has carried itself quite well. other communities would have buckled or broken under that we. 11,000,000,000,000 gallons of water and the incredible loss of life in charleston. but the people of south carolina showed why we are

if we can try and make sure that this same unity and purpose, staying focused on showing the people that we are greater than some of our products. that same purpose that we show in a time of crisis, if we can have that same purpose when things are not in crisis. how we deal with homelessness, or make sure that people have quality and affordable housing, and schools. that is how you become a talented, educated entrepreneurship in america. you look around, and facing all kinds of financial trouble, and the mayor has a healthy amount of critics when we look at how fast we are growing. a number of the economic development efforts that are underway, some people call this risky. >> well-liked they say, if you're not getting someone upset, you're not doing any thing.

to mind. we will be playing baseball here soon. april 14 is the first game, the private sector development, it should be up and open. the babcock building is under contract, and we will have significant residential development, every building that we are developing, he should start buildings are said to be preserved. a lot of good things are happening, and we are excited about the future. we will go to break, and when we come back we will talk about the efforts of small businesses that you have entrusted, and we will talk about that in the focus on the downtown area, and we can see the biggest level of growth, and stay tuned. we are talking about the state of the city of columbia,

we will be right back. welcome back to onpoint!

we are talking about the state of the city of columbia. we have tina esquire, and she runs the city of opportunities,. plenty of small businesses were affected by this flood.>> we have received many phone calls from people that needed assistance, and we are talking about business opportunity, and you are fostering an environment for that. >> one thing, we want to make sure that these businesses know that we have not forgotten about them. there are a lot of businesses begin small that are suffering as a result of the flood, and we are hoping they know that the city of columbia cares, and we are keeping our business is

wanted us to keep something going, and some people lost equipment that was not covered, and a lot of them lost their revenue, and this makes a difference. what made you go there, mayor? >> across the state, billions of dollars worth of losses, and justin the city government proper, we are talking about over 130. it was amazing. but recognizing that helping the homeowners get back into their homes, and helping them to be made whole, and helping these small businesses and recognizing them, that is the backbone of the economy across this country. and this is a long and sometimes arduous process working with these government agencies, and we need to make sure they know that this city

helping to support them.>> financial health is important to individuals, and when that is messed up, everything is messed up.>> it is. and even if you did not suffer damage, people cannot come into the business, and the traffic was not there, and people suffered in many ways. >> you have done a great job pulling together a program that we can work with. if folks want to apply for these, they need to go to business opportunities on the website for the city of columbia. businesses appear to be excited about this. the mayor is focusing on economic development. let's focus on that. brian, you have been in the city for quite a while. i can imagine you've seen a change in the downtown area. >> tremendous growth over the last 15 years. the difference between main

tremendous. it is not stopped. we have had an intense focus on jobs, more jobs and better job, and the city does not do everything, but we play a role in the environment where people feel comfortable starting a restaurant or businesses, and we have been dealing a lot building on these successes, and the mayor and the council putting in that parking garage, and it is now surrounded by great development, and strategic investments that were made, and we are working to capitalize on that. we are at times moving forward at a pace that some folks think maybe too fast, but i think we have a window here, and we can change people's lives for the better, and we have to do

alabama, and that is one of the cities that during the 80s and 90s, when the steel mill close down, a lot of the income left. during that same period of time, downtown, people started moving out. and downtown fell. now we have so many big boxes in the downtown area that are left there an empty. because of the blight downtown, it makes the city not seem as livable. it is important to take care of the downtown. >> downtown is the heart of the community. people may live across the river in the suburbs, northeast or lower richland, but you need a vibrant core downtown with great art, institutions and restaurants. you want to be able to head down to hunt in a 20 minute drive.

core. you had the safe and secure environment, and it is the heart of the region. it has a psychological effect. downtown allows people to feel good about where they live, and whether it is dead or not, so it is our job to make sure that we had the significant tax revenue that will help us to keep downtown alive. and looking at the herbert office, they try to find small business for the downtown quarters. it can be pricey, and they find businesses that can use their health, and they tried to make them more financially solvent. >> that is a big selling point for anyone that wants to come down. they have to be committed, and they will feel more easy if they know they have a commitment from the city. and it is not just one solution, and the city has

various avenues. in our particular office, we have funded i can't tell you how many , a lot, 10 or 12 businesses on main street. we did a particular loan just on main street, and we realized how important it was, and we wanted to cover these efforts. >> it is like hinging your bets. it was an area that was a lie before, and it was at a low. there. we will go to break and come right back. we are talking about the stated

stay with us. welcome back to onpoint! on wach fox. we are talking to the mayor about the state of the city

he sets a positive tone, and the city is growing extremely fast. some people think it may be too fast. >> we have been facing challenges, and we learned that the city is strong, and we've talked about economic development, downtown columbia. any part of the developing community is about the value of owning a home. we talked about this during the break. there's home ownership in the city of columbia. >> i would encourage everyone to go to the website columbiasc.net and we have robusta portfolio, over $120 million in loans, and with some great programs. for $500, people can get into their first home, and it is a strong program, private and public sector. we will spend more time talking about the suburban growth that we've seen over the last several decades, in the

main street, and spending more time and resources to make sure that our core doors reflect the vibrancy of the neighborhoods around them. anytime you have great neighborhoods, you have a significant investment. >> it is so important that the livability of the city reflect the money circulating, and a good quality of life. is that under your community development? >> sure, it is. you guys do a fabulous job at housing, quality housing. the public safety in our area, we started out talking about the 300 cities across the country, when these law enforcement agencies recognize, and the work being done by the chief holbrook, and in the police department, making sure that we treat our law

professionals. we treat them with dignity and respect, and we set very high standards with them, and how they engage with the community, and making sure that they are accountable in the from the justice system. i could not be more proud of the work being done there. the people that live and invest in the city will not work in this duty unless they feel safer. we have put in $12 million investment over the last seven years, and we will continue to invest to make sure we have more officers on the street, and officers that represent themselves as part of the community. not just his law enforcement.>> this emphasis on small business, is this new, tina? >> the study has had in if incidents -- has had emphasis for several years, and we try to be attentive to the needs of the city. the needs change, and as the needs change, we try to keep up

with respect to housing, we are trying to do things in core doors with the housing though that when people move there, they will have those core doors. trying to do more community- based, asset based building is good for us. you guys are meeting with the comedian coming up, and we are very proud . anything you would like to say? >> i'm not sure people realize this incredible market, good, family friendly clean comedy, and he is doing things well, and we are excited about him. and we will be exciting. kevin felder as well. we look forward to watching it grow.

going in where you want our audience to go. >> i want to encourage all of our small businesses to reach out to the small business office, and call and see if you qualify, if you received any damage. used us as a resource. it is there for you. >> you make the resources right there? >> we have committee that looks over the applications, and we ensure that the people that need it the most gets the most funds. it is a very objective process. i do not make the decisions, and it is a good process that we have put together, and if we get a good response, we will look for more money to do this again.>> thank you for the job that you do. i want to encourage our citizens to during their dream. we have a good city, and we are making investments to ensure

of life, and not only for the their children, but their children's children, and to ensure that our downtown neighborhoods are safe. that is what we are keeping our eyes on, not just the now, but in the long haul. thank you for being here. we will switch gears, and

with this when we come back. welcome back to onpoint! on wach fox we have fun topic to jump into, off of the national comedy circuit so good

easiest thing to go from being a good local and regional performer, and in making it to the national level. >> we have had a lot of people do that in our community. >> by the grace of god, it takes everything to get it done. what do you call this, concert? >> it is a concert. >> everybody thinks it will be very funny, and he has been very funny on the tv show. >> he is hilarious, funny on tv and on stage. i came on as a rider in 2013, and that blossomed into a christmas special together, and this is led to up till now. i tell my girls another

the key to many things, and the power of a. >> i want to give a shout out to my english teacher. she told me to shut up and told me i was a better rider, and to go back and rewrite my paper, and quit playing in class. i took the english language more serious, and i-tele comedians that i was a rider before i was comedian. >> that is awesome. why the tour, and where you going.>> we will start in savannah, georgia, dublin, georgia, and then coming to columbia, south carolina on february 14 for a perfect valentine'day gift. this is the perfect, solve your problem for your lady, come to the show, get a laugh and take

and the rest of the evening will be yours, that is my message to the guys. >> the rest of the evening is yours. all you have to do is get your ticket.>> you are a family man. and you have five kids? >> i have five children, and a phenomenal wife, and we are celebrating 20 years. >> we work together, and it would not be possible without her, and it is a wonderful relationship. comedy soothes the soul. and you do comedy and no difficult thing for some comedians, they think that is do. to be brash and say things out of line. >> we have received several

came to me the other day and said that people were asking if the show was going to be clean because there are so many tours that people go to, and it is full of vulgarity. but this is mama, grandma proved. totally clean. where can they get the tickets. my road manager wrote that down for me. cuzfashions.com and mama jay's and the cutting edge barbershop. and you can log on to rebirthofcomedy.com and get the names of where you can purchase

>> you can purchase radio, tv in social media, but it is important to get out there and meet people, talk to them, and tell them what you do, and i appreciate the support we get in south carolina. one last thing, want to mention that as we look at you on the national level, people are very proud of that, and another you encourage young people to do their best in school. >> always. stay in school and stay focused. i wish i had expanded my education. i stopped short when i got into comedy, you're going to pay for that education of front or in the long run, and it takes longer and cost more when you pay for it in the long run. get a quality education, and if you have a good education, nothing can stop you. thank you so much and good luck with the tour. i know it will be a complete

that is this edition of onpoint!

point, you are empowered. i'm chris wallace reporting from manchester, new hampshire. today, the governors. they started it's the front runners in the gop race for president. now they're fighting just to stay alive. >> you have not been involved in

to be held accountable.