February 10, 2012

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ESC spokesman: “The workload for us is unprecedented” (Audio)

February 9, 2010 By

The state Employment Security Commission is straining under that weight of unprecedented jobless levels, says agency spokesman Clark Newsome. In answer to Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom’s calling into question ESC accounting for stimulus funds, Newsome acknowledges that they were delayed in getting  a requested report to Eckstrom’s office. Newsome says, they turned in the paperwork  today on federal money to extend unemployment benefits.

(Newsome explains ESC delay MP3 1:24)
ESC’s Newsome responds to Eckstrom’s concerns

Newsome says a 12.6 percent unemployment rate, along with additional federal paperwork, has added to an ever-increasing workload. He says the agency needs the understanding of the public as they deal with challenges the nation and state has not seen since the Great Depression.

“Our people are working hard overtime and on the weekends to make sure that claims are paid and issues like this are addressed. We need folks to understand we are doing the very best we can to try to serve them,” says Newsome.

Filed Under: Economy, News, Politics & Government

Comptroller General:”Dramatic changes need to be made at ESC” (Audio)

February 9, 2010 By

The state’s chief fiscal officer says he has asked for federal monitoring of the Employment Security Commission’s accounting for federal stimulus money.Comptroller Richard Eckstrom told fellow cabinet members this morning that his concerns about the ESC’s management of federal stimulus money were enough to notify the Department of Labor and the FBI.

“In monitoring the situation at the ESC, we are not at all comfortable with their ability to properly account for the stimulus funds that they are receiving. We are not suggesting that any of those funds are mising, but they are not able to account for them separately, to indentify those dollars that have come in,” says Eckstrom.

Eckstrom says that the agency got at least $43 million that he says they “misclassified.” as some other funding source. Another program, the emergency unemployment benefits extension funds, he says, “involves hundreds of millions of dollars and we really don’t know how many dollars have been involved because the agency has not been able to give us that information.”

(Selection of Eckstrom interview, MP3 1:30)

Eckstrom on ESC and stimulus funds [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economy, Legislature, News, Politics & Government

GOP’s seven up for congressional seat race

February 9, 2010 By

Tim Scott, the first black Republican elected to the South Carolina Legislature since reconstruction, called  a political audible Monday abandoning his race for lieutenant governor to enter the crowded contest for the state’s first congressional seat. With his entry into the race,  Scott becomes the seventh Republican seeking to acquire the seat being vacated by incumbent Republican Congressman Henry Brown, who is retiring.

The roster of GOP candidates for the seat include two famous South Carolina political names Charleston businessman Carroll Campbell III, son of the late Governor Carroll Campbell and Charleston County Councilman Paul Thurmond, son of late U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond. Other Republican candidates are Isle of Palms City Councilman Ryan Buckhannon, former Charleston County School Board member and lawyer Larry Kobrovsky, former Brown aide Stovall Witte, and Katherine Jenerette of North Myrtle Beach.

Democratic candidates who have announced are Mount Pleasant commercial pilot Robert Burton, Georgetown businessman Robert Dobbs, and retired accountant Dick Withington of Horry County.

Filed Under: News, Politics & Government

Scott announces bid for 1st District

February 9, 2010 By

Representative Tim Scott

Representative Tim Scott, Charleston Republican, announced this week he will drop out the race for lieutenant governor because he now has his eye on another race. Scott wants to fill the spot of First District Congressman Henry Brown, who announced his retirement last month.

“The more I campaigned, the more I realized the issues I am fighting for are better suited for the congressional race. Once Henry Brown retired, my constituents started calling me asking me to reconsider. I decided to take a serious look at it. I called my pastor, my pastor said the best thing to do was pray about it, seek wise counsel, and make sure you are listening to the constituents who have a chance to vote,” says Scott. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Legislature, News, Politics & Government

SCSPA to reveal new cruise plan

February 9, 2010 By

The South Carolina State Ports Authority is set to unveil its plan for a new cruise terminal after months of deliberations. The Ports Authority will announce a new concept for the cruises coming into Charleston at a community meeting today. The Ports Authority has held several meetings to hear from area leaders and community members over the past few months.

The Associated Press reported the Ports Authority announced last fall it was working with the City of Charleston to replace the current 40-year-old brick and cinder-block terminal building, as well as redevelop a 55-acre tract around the terminal. This spring, Carnival Cruise Lines will start with its 67 cruise calls porting out of Charleston.

Filed Under: Business, News
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