Recent Posts

Federal Government Shutdown Not All Bad

Maybe a federal government shutdown isn’t such a bad thing for the citizens of the United States.

The only thing this 113th Congress has excelled at is being more polarized and less effective than the 112th Congress.

You remember the 112th Congress. That was the one that passed the Budget Control Act of 2011 that mandated automatic funding cuts of 5% across the board for the federal government if a Joint Select Committee on Budget couldn’t reach agreement on $1.2 trillion in federal budget cuts by 2013.

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Awendaw Under Boil Water Advisory

The Town of Awendaw under boil water advisory according to town officials in Awendaw, all residents serviced by the town water department must boil their water before drinking until further notice. A statement by mayoral candidate Joe Bowers follows.

The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office says this advisory will be in effect for at least three days.

Officials say crews are in the area of U.S. 17 North near Porcher School Road working to repair a break in the waterline.

Officials say water has been restored to most of the town, but residents near Porcher School Road will remain without water until the break has been repaired.

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Lt. Gen. James Vaught (USA-Ret.) 1926-2013

It is with extreme sadness that I report the death of Lt. Gen. James Vaught, a true patriot, a true American and a true hero.

According to an e-mail sent to county council members Friday night, Gen. Vaught drowned while trying to secure a pontoon boat in a lake in the area in which he grew up near Conway.

Although he traveled far and wide, commanding U.S. troops in two wars, as well as U.S. and joint forces around the world, Gen. Vaught’s heart was never far from his native Conway area.

In his retirement years, Gen. Vaught returned to South Carolina and to Horry County and Conway.

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Myrtle Beach International Airport

Horry County Airport Problems

The recent firing of Horry County Airport Director Mike La Pier was not only precipitated by the guarantee to WestJet costing the county $500,000.

As one council member said, ‘that was just the straw that broke the camel’s back, but there were a lot of other straws.’

Several months ago, the airport advisory board heard from a consultant group hired by the airport department pushing, among other things, a new airport master plan that called for a second runway to be built.

Anyone living here before 2007 knows that is probably the stupidest recommendation made to the airport board in the last six years.

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Myrtle Beach Government Fit for Middle Ages

As Myrtle Beach prepares for its 2013 city council elections, the city continues its regressive governance slide to more closely resemble an English town of the Middle Ages rather than a modern American town.

Four incumbents on Myrtle Beach city council filed for re-election last week. Incumbent Mayor John Rhodes was joined by incumbent council members Wayne Gray, Randal Wallace and Mike Lowder at city hall on August 22nd to file their candidacies.

Rhodes is seeking his third consecutive term, Wallace his fourth consecutive, Gray his fourth overall and Lowder his second.

And right now, those four plus challenger Keith Van Winkle may be the complete slate sent to the voters in the November 5th general election.

There was a time when Myrtle Beach elections were raucous affairs, but in the last decade, the town has gone back in time to match a more rigid, hierarchical structure.

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The Adult Entertainment Issue Churns On – Udated

After the meeting between county government officials and members of the Carolina Forest Civic Association on adult entertainment sites Wednesday night, we received the following email from Todd Martin, Corporate Spokesperson for Adult Entertainment Video, LLC:

Press Release

Representatives of our organization were in attendance at tonight’s Carolina Forest Civic Association meeting. Janet Carter offered, yet again, another vague and misleading presentation. She cannot identify specific parcels of property on the Carolina Forest 501 corridor, yet she continually refers to them. While these overly broad, Constitutionally defective proposed ordinances were discussed, the folks in Carolina Forest did not receive one bit of clarification or further information than what has already been reported by the media.

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Airport Express Video on Adult Entertainment Issue

It is and has always been the position and vision of Airport Express Video that “if” this adult entertainment ordinance passes we want to do everything within our power to be a proper corporate citizen, including relocation of our business, if that is what Planning Director Janet Carter, and the County’s Top Gun legal counsel Scott Bergthold would like to see happen.

In that regard they have left us with only one viable option and this is the 501 Corridor area of Carolina Forest. We have never said, suggested or indicated that we planned to relocate “inside” of Carolina Forest proper, due solely to the fact that the development agreement prohibits that until 2017.

Of course once that agreement expires then presumably it would open up several more developable locations for the clubs and stores which sell adult related merchandise. Having been a part of this community for many years, we truly feel that all property from Highway 31 West to the Carolina Forest Wal Mart is truly Carolina Forest, regardless of what specific roadway you are physically on.

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Coast RTA vs. MBREDC Funding

While attending a meeting with several Coast RTA officials nearly a month ago, I was asked several times if I had an explanation for why funding from Horry County for Coast RTA is treated differently than funding for the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation.

I had no other answer than the potential political clout of MBREDC board members compared to that of Coast RTA board members.

In the current fiscal year budget, Coast RTA is budgeted to receive $1.055 million from Horry County with some questions remaining about the upcoming May 1, 2014 fourth quarter payment of approximately $263,000.

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Curtis Loftis and SCRSIC Dysfunction

Early reporting on a recently released report by S.C. Inspector General Patrick Maley heralds no criminal wrongdoing at the S.C. Retirement System Investment Commission (SCRSIC) but acknowledges a dysfunctional relationship with S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis.

The report was generated three months after Loftis sent the Attorney General’s Office a 37 page complaint listing multiple potential misconduct “red flags” at the commission over a several year period.

While the report claims no criminal misconduct, it acknowledges a toxic relationship between Loftis, a statutory member of the commission, and remaining commission members.

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Grounding Helicopter Amusement Rides

Horry County Council will consider a resolution at its July 16, 2013 regular meeting calling for non-renewal of the lease with Huffman Helicopters at Myrtle Beach International Airport with a view to stopping helicopter amusement rides from that location.

The resolution will notify Huffman Helicopter that the county does not intend to renew its current lease for the Myrtle Beach International location when the lease runs out on October 31, 2013.

Huffman Helicopters has a maintenance shop location at Myrtle Beach International and a helicopter amusement ride at Grand Strand Airport in North Myrtle Beach that will not be affected by the resolution.

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