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Inglis to present Pelosi with 3000 letters

March 16, 2010 By

Upstate Congressman Bob Inglis will speak about health care on the U.S. House floor Wednesday. He will also present House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with some 3000 letters from Upstate residents.

“When you have nearly 3000 residents of the Fourth District writing Nancy Pelosi , they don’t have the consensus to cram down a health care bill that the American people don’t want.”

Inglis asserts that the whole process is not a legitimate use of power.

A vote on the Health Care plan is expected on Saturday.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Legislature, News

Rex: SC is a “walk-on” in Race to the Top competition

March 16, 2010 By

South Carolina schools have made it to their own ”Sweet 16″ in competing for federal  funds. Tuesday was the second major round of competition in the national Race to the Top for what will be a part of $4 billion in education stimulus money.  South Carolina was the second to make a presentation this morning in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Department of Education.

Superintendent Jim Rex led the team, and to continue the analogy, he says South Carolina is an underdog among the 16 finalists, and that may actually be an advantage..

“South Carolina is sort of like a walk-on. In athletics, you have some athletes who are highly recruited and have the best equipment and the best coaches.  Others walk on and make the first string just because of desire and I think South Carolina is a walk-on,” says Rex, a former high school football coach.  [Read more...]

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

Education focus of second day of House budget debate (Audio)

March 16, 2010 By

On its second day of budget debate, the South Carolina House started off arguing over an education amendment by Republican Nikki Haley. The measure was adopted on a 74 to 42 vote. It would require that 70 percent of every education dollar actually go to classroom instruction, not to administration. Haley said that existing law states that figure to currently be 65 percent. Classroom instruction includes everything from the salary of teachers and aides to school supplies.

Haley asserted that school administration is receiving too much funding.  Spartanburg County Republican Joey Millwood commented that he knew of two superintendents in a Spartanburg school district, a superintendent and superintendent-elect, who together earn more than $300,000. 

That opened up a line of House members going to the podium to attack the amendment as purely political, “feel good” legislation by a gubernatorial candidate.

Richland County Democrat James Smith said that in actuality, regardless of the minimum requirement, school districts already spend 86.9 percent of the education dollar in the classroom.

(Smith, Skelton on Haley’s amendment  MP3   3:01)
Smith, Skelton on Haley amendment

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, Legislature, News

DeMint and Graham top Tea Party lists, pro and con

March 16, 2010 By

For some super-conservative Americans, Sen. Jim Demint is their cup of tea.  Sen. Lindsey Graham and his mentor Sen. John McCain are not.

National online magazine Politico.com polled Tea Party leaders across the U.S. and the results reflect our discussions with local spokesmen.  This is not surprising as Graham has long been the target of RINOhunt.net, a S.C.-based site targeting “Republicans in name only.”

Yet, Tea Party members we have spoken to describe themselves as a separate party. State GOP leaders have worked to forge a relationship with these same groups, to keep conservative ideals under the same umbrella. That is what has to happen says Tea Party hero, Demint.

Demint, on a “Conservative Comeback” fundraising tour in South Carolina for Senate candidate Marco Rubio of Florida, says he wants to work within Republican ranks. He says he is courting conservative U.S. Senate candidates who share his ideals so that he “can do the work that South Carolinians sent him to the Senate to do.”

(Listen to excerpt of DeMint interview with SCRN’s Ashley Byrd MP3  3:40)
Listen to excerpt of DeMint interview with SCRN’s Ashley Byrd MP3 3:40

Filed Under: News, Politics & Government

Illness strikes cruise ship for a third time

March 16, 2010 By

Celebrity MercuryFor the third time in about a month, passengers aboard the Celebrity Mercury cruise ship that ports out of Charleston, have caught an illness on the ship. The intestinal illness, thought to be a norovirus, just seems to stick around the Celebrity Mercury. This time, 350 out of the 1,829 passengers have come up ill from the ship that left on March 8.

In a statement, Cynthia Martinez with the cruise line says they continue to conduct enhanced cleaning during the remainder of the voyage, and will do so as well as after the ship arrives back in Charleston. The statement reads: “While there was a decline in the spread of the illness during the sailing, in an abundance of caution, and in order to prevent additional guests and crew from becoming ill, we have decided to bypass Monday’s port of call and return a day earlier.”

The next Mercury departure will also be delayed by two days. Celebrity Cruises President Daniel Hanrahan says “I would like to apologize for the inconvenience. The extra time we are taking to sanitize the ship will help prevent additional guests from becoming ill.”

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, News, Recreation & Entertainment
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