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Airport security review ordered by President Obama

December 28, 2009 By

President Barack Obama has ordered an airport security review after Friday’s botched terror attack on a U.S. airliner in which a suspect allegedly tried to detonate an explosive device on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, making its final approach to Detroit, Michigan.

Larry Holcomb, Airport Manager of the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport said early Monday morning, that they had not yet seen any review or security directives. “Yet,” Holcomb said, “we were already at Condition Orange, which is a heightened security. The only thing we’ve done is increase our visibility. We’ve deployed K-nine units in the building and are being a little more observant as to what’s going on.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, News, Transportation

Clyburn is “public option” flexible

December 28, 2009 By

Sixth District Congressman James Clyburn says he wants a public option in the final health care reform bill but acknowledges that it might not survive compromise talks with the Senate. Appearing Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” the House Majority Whip says he could vote for a bill that doesn’t include the public option, but it still must contain certain features. “We want a public option to basically do three things; create more choice for insurers, create more competition for insurance companies, and contain costs. If we can come up with a process by which these three things can be done, then I’m all for it. Whether we label it a public option or not is of no consequence. What we want to do is to get good effective results from whatever we put in place,” Clyburn says.

Clyburn will serve on the Senate-House conference committee on health care legislation beginning in January . [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economy, Health & Medicine, News, Politics & Government

Sanford to Clyburn: Exert your power in committee

December 28, 2009 By

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn

The U.S. House and Senate will begin to merge their versions of health care reform, just after the New Year.  South Carolina’s leaders, both Republican and Democrat are looking to the state’s most influential Democrat to stand as their advocate. the governor tried a different tactic. On Christmas Eve, Gov. Mark Sanford appealed in a letter to the House majority Whip, to “exert that power in conference committee negotiations in the coming weeks and ensure our state is treated the same as Nebraska and others.”

Gov. Mark Sanford

Sanford is referring to the Senate plan covering 100 percent of Nebraska’s Medicaid bill in a compromise for their senator’s Vote.

Clyburn assures constituents he’ll do just that. In a press conference last week, Clyburn addressed that, saying,”I think it opens the door for other states to demonstrate need for similar treatment when they get to conference.”

The governor’s letter also says,”In just the last year and a half, our state budget has been cut roughly 23 percent, and we face the potential of even more cuts to the budget as federal stimulus funds run dry.” He is concerned about additional costs to the state for Medicaid and any health care overruns.

Clyburn says that what is in the law is now up to the work of the conference committee and will be somewhat different than the Senate version.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, News, Politics & Government

SC bulletproof vest program saves lives worldwide

December 28, 2009 By

Sixteen years after its inception, a South Carolina-based organization which raises money for bulletproof vests for law enforcement says its cause is still saving lives and is more important than ever.

Michael Letts,  founder of the non-profit In-Vest USA, says the current economic crisis is deteriorating the quality of life in many communities, bringing increased crime and more demands on law enforcement. And he says the bad economy means a nationwide drop in law enforcement funding. Letts says that also means a drop in charitable giving upon which his organization depends, in order to give bulletproof vests to officers.

In-Vest was born in 1993 when Letts’ local Kiwanis Club invited a deputy from the Richland County Sheriff’s Office to speak.  Letts says club members were shocked to discover that the officer didn’t have a vest, nor did many other members of his department.  Letts says after his charity raised the money for 250 vests for Richland County within two years, he and the organizers tried to shut down the fund raiser but the public outcry told them they needed to continue the effort. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, News

Texting while driving bill on the legislative slate

December 28, 2009 By

When the state legislature gets back to work after the first of the year, Representative Bakari Sellers wants to ban hands-on cell phone use while driving.

He says, “My goal is just to make the roads safer. I think we all deserve that and I think those who don’t, that’s pretty selfish on their part.”

Sellers says Onstar and blue-tooths will still be available for use while driving, but texting and holding a cell phone in hand will be a violation of law, if passed. Sellers explains one obstacle they need to get through before the legislation is passed:

“As legislators we’re more guilty, and that’s going to be the hard part with passing this bill because we all know it’s something that should be done. I have a few colleagues who I completely understand, they hate government interference in people’s lives and I completely understand where they come from and they may not be for it, but there’s going to be some who say ‘I can’t live without doing this, I can’t be the one that keeps violating this law,” says Sellers.

More than a dozen states already banned texting while driving. In North Carolina, violators face up to one hundred dollars in fines.

Sellers says he knows some may not be on his side of the legislation. He knows one group of people that aren’t going to be for the idea.

“I do know one thing. I do know that the big cell phone companies won’t be too happy with this piece of legislation, but if you have any stock in bluetooth I guess you need to go buy some more,” says Sellers.

Overall, Sellers says he believes he’s making the right move, arguing that “This is comparable. I think drinking and driving and texting and emailing while driving are comparable. You’re not paying attention to the road.”

Sellers says if the law is passed, violators could face up to $250 in fines and two points on their license.

Filed Under: Legislature, News, Transportation
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