From the daily archives:

Friday, September 4, 2009

Senator Harvey Peeler

South Carolina Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler is moving forward with the idea of restructuring state government — by dispatching a subcommittee to begin to take up bills to reorganize major state agencies.

The Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee will take up restructuring the Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, as well as a bill merging the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and the Continuum of Care to form a new Department of Behavioral Health Services.Peeler says that this is major restructuring in the area of health care:

“I think quite frankly the time has passed and what we’re wanting to do is make government more efficient. Like I say, it will be open to debate and open to amendments throughout so hopefully we’ll come up with a product that the people of South Carolina can enjoy.”

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SC DHEC tracking H1N1 cases

by Susan Trautsch 09/4/09 3:07 PM

H1N1 flu (also called the swine flu) first surfaced in April. Many schools and colleges around the state are reporting students confirmed or suspected of having the H1N1 virus. Nearly every county in South Carolina has reported at least one case of the new strain of flu.In late August, a 12-year-old Midlands-area child with serious [...]

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HBCUs face constant enrollment battle

by Tom Hayes 09/4/09 1:58 PM

According to the College Board, during the 2008-2009 academic year the average cost of yearly tuition at a private, four-year college in the U.S. was $25,143, and for public schools $6600. With the cost of a college education continuing to rise during these times of recession the enrollment at institutions of higher learning have been [...]

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Brown holds town hall meeting on health care reform

by Michael Brown 09/4/09 12:41 PM

First District Congressman Henry Brown held a town hall meeting in Charleston Thursday to hear from the public about their concerns with health care reform.
Congressman Henry Brown spoke at the Charleston Convention Center to a crowd made up around 500 people. Brown held the town hall meeting to discuss issues concerning health care reform.
The meeting [...]

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Dangers of texting while driving

by Michael Brown 09/4/09 12:17 PM

This Labor Day weekend, chances are, many South Carolinians on the road will be texting while driving. Problem is, texting while driving could be just as dangerous as drunken driving . As strong of a claim as that is, Sid Gaulden with the South Carolina Department of Public Safety says when someone is texting, they [...]

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