TheSunNews.com: Local

Dems snare 60 votes to move ahead on health care

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:55 EST

Democratic leaders secured the last two votes to move ahead on historic health care legislation, clearing the way for a Saturday night showdown on President Barack Obama's top domestic initiative.

In long-awaited speeches, centrist Sens. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana said they would stand with their party and vote "yes" on the crucial test vote despite deep reservations with elements of the 2,074-page bill to remake the nation's health care system.

"The truth is this issue is very complex. There is no easy fix and it's imperative that we build on what's already working in health care in America," Lincoln told her Senate colleagues.

Atlantic Beach election overturned

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:02 EST

The two declared winners of the Atlantic Beach Town Council were removed from the winner's circle Friday after the town's election commission voted to grant the protests filed by incumbent candidates.

The residency of the two incumbents and voters, voting irregularities, and issues with absentee ballots led the commission to overturn the election results that gave write-in candidates Windy Price and Carolyn Cole victory over incumbents Josephine Isom and Charlene Taylor and challenger Paul Curry.

A protest by Curry concerning whether Price and Cole complied with state laws when turning in their economic interest forms was denied by the commission.

Myrtle Beach flying high, drubs North Charleston behind Golson's 8 TD passes

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:55 EST

Myrtle Beach High quarterback Everett Golson must have spent a lot of time stewing over not throwing a touchdown pass for the first time all season last week.

The junior phenom more than made up for it Friday night by throwing eight touchdown passes in a 55-13 victory over North Charleston in the third round of the Class AAA playoffs.

"I felt like we really jelled tonight. All year we have talked about peaking, but we really haven't done it [until tonight]," said Golson, who completed 27-of-36 passes for 444 yards for career highs in both yardage and touchdowns. "It looks like an individual stat, but it really wasn't. It was a team stat."

Boeing may be boon

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:41 EST

The Boeing Co. broke ground on a new plant Friday in North Charleston, and local leaders and economists say the factory could create an economic jolt along the Grand Strand by bringing jobs and luring aviation-related businesses.

The $750 million plant - the largest industrial investment in South Carolina's history - will feature a new assembly line for the 787 jet and is scheduled to open by mid-2011. The facility, near Charleston International Airport, is expected to create 3,800 jobs within seven years. Another 2,000 jobs will be created during construction, officials claim.

It's still too early to talk contracts, but Grand Strand leaders are already gearing up to market the area.

Myrtle Beach area jobless rates swell

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:49 EST

The jobless rates in Horry and Georgetown counties jumped in October as the hospitality industry shed jobs heading into the offseason, and officials don't anticipate the rates will get better any time soon, the S.C. Employment Security Commission reported Friday.

Horry County's rate jumped above the state and national levels to 12.2 percent in October, from 10.9 percent in September - substantially higher than the county's 8.7 percent rate a year ago. Georgetown County's rate also ticked up, to 13 percent in October from 12.3 percent in September.

Statewide, the rate rose to 12.1 percent in October - the fifth-highest rate in the nation - from a revised rate of 11.7 percent in September. In North Carolina, the rate hit 11 percent - the ninth consecutive month in the double-digits. Rates for N.C. counties, including Brunswick County, will be released next week.

Police | Man's body found in mobile home in Horry County

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:17 EST

Police

LITTLE RIVER

Man's body found in mobile home

EPA ruling unlikely to affect AVX in Myrtle Beach

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:49 EST

Efforts to strengthen cleanup standards for trichloroethylene pollution probably will not impact Myrtle Beach-based AVX Corp. because any new regulations would not be retroactive, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

AVX is accused of polluting groundwater with trichloroethylene in a roughly 10-block neighborhood near its 17th Avenue South headquarters. Trichloroethylene, or TCE, is an industrial degreaser that has been linked with liver cancer and other health problems.

The Environmental Protection Agency this month proposed stricter new standards for air pollution associated with TCE, and experts say new standards for drinking water likely will follow. The EPA currently allows a maximum TCE level in drinking water of five parts per billion. Groundwater contamination near the AVX site showed TCE levels as high as 19,200 parts per billion.

Horry County eyes budget shortfalls

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:49 EST

With conflicting indicators of whether economic woes are finally beginning to ease, Horry County could be facing budgetary shortfalls for the remainder of the year and into the next year's budget.

The Horry County Council during its fall budget retreat Friday cleared the way for county staff to use about $2 million from contingency funds set aside in the 2010 fiscal year budget to handle anticipated shortfalls in revenue. The outlook for the 2011 fiscal year budget preliminarily revealed another set of problems including a possible decrease in property tax revenues because of reassessment and increase in operations and staffing expenses at the county's new jail building.

Most immediately, Westley Sawyer, director of budget and revenue for the county, said the biggest shortfalls are expected to be a more than $1.7 million drop in expected property taxes, and a $380,000 drop in vehicle taxes. The county is also expecting shortfalls in code enforcement fees, business license fees and other areas including a more than $1.7 million deficit in Emergency Management Services fees.

Group mulls ferry service options for Sandy Island

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:40 EST

A panel reviewing options to establish a public ferry service for Sandy Island in northern Georgetown County has some estimates in hand with hopes it can secure a state grant to help fund a contracted service.

Sandy Island Ferry Ad-Hoc Committee members met for more than two hours Friday reviewing details of proposed annual operations costs for possible short and long-term solutions.

A short-term proposal is for the current vessel that carries up to 35 people and is owned by the S.C. Department of Education to increase its daily round trips to four trips, 362 days yearly for the public, at a cost of $263,000.

Myrtle Beach area crime

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:40 EST

Civil complaint | On Nov. 19 in the Loris area, a man, 19, said that while he was away from home, his female landlord, 39, came and tried to force entry into his home.

Another man, who he had authorized to be at the house, told him the landlord said she would be coming back and if he was in the residence when she returned, she would beat him in the head with a hammer until he left. The second man told the landlord that she could not do that and she said she had 50 trailers and could do what she wanted to do.

A police officer called the landlord, got no answer and left a message advising her of proper eviction procedures and the possible outcome if she continued her unlawful behavior.

Lawmakers draw bead on Sanford

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:45 EST

South Carolina lawmakers plan to formally consider impeaching Gov. Mark Sanford for the first time next week, the chairman of the committee beginning that work said Friday.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Harrison told The Associated Press he is appointing an ad-hoc committee of four Republicans and three Democrats who will begin meeting Tuesday. He said he expects to have a resolution to impeach ready before Christmas for the full Judiciary Committee to consider.

Sanford spokesman Ben Fox declined to comment.

Girl killed day she was taken

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:40 EST

A 5-year-old North Carolina girl was raped and killed the same day she was taken from her home, according to an arrest warrant released Friday.

Shaniya Davis was sexually assaulted and asphyxiated Nov. 10, the day her mother reported her missing from the trailer park where she was staying, according to the warrant. Authorities embarked on a nearly weeklong search that ended when the girl's body was found dumped off a rural road.

Mario McNeill is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape of a child in the warrant, which was issued after police said they collected hair and fibers, clothes and a straw from his 1997 Mitsubishi Galant. He was initially charged only with kidnapping.

S.C. jury finds '3 Hebrew Boys' guilty in Ponzi scam

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:51 EST

A federal jury on Friday found three South Carolina men guilty of swindling more than $80 million from thousands of investors, many of whom prosecutors say fell victim to the Ponzi scheme because of their mounting debt.

The jury of five men and seven women deliberated for less than four hours before finding Timothy McQueen, Joseph Brunson and Tony Pough guilty of nearly 60 charges each, including conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering.

The three showed no reaction during the 15 minutes it took to read the lengthy verdict. An hour later, the same jury ordered the men to forfeit $82 million, the maximum sought by authorities.

Army to allow media at Palin event

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:40 EST

The U.S. Army said Friday it would open Sarah Palin's appearance on Fort Bragg to media, a reversal from earlier in the week when the military wanted the event closed out of fears it would prompt political grandstanding against President Obama.

The attempt to ban media at the event scheduled for Monday was met with protests from The Associated Press and The Fayetteville Observer. The military then proposed limited media coverage, but lifted that plan Friday.

"Given an outpouring over the past two days of media interest in covering the Nov. 23 book signing at Fort Bragg's North Post Exchange, Fort Bragg will assist interested news media who wish to cover former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin," said a statement released by Fort Bragg spokesman Tom McCollum.

Postal Service answers S.C. mail sent to Santa

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:40 EST

Yes, Carolina, there is a Santa Claus.

And if you live in the Palmetto State, anyway, he'll answer your letter.

The U.S. Postal Service had announced this week it would no longer mail responses to Santa letters postmarked from North Pole, Alaska, sparking cries that the Grinch really stole Christmas. Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Friday that decision has been reconsidered, and new security measures are put in place to protect the identity of children who participate in the program.

Jury convicts woman of killing 1-year-old

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:51 EST

Twelve jurors convicted Andrea Person on Friday of killing a 1-year-old child in 1998, rejecting claims her 2007 confession to investigators was coerced by intimidating interrogation.

Person was sentenced to 22 years in prison. The minimum sentence was 20 years. She had faced the possibility of a life sentence.

Zachary Ulengchong's death originally was attributed to pneumonia. But the deaths of two other children under Person's care in 2001 and 2007 prompted investigators to reopen the case.

GOP want one-party primaries

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:51 EST

Unaffiliated voters have more influence than ever in North Carolina politics, but some Republican leaders want to keep them away from the GOP primary and let party members choose their own nominees - preferably more conservative ones.

They've asked state party leaders meeting this weekend in Raleigh to approve a resolution that would limit next May's primary to registered Republicans only.

"We are not attempting to eliminate independents from the process. We absolutely need them," said Bob Pruett of Beaufort, chairman of the 3rd Congressional District committee, who supports the closed primary idea. "But we want to make sure that we have conservative candidates elected in our primaries."

Judge responds to call to reconsider sentence

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:23 EST

The judge who set Greenville-area businessman John Ludwig free said the decision on whether to revisit his sentence is "entirely up to me" and he doesn't know when he will consider it.

Circuit Judge James Williams Jr. told The Greenville News he hasn't reviewed the request by Solicitor Bob Ariail to reconsider his sentencing of Ludwig to three years probation and 500 hours of community service after Ludwig pleaded guilty to reckless homicide.

Ludwig had faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Where We Worship Column for website

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:14 EST

Today

St. Phillips Lutheran Church

6200 N. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach, hosts the Sons of Norway Southern Star Lodge Christmas Bazaar from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 497-9905. Christ Church

North Carolina

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:53 EST

State News in Brief

RALEIGH

Poll: Residents like electing judges