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Sanford: Eliminating Yucca Mt. defies common sense

February 18, 2010 By

Yucca Mountain in Nevada has been the future destination for a facility to store nuclear waste storage from various states. Now, the Obama Administration and Nevada Senator Harry Reid are second-guessing the decision to bring the nuclear waste into Nevada.

Governor Mark Sanford is taking issue with Yucca Mountain because South Carolina would lose the $1.2 billion invested into the mountain over the past few years. South Carolina paid the money to help set up Yucca Mountain, and would be able to send the state’s nuclear waste to Nevada. Sanford says this decision to possibly back out of plans for the site is goes against President Obama’s “change” slogan. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, News, Politics & Government

Interstate access to Grand Strand inching toward reality

February 18, 2010 By

The South Carolina Transportation Department receives federal grant money for a long-awaited project to connect the Grand Strand to the interstate highway system.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation is moving closer toward  beginning construction on the state’s  Interstate 73 project. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Wednesday it was awarding the state $10 million of the requested $300 million from Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery Grants, known as  TIGER grants. The grant includes optional innovative financing enhancements to support a direct loan for up to a third of the project costs.

In December, South Carolina  U.S. Representatives Jim Clyburn, Henry Brown, and John Spratt met with Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to discuss the need for federal funding for I-73. Completion of I-73 would link Myrtle Beach to I-95, traveling through Horry, Marion, Dillion, and Marlboro Counties. The project would add more than $1 billion to the local economy, create thousands of construction jobs and cut hurricane evacuation times from the Grand Strand by 11 to 15 hours.

Filed Under: Economy, Transportation

Riley: TIGER Grant is “significant down payment”

February 18, 2010 By

Mayor Joe RileyAs stimulus funds are disbursed among the states, the City of Charleston is receiving a grant for its flooding problems on the city’s roads. Charleston Mayor Joe Riley hopes the $10 million of a (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant) TIGER Grant would help the city’s drainage problem when the city floods. However, the project to help stop the flooding would cost $147 million, meaning the city is short about $137 million.

“I think I would rather see it as the beginning of the project. In itself it would take a few years to construct, but we are going to work to get the additional funding,” says Riley.

Riley says this money is a “significant down payment” to get the project underway. Riley told WCIV in Charleston that more funding could follow this announcement. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economy, News, Politics & Government

House passes campaign reform measure (Audio)

February 18, 2010 By

The South Carolina House passed the key vote of an election reform measure Wednesday. It attempts to make it tougher on candidate’s who skirt an election law that requires the reporting of campaign contributions. There is a period of roughly 20 days that many people are not aware of but politicians know well as the “blackout period.” It’s the time between the filing of the last required election report a few weeks before an election, and the election itself. Contributions made during that period won’t show up until the report filed after the election.

The legislation requires a campaign report to be updated during the “blackout period” every 48 hours so that all contributions will be more apparent.

But House members defeated an amendment from Kershaw County Democrat Laurie Funderburk directed at mostly large campaign contributors. It stipulated that the law limiting contributions to $1000 per contributor for General Assembly races would limit individuals who have controlling interest in more than one company, only allowing them to make contributions from one such company.

(Funderburk-Vyers on House floor  Mp3  4:13)
Funderburk on House floor

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Legislature, News, Politics & Government
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