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Camper finds camera in Francis Marion Forest

March 16, 2010 By

A camper found a hidden camera in the Francis Marion National Forest which turned out to be part of a law enforcement investigation.

The camper called law enforcement agencies after he and his daughter found a camera hidden in the forest. The man took the camera home, due to the lack of any identification markings, and called authorities. However, the camera ended up being governmental property to monitor “illicit activities.”

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports that a Forest Service spokesperson told them the camera is part of a law enforcement investigation, but they would not provide any details. The spokesperson did say any images of non-targeted people, or just campers, are not kept as long as they are not part of the investigation.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Environment & Conservation, News

Person on the beach dies when plane crash lands

March 16, 2010 By

One person exercising on the seashore was killed in a bizarre accident Monday evening when an experimental single-engine plane crash landed on the beach in the Palmetto Dunes area of Hilton Head Island.

The National Transportation Safety Board is in Hilton Head Tuesday,  investigating a small plane’s emergency landing Monday evening that killed a man on the beach .  The plane was en route from Florida to Virginia. When engine trouble started, the pilot tried to get to the Hilton Head Island Airport, but lost a propeller and had oil splattered on his windshield. He came down on the beach at Palmetto Dunes at around 6:10 pm, striking a man on the beach. The pilot and his passenger survived.

Filed Under: Accidents & Disasters, News

Week-long debate on budget begins in House (Audio)

March 16, 2010 By

Members of the South Carolina House worked into the night Monday during their first day of budget debate.

Lawmakers gave the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division a minimal three percent cut, and the Department of Public Safety an even smaller one percent cut. The Department of Corrections was allowed to run a deficit, in the words of Dorchester Republican Annette Young, “to keep prisoners behind bars.”

It was revealed Monday by Ways and Means Chairman Dan Cooper that more than $20 million has been set aside in a reserve fund, for next year when the state is expected to be $1 billion short on revenue, twice as much as this year. But Democratic leader Harry Ott took exception to the reserve, saying that no one had known about it previously.

Ott also pointed out that the budget contains $346 million in federal stimulus funds.

The House voted 96-6 Monday to use more than $173 million in federal Medicaid money to cover planned cuts to health care and the Department of Disabilities. The funds depend on final agreement between the U.S. House and Senate on a plan that would send aid to states. Those lawmakers who voted against the measure say the money has not yet been received and that Congress must first agree to it.

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Filed Under: Legislature, News

Democrats speak out on first day of budget debate (Audio)

March 16, 2010 By

Democrats met just before Monday afternoon’s budget debate began, to preview their budget proposals, saying that the Republican supported budget plan has cuts in the wrong places. Union Democrat Mike Anthony says the proposed Republican cuts to education are a shame, where the base student cost would be reduced to the level where it was in 1995.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Cooper, a Republican, says Democrats are just throwing rocks.  And Cooper says a tax increase is unlikely and not on the table at this point, except for a possible tobacco tax. 

But Democratic leader Harry Ott says a decent cigarette tax would may a big difference.  The House Ways and Means Committee has already passed a 30 cent per pack tax increase, but some lawmakers want it much higher, more than one dollar, to keep up with the national average. South Carolina’s tobacco tax is now the lowest in the nation at seven cents a pack.

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Filed Under: Business, Legislature, News
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