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Graham applauds Obama’s nuclear loan guarantees

February 16, 2010 By

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham says he’s pleased with President Obama’s announcement Tuesday of $8 billion in loan guarantees for the construction of new nuclear power plants. Graham calls the announcement a step forward in the right direction.

This is a significant step forward.  It will benefit the two plants being built in Georgia.  And I would like to expand this loan guarantee program.  We could have a renaissance of nuclear power which will create millions of jobs.  This is a good step forward.  We just need more of it.

Graham says South Carolina is uniquely positioned to be one of the states which benefits the most from a renaissance of nuclear energy.

Filed Under: Business, Energy, News, Politics & Government

City of Clemson bans texting while driving (Audio)

February 16, 2010 By

The Clemson City Council on Monday unanimously approved an ordinance  making it illegal to text while driving in city limits. The ordinance that will be enforced beginning June 1 , 2010 makes it illegal to send text messages, to read text messages or printed material or to e-mail while driving.

Clemson Police Chief Jimmy Dixon cites studies and research that has been done concerning texting, emailing and phone usage in general while operating a vehicle. He says that a lot of these studies have shown that “if you are texting, while in a moving vehicle and operating that vehicle, that you are as likely or twice as likely to be involved in a vehicle collision as someone who is twice the legal limit of driving under the influence.”

(Chief Jimmy Dixon on new texting ban,  MP3  3:14)
Chief Jimmy Dixon   MP3   3:14

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Legislature, News, Transportation

Sanford, lawmakers join to fight Yucca Mountain closure (Audio)

February 16, 2010 By
Gov. Mark Sanford’s press conference to address Yucca Mountain closure

It’s not been a usual sight lately to see Governor Mark Sanford at a press conference, surrounded by lawmakers. Tuesday morning at the Statehouse, the governor gathered South Carolina politicians serving in Congress to county council to speak out against President Obama’s decision to close Nevada’s Yucca Mountains to national nuclear waste storage. They are concerned that will mean more waste at the Savannah River Site for a longer period or even indefinitely. The president’s move also calls into question what would happen to the billions of dollars that states have given to a national fund for the handling of spent nuclear fuel, funds paid by electric customers.

In a letter to congressional lawmakers, Sanford says a move to shut down Yucca Mountain will have “dangerous consequences” in South Carolina. Aiken Senator Greg Ryberg says he will be introducing legislation tomorrow to protect the state–and have access to the money the state normally pays into the Yucca Mountain project.

“In the legislation, we’d put it into a holding account to save it to be used for Yucca or some other repository. We’ve got to plan for our own future. Obviously they don’t care about our future and the interesting thing to me is that we have 100 U.S. Senators and 435 Congressmen. Nevada’s got two. Where are the other 98?” Ryberg says.

Since 1983, the state’s electric ratepayers have given more than $1.2 billion to a fund to sustain a national waste site. The Nevada site was set up by Congress in 2002 as the national repository to be made the safest place to store such waste. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Environment & Conservation, Legislature, News, Politics & Government

SCE&G explains rate increase, customers oppose

February 16, 2010 By

South Carolina Electric and Gas has proposed an electricity rate increase that has received much opposition from state citizens. Scott Grigg is Supervisor of Public Affairs for SCANA.

“As far as the rate increase we have going right now, it’s a 9.5 percent increase that we have proposed to the PSC. We have delayed it by a year because our executives took a look at it and said ‘it’s a bad economy, we don’t want to do this to our customers right now,’ so we waited for a year,” says Grigg. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Environment & Conservation, News

SC Chamber: ESC leadership must resign now

February 16, 2010 By

While the General Assembly spars over what reforms are needed at the state’s agency to serve the unemployed, business leaders are calling for more drastic measures.

“We believe that in the best interest of the state and the best interest of the business community and our employees, that it’s time for the Employment Security Commission to step down,” says Otis Rawl, president and CEO of South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. “There’s just so many anomalies happening over there that are adversely affecting public opinion as well as just their general ability to oversee and run the fund.”

The House and Senate are now simultaneously working on bills to reform the ESC. The agency has been under criticism for both relying on federal funds to extend unemployment and then running out of those funds before applying for more.

The agency’s leadership defends its work under while “straining under the weight of the heavy load of a 12.6 percent unemployment rate.” [Read more...]

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