Tag: Horry County

Internet Sweepstakes Ban Passes SC House

A bill South Carolina legislators say will close the current loopholes in state gambling laws making internet sweepstakes games illegal is awaiting Gov. Nikki Haley’s signature to become law.

After failing to pass a similar bill last year, legislators wasted no time in this new legislative session getting the ban in place.

The legislation clarifies what has been a messy situation throughout the state where the games were considered illegal in some jurisdictions and legal in others. In Horry County it was both with Myrtle Beach allowing the games, until SLED raids closed several parlors in the city recently, while the games were considered illegal in the unincorporated areas of the county.

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SCDNR Delays International Drive Again

Since International Drive was first proposed, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources has thrown one roadblock after another in the way of the project.

Issues with red cockaded woodpeckers, right of way disputes, bear crossings and chain link fences have all been overcome only to find now the DNR has teamed with the Army Corps of Engineers to discover wetlands that have to be mitigated before permanent road construction can begin.

Two absolutes I quickly learned after moving to Horry County 30 years ago were: there is no such thing as a conflict of interest for politicians and there are no wetlands in Horry County. These were written in stone as the county was transformed by development.

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Hembree, Rankin, Williams and Flow Control

Three state senators trying to block legislation that would make monopoly flow control of solid waste disposal illegal throughout South Carolina stated their case recently in an opinion piece to local media.

Greg Hembree (R-28), Luke Rankin (R-33) and Kent Williams (D-30) authored bi-partisan opposition to the Business Freedom to Choose Act that has already passed the S.C. House and is under consideration in the S.C. Senate.

Prior to the bill (H3290) being filed for the current legislative session, it was known that it would face opposition from these three senators and, quite possibly, only from these three senators.

Their stated reasons for opposition are a combination of obfuscation, bogeymen and cherry picking of facts to attempt to form a reasoned argument.

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Expanding Horry County Inc.

Horry County will insert itself more firmly in the private business sector when it passes three resolutions at tonight’s council meeting.

One resolution guarantees revenue to Canadian airline WestJet that will begin service to Myrtle Beach International. The second approves the Horry County Department of Airports purchasing the assets of Ramp 66 at the North Myrtle Beach airport and becoming the new fixed base operator there.

The third resolution directs the administrator to explore any and all legal recourse, which may be available to the county, if and when the S.C. General Assembly passes legislation making the Horry County Solid Waste Authority’s solid waste flow control monopoly illegal.

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Repairing the Carolina Southern Railroad

Repairs on railroad crossings and bridges along the Carolina Southern Railroad route in North Carolina are moving along while funding for repairs in the South Carolina portion of the line is still being sought.

Meanwhile, a committee (?) formed to search for ways to help get the railroad back into full operation seems to be more interested in effecting a change of ownership of the Carolina Southern Railroad rather than searching for ways solutions.

Calling itself the ‘Interstate Railroad Committee of North and South Carolina’, this group of public officials representing several communities and three counties across two states, seems bent on forcing the Pippin family, owners of Carolina Southern Railroad, out of ownership of the railroad.

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Horry County Special Interest Groups and I-73

A superb article published in the Myrtle Beach Sun News today explains the push by Horry County special interest groups for I-73 construction today and the difficulties that road faces in ever being completed.

Lobbying, political donations and other special interest groups’ tactics used to try and kick start the I-73 project are covered very well.

Anyone considering themselves a true conservative dedicated to low taxes, reduced spending, the elimination of earmarks and smaller government should read it to consider how local politicians elected to the statehouse and Congress are carrying out their campaign pledges.

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South Carolina’s Transportation Infrastructure Problems

The battle to save South Carolina’s transportation infrastructure, especially roads and bridges, seems to be joined in the state government this year.

A bill to do away with the State Infrastructure Bank and roll its responsibilities into the Department of Transportation appears to have a chance of success as does one that would require prioritizing road projects with maintenance and repair of existing roads as the top priority.

In her State of the State address, Gov. Nikki Haley urged state lawmakers to fix crumbling roads and bridges.

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The Internet Sweepstakes Clean-Up

Raids on internet sweepstakes cafes continued in Horry County yesterday and, for the first time we can confirm, several locations within the city limits of Myrtle Beach were targeted by SLED officers.

For the first time since internet sweepstakes cafes began operating in Horry County over two years ago, there is a consistent policy being carried out that the games are illegal throughout the county.

Prior to yesterday’s raids, internet sweepstakes cafes were declared illegal by a county magistrate and subject to closure and confiscation in the unincorporated areas of the county, but were allowed to operate unimpeded by law enforcement within the Myrtle Beach city limits.

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Working on the Carolina Southern Railroad

A committee formed to discuss ways in which the Carolina Southern Railroad may be helped back into operation may be causing more problems than it can solve.

Formed as an informal, joint discussion committee between officials in the three counties served by Carolina Southern Railroad, it seems to have evolved into something entirely different.

According to committee meeting minutes, at least nine different city or county councils, from two states (North and South Carolina), have appointed members to what amounts to an informal committee.

By its November 7 meeting, the committee, now calling itself the Interstate Railroad Committee of North and South Carolina, was discussing a “budget” of $100,000 to be allocated among the three county governments represented – Horry and Marion in South Carolina and Columbus in North Carolina.

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Internet Sweepstakes Ban Inches Forward

A bill to ban internet sweepstakes games took a key step forward yesterday when it passed second reading in the Senate by a 40-2 margin.

The bill seeks to close any loophole business owners cite, in the state’s gambling laws, to operate so-called sweepstakes cafes. Senate Judiciary Chairman Larry Martin said the bill clears up any ambiguity in the law.

The state banned video gambling in 2000. Operators of internet sweepstakes cafes say the games compare to the sweepstakes that McDonald’s uses as a promotion every year. Law enforcement officials in the state contend that they are merely another form of gambling.

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