Politics

The Scottish Independence Vote – Update

Does the question of Scottish independence really matter to the people of the United States in general and South Carolina in particular?

Of course, any vote on the question of secession should viscerally matter to all South Carolinians considering the state’s history. Secession votes should be important to South Carolinians even (or is that especially) if their political views are limited to the extreme parochialism of the ultra-conservative, states’ rights genre.

As a colony, South Carolina seceded from Great Britain months before the Declaration of Independence brought the other colonies into the fold. And no native son or daughter can forget when South Carolina led the way to the Confederate States of America by being the first state to secede from the Union.

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Coast RTA Studying Increasing Board Membership

The Coast RTA board will hold a special meeting today to consider ways to expand board membership.

Horry County Council requested over a year ago to have its membership on the Coast RTA board increased from the present one member to three members because of the amount of overall funding it provides the agency.

Horry County provides approximately 20 percent of Coast RTA funding, the largest amount after the federal government.

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No TIGER Grant for Interstate 73

Interstate 73 was not among the list of TIGER grant recipients announced late last week by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The S.C. Department of Transportation had requested $30 million to widen the shoulders on S.C. 22 to bring the road up to interstate standards so it could be redesignated I-73.

The USDOT didn’t think the project worthy of funding. Except for a few members of the local legislative delegation and a few tourism leaders, neither does anyone else.

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Behind the Bobby Harrell Indictment

Politics abhors a vacuum and moves began immediately to fill the one left by the suspension of S.C. Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell last week.

Hampered with his nine indictments, Harrell’s political career is probably over. He is on the ballot in November and could be re-elected to his House seat while suspended and awaiting the legal process to go forward. But he cannot assume that seat again unless exonerated and the vote for a Speaker to lea the House in the next legislative session will be long past by then.

In the meantime, it appears Speaker Pro Tempore Jay Lucas, the man filling the Speaker’s position until the organization meeting after the November general election, is in the lead to succeed Harrell as the next Speaker.

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James Frazier, Political Signs and the HCSWA

Horry County Council District 7 incumbent James Frazier is the longest consecutive serving member of that elected body.

As such, you would expect Frazier to know and abide by the laws regarding election campaigns. However, that does not seem to be the case.

Section 1005 of the Horry County Zoning Ordinance clearly states that “political or campaign signs may not be placed within a public right of way” and “are allowed no sooner than 45 days before an election.”

The November general election will be held on November 4, 2014. Forty-five days before that election is September 21, 2014.

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Controlled Traffic Patterns, More Police for Memorial Day

The City of Myrtle Beach made initial plans for the Memorial Day weekend Atlantic Beach Bikefest crowd control public yesterday.

The plan calls for controlled traffic patterns from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. during the nights of Memorial Day weekend plus increased police presence within the city.

According to sources familiar with the plans, the City of Myrtle Beach is seeking 400 officers from outside jurisdictions to help beef up police presence during Atlantic Beach Bikefest. Horry County and North Myrtle Beach are seeking 150 additional officers each.

Sources tell us the city is still considering hiring security personnel from private security firms in addition to the planned increase in police officers.

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Horry County Public Safety Director Paul Whitten Out

Several sources have told us Horry County Public Safety Director Paul Whitten has resigned his position today effective immediately.

However, a back story is also being circulated that Whitten’s leaving was at the choice of the county. According to that story, Whitten was given the choice of resigning or being terminated.

According to our sources, a major catalyst to Whitten’s departure was lack movement on planning for next year’s Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Bikefest.

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Myrtle Beach Tries Forced Annexation Again

In the words of Yogi Berra it’s “déjà vu all over again” as the City of Myrtle Beach is back with another attempt at forced annexation of businesses.

After winning the vote, but subsequently determining there were legal issues with a referendum held for the Bridgeport and Waterside Drive communities three months ago, Myrtle Beach is looking further north this time.

Last month, the city sent a letter to residents of the Magnolia North subdivision soliciting their signatures on a petition to annex into the city. It is questionable, under state law, whether the city can solicit a petition or the idea and petition to annex must be initiated by residents of an area.

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Did S.C. Ethics Commission Break the Law?

A request for a judge to rule the S.C. Ethics Commission violated the state’s FOIA law has been entered in a lawsuit brought against the commission by the S.C. Public Interest Foundation.

The motion for summary judgment results from the S.C. Ethics Commission’s apparent attempts to hide the contents of a letter to Gov. Nikki Haley from commission attorney Cathy Hazelwood.

In the letter, Hazelwood requested Haley to reimburse the state for the cost of travel for Haley and her campaign staff to a fundraising event in North Carolina last year.

When the internet publication “The Nerve” requested a copy of the letter from the commission, it was reportedly told by commission director Herb Hayden, “No letter was sent to Gov. Haley.”

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