Recent Posts

Flow Control Amended in Horry County

Almost five years after solid waste flow control was made county government policy, Horry County Council moved to take control of that policy as a management tool rather than the hammer it has been until now.

By a 7-4 vote, council amended its flow control ordinance to allow construction and demolition debris to go to SC DHEC approved landfills, both public and private, outside of the county rather than mandating all C&D go to the Horry County Solid Waste Authority landfill on Hwy 90.

The final vote was not without several desperate, last minute attempts to delay it, which included the spreading of HCSWA propaganda that had become quite old.

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Curtis Loftis Visits “Big Talk”

S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis made an appearance at yesterday’s taping of the “Big Talk” television show.

In the area to address several Republican groups, Loftis agreed to be a special guest on “Big Talk” where he spoke of his conservative approach to government and duties as state treasurer.

Loftis said government should be simple, open and accountable to the citizens, but it is often the bureaucracies surrounding government that make it anything but.

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Politics and Garbage of Flow Control

As the ordinance to amend the county’s flow control ordinance comes up for third reading at the January 21, 2014 regular meeting of Horry County Council, the political rhetoric of garbage is reaching its apex.

Garbage has two meanings in this article – that which is buried at the Hwy 90 landfill and that which comes from the mouth of some Horry County Solid Waste Authority officials and their supporters.

The garbage that is buried at the landfill will be somewhat less if county council passes third reading of the ordinance.
While the data from the HCSWA says this will result in lost revenue of $927,500 annually, an independent study says the actual cost to the HCSWA will be a miniscule $19,000 annually.

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Bureaucracy to prevail at expense of the taxpayer

SC DSS Scrutiny, Doris Holt and Southern Holdings

A SC Senate subcommittee investigation into DSS brings to mind the case of Doris Holt and its ties to the Southern Holdings lawsuit.

The Senate subcommittee this week began an investigation into what is described as “major problems” at the SC Department of Social Services (DSS), the agency that supposedly handles the welfare of children and families.

At the top of the list of DSS failings were a large number of child deaths in cases where DSS was already involved.

This investigation is long overdue of an agency whose goals do not appear to complement its mission.

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Bobby Harrell “Blindsided”

SC House Speaker Bobby Harrell held a press conference yesterday in Columbia in what appeared to be an attempt to regain control of the message on the ongoing ethics investigation into his use of campaign funds.

Speaking approximately one hour before the House was gaveled into its opening 2014 session, Harrell appeared to believe he could, somehow, stop the ethics investigation against him from going to the Grand Jury.

Harrell said he was “shocked and blindsided” by the news the investigation was being referred to the Grand Jury. He said both the attorney general’s office and SLED continuously told Harrell and his attorneys that they found, in the course of the investigation, “nothing that concerned them”.

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Bobby Harrell Ethics Case Going to Grand Jury

SC Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that he is referring the ethics case against SC Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell to the State Grand Jury.

The case includes investigation of the approximately $325,000 Harrell reimbursed to himself from campaign funds with only general records of the expenses, according to a series by Renee Dudley, then of the Charleston Post and Courier.

According to Dudley’s stories, Harrell failed to meet the requirements of state law section 8-13-1302, which enumerates requirements for maintenance of expenditure records from campaign contributions.

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HOA Changes Called For

Homeowner’s associations (HOA) and the ability of residents affected by them to get treated fairly has become an increasing matter of debate in both Horry County and around the state in recent years.

As more retirees moved to the county over the last 10 years, they often chose private sub-divisions or condominiums to live in that are governed by some type of HOA.

Homeowner Associations are governed by a chain of documents and laws such as:

The Articles of Incorporation filed with the Secretary of State provide the legal basis of the association in the form of an Incorporated Non-Profit Corporation.

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The Media Education of Chris Christie

New Jersey governor Chris Christie discovered the real meaning of the political microscope in the last couple of days when a scandal that had been brewing around his administration broke into the national spotlight Wednesday.

Whether Christie knew about it or not, closing a couple of traffic lanes to cause massive traffic congestion into the George Washington Bridge for a couple of days as retribution for failing to get the endorsement of a small time New Jersey mayor is peanuts as far as political scandals go.

However, when you are thought of as a leading candidate for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, it takes over national news.

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Flow Control Amendment Passes Second Reading

Horry County Council passed second reading of an amendment to its flow control ordinance to eliminate regulation over construction and demolition solid waste debris originating within the county.

The vote was the exact same 6-5 in favor as first reading with the Horry County Solid Waste Authority apologists on council voting in the negative.

The discussion over this issue has concentrated on how much revenue the HCSWA will lose of the amendment passes. This is totally an unconstitutional argument according to the Supreme Court decision in the United Haulers Ass’n v. Oneida Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority lawsuit.

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Horry County Council Flow Control Workshop

It does not appear that any votes changed sides at yesterday’s Horry County Council solid waste flow control workshop.

Council is currently considering an amendment to the county’s flow control ordinance that would remove construction and demolition debris from regulation.

The workshop allowed the Horry County Solid Waste Authority to make a presentation on the possible effects of the amendment followed by questions and discussion by council members.

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