Author: Paul Gable

Governor Nikki Haley’s EthicsReforms – Style Trumps Substance

Haley’s Ethics – Style Trumps Substance

Gov. Nikki Haley’s run around the state this week promoting ethics reform was a perfect example of disingenuous political posturing.

Haley must be given credit for several things. She knows how to define the message and present herself in the best possible political light. After this week’s demonstration, one could almost think Haley supports real ethics reform.

Nothing could be further from the truth. She supposedly supports transparency in government while her administration continuously refuses to follow the guidelines of the state’s weak freedom of information act.

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Phone Harassment Complaint Filed Against Horry County SWA Director Danny Knight

Complaint Filed Against Horry County SWA Director

A telephone prank got out of hand Wednesday resulting in telephone harassment charges being filed against Horry County Solid Waste Authority Executive Director Danny Knight.

According to complainant Chris Burroughs, who owns waste hauler EZ Dump, he received two telephone calls from Knight Wednesday morning referring to an incident during a SWA committee meeting two days before.

A special committee meeting was convened by the SWA Monday night during which Burroughs’ permit to recycle construction and demolition debris in the county was discussed.

Burroughs said there was an issue with the percentage of C&D material he recycled and with scale readings at his facility. The SWA had threatened to cancel the $5 per ton discount he receives as a C&D recycler and to charge him $18,000 for discounts already received.

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The Internet Sweepstakes Café Conundrum

The Internet Sweepstakes Café Conundrum

The conundrum now engulfing the internet sweepstakes cafe issue around the state has had intricate twists and turns in the last several months.

Several key legislators told us recently that SLED chief Mark Keel was lobbying General Assembly members to close the “loophole” in the state law on gambling that allows sweepstakes games at food stores and fast food restaurants. The same loophole is being used by internet sweepstakes café operators to justify their business model.

After the General Assembly failed to act on any change in the law, Keel, using an opinion by Attorney General Alan Wilson, began raiding internet sweepstakes cafes and confiscating the computers on which the games were being played.

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SLED, the FBI and Statutes of Limitations

SLED, the FBI and Statutes of Limitations

“Whenever we hear SLED and FBI used in the same sentence, we can’t help but think of the Southern Holdings case.”

The best aspect of blogging is the opportunity to encourage an ongoing dialogue about issues, especially as they apply to the political arena.

Our recent post on internet sweepstakes cafes drew an interesting response that we believe deserves an answer.

The comment read: “This is the most obsurd (sic) thing I have ever read. SLED and the FBI will certainly solve this problem for you Mr. Sewell and Mr. Gable. They have done the research and they know who is involved and this is a very poor attempt at making this political. This Internet Sweepstakes Case has nothing to do with a political campaign. I would be careful at how I approach this or you will drag yourself into a place that you cannot get out of.”

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The Politics of the Internet Sweepstakes Raids in South Carolina

The Politics of Internet Sweepstakes Raids

Politics and intrigue too often inject themselves into what should be relatively straightforward issues in South Carolina. This has been especially true recently in government agendas related to internet sweepstakes cafes.

We have been reading recently of what is called the ‘Lexington Ring’ in blogs. Assertions have been made that this so-called cabal of law enforcement officials, magistrates and state legislators is conspiring to allow illegal video poker operations in the midlands.

“Make no mistake none of this is about video gambling. It is, all about assisting petition candidate Katrina Shealy in defeating incumbent Republican Sen. Jake Knotts in the November general election.”

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Horry County Solid Waste Authority (SWA) Dumps Taxpayer Dollars On Lobbyists

SWA Dumps Taxpayer Dollars On Lobbyists

The efforts of the Horry County Solid Waste Authority to maintain its monopoly control of the county’s garbage was big business for lobbying firms during the recent legislative session as the SWA paid its lobbyists a whopping $263,888.40 during the first six months of the year.

For those of you who saw reports in local media and other blogs of a much smaller amount, $77,479, the difference is what was paid by the SWA in June 2012.

Rather than being ranked 21st on the list of entities in the state that pay big money to lobbyists, the June payments raised the SWA to the number two spot, only marginally behind the $276,000 AT&T paid to lobbyists this year to influence state legislators.

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Stockholder Sues Horry County State Bank for Illegal Insider Trading

Stockholder Sues Horry County State Bank

Robert Shelley of Myrtle Beach, a shareholder in Horry County State Bank, recently filed a lawsuit against Horry County State Bank and its holding corporation HCSB Financial Corporation.

In the lawsuit, Shelley alleges he was contacted by employees of the bank in September 2009, a teller and later a bank officer, offering to sell him shares in the bank. Shelley further alleges that he was not provided a prospectus, as required by state law, and was not informed that the bank was in severe financial distress due to a large portfolio of defaulting real estate loans.

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Nikki Haley Ethics Case Won’t Make Difference

Haley Ethics Case Won’t Make Difference

The S.C. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear an appeal of whether a circuit court judge erred when he refused to hear a lawsuit concerning alleged ethics violations by Gov. Nikki Haley when she was a state legislator.

Judge Casey Manning ruled state courts were not the proper venue to hear alleged ethics violations. Rather he said ethics regulators should hear the case. The complaint was heard by the S.C. House Ethics Committee twice, behind closed doors in May and in open session in June. Both times, the committee excused Haley’s actions.

This case says everything that needs to be said about the lack of ethics in S.C. governments.

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Treasurer Curtis Loftis Delivers Cash Money

Treasurer Curtis Loftis Delivers Cash Money

The South Carolina Office of State Treasurer returned $12.6 million to people during fiscal year 2011 and with one month down already for fiscal year 2013, the office is hard at work finding the owners of unclaimed millions.

The $300 million in unclaimed property typically is in the form of old, unclaimed tax refund checks, inheritances, deposits, insurance payments and bank accounts.

State Treasurer Curtis Loftis Jr., is on a mission to find the owners of that money and occasionally takes his show, the Palmetto Payback Hometown Tour, on the road, such as Tuesday’s stop at Bazen’s Family Restaurant.

“We’ve got a lot of money that belongs here,” Loftis said. “We’ve been doing this for a long time, the treasurer’s office has, but we built up a reserve of $300 million and if we’re going to give that money back to its rightful owners, I’ve got to get out and hit the streets.”

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S.C. Budget and Control Board

S.C. Budget and Control Board Ignored Law?

A USC chemistry professor has sued some of the state’s most powerful politicians, asking the courts to put to rest a lingering question in state government: Who is in charge?

Thomas A. Bryson, director of graduate studies for USC’s chemistry and biochemistry department, filed a class-action lawsuit in Richland County on behalf of all state employees, challenging the State Budget and Control Board’s 3-2 decision last week to make state workers pay more for their health insurance, starting next year.

The budget board’s move, proposed by Gov. Nikki Haley and praised by some taxpayer groups, would save the state $5.8 million but cost the average state worker or retiree an extra $7.24 a month.

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