TheSunNews.com: Local

Study: Tourists' interest in Myrtle Beach area rises

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:58 EDT

Interest in visiting Myrtle Beach has risen in the past two months and an extended marketing campaign aimed at attracting visitors is working, according to research released this morning by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

But one leading local economist cautioned the region is not out of the economic doldrums yet, noting that retail sales in Horry County during the summer months could be off at least 12 percent compared to last year.

``That's not the kind of news the chamber of commerce wants to be having economists coming in to talk about,'' said Don Schunk, a research economist at Coastal Carolina University. ``If in fact that is the reality, the local industry, they need to be aware of that and they need to figure out how to deal with that.''

Opposition to Myrtle Beach bike laws awaits court attention

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:19 EDT

Myrtle Beach is in a holding pattern when it comes to the lawsuits filed against it because of its motorcycle-rally ordinances.

Three of the four lawsuits filed since the spring are still moving forward. Two have been combined for the sake of oral arguments before the state Supreme Court, one rests in federal court in Florence awaiting its next steps, and the fourth has been dropped.

Tom McGrath, the Virginia-based attorney representing Myrtle Beach residents William and Carol O'Day and 47 others who received tickets for not wearing motorcycle helmets at the end of February, said he is waiting to hear from the state's high court.

Polls say it's time for Sanford to resign

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:58 EDT

Woman jailed after robbery in North Myrtle Beach

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:54 EDT

An 18-year-old Loris woman is jailed after police said she lured a man to the beach Tuesday morning to be assaulted and robbed by her boyfriend and two other men, according to North Myrtle Beach spokeswoman Nicole Aiello.

Mattie Thompson Poole and three men - Jonathan Chase Durden, 17, Little River; John Terrell Skinner, 18, Loris; and Terrance James Thomas, 17, Tabor City, N.C. - face charges of first-degree lynching and strong armed robbery, after the incident Aiello said.

She said North Myrtle Beach police learned after the incident that Durden was also considered a runaway, but she did not know from what state he was reported missing.

Myrtle Beach area landing fees scrutinized

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:01 EDT

An extension on landing fee discounts at the county-run Myrtle Beach International Airport has members of the Horry County Airport Advisory Commission wondering whether the discounts are working.

The commission discussed the Horry County Council's extension of the discounted fees from September 2009 through June 30, 2010, at its meeting Wednesday. Pat Apone, deputy director of administration and finance and interim co-director of the airport, said the airport has lost out on more than $1.1 million in fees during the first year of the discounts, with no way to recover those operating funds through another source.

"I'm of the mind that government should not be in the business of subsidizing private industry, and I feel in a way that is what we're doing if we continue down this path," said Bill McKown, commission chairman. "There has to be some kind of measure of benefit."

Benefits promote wildlife, economy in Myrtle Beach area

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:00 EDT

Artificial reefs along the Grand Strand are thriving and benefiting the area's economy in the process, according to officials with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.

Roughly 20 of the 45 artificial reefs along the state's coast can be accessed from Little River to Georgetown, and use of the Grand Strand area sites account for about 40 percent of the $83 million the state generates annually related to the structures, said Bob Martore, DNR artificial reef program coordinator.

"Reefs in that area are the most heavily utilized followed by Charleston, Beaufort, and Hilton Head," Martore said. "They have become great fish-producing reefs."

Petitions could be changing Georgetown contest

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:02 EDT

The mayoral election for Georgetown soon could heat up, as at least two petition candidates could join the race, according to Donna Mahn, director of the Georgetown County Board of Elections and Registration.

Kizzie Lawson, who also ran for the Georgetown County Board of Education, has expressed interest in becoming a petition candidate, Mahn said at a County Board of Elections meeting Wednesday. She said another petition candidate could be Bob Sizemore.

Any petition candidates must have at least 272 signatures by the deadline of Aug. 20 to be listed on the Nov. 3 ballot, Mahn said.

Wilmington withholds city officials' e-mails

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:31 EDT

City officials have shielded thousands of e-mail messages from public view during the past year by classifying them as private.

More than 36,000 messages from the city of Wilmington's top officials have been kept private, The Star-News of Wilmington reported this week.

The newspaper said the messages included information about annexation and a city convention center, as well as moving office equipment and interviews with the news media.

Panel OKs penalty for FOI violation

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:31 EDT

Individuals and media organizations that successfully sue North Carolina governments for public records would be more likely to recover their legal fees under legislation approved Wednesday by a House panel.

The bill, recommended by the House Finance Committee in a voice vote, would reduce a judge's discretion to deny attorneys fees for news media outlets or individuals.

An "Open Government Unit" operated by the Attorney General's Office also would be formalized in the legislation to help settle public records and open meeting disputes and issue advisory opinions.

McMaster seeks DHEC delay on water permit

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:31 EDT

Attorney General Henry McMaster says a South Carolina agency is about to undermine his U.S. Supreme Court case against North Carolina over water rights on the Catawba River.

This morning, McMaster plans to ask the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control Board to delay action on a major water quality permit he said fails to adequately protect the interstate river from excess withdrawals and pollution.

DHEC staffers granted the approval in May to allow a power company to continue operating dams on the Catawba-Wateree river system between Charlotte and Congaree National Park near Columbia.

Man charged in Halloween shooting won't get psych test

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:31 EDT

A judge on Wednesday ruled that a convicted drug dealer who police say shot and killed a 12-year-old trick-or-treater won't receive a mental evaluation before he goes to trial on federal weapons charges.

Quentin Lamar Patrick - who has three prior convictions for crack cocaine distribution - emptied an AK-47 into his front door, walls and windows when heard someone knock in his door, police have said. Patrick told police he thought he was being robbed when he saw people wearing masks standing on his stoop on Oct. 31.

The boy was trick-or-treating and knocked on Patrick's door because the porch light was on in Sumter, a city about 45 miles east of Columbia, police said.

The Carolinas | Walhalla church damaged by fire

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:16 EDT

SOUTH CAROLINA

WALHALLA

Church heavily damaged by fire Tuesday

Gov. Sanford holding on to office

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:19 EDT

Gov. Mark Sanford has found a way to cling to office, but holding on has had more to do with politics than heartfelt apologies.

Mark Sanford's fellow Republicans voted to censure the governor, because some said if Sanford were to step down, the move would splinter the GOP by helping his replacement, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, in the 2010 campaign for governor.

Sanford is barred from seeking another term, and he has campaigned hard to keep his current job, giving hours of apologies and confessions of his affair with an Argentine woman.

Officials slam ACC's exit from Myrtle Beach

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:50 EDT

Editor's note: This article contains graphic language.

Local legislators are outraged that the Atlantic Coast Conference has canceled plans for an annual baseball tournament in Myrtle Beach from 2011 to 2013 because of opposition from the S.C. conference of the NAACP over the Confederate flag on the state Capitol grounds.

But lawmakers contacted Tuesday said they have no plans to resurrect the issue in the General Assembly, which nine years ago agreed to a compromise that moved the flag from the top of the Capitol dome to the Statehouse grounds. Removing it would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate and House of Representatives.

Voting districts pushed for Myrtle Beach

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:52 EDT

Horry County Council Member Marion Foxworth, a lifelong Myrtle Beach resident, has pushed for single-member voting districts in the city for more than 25 years.

This year, his cause is getting a boost from people infuriated by the city's efforts to quell May's motorcycle rallies and the recent passage of a 1 percent sales tax.

Don Emery, a business owner and member of Help Eliminate Lousy Politicians for Myrtle Beach, a group that formed since May, said the people of Myrtle Beach aren't equally represented.

Police | Deputy charged after boating crash

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:22 EDT

POLICE

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C.

Deputy charged after boating crash

Police: Horry County suspect killed himself

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:49 EDT

A Marion man wanted in connection with a robbery in Little River committed suicide Saturday after a police chase ended in a cornfield near Conway, according to an incident report released Tuesday by Horry County police.

State Law Enforcement Division officials are still investigating the death of Steven Wayne Branham, 41, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons.

Police said Sgt. Anthony McCullough of Horry County police was standing over Branham with his gun drawn Saturday when another officer arrived shortly after it was reported that shots were fired.

Police | Man reports robbery on front porch

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:25 EDT

POLICE

MYRTLE BEACH

Man reports robbery on front porch

Murder suspect surrenders to police in Horry County

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:54 EDT

A Conway man who police say shot and killed another man on his porch Monday evening in the Freemont community turned himself in to authorities Tuesday morning.

Bridgett Lamon Moore, 38, is charged with murder in the death of 32-year-old Tyronne Howard Jones, who was found dead outside his home on 120 Pine Needle Drive at 5:30 p.m.

Moore surrendered to police at 11:15 a.m. at the M.L. Brown Building in Conway, said Sgt. Robert Kegler, police spokesman.

Radio relays time of POW | Family passes father's hand-built unit, memento of WWII travails, to museum

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:54 EDT

At first glance, it's easy to overlook the Albert family's prized possession.

Its mousy brown shade blends in with the wood table at the Creekside community clubhouse in Cherry Grove, where 64-year-old Richard F. Albert sits sharing memories with his two sisters, Martha Lewis and Sally Nycum.

A second glance hints at its history: The relic is a World War II crystal radio that the siblings' father, U.S. Army Air Corps Staff Sgt. Richard L. Albert, brought home to Fremont, Ohio, after being detained as a prisoner of war in Stalag 17-B camp in Krems, Austria.