Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Increased numbers of bond hearings are being planned for as the Atlantic Beach Bikefest over Memorial Day weekend draws near.
Part of planning for the weekend includes special bond hearings beginning at 6 a.m. Friday morning and convening every six hours thereafter through Sunday night.
The only conclusion that can be drawn from these preparations is that many more arrests are expected this year.
It seems the main planning items for the Atlantic Beach Bikefest that came out of the two day law enforcement summit in Myrtle Beach earlier this week deal with federal programs.
The City of Myrtle Beach has expressed significant interest in taking advantage of several U.S. Department of Justice grants that will provide the department with patrol rifles, ballistic riot control shields and diversity training.
Those three put together seem to be mixed planning unless diversity training means putting daisies in the barrels of the patrol rifles.
The S.C. Supreme Court has denied an appeal by former Myrtle Beach restaurant owner Michael Hilton to throw out results from a Breathalyzer test related to a felony DUI involving death charge.
Hilton was charged with felony DUI during the May 2008 Harley Davidson Bike Rally when he failed to yield the right of way and turned in the path of a bike driven by Angelo Gonzalez. Gonzalez died from injuries suffered during the wreck and his passenger, Suzie Reader, remains disabled from injuries suffered in the accident.
In 2009, the General Assembly changed the DUI law to require the test to be administered within two hours of an accident. Lawyers for Hilton tried to use this change in state law to get the Breathalyzer evidence thrown out. They were successful at the district court level, but lost at both the Appeals and Supreme Court levels.
Only five days before the start of this year’s Harley Davidson Spring Bike Rally, Grand Strand Daily has learned that the county is apparently not living up to its responsibilities on the issuance of vendor permits and other areas related to the event.
County council killed an ordinance that attempted to further limit bike rally vendor permits and attendance last month by a 10-2 vote. This action resulted in no change to current county law with respect to special event and vendor permits.
However, Grand Strand Daily learned this morning that a temporary restraining order was issued against the county to stop changes on a special event permit for the Suck, Bang and Blow restaurant.
An eleventh hour discovery that the ordinance amending the vendor and special events permits needed to go to the Planning Commission for a recommendation prior to final consideration from council keeps an issue potentially affecting the May bike rallies undecided.
Third reading of the ordinance was scheduled for county council last night. If the ordinance had been approved in its present form, vendor permits would be allowed for seven days at reduced fees from prior years. Both would be positive results for the bike rallies.
Instead, council chairman Tom Rice announced county attorney Arrigo Carotti had contacted him earlier in the day stating the ordinance must be reviewed and a recommendation received from the Planning Commission prior to final consideration from council.
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