FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 1, 2015 Contact: Jo Pauling-Jones 803.454.0350 jpjones@healthylearners.com ONE OF THE MIDLANDS LARGEST GOLF TOURNAMENTS TO BENEFIT CHILDREN Enjoy a fun-filled day of golf and help support the children served by Healthy Learners! COLUMBIA – Healthy Learners announced today the 16th Annual Healthy Learners Champions for Children […]
Author: Paul Gable
Horry County Schools Building Projects
The Horry County Schools Selection Committee will have another meeting tomorrow regarding the project to build five new schools.
According to sources familiar with the committee, it will be interviewing the three firms still in the selection process, M.B. Kahn Construction, First Floor Energy Positive and Thompson Turner Construction.
The building plan calls for five energy efficient schools to be built with a completion date of all five by August 2017.
According to sources familiar with the committee, the major goal is to select a construction team that will bring the projects to completion on time and within budget.
One of the three finalist teams, M.B. Kahn, had a construction manager contract with Dorchester School District 2 cancelled last year because of increasing costs.
According to Dorchester School District 2 board records, a contract with M.B. Kahn was finalized in June 2013 for Kahn to serve as construction manager of a district building program that included several elementary schools, a middle school and some other improvements.
By March 2014, the same Dorchester School District 2 board voted to terminate the contract with M.B. Kahn.
PR: Allen University Hosts Presidential Forum
Columbia, South Carolina – Allen University in partnership with the 20/20 Leaders of America, LLC, Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) and the former Governor of South Carolina – Jim Hodges (D) invites you to attend the Presidential Candidates Justice Forum on the campus of Allen University. The historic event will be held in the John Hurst Adams Gymnatorium, located at 1517 Pine Street on Saturday, November 21 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Winthrop Poll Supports Flag Decision
The first Winthrop Poll since spring has some interesting findings among South Carolina respondents regarding the removal of the Confederate battle flag.
The Winthrop Poll is a long-term survey initiative designed to keep public policy makers across the country in touch with the attitudes and opinions of residents of South Carolina. It is the only regular “snapshot” of public policy attitudes of the residents of the South or of the state of South Carolina.
Two-thirds of the respondents said the SC General Assembly made the correct decision this summer to remove the Confederate battle flag from State House grounds. Broken down by race, 54% of White respondents and 93% of Black respondents supported removal of the flag.
However, asked about the significance of the flag, 47% said it stood for Southern pride while 40% of respondents said it stood for racial conflict.
Only 25% of South Carolina respondents said they believed the national economy was going in the right direction. However, again the schism as 63% said the South Carolina economy is good or fairly good.
Respondents said the two most important issues facing South Carolina are jobs/unemployment and education, the two issues tied at 13.3%.
Gov. Nikki Haley received a 55% approval rating with Sen. Tim Scott receiving 53% approval and Sen. Lindsey Graham receiving 40% approval from respondents.
With respect to roads, 84% of respondents said the state should give priority to fixing existing roads over building new roads.
SC Supreme Court Tests Constitutionality
The SC Supreme Court agreed recently to grant two petitions or original jurisdiction that could have broad ranging consequences for the way the SC General Assembly does business.
Both petitions were filed by upstate activist Ned Sloane and his government watchdog organization South Carolina Public Interest Foundation.
One petition deals with a budget proviso for the current fiscal year. The proviso suspended for one year a sunset clause in a 2007 law that takes away the governor’s authority to appoint the Department of Transportation secretary.
The petition claims the proviso is unconstitutional because it violates Article III, Section 17 of the state constitution which requires that every law shall relate to only one subject. The petition alleges the proviso has nothing to do with the raising and spending of tax revenue.
In 2009, the SC Supreme Court ruled that in the future, a law successfully challenged under the one subject rule would see the entire law ruled unconstitutional.
Therefore, if this proviso is determined by the SC Supreme Court to be unconstitutional, the entire state budget for the current fiscal year could be declared unconstitutional.
Horry County Schools Selection Committee
A Horry County Schools committee is scheduled to recommend next month which design-build team has been chosen to build each of five new schools.
After the recommendations are made by the Horry County Schools Selection Committee, the full Horry County School Board will vote either up or down on the recommendations.
The three teams remaining in the selection process are First Floor Energy Positive, Thompson Turner Construction and M.B. Kahn Construction Co.
Each team submitted two to five specific projects to be evaluated. Evaluation of each proposal will include school district emphasis on the ability to deliver high quality, energy positive schools.
According to sources familiar with the process, the Selection Committee is scheduled to complete its work by October 12, 2015. However, those sources say this deadline may be difficult to achieve.
Of the three remaining teams, M.B. Kahn is the most familiar to Horry County.
It served as the project manager for the new terminal building at Myrtle Beach International Airport.
I&R Recommends HCSWA Contract
The Horry County Infrastructure and Regulation Committee voted Thursday to recommend passage of third reading of the budget amendment for the HCSWA recycling contract.
That recommendation will go forward to full council at its October 6, 2015 regular meeting.
If this recommendation is acted upon by full council with a favorable super majority vote, as it is expected to at this time, the recycling contract between the HCSWA and Charleston County will move forward without any further clouds over its head at present.
Part of that budget amendment requires HCSWA officials to come before the I&R Committee monthly with reports on recycling tonnage received, percentage of rejects in that waste stream, income received from sales of the recyclables and expenses associated with the running of the HCSWA material recovery facility among other items.
An additional requirement associated with the contract was a requirement by members of Horry County Council that any rejects or unsold recyclables that were taken to the HCSWA landfill for disposal were not to displace any available airspace for normal county uses.
As a result, the HCSWA entered into a contract to ship out of the county at least an amount of construction and demolition debris tonnage equal to the tonnage of recycling rejects and unsellable items taken to the HCSWA landfill for disposal.
Tim Scott to Host Town Hall – Update
Update – Times for the luncheon and Town Hall have been moved up because of need to get back to Washington.
Sen. Tim Scott is coming to the local area Monday September 28, 2015 to host a Town Hall meeting at the Crown Reef Resort.
Scott is hosting Town Hall meetings around the state to bring Republican presidential candidates and voters together.
In this way, candidates can give their message to voters in a speech followed by a question and answer session with those in attendance.
Presidential candidate and Sen. Lindsey Graham will be the featured candidate at Monday’s Town Hall.
A luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. with the Town Hall meeting to follow beginning at 2:30 p.m.
The South Strand Republican Club is inviting all voters in the area to join them at the Town Hall meeting to meet, greet and listen to both senators.
For a seat reservation for the lunch and Town Hall meeting, you can call Senator’s Scott’s Headquarters at 842-766-9412 or Jon E Bonsignor 843-385-3963.
The location is Crown Reef Resort, 2913 South Ocean Boulevard, Myrtle Beach, SC.
HCSWA Recycling Contract
The details of the HCSWA recycling contract with Charleston County should become clearer before this week is over.
The HCSWA board will meet this afternoon. Included on the board agenda is a timeline discussion by executive director Danny Knight to answer questions about why the process took so long from first discussions with Charleston County to reach the HCSWA board and Horry County Council.
The Horry County Infrastructure and Regulation Committee will meet Thursday. The I&R agenda includes a discussion about the contract between the HCSWA and Charleston County, including the assumptions that go into the calculation of profit for the HCSWA.
According to reports from Charleston County, the county spent $8 million on recycling at its Romney Street facility last fiscal year and recyclables sold garnered $1.7 million.
There are some questions among committee members and others interested in the project why the same recyclables, with the added cost of trucking, can be processed at a profit in Horry County.
Additionally, sources familiar with the contract approval process say the Charleston County has purchased (or is in the process of purchasing) equipment to repair its Romney Street facililty in order to process recyclables in county in the near future.
Those sources predict the contract between Charleston County and the HCSWA will be cancelled within 90-120 days regardless of what happens with third reading of the budget amendment ordinance by Horry County Council.
Political Hubris
Political hubris, that overweening pride, arrogant self-confidence and absolute contempt for opinions other than their own is running wild in politicians.
Not only on the national level, although that is harmful enough, but also at the local levels of government.
I received an email from a friend of mine this week talking about this very thing.
A friend of his was attempting to get in touch with a member of the Horry County legislative delegation about a matter in which the delegation is directly involved.
The friend was having difficulty even leaving a message for the politician, so my friend, who had known the politician all of his political life and had not only voted for him but also had contributed to each of his campaigns, volunteered to help.
When my friend contacted the politician’s office, he was told to send an email detailing the issue, then, the politician would, essentially, determine if the issue was important enough to even respond to.
The politician’s time, in his own mind, was so valuable that he couldn’t be bothered to speak directly with most constituents on most issues that concerned them.
Speak Up…