Feature

The Carolina Southern Railroad Problem

Government and business officials from Horry, Marion and Columbus (NC) counties will form a new committee to discuss options for getting Carolina Southern Railroad back into operation.

Service on the railroad has been suspended since August 2011 due to structural problems with bridges on the system were discovered during an inspection by Federal Railroad Administration officials. The railroad voluntarily suspended service after initial and follow-up inspections revealed the bridge problems.

The railroad has spent approximately $400,000 repairing bridges along the line, but estimates at least another $1.5 million must be spent to complete the bridge repairs. Additionally, track upgrades are considered necessary for long term operation of the railroad.

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Coastal Kickback Scandal to Grand Jury

Numerous sources reported in the last 24 hours that presentation of the Coastal Kickback scandal case to a federal grand jury began Thursday.

Beth Drake, the Public Information Officer for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Columbia, S.C. said yesterday it is the policy of the government to comment on investigations only after an arrest warrant or indictment has been issued.

Drake went on to say, in public corruption cases the government normally will issue a press release and usually hold a press conference to make the information public if and when indictments are handed down.

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New Developments in Coastal Kickback?

A lot of buzz is going around the Grand Strand business community that new developments in the Coastal Kickback scandal will be made public shortly.

Coastal Kickback spread $239,500, in campaign donations of questionable legality, to state legislators and Myrtle Beach city council incumbents after passage of a local tourism tax that brings approximately $18 million to the coffers of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce annually. It has been the subject of an over two year investigation by the FBI and IRS.

The talk includes references to an imminent public statement by the U.S. Attorney’s office, possibly as early as today or the beginning of next week.

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Federal Tort Claims Lawsuit – Part IV

A federal tort claims lawsuit, with Horry County and former Horry County Police Department Chief Johnny Morgan included as defendants, is moving forward in Florence federal district court as discovery and depositions are scheduled later this month.

The suit stems from allegations of fraud on the court under color of law by HCPD officers, SLED agents and FBI agents, among others. The suit alleges personnel of these agencies conspired to withhold evidence, commit perjury and commit other unlawful acts in order to influence the outcome of a previous federal lawsuit, thereby violating the civil rights of the plaintiffs.

Part II of the series described actions by the Horry County police officers and Horry County Sheriff’s deputies that are alleged as illegal.

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Bobby Harrell and His Campaign Funds

South Carolina House Speaker Bobby Harrell has refused to provide detailed receipts of more than $325,000 he reimbursed himself from campaign contributions, according to an ongoing series of stories by Renee Dudley, AKA “little girl” of the Charleston Post and Courier.

For nearly a month, the reporter has been requesting receipts and itemized expenses, as required by state ethics law and subject to public disclosure. S.C. Code of Laws Section 8-13-1302 enumerates requirements for maintenance of expenditure records from campaign contributions.

Disclosure reports on campaign receipts and expenditures are required to be filed quarterly with the S.C. Ethics Commission. These are supposed to include a detailed listing of to whom and for what purpose expenditures are made.

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Santee Cooper, Corp. Welfare and Rising Rates

Santee Cooper and 20 associated electric coops in the state are providing economic development cash and rate cuts while raising the rates on current customers.

The electric company’s board recently approved rate hikes of 3.5 percent per year for the next two years for its residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. This on top of a rate increase in 2010, which brings the total increase into double digits.

At the same time, Santee Cooper provides tens of thousands of dollars in economic development incentives and up to a 20 percent rate reduction for new or expanding companies.

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Revelations Rock(er) Project Blue

New revelations this week about Covation LLC COO David Rocker’s criminal past brought further questions to the viability of the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation’s now infamous Project Blue.

Among other revelations, Rocker failed to file income tax returns for 14 consecutive years while participating in a Klein conspiracy to interfere with the lawful government functions of the IRS.

This new information comes to light as the EDC is lobbying for third reading approval, by county council, of an ordinance that would approve the issuance of $8 million in county general obligation debt as part of an estimated overall $24 million incentive package.

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Obesity Rates in the U.S. Running Amok

Obesity rates in the U.S. are projected to increase dramatically over the next 20 years, according to a report released yesterday by Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation.

The report projects nearly two of every three South Carolinians (62.9%) will be obese by the year 2030. Obesity rates in the U.S. are projected to increase dramatically over the next 20 years, according to a report released yesterday by Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation.

We are already halfway there as 2011 obesity rates list one of three (30.8%) of South Carolinians currently obese.
And it’s not just South Carolina. The whole nation is out of control weight wise.

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S.C. Legal System Stacked Against Laymen

There seems to be a de facto informal system within the S. C legal system whereby officers of the court protect each other regardless of what laws, regulations and the code of conduct require.

Those of you who have served in the military, especially the Army, may be familiar with the term West Point Protection Association.

This was a term derisively used, especially during the Vietnam War, to describe an informal system whereby West Point graduates protected the records of each other regardless of rank or other considerations. One West Pointer protected another regardless of what actually happened in the field.

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RCPS Properties Requests Expanded Mine Permit

A request for an expanded mine permit from Horry County by RCPS Properties has caused controversy recently among some residents of the Carolina Forest neighborhood area.

If approved, the permit would expand the current footprint of the mine to a total of 301 acres. Most of the mining takes place behind the Sparks Toyota and Dunkin Donuts properties between West Perry Road and Myrtle Ridge Drive off U.S. 501.

The mining operation has been owned RCPS Properties since 1996 and operates on an expanse of land which has been mined since the 1950’s.

According to RCPS Properties general manager Justin Harris, approval of the permit will not result in an increase in volume of the mining operations.

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