It’s impossible to predict what sort of crimes, hurricanes or economic twists South Carolina and the Charleston region might experience in the coming year, but some of 2019’s big news stories already are coming into focus.Charleston, North Charleston and Summerville will hold mayoral elections; Gov. Henry McMaster will take the reins with a voter mandate; Democratic presidential candidates will appear with greater frequency; a major new hospital will open; and some of the state’s biggest colleges and university leaders will see new leaders settle in.There also will be significant developments on Charleston’s efforts to control flooding, improve traffic and build a major new container terminal for one of the South’s busiest ports.Reporters and editors of The Post and Courier took a look at the top state and local stories to watch in 2019:Education reformState lawmakers are pledging this will be the year when they tackle significant reforms to South Carolina’s K-12 education system — an achievement that has eluded them for decades.Their renewed interest in change came in the wake of The Post and Courier’s “Minimally Adequate” series, which detailed how gaping disparities, widespread segregation and a history of low expectations have helped make South Carolina’s public school system one of the…