Tag: Horry County

Internet Sweepstakes Ban Inches Forward

A bill to ban internet sweepstakes games took a key step forward yesterday when it passed second reading in the Senate by a 40-2 margin.

The bill seeks to close any loophole business owners cite, in the state’s gambling laws, to operate so-called sweepstakes cafes. Senate Judiciary Chairman Larry Martin said the bill clears up any ambiguity in the law.

The state banned video gambling in 2000. Operators of internet sweepstakes cafes say the games compare to the sweepstakes that McDonald’s uses as a promotion every year. Law enforcement officials in the state contend that they are merely another form of gambling.

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State Bills Would Outlaw Flow Control

Bills introduced in the South Carolina House and Senate at the beginning of this new legislative session would end the government enforced monopoly on solid waste disposal currently in force in Horry County.

For four years, the Horry County Solid Waste Authority, at its Hwy 90 landfill, has been the recipient of all solid waste generated within the county thanks to a flow control ordinance passed by Horry County Council in early 2009.

The ordinance was enacted because the SWA was losing money to private haulers that were able to dispose of construction and demolition waste more cheaply at private landfills in other counties.

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Court Upholds Horry County Flow Control

Horry County may continue government monopoly flow control of its garbage waste stream, according to a ruling in federal district court last week.

The ruling dismissed the 2009 lawsuit by Sandlands LLC and Express Disposal Service challenging the legality of a county ordinance requiring all solid waste generated within Horry County be disposed of at the Horry County Solid Waste Authority landfill off Hwy 90.

With the dismissal, Horry County and the SWA will continue to exercise monopoly control over the county’s waste stream at the expense of a competitive market and private industry.

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Internet Sweepstakes Growing in South Carolina

A recent ruling by the North Carolina Supreme Court outlawing internet sweepstakes games has led to a strong push by the internet sweepstakes industry into South Carolina.

There is no state law that specifically addresses the issue of internet sweepstakes gaming parlors or machines. Bills have been pre-filed in both the S.C. House and Senate to close the loophole in the law during the legislative session beginning next week.

Throughout the state, judges interpreting the current state laws prohibiting gambling, have come down on both sides of the issue. In some areas internet sweepstakes games have been declared legal, in others not.

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Economic Development Incentives and You

One of the biggest ripoffs of American taxpayers comes in the form of economic development incentives given to businesses under the guise of job creation.

This is something we hear about every week, but the cost to the individual taxpayer is never considered.

It has gotten to the point that companies and the governments they negotiate with consider job creation something that should be subsidized by taxpayers.

Businesses understand any expense they can transfer to taxpayers will make the bottom line look better. Government interference in the marketplace is to be avoided at all costs except when business can shift expenses to government.

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Voters Need Complete Home Rule

The election mess in Richland County is another example of why Home Rule should be totally implemented throughout the state of South Carolina.

We know combining Home Rule and South Carolina in the same sentence is an oxymoron, but we’ll give it a try anyway.

Back in the days before the Supreme Court issued its “one man, one vote” ruling, one senator was elected from each of the state’s 46 counties. For all intents and purposes, the senator was county government, ruling in almost a feudal manner.

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Conservatives for Responsible Government Endorsements

The Conservatives for Responsible Government, probably the most truly conservative group in Horry County, announced their candidate endorsements this week.

CRG supports low taxes, low spending and individual freedom through limited government. It is not an automatic endorser of candidates spouting labels and clichés.

“Party labels are not important for our endorsement,” said CRG chair Chris Panos. “We are not interested in whether candidates have an “R” or a “D” behind their names. We want candidates who live by our principles of small government and individual liberty.”

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Beware of Local Option Sales Tax Referendum

Voters in Richland and Georgetown counties should be wary when they go to the polls next week to vote on the one-cent local option sales tax referendum they will see on the ballot.

Inspired by politicians as a way to claim taxpayers voted to tax themselves, the referendum couldn’t be placed on the ballot before first passing a three reading ordinance at county council followed by a massive public relations campaign to convince voters this is a good thing.

One only has to look to Horry County to see what can happen.

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More Dirty Tricks

The past two days we have attempted to discover the source of a door hanger, that Grand Strand Daily has labeled “dirty tricks”. The door hanger appears to be a push piece favoring one candidate in the House District 56 race while claiming to be a non-partisan informational message to voters.

That quest continues as we are awaiting information from Freedom Works Southeast Regional Director Allen Page as to who printed and who paid for the door hanger. We were told yesterday that Page had all the information and would be in contact with Grand Strand Daily.

Regardless of the provenance of the door hanger and whether it is in fact a partisan piece, one question addressed on it falls into another area of dirty tricks that is much more egregious, in our opinion.

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Candidates to Address Conservatives for Responsible Government

The Conservatives for Responsible Government PAC will feature talks from local politicians seeking endorsement from the organization at its regular meeting Thursday October 25, 2012.

This will be an opportunity to hear from candidates who were unchallenged in the June primary elections who are seeking CRG endorsement in next month’s general election.

Scheduled to speak to the meeting are Horry County council incumbents Bob Grabowski, Paul Prince and Marion Foxworth as well as Senate District 28 Republican candidate Greg Hembree and Horry County Republican chairman Johnnie Bellamy speaking for S.C. 7th District House Republican candidate Tom Rice.

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