February 8, 2012

Clyburn: Bauer’s comments “embarrassing”

Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina, the U.S. House Majority Whip, is responding to a comment made by Lt. Governor Andre Bauer on Friday concerning government handouts.

At a forum, Bauer, a Republican, said the government has gotten out-of-control, and he compared the government assistance program that gives less fortunate children free or reduced meals in school cafeterias to feeding stray animals. He said that giving an animal or a person ample food supply facilitates a problem.

Clyburn, a Democrat, says it’s embarrassing.

(Clyburn on Bauer MP3 :24)

Clyburn on Bauer MP3 :24

Bauer said later that he didn’t mean to compare people to animals, but he was making the point that government dependency needs to be broken. Bauer says people should no longer be allowed to ride the system without consequence.

SCE&G, Progress Energy offering assistance for unusually high bills

SCRN is hearing from many of our listeners who say they are recovering from sticker shock after opening their recent power bills. The company released a statement today saying a string of extreme cold days and nights earlier this month and the end of December has meant some South Carolina Electric & Gas customers are coping with higher natural gas and electric bills than normal.

SCE&G set a new record for winter peak demand on January 12, 2010 for electric use, exceeding the previous winter record set in January 2008. “We realize that with the recent long spell of cold weather and the resulting increase in demand for electricity that we will have a number of customers who will find it a hardship to pay their bill,” said Molly Morris, general manager of customer service.

Progress Energy, based out of Raleigh, N.C. also serves South Carolina customers. The utility says two weeks of below-normal temperatures and higher usage will be reflected in many Progress Energy Carolinas customers’ bills in the coming weeks.

[Read more...]

Working poor are becoming working homeless

Extended periods of cold weather help to reveal how many homeless people there are in urban areas– and reveal who are the homeless. Frank Kunz is executive director for The Cooperative Ministry in Columbia. His agency oversees the emergency winter shelter for the Midlands. He says he is seeing a changing demographic on homelessness.

“The first night the shelter was opened I met a lady that was very well dressed, very articulate, very well groomed. She came up to me, thanked me for a warm bed to sleep and she said, ‘this is my first time being homeless, I’ve been homeless for two weeks.’ She had a job,” Kunz said. [Read more...]

Shaw AFB pilots’ deployment delayed by weather

The storms that moved across South Carolina Monday night delayed 15 fighter pilots from a Shaw Air Force Base squadron and their F-16 Fighting Falcons that are heading to Iraq.

The pilots of the 77th Fighter Squadron who had planned to leave early Monday morning from Shaw Air Force Base were delayed by the storms that started late Sunday. The 15 fighter pilots and their F-16 Fighting Falcons that are heading to Iraq now plan to leave early Tuesday. More than 300 members of the 20th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and others from the 77th left for Iraq last week and will be joined by the pilots. [Read more...]

Sen. Graham drafting “preventative detention” bill

Senator Lindsey Graham says he supports holding 50 Guantanamo detainees in preventative detention, a status that will be used to hold terror suspects who are too dangerous to release but cannot be tried by military tribunal or in civilian court.

Graham said in a statement: With the percentage of former Guantanamo detainees who have returned to the fight soaring to 20 percent, we must not be hesitant to detain those who pose a real threat to our national security. [Read more...]