 And welcome to City View, where we give you an up-close view of the City of Columbia. I'm your host, Belicia Yutzi. In our top story, Mayor Steve Benjamin and City Council officials were joined by Blue Bike Sponsor Blue Cross Blue Shield for the launch of a new bike share program in the City of Columbia. The bike share program will not only expand our residence options and how they'd like to maneuver the streets of Columbia, but will also serve as a mode of alternative transportation that is environmentally friendly, sustainable, and moves us closer to our goal of being 100% clean energy by 2036. Whether you're commuting to work, riding to class, or wanting to avoid having to find a parking spot on the way to lunch, the bikes will give us all a quick and even fun way to get around from point A to points B and C and D and S as it starts cooling down over the next several months, which I'm sure will make the experience a whole lot more enjoyable. This effort would not be possible without fantastic partners like Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, who's the primary sponsor for the bike share program through partnership with the Legion. Teaching children to be financially responsible is a priority for the City of Columbia. What better way to do it than to teach them how to save, starting out during their former two years? Well, that's exactly what has happened with Columbia Kids Save. We've been working over the past 18 months or so to put together a Child Savings Account program. So we're excited that we've finally got to the day where we're ready to have the kickoff. It basically aligns with the City's 20-year Envision Columbia plan. They have seven focus areas and one specifically called Empowering Our Residence. And we have our little residence right here. So this is a way for us to continue to work toward those goals that our City Council has set for us by providing this particular program. So just so for the folks who are here and the little ones, let me explain to you a little bit about what Columbia Kids Save is. So boys and girls, do you guys like money? Do you like to do things with your money? So what the City of Columbia wants to do is help you guys get some money and save it up so that you can do some really great things in the future. And so Columbia Kids Save is a pilot program and it is our new Children's Savings Account program for the City of Columbia. The City of Columbia is partnering with Richland School District 1, who you'll hear from representatives in just a few minutes, to provide and set up Child Savings Accounts for kindergarten students. We're going to start here at Watkins Nance. This is going to be our pilot. But our goal and our intent will be to make this city-wide in the next few years. What do you love about Columbia? Well recently, some folks who love to take photos shared what they love about the city by participating in the hashtag Love Columbia Photo Challenge. I participated because I love social media to start with that's part of my job and also because I felt like I needed to share that photo with people and that was one of the best ways to do it. I'm actually born and raised in Columbia. I'm a third generation USC graduate and I just, I love it here. I love the weather. I love the people. You get the big city feel with the small, small town presence. Photo that I took is Spirit Communications Park during their July 4th night celebration and I thought it was good to see the environment surrounding the stadium and how people enjoy their time here in Columbia. I love Columbia because I graduated from the University of South Carolina and it's a great place and I have family here and it's a great city to be in. I actually really like getting the sunset pictures in South Carolina. So I'm from New Hampshire and when I moved here that's one of my favorite things about South Carolina is the sunset. And so I was actually leaving the YMCA on Bull Street and it was like such a beautiful night and there's the fire hydrant. So I decided to take a picture, take that shot. Well congratulations to all of our winners on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This was the fifth year for the Love Columbia photo challenge sponsored by the city's public and media relations department. Well speaking of things that we love, who loves gardens? Well a new pollinator garden was recently opened at Hyatt Park. Recognizing our role that we all have in helping build healthier, stronger communities. The fact that we're focused on building strong community gardens and pollinator gardens that we're focusing on food insecurity and how we address that across our entire community. We're focusing on living longer, healthier lives by encouraging physical activity. We're not only a gardens popular in our parks and recreation department but so are golf programs, especially the one at First Tee at the James Claverin Golf Center. I started golf when I was seven and by a gentleman named Mr. Parker he taught me everything. I needed to know. He brought me through the First Tee program and I started with that when I was seven and now I'm 17 so I'm going on 10 years now. The First Tee has started growing since I've been there. We used to probably have 30 or 40 kids. Now they have hundreds of kids every year joining and so the First Tee program is joining and different programs around Columbia are joining as well. I couldn't thank them enough. Just not from golf, just from the life perspective. I mean they taught me so many things I need to know and taught me how to carry myself on and off the golf course so if they are listening I just want to tell them thank you. They made me the person I am today. Congratulations to Kendall Wallace and we wish him well as he represents the city of Columbia in an upcoming national golf competition. Well now it's time to focus on hurricane safety. It is officially hurricane season and our safety experts give us tips on how to keep our citizens safe. The Atlantic hurricane season is here now and it normally lasts from June to November. Typically we experience bouts of heavy rain but in the past our region has been hit by hurricanes so if you don't mind I suggest you pay attention and try some of these short listed safety tips to help prepare you and your family for this season. Pre-planning make sure you know about flooded prone areas and evacuation shelters. Replenish or create emergency kit with supplies. Make sure you list important phone numbers. Make sure important documents so they don't get damaged. Also make sure that your pets have an identification tag and a column. Prior to a hurricane make sure you fuel up your vehicle because typically during a hurricane gas stations tend to lose gasoline. Make sure you charge up all your batteries cell phones lamps radios and flashlights. Make sure you listen to the nearest hurricane broadcasting TV stations to be aware of what's going on. Once prior to a hurricane tie down all loose objects outside your home. Make sure that everything is boarded up. Again make sure you have documents that are protected just in case you have to evacuate and make sure you pack critical medication just in case you have to evacuate. During a hurricane make sure you stay inside. Make sure you stay on the inner part of a building preferably the bathroom or closet. Make sure you do not use any electrical appliances and do not take a shower and do not be on your telephone. After the hurricane typically people get so anxious they want to go out and survey their property or damaged equipment that's when you can come in contact with down power lines. Make sure that you call the utility company or the police report any hazards such as down power lines or broken gas and water mains. Make sure that you are aware of where your family members are and follow up and check up on them and continue to watch your local broadcast to find out where any people are located near shelters. Again these are just some helpful tips to help you during the hurricane season. Remember safety starts with an S but it begins with you. Thank you. Another safety concern in the city is mosquito prevention and the best way to rid our city of mosquitoes is to make sure that they never have a chance to breed. Our city officials in code enforcement share some tips on ways that you can help make sure your community is mosquito free. It doesn't take but a cap full of water for mosquitoes to breed and they only need 17 days to hatch from the eggs hitting the water to them hatching. We like to really encourage citizens to look at their property with new eyes look for anything that could be holding water and envying that water out so that you can reduce the population. Unfortunately the mosquito has been around for millions and millions of years so we're not going to be able to get rid of all of them but we want to get rid of the ones that are possibly infected because we want to protect the citizens as quickly and as safely as possible. Well that wraps up this edition of City View where we give you a close up view of the city of Columbia. Thank you for watching our program and stay connected with the city by visiting our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and also visiting our website. 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