Politics

Brenda Christy Book Signing

Retired Myrtle Beach police officer Brenda Christy will have the first public viewing of her book on the real inner workings of the Myrtle Beach Police Department in conjunction with the last two days of the fall Harley Davidson Rally.

Christy will be available to discuss and sign her book, “Superlative Soul or Nefarious Soul”, Thursday October 3rd and Friday October 4th at Myrtle Beach Harley Davidson, 4710 South Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach.

In her book, Christy outlines the treatment she received at the hands of senior staff after being called “a thorn in my side” by Chief Warren Gall.

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Coast RTA Asking County for Specifics

Coast RTA is asking Horry County Council to give specifics in writing defining “good faith effort” as it relates to the council’s prior request for increased representation on the Coast RTA board.

This request for increased representation held up initial approval, by council, of FY 2014 fourth quarter funds for Coast RTA of approximately $263,000.

The population of the Coast RTA board is determined by current state law. County council currently gets to approve one board member, council member Gary Loftus at this time.

County council would like to appoint three members to the Coast RTA board, which it believes to be in line with its grant contributions of approximately $1.06 million per year (six-tenths of a mill) to the Coast RTA budget.

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HCSWA Board Just Doesn’t Get It

The Horry County Solid Waste Authority (HCSWA) board ignored business while spending one-third of its meeting time Tuesday night in what appeared to be a choreographed criticism over the verbiage in emails sent by board member Dan Gray.

The entire exercise was utterly ridiculous, but it did accomplish its probable goal of altering the discussion from what the HCSWA board and staff is not doing to chastising the one board member who has the courage to point out what the board and authority should be doing.

The email that offended the board members is quoted below in its entirety. It was sent in reference to the public meeting held by the authority recently to discuss plans for HCSWA property after closure of the landfill.

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Curtis Loftis Wins Battle for Public Fund Accountability

An agreement between S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis and the S.C. Retirement System Investment Commission (SCRSIC) is expected to be finalized tomorrow allowing four members of Loftis’ staff greater access to supporting investment documents of the state’s public pension fund.

Loftis has already signed the agreement and the SCRSIC board, on which Loftis serves, is expected to vote its approval tomorrow.

Since taking office nearly three years ago, Loftis sought to have members of his staff in the Treasurer’s Office get greater access to SCRSIC documents in order to help him (Loftis) conduct proper due diligence on investment decisions by the commission.

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Mike Irvin Announces for Chesterfield Sheriff

Mike Irvin became the first person to publicly announce his candidacy for Sheriff of Chesterfield County Tuesday.

Irvin is a decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in the Bosnian conflict and also brings law enforcement experience to his candidacy from the McBee Police Department and as a deputy sheriff with Chesterfield County.

He lives in McBee with his wife, Lacey, and daughter, Taylan.

In January 2013, Irvin resigned from the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Department after becoming uncomfortable with some of the things he saw in the department.

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Council Tables HCSWA Contract

By a vote of 8-3 Tuesday night, Horry County Council tabled consideration of a contract with the Horry County Solid Waste Authority (HCSWA).

In simple form, the contract would have reduced the landfill charges to the county based on the amount of recyclable materials sent to the landfill.

But, it’s a county owned landfill and all the waste sent to it from the county comes from the convenience centers spread throughout the unincorporated areas. The county charges residents in the unincorporated areas property taxes of slightly over $6 million per year, which it pays to the HCSWA to operate those centers.

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Southern Holdings and Rogue Attorneys

When I read a recent article about two rogue attorneys in the South Carolina who had stolen money from their clients, I immediately thought of the Southern Holdings case.

I have been reporting on the Southern Holdings case for a number of years including where an attorney has failed to account for over $100,000 entrusted to him by clients.

An accounting for expense funds in the Southern Holdings case provided Sep. 15, 2011, to James Spencer, former CEO of Southern Holdings, Inc., does not conform to S.C. reporting requirements for attorney trust funds.

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WestJet Guarantee to Cost Horry County Half Million

If current passenger expectations remain valid through the end of October, Horry County will pay WestJet over $500,000 pursuant to a guarantee to the airline county council approved in February 2013.

According to a source familiar with airport operations, the county is already in the hole to WestJet to the tune of $325,000 and expects the bottom line, after WestJet ends this year’s operations October 31st, to be approximately $510,000.

County council approved setting aside a contingency fund of up to $1 million that would be used to guarantee WestJet 60% occupancy, the break-even point for WestJet, on each flight to Myrtle Beach. The county would buy up empty seats on each flight so WestJet would not lose money.

WestJet won’t lose money, but the county did.

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HCSWA Absurdity Rises

Horry County Solid Waste Authority (HCSWA) officials are raising the level of absurdity at the Highway 90 landfill well above its normal limits with a discussion Thursday about land planning for after the landfill closes in 2035.

Some would say its good business to plan for 22 years hence and it may be if sufficient planning for the period within those 22 years had already taken place.

But, alas, it hasn’t. There has been no planning for what will happen to trash generated within the county after the landfill closes – the HCWSA’s primary function.

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Robert Ford Threatens Ethics Violations Exposure

Former Sen. Robert Ford has said he will start calling names if S. C. lawmakers don’t stop the practice of using their public positions to grab millions of taxpayer dollars for personal gain.

In an article by Corey Hutchins of the Charleston City Paper, Ford is quoted as saying this will ‘make the tea party movement look like a beer drinking contest.
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Ford resigned his longtime senate seat during S.C. Senate Ethics Committee hearings into alleged misuse by Ford of his campaign funds.

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