Tag: Myrtle Beach

Discouraging Atlantic Beach Bikefest Attendance

It seems the City of Myrtle Beach is well on its way to discouraging future participation in the Atlantic Beach Bikefest over Memorial Day weekend.

A reduction in the size of the crowd may not be noticeable this year, but with the use of some of the city’s new toys, the message will be sent back control is a lot tighter.

Local media has reported what has been termed hi-tech additions to equipment available to police since last year, as well as the 23-mile traffic loop and one way chute down Ocean Boulevard.

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Myrtle Beach Downtown Changes

The announcement that Myrtle Beach City Council approved city staff to move ahead with plans to reroute U.S. 501 brings a possible complete change to downtown closer.

With the widening project on Third Avenue South and the sidewalk project on South Kings Highway well along, rerouting U.S. 501 to essentially come straight up Seventh Avenue North would complete the trifecta of changes needed for the boundaries of the casino district.

I know the city and the Downtown Redevelopment Corporation like to call the area the South Mixed Use District, but I think casino district is more accurate.

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More Atlantic Beach Bikefest Planning

A meeting of a Myrtle Beach south end citizen’s association last night discussed planning for the upcoming 2015 Atlantic Beach Bikefest.

Attended by Myrtle Beach police chief Warren Gall and several additional officers involved in planning for the event, the discussion was somewhat heartening for south end residents.

Gall discussed the goals and specific of the planned traffic loop and other areas that it is hoped will allow for less interference with south end neighborhoods and greater crowd control over Bikefest attendees during the 2015 event.

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Atlantic Beach Bikefest Planning

The Atlantic Beach Bikefest announced tentative agreement on a 23-mile traffic pattern yesterday achieving its number one goal.

The goal? Sealing off the north end neighborhoods of Myrtle Beach from bikefest traffic as much as possible.

Beyond that goal, there doesn’t seem to be much planning at this point.

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In Memory of Bill Darby

Bill Darby was a man who lived a full life according to his own rules.

The song “I Did It My Way” is certainly a complete description of his approach to life.

For nearly 60 years, Darby was the publisher of Coast and Alternatives magazines in Horry County. He brought the concept of tourist oriented magazines to the largest tourist destination in South Carolina.

He was a political maverick, one of three men who, together, can claim to have founded the Horry County Republican Party. As Bill liked to say he was a Republican when the Horry County Republican Party could hold meetings in a telephone booth.

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1st Winthrop Poll Results Casinos and Politics Together

Gov. Nikki Haley holds a 10 point lead over Democrat Vincent Sheheen in the first Winthrop Poll results with other gubernatorial candidates making little impact.

In like manner, incumbent senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott hold very comfortable leads over their main Democratic challengers Brad Hutto and Joyce Dickerson, respectively.

Gambling in Myrtle Beach?

What makes this poll interesting is the three questions on gambling casinos. Respondents were split 47% to 47% when asked if they favored or opposed allowing a limited number of gambling casinos to operate in South Carolina.

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Myrtle Beach Planning for Atlantic Beach Bikefest

It seems the main planning items for the Atlantic Beach Bikefest that came out of the two day law enforcement summit in Myrtle Beach earlier this week deal with federal programs.

The City of Myrtle Beach has expressed significant interest in taking advantage of several U.S. Department of Justice grants that will provide the department with patrol rifles, ballistic riot control shields and diversity training.

Those three put together seem to be mixed planning unless diversity training means putting daisies in the barrels of the patrol rifles.

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The Scottish Independence Vote – Update

Does the question of Scottish independence really matter to the people of the United States in general and South Carolina in particular?

Of course, any vote on the question of secession should viscerally matter to all South Carolinians considering the state’s history. Secession votes should be important to South Carolinians even (or is that especially) if their political views are limited to the extreme parochialism of the ultra-conservative, states’ rights genre.

As a colony, South Carolina seceded from Great Britain months before the Declaration of Independence brought the other colonies into the fold. And no native son or daughter can forget when South Carolina led the way to the Confederate States of America by being the first state to secede from the Union.

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Controlled Traffic Patterns, More Police for Memorial Day

The City of Myrtle Beach made initial plans for the Memorial Day weekend Atlantic Beach Bikefest crowd control public yesterday.

The plan calls for controlled traffic patterns from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. during the nights of Memorial Day weekend plus increased police presence within the city.

According to sources familiar with the plans, the City of Myrtle Beach is seeking 400 officers from outside jurisdictions to help beef up police presence during Atlantic Beach Bikefest. Horry County and North Myrtle Beach are seeking 150 additional officers each.

Sources tell us the city is still considering hiring security personnel from private security firms in addition to the planned increase in police officers.

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Horry County Public Safety Director Paul Whitten Out

Several sources have told us Horry County Public Safety Director Paul Whitten has resigned his position today effective immediately.

However, a back story is also being circulated that Whitten’s leaving was at the choice of the county. According to that story, Whitten was given the choice of resigning or being terminated.

According to our sources, a major catalyst to Whitten’s departure was lack movement on planning for next year’s Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Bikefest.

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