Wednesday, May 22, 2013
But Democrats say she's not sincere.
In a Statehouse press conference on Tuesday, Gov. Nikki Haley called on the Senate to pass ethics legislation approved in the House earlier this month. Haley was joined at the press conference by the co-chairs of the Ethics Reform Commission, Travis Medlock and Henry McMaster as well as Attorney General Alan Wilson. “We have the blueprint. We need the eagerness and the will,” Haley said. The governor said that after the budget is approved she is hoping that ethics can be passed. She also is optimistic the Department of Administration legislation she’s been pushing for three years will finally become law. Haley rejected the notion that legislature can’t do more than one big thing per session. “At what point can we do multiple things in a …
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Part of a national day of protest organized by Tea Party Patriots.
A group of 25-30 activists protested outside the IRS office in Columbia on Tuesday, taking part of a nationwide effort organized by Tea Party Patriots. The effort comes in the wake of revelations that the IRS put conservative groups seeking 501(c)4 status for their organizations. Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-5) told Patch that of the three scandals in Washington, DC at the moment—IRS, Dept. of Justice Hacking of Reporters and Benghazi—the one involving the tax agency was the worst. “This wasn’t a case of willful negligence. This was malicious intent,” Mulvaney said. Sue Burbaugh, one of the protesters in Columbia, said she was not surprised by news of the IRS’ tactics. Burbaugh recounted a phone call she received last week where an unidentified …
The youngster was on a field trip from New Providence Elementary School.
After being peppered with questions about ethics legislation and the budget, Gov. Nikki Haley fielded a question from a visiting member of the press corps... The question came from a student from New Providence Elementary School in Lexington visiting the Statehouse on a class trip (she got an assist from Andrew Shain of The State). Keep up with all of Patch's coverage of South Carolina politics by following us on Facebook HERE and Twitter HERE.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Council members voted to sell the pond and a piece of land near the pond to a housing developer.
The Town of Lexington will sell Barr Pond and a 5-acre section of land near the pond to a housing developer for $60,000. Council members voted 5-2 Monday to approve the sale of its water rights to the pond and the land to MWK Properties, LLC. MWK Properties, LLC is also buying 11 acres around the pond owned by SCE&G after winning a bidding process. The Lexington Wildlife Chapter, which has leased the 11-acre section of land from SCE&G since 1955 and was granted recreational rights to the pond by SCE&G, will be forced to find a new home if they can't work out an agreement with the developer. At the May 6 council meeting, members of the Lexington Wildlife Chapter urged council to reconsider selling its rights to the pond and the 5-acre …
Gov. Haley's husband Michael was deployed in January.
Governor Nikki Haley's husband Michael has returned home for two weeks of leave from his deployment in Afghanistan, the governor's office said on Monday. The First Gentleman was deployed on January 10 for a tour of 11 months and his leave was granted by his commanding officers. Two weeks is a customary amount of time for leave for a soldier in Haley's position. As a result of her husband's return, the governor cleared her public schedule for the week, including a scheduled speech in Mount Pleasant on Monday morning.
Latest controversy has legislators split.
Last week the state airplane became a source of controversy yet again. Democrats accused Gov. Nikki Haley of misusing the state plane and the governor's staff provided documentation that she had not. The Democrats countered by saying that even if the governor had not violated the letter of the law, she had violated it in spirit. The state senate then spent much of an afternoon debating whether or not the Budget Control Board should look into simply selling the planes. As has been noted before, just about any part of the state can be reached in a few hours by car and the state could always charter a plane when it was absolutely necessary. Selling the two planes the state owns would probably net the state a significant windfall. The two …
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Cuts will affect thousands throughout the state receiving federal unemployment pay.
Thanks to federal budget cuts created by sequestration, South Carolinians receiving unemployment assistance will see a cut in their benefits beginning next week. According to the SC Department of Employment and Workforce, approximately 16,000 people receiving benefits through the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program will not be getting checks for claim weeks ending May 18, as well as July 13 and Aug. 31. In other words, aid recipients will not see a benefit payment on May 20, July 15 and Sept. 2.. Sequestration, which imposed automatic, across-the-board cuts to the federal budget from March 1 through Sept. 30, required South Carolina to trim $14 million in benefits for the remainder of the fiscal year, according to DEW. …
Friday, May 17, 2013
Biggest month-to-month drop in 25 years.
The unemployment rate in South Carolina fell from 8.4 percent in March to 8.0 in April, according to the latest report from the Department of Employment and Workforce. The month-to-month decrease is the largest since May of 1987 and the overall unemployment rate is now the lowest it's been since October 2008. Since April 2012 more than 26,000 jobs have been added to South Carolina's economy. All 46 counties added jobs in the last month and three counties--Charleston, Greenville and Lexington--now have unemployment rates below 6 percent. Four counties saw their rates drop a full point since March--Marion, Horry, Barnwell and York. "This drop in unemployment is yet another piece of great news for South Carolina," said Governor Nikki Haley…
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The volunteers will be trained to be the voice of an abused or neglected child in court.
From the Cass Elias McCarter Guardian ad Litem Program: Sixteen volunteer guardians ad litem were sworn in by Judge Kellum Allen Wednesday in a ceremony at the Lexington County Courthouse, officially signaling the volunteers’ commitment to advocating for children in court. “We could not function without volunteers,” Judge Kellum Allen told the group. “It really does take a village.” A child advocate, or guardian ad litem as it's called in South Carolina, is a volunteer trained to become the voice of a child in court. The guardian ad litem program pairs the trained volunteer with children involved in neglect and abuse cases in order to give family court judges a more complete picture of the children’s needs. “You are not only providing a …
Video has group's leader explaining the dealings with IRS.
The IRS scandal that has rocked Washington, DC and the Obama Administration has also affected groups in South Carolina. Reports last week revealed that the IRS had specifically targeted conservative groups for more rigorous vetting of non-profit status than usual. Subsequently, the IRS confirmed that right-leaning groups seeking 501(c)4 status were in fact put under greater scrutiny. The temporary director of the IRS resigned yesterday in the wake of the revelations. At least two conservative groups in South Carolina were among those targeted, one in Myrtle Beach and one in Laurens County. Joe Dugan of the Myrtle Beach Tea Party spoke about his experience at a press conference this morning in Washington, DC. Yesterday, Dianne Belsom, the …
Bob
10:44 am on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Haley said, ”If politics stops ethics reform, we’ve got a serious problem in the state of South Carolina.”...... That's the pot calling the kettle black. SHE is the problem. She lies just like her buddy Mitt. I guess the whole birds of a feather thing.. more ›