Editorials

Homeless in Myrtle Beach – Arbeit Macht Frei

The homeless population in Myrtle Beach is an inconvenient problem for the city fathers (and mothers). It’s not good advertising for the tourists to see homeless on our streets and they sure aren’t welcome at the Dunes Club.

What to do? It seems like the powers that be in the city are falling back on an old European approach to the problem of dealing with people who are out of a job and homeless.

Arbeit Macht Frei, literally translates as labour makes free. More generally it means ‘work sets you free’ or ‘labour brings you freedom’. The slogan was cynically placed over the gates of Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust.

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Two Republican Candidates Cleared for Ballot

Two Republican Candidates Cleared for Ballot

Two Dorchester County Republican candidates were cleared to be on the November general election ballot Monday when a lawsuit challenging their certification was dismissed by Circuit Judge Howard King.

Ed Carter, Republican nominee for House District 97 and Carroll Duncan nominee for Dorchester County Council District 5 will be on the November ballot. GOP candidate Sean Bennett, who defeated incumbent GOP Sen. Mike Rose in the June primary for Senate District 38, still awaits a ruling from King on his status.

This case has been bizarre from the beginning. After the June 12th primary balloting, the Dorchester County Democratic Party filed a lawsuit against the county and state GOP and the county and state election commission claiming Republican non-incumbent candidates had not filed candidacy paperwork properly.

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Economic Development Secret Revealed

The hoped for home run from Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation was reduced to a bunt single when it was revealed the secret Project Blue is really just a 1,000 job call center.

County council debated the project behind closed doors in executive session for two weeks, before council member Gary Loftus and EDC CEO Brad Lofton made the details of the project public in an interview with the Myrtle Beach Herald last week? Why all the initial secrecy?

A 1,000 job call center project that offers $14 per hour to employees while it receives $24-$30 million of combined incentives is about as good as it is going to get for Horry County economic development. At least that is what Loftus told the Herald last week.

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Top Secret Economic Development

The secrecy surrounding a project of the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation, which will soon be up for second reading by county council on an ordinance to issue $8 million in public debt for the project, may be very good news for county residents.

I have had several conversations recently with local Republican activist, and one of the founders of the South Strand Republican Club, John Bonsignor about possibilities for the project. Bonsignor said he was asked, by EDC board member and former county Republican Party chairman Robert Rabon, to help promote passage of the ordinance by council members.

Even though he was given few details of the project, Bonsignor agreed to do so. Bonsignor did mention to me that he was of the understanding the total incentive package for the project totaled approximately $30 million for a 1,000 job call center. Bonsignor said he would like to get more details to have confidence in the project.

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SCGOP Must Sacrifice Leadership to Preserve the Party

Sacrifice Leadership, Preserve the Party

This election cycle has not been a simple one. Many disqualified candidates and several unsuccessful appearances in court by party attorneys have made headlines.

However, in his most outrageous action yet, state GOP Chairman Chad Connelly recently took it upon himself to disqualify Ed Harris as the party nominee for S.C. House District 3, even though Harris is fully qualified.

Harris was certified to be on the ballot, won the primary election and withstood a challenge to certification as the Republican nominee. Yet, faced with the threat of a lawsuit and another hearing before the Supreme Court, Connelly folded like a cheap suit and disqualified Harris at the 11th hour.

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Demand S.C. Public Pension Fund Audit

Demand S.C. Public Pension Fund Audit

A complete audit of the S.C. Retirement System Investment Commission and its internal policies should be undertaken by an outside firm as a result of last week’s discussion before the state Budget and Control Board. This discussion came only days after commission chairman Reynolds Williams became the focus of investigations by both SLED and the S.C. Ethics Commission.

The commission is responsible for making the investment decisions for the state’s $25 billion public retirement investment fund. In addition to tracking the funds themselves, an audit of risk assessment, due diligence, evacuation and cross trades, among other things, should be looked at by outside professionals.

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MBIA

Is Myrtle Beach Tourism Tax Working?

Local television stations carry daily ads telling us the Myrtle Beach tourism tax is ‘working.’ The ads are run by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and its associated entities in the hospitality and business community.

Beneficiary of approximately $18 million per year from revenue generated by the tax, the Chamber has good reason to advertise the tourism tax is working. Its marketing arm, the Myrtle Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau receives the proceeds from the tax to spend in ‘out-of-area’ advertising to promote tourism to the Grand Strand.

But, going beyond the advertising message (dare we call it propaganda?) one has to ask how is the tax working.

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Mark Keel, SLED Raid Internet Cafe's

SLED Raids Internet Sweepstakes Cafes

Two internet sweepstakes cafes, one in Richland County and one in Lexington County, were raided and shut down yesterday for illegal gambling by a combination of SLED agents and sheriff’s deputies.

End of problem right? Business owners trying to get around the state ban on gambling, except of course for the lottery, are now out of business.

Not really. Despite yesterday’s raids, an earlier opinion from Attorney General Alan Wilson that sweepstakes cafes are illegal gambling and confident statements by SLED chief Mark Keel that the games are illegal, they are NOT gambling.

In point of fact they are worse, but we’ll get to that later.

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The Investigation of Reynolds Williams and the $25 Billion S.C. Public Pension Fund Moves Forward

Williams Investigation Moves Forward

An investigation of alleged misconduct and conflict of interest against S.C. Retirement System Investment Commission chairman Reynolds Williams moved forward Tuesday when the S.C. Attorney General’s office requested SLED and the S.C. Ethics Commission to investigate the charges.

A Statement from AG Wilson’s Office: Based upon the nature of the allegations in the Treasurer’s letter, we are today forwarding the material we have on file to both SLED and the State Ethics Commission. (The Treasurer’s letter alleges activity that would fall under each authority, criminal and ethical.) When both entities have completed their reviews, we will then determine what, if any, prosecutorial action is warranted.

Enumerated in a letter from S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis to Attorney General Alan Wilson, the allegations stem from work Williams’ law firm did for American Timberlands, LLC while the company was being considered as a partner on an investment by the SCRSIC.

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Reynolds Williams, The Timber Company And Our $25 Billion Pension Fund

Reynolds Williams and… that timber company

S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis has requested S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson to investigate the actions of S.C. Retirement System Investment Commission chairman Reynolds Williams with respect to a joint investment the commission made with American Timberlands, LLC.

Loftis said the investment seemed straightforward at the time, but information he became privy to after the commission vote brings to light possible conflict of interest problems for Williams and possible criminal violations.

The investment commission took up the matter of the investment during its November 2011 Wampee Reteat and business meeting. Commission members, less Williams who was not present for the vote, approved the investment.

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