February 10, 2012

AARP offers guidance for drug buyers in “donut hole”

By the end of this summer, more than one million older Americans will have fallen into what health care advocates call the “doughnut hole,” meaning that they won’t be covered by Medicare’s prescription drug program and have to pay out of pocket.

AARP South Carolina’s Patrick Cobb says his organization has launched a new resource to help older citizens avoid that gap.  “The online calculator tells you ahead of time if you’re going to fall into the hole.  And it offers advice so you can avoid hitting the gap.  The gap is between $2700 and $4300, and those whose drugs have cost enough end up paying out-of-pocket, even though they are also paying a premium for drug coverage.” [Read more...]

Alledged carjacker recaptured

The Greenville County Sheriffs Office has recaptured 18-year-old Demetrius Maddox. The alleged carjacker was captured this morning after he escaped from Greenville County Detention Center officers last night at the Greenville Memorial Hospital where he was seeking treatment for a respiratory ailment.   Maddox is accused of then carjacking a vehicle, forcing a woman and her 5-year-old son out of their Chevrolet Celebrity in a parking lot, telling them he would kill them he they didn’t give up the vehicle.   Lt. Shea Smith says they received a tip from a person who saw a person out walking who matched Maddox’s description.  We found him and he was taken into custody.”

Maddox’s escape is currently under investigation. When he escaped, he was being held for kidnapping, carjacking and petit larceny on a 2008 charge.

Duke Energy set to answer environmentalists

The Department of Health and Environmental Control Board recently decided to hear appeals by two environmental groups challenging the permits issued by DHEC to Duke energy to operate five dams on the Catawba and Wateree Rivers. The hearing is scheduled for July 9 and will involve American Rivers and the Coastal Conservation League. The environmental groups are concerned that the flow requirement Duke Energy has proposed will only give South Carolina 25 percent of the water coming down the Catawba-Wateree and that will be inadequate for fish and wildlife as well as people who use the river. Duke spokesman Andy Thompson counters that the agreement under the new license is an actual upgrade from the current system.”We’ll actually release more water on a continuous basis under this new license than our current operations. This means there will be greater fish habitat, improved recreation, better water quality. A more balanced approach will provide more water for cites that need it for drinking water, water intakes, industrial uses, just a wide range of uses.”

Thompson says the new comprehensive relicensing agreement is a culmination of extensive work over a a three year period with the participation of 85 stakeholders including the two challenging parties. Thompson says 70 of the stakeholders, which includes towns and cities along the river, signed off on the agreement.

Members of the Coastal Conservation League have expressed concern that the agreement Duke Energy has secured says that the amount of water released from the dams is not predicated on seasonal conditions. Some environmentalists say the water release should be variable considering that the amount of rainfall varies depending on the time and season of the year. Thompson says Duke Energy uses a system call a “low inflow protocol” which the 70 stakeholders signed off on and has a proven track record of effectiveness.

“That basically set parameters on how we would operate our lake releases, how we would use our lakes for generation so that we would have enough water available for drinking and other uses during the period of drought. As a result of this procedure that we developed and put in place, no water intake was uncovered and we got through the worse drought in this region’s history in very good shape.”

Some environmentalists have expressed concern that the amount of water released from the dams would be inadequate for certain forms of fish and wildlife especially the federally endangered shortnose sturgeon. Thompson says according to recent studies, sturgeon have not existed in the river in quite some time if ever.

“The South Carolina Marine Resources Research Institute, with support from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the National Marine Fishery Services, prepared a document in 1997 and they could not show any sign of sturgeon in the Wateree River going back as far as 1896, so we really don’t believe that’s an issue.

The environmental groups charge that in its re-licensing agreement Duke Energy has dealt with the state in an exchange of minimum water flows with some protection of some areas of shore land along  the river. Thompson says Duke Energy has developed, along with its stakeholders, a balanced plan to provide the energy that is needed for a growing population while maintaining the quality of life of the region.

“We have people who have signed on with our agreement like the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the South Carolina Department of Recreation and Tourism, the South Carolina Wildlife Federation, and towns up and down the Catawba-Wateree River. This has been a monumental effort that has focused on the balanced use of these rivers so we can meet the needs of stakeholders up and down the Catawba River.”

Charleston to pay quiet tribute to Philip Simmons

courtesy of www.philipsimmons.us

The City of Charleston will pay tribute to wrought-iron artist Philip Simmons, who died Tuesday at the age of 97. Mayor Joe Riley, in a statement Tuesday said, ” The City will adorn with a white ribbon all Philip Simmons ironwork in its parks.  In memory of him, we invite all citizens to place a white ribbon on their wrought iron gates or railings, whether or not they are Philip Simmons’s pieces.”

Philip Simmons portrait by Claire Green

Simmons is known for his ornate iron scrollwork on gates and exteriors, which are known as a symbol for Charleston.  He has been honored by the Smithsonian Institution, the National Endowment for the Arts, and received the Order of the Palmetto from the state of South Carolina.

 

The always gentle man served as the inspiration for the American College of the Building Arts. The only school of its type in the nation and only one of two in the world(the other is in France), the College of the Building Arts in Charleston was founded by John Paul Huguley, and inspired by Simmons.  The College was started 12 years ago, but after the initial startup and fundraising, began classes only four years ago, and the first class graduated last month.  Huguley says that as sick and tired as he was, Simmons still attended the ceremony, something for which he had waited many years.   He was brought in by ambulance.   Huguley says he will be missed by the entire college. 

 

Huguley says Simmons was honored by a number of governors and presidents.

 

Huguley comments that Simmons often said that while most people paint their wrought iron gates and fences black, he would have preferred that they were painted white.

 

 Mayor Riley says that Simmons ”remained a humble man who inspired everyone he met with his optimism, his upbeat view of life, and his down-to-earth pearls of wisdom.”

 

The state’s blacksmith guild is named for Simmons, the Philip Simmons Artist-Blacksmith Guild of South Carolina.

 

(William Christopher contributed to this article)

Insurance fraud up in SC but so are convictions

South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster has issued his annual insurance fraud report for 2008. The good news is that convictions for insurance fraud were at their highest in the 15 years since creating an Insurance Fraud Division. The bad news is that this likely means that the amount of fraud cases are going up. 135 convictions were secured last year up from 94 the year before. That is a 44 percent increase. South Carolina Insurance News Service Executive Director, Allison Love, says that everyone is working together to secure these convictions.

“Well it’s a combination,” says Love. “It’s great teamwork with the insurance industry and the insurance companies with their special investigators as well as the Insurance Fraud Division of the Attorney General’s Office. [Read more...]