TheSunNews.com: Politics

Myrtle Beach imagines its future

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 23:22 EDT

Myrtle Beach is re-envisioning itself.

It sees itself as a greener, more walkable city, where you won't see parking lots along Kings Highway, recycling and trash containers won't be visible from any street, where cars will no longer be parked on lawns and the taller a hotel is, the wider its ocean-view alleys must be.

After two years of weekly meetings, the Myrtle Beach Planning Commission has completed its draft rewrite of the entire city zoning code to incorporate this vision, and would now like to know what you think of it and find out whether it matches your image of the city's future.

S.C. budget holds benefits to Grand Strand

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:15 EDT

The $5 billion budget the S.C. House sent to the Senate on Thursday included some unexpected good news for the Grand Strand.

Rep. Tracy Edge, R-North Myrtle Beach, said several programs beneficial to Grand Strand residents were put back into the House version of the budget before the final vote was taken Thursday morning. Those included funds for tourism marketing and health care programs.

"Nobody expected anything. It's a good surprise. We got $6 million for the two-for-one marketing program that the [Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce] loves, and of course bear in mind this was all put in at a time when we were cutting with a meat ax," he said.

Sanford to pay more than $100,000 in ethics mess

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:18 EDT

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has agreed to pay $74,000 in fines and tens of thousands more in state costs to resolve dozens of charges that he violated state ethics laws with his campaign spending and travel, including a taxpayer-funded rendezvous with his Argentine mistress, the State Ethics Commission said Thursday.

The commission brought the 37 civil charges against the Republican last year. Sanford, who is term-limited and will leave office in January, still could face criminal charges.

Sanford said in a statement he thinks he would have been vindicated if the commission had heard the case, but didn't want to continue what he called "an endless media circus."

Clyburn: Health care reform will lower deficit

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:36 EDT

Democrats plan to vote Sunday in the House of Representatives on a revamped health care overhaul bill aimed at insuring millions more Americans, providing more Medicare drug benefits and reducing federal budget deficits over the next 10 years.

On Thursday, President Obama canceled his Asia trip, which had been scheduled to start Sunday, so he could make a last-minute push for the 216 House votes needed to pass the most important initiative of his 14-month-old presidency.

As of early Thursday evening, Obama had met with or called more than three dozen members of Congress to try to win their support, according to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. Gibbs declined to confirm or deny lawmakers' accounts that Obama considers the fate of his presidency at stake.

Horry County's limits on trash sites come under fire

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:04 EDT

A state representative is trying to find a home for legislation that would eliminate county governments' ability to regulate where their trash can be dumped, possibly voiding Horry County's flow control laws that went into effect in June.

Rep. Ted Vick, D-Chesterfield, has been shopping for a home for an amendment that would change the state waste management plan to specifically identify county laws that restrict or prohibit waste disposal at facilities outside of the county as inconsistent with state law.

Horry County was the first county in the state to enact a flow control law, and the law is being challenged in federal court by several waste haulers, including Sandlands C and D, which owns a landfill two miles outside of Horry County.

Horry County Council hoping to avoid a stalemate

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:11 EST

The Horry County Council will interview the second set of finalists for a permanent county administrator Monday with hopes that, despite similar circumstances, the stalemate that ended the first round of the search last November will not be repeated.

In the first round, the council ended up deadlocked in a six-to-six tie vote between two finalists, one former county administrator from Florida and current interim county administrator John Weaver. A third candidate had dropped out before the council took its final vote.

This second round of interviews begins the same way, with two finalists - Dale Surrett, a former county administrator from Oconee County, and for the second time, Weaver. A third finalist, Al Greene, a county administrator from North Carolina, dropped out of the running shortly after the finalists were announced.

Horry Council chairman race taking shape

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:54 EST

The candidates for Horry County Council chairman are starting to be chiseled out as the filing period approaches next week.

District 6 Horry County Councilman Bob Grabowski will announce his candidacy for chairman at 10 a.m. Friday at a news conference at the county Government & Justice building in Conway, he said Wednesday. He will join District 5 Councilman Howard Barnard, who announced his bid for the seat in January. Former County Councilman Mark Lazarus announced Tuesday that he was withdrawing his candidacy to focus on business and family. Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland was not available for comment Wednesday, but has said in the past few weeks that she is still consideringwhether to run for re-election.

"The reason I've decided to run is the style of leadership I can provide would be much more suited to Horry County's needs at this time than the others who may be in the race," Grabowski said.

Ex-Edwards aide dodges jail for now

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:10 EST

A former aide to John Edwards narrowly escaped jail time Tuesday over his handling of a videotape purportedly showing the two-time presidential candidate in a sexual encounter.

Superior Court Judge Abraham Penn Jones on two occasions declared that Andrew Young would be incarcerated for contempt, once saying he could spend up to 75 days behind bars. But Young's attorneys repeatedly batted away that option during a marathon court hearing and asked Jones to provide them a few more days for Young to provide a full accounting of how he handled various materials that Edwards mistress Rielle Hunter is seeking.

"My intent is for him to be truthful to the court and be thorough with the court," Jones said. He eventually decided to give Young until Friday to provide a full accounting of when they had certain materials, who saw them and where they went.

DeMint gets a challenger in Senate race

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:17 EST

Congress must pass health care legislation "whether it's good or bad," a former South Carolina prosecutor and judge said Monday while officially launching his bid against Republican U.S Sen. Jim DeMint.

Democrat Victor Rawl said in his opening speech that Congress must better analyze social programs to ensure America can afford them, but emphatically responded that did not refer to health care legislation that President Obama has made a priority since he took office. Rawl called the nation's health care system a disgrace.

"It needs to be passed, period. Whether it's good or bad at this time is irrelevant," Rawl said at state Democratic Party headquarters in Columbia.

Gubernatorial candidate to speak in Myrtle Beach

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:54 EST

The Myrtle Beach Republican Women's Club will host S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster, a candidate for governor, at its Tuesday meeting.

McMaster will discuss economic development and tourism, said Rob Godfrey, McMaster's communications director, in a release.

The meeting will be held at the Dunes Golf & Ocean Club, 9000 N. Ocean Blvd. McMaster will address the club at approximately 11:30 a.m.

Local tea party hears from politicians

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:49 EST

About 200 Grand Strand residents crammed into the Myrtle Beach Train Depot Thursday night for a town hall meeting sponsored by the Myrtle Beach Tea Party that mimicked an old-fashioned revival - with amens and answers rom the crowd.

Seven of the Republican candidates vying for the 1st Congressional District seat being vacated by Henry Brown spoke at the event, including Mark Lutz, S.C. Rep. Tim Scott, Carroll Campbell III, Stovall Witte, Katherine Jenerette, Larry Kobrovsky, and Clark Parker. Each repeated core principals of the tea party throughout the event, including smaller government, less spending, Christian values and a stronger national defense, often to a crowd-wide positive response.

A local Horry County accountant and former Coastal Carolina University trustee, Parker told the crowd he wanted to renew the economic viability of the country by curbing spending, to focus on strengthening our defense department and to combat illegal immigration.

Two Brunswick incumbents bow out

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:37 EST

Filing to run for political office ended in Brunswick County at noon Friday with just two local incumbents deciding it was time to hang up his hat.

"It's important to have others step forward bringing in new ideas," said school board member Scott Milligan in explaining his decision to retire from political life after six years.

Milligan's 5th District school board seat and N.C. Sen. R.C. Soles' 8th District senate seat are the only among the 21 on the ballot where the incumbents aren't seeking re-election. Soles's district also includes Columbus and Pender counties.

Democrats kick off filing

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:02 EST

About 125 people attended Friday night a community program and reception hosted by the Horry County Democratic Party to commemorate Black History Month.

The event was held at Whittemore Park Middle School in Conway. It was to kick off candidate filing March 16, the Horry County Democratic Party convention March 22, to raise awareness that it is election time, and highlight how African-Americans have made great contributions to the area, county and the nation, said Cedric Spain, state executive committee man for the Horry County Democratic Party.

Candidates who attended included governor candidates Dwight Drake and Sue Rex, who represented her husband Superintendent of Education Jim Rex; and U.S. House District 1 candidates Robert Burton and Dick Withington.

Lawmaker, 75, avoids jail sentence in misdemeanor (with video)

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:37 EST

N.C. Sen. R.C. Soles Jr., the state's longest-serving lawmaker, pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon in a shooting at his home Aug. 23, but did not get a jail sentence.

Soles, 75, was indicted by a Columbus County, N.C., grand jury in January for assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.

Horry Democrats hope to retain '08 support

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:56 EST

The Horry County Democratic Party was enthusiastic Saturday at the number of people who showed up for the party's precinct reorganization meetings.

Nationwide, there have been concerns among Democrats about whether the support shown in the 2008 presidential election will be sustained in this year's mid-term elections. The Horry County Democrats gathered in smaller numbers to decide which members would be responsible for their voting precincts and which would be delegates to the county and statewide conventions this year. With a governor's race and several statewide elections looming, local Democrats said they were hopeful that participation would continue to be strong.

"We still have good interest from people because of the governor's race and the statewide races. I think the turnout will be about as high as it was in that fall," said Rupert Hickman, the credentials coordinator for the Horry County Democratic Party. "With the economy the way that it is, we have a lot of people who are losing jobs and people wanting their voices to be heard."

Hearing scheduled for state Sen. R.C. Soles

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:33 EST

A hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday in Columbus County, N.C., court in the state's shooting case against N.C. Sen. R.C. Soles, a Democrat whose district includes Brunswick County.

The exact purpose of the hearing could not be determined Friday afternoon, but it is not to try the case, the Columbus County district attorney's office said .

Soles was indicted last year, charged with willfully and criminally shooting 22-year-old Kyle Blackburn in a leg after Blackburn and another young man kicked in a door at Soles' home just outside Tabor City, N.C. Blackburn had allegedly kicked in a door to the home at least once before, according to reports from the Columbus County 911 Center.

GOP seeks Myrtle Beach area House candidate

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:53 EST

Some local Republicans have formed a group to urge Myrtle Beach City Councilman Randal Wallace to run for the U.S. House seat that Henry Brown will leave this year, saying a Grand Strand resident should be pursuing the job amid a crowded field of non-Horry County candidates.

But it turns out Wallace is actually the group's fifth choice.

"We would have preferred someone like Alan Clemmons or Ray Cleary, or Nelson Hardwick or Thad Viers, someone from the state side of things, but all of them turned it down," Republican activist John Bonsignor said Wednesday. "We wanted someone from Horry County to be considered for that seat. We've chosen Randal Wallace because we know he's committed to issues here and because he's an intelligent, hardworking guy."

S.C. Rep. Scott signs up for District 1 race (with video)

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:42 EST

S.C. Rep. Tim Scott was in Horry County Monday trying to get his name and face out to voters, but not for the lieutenant governor's race.

Scott, 44, who is the first black Republican elected to the S.C. legislature since Reconstruction, announced Monday that he will join the crowded race for the U.S. District 1 Congressional seat.

McMaster discusses his work in Myrtle Beach speech

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:57 EST

Although S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster is in a heated four-way race for the Republican nomination for governor, his address Saturday to a convention of Kiwanis Club members in Myrtle Beach mostly left the campaign aside to focus on his work on Internet predators and criminal domestic violence prosecution.

During his speech, McMaster did not directly mention his run for governor, though he described South Carolina's wealth of resources and the need for good leadership to take advantage of them.

"We're making progress, but there's a long way to go," he said at the Carolinas District Kiwanis Mid-Winter Conference at the Embassy Suites at Kingston Plantation. "I'd much rather have our problems than anybody else's problems, because I know we know the answers to them and we know how to get it done. What I see is this: I see that we have all the assets that we need in South Carolina for prosperity and happiness for all the people and for all the children."

State's high court hearing Myrtle Beach helmet cases (with video)

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:55 EST

4:50 p.m.: The justices have recessed. No opinion was given, and there is no time frame for when it will be issued.

For more on this story, read tomorrow's edition of The Sun News.