From the State of the City to a new county park

State of the City. Charleston Mayor Joe Riley will offer his last State of the City address at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 27 from City Hall’s Council Chamber, 80 Broad Street, Charleston. He is expected to discuss infrastructure projects, livability, the city’s economy, new projects and recent accomplishments. The address will also be aired live on WCIV-TV, ABC-4.

Sports law symposium. Panels of sports scholars and practitioners will take a look at the role of law in the world of sports during a day-long Jan. 30 symposium drawing participants from around the country. Admission is free, unless you’re a lawyer who wants CLE credits. Learn more about panels on NCAA reform, sports injuries and disciplinary powers in league scandals. More.

Huge impact. SCRA announced last week that its direct and indirect efforts to knowledge-economy businesses had a $1.43 billion economic impact last year — a total up $80 million from the previous year. More.

New county park now open. Laurel Hill County Park, accessible from Park West in Mount Pleasant, offers miles of scenic trails on a former plantation. The park opened Jan. 21 for people wishing to run, walk or bike its trails. The park is 745 acres and features an oak allee, large open meadows, a small lake and great scenery. To find the park and learn more, click here.

Book award winner. Hats off to Adam Mendelsohn, an associate professor in the College of Charleston’s Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program, for winning a National Jewish Book Award for The Rag Race: How Jews Sewed Their Way to Success in America and the British Empire (NYU Press, 2015).

New book. Local author Andra Watkins has a much-heralded new memoir that chronicles a walk of the Natchez Trace with her father. The book, aptly titled Not Without My Father: One Woman’s 444-mile Walk of the Natchez trace, follows her novel, To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis, which featured characters who walked the Trace. Check it out here.

County wins. Congratulations to Charleston County Environmental Management for being named 2014 Composter of the Year by the U.S. Composting Council. The Composter of the Year award is presented to a commercial-scale composting facility, public or private, which has displayed excellence in compost production, marketing and distribution. Charleston County was selected for its role as a leader within the compost manufacturing industry, regionally and nationally. More.

Posted earlier in the week:

• Who’s running for mayor? A look at current candidates for mayor and how Charleston Currents will profile their efforts in coming months. Read the piece.