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North Chas. mayor declines secession monument

April 20, 2010 By

A confederate secession monument representing the Civil War has become too controversial for North Charleston says Mayor Keith Summey. Summey says he does not want to place the monument in the city’s Riverfront Park because of the recent controversy it has received, after the Sons of Confederate Veterans offered it to the city.

The Post and Courier reports Summey says the Civil War is part of history, but says some people try and use it to divide the city along racial lines. Summey says the monument should be placed in the lab where the U.S.S. Hunley is being preserved in North Charleston.

A Sons of Conferate Veterans spokesperson says he would like to see the monument at a Hunley-related location.

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

A call for change in Myrtle Beach parking pay

April 20, 2010 By

Myrtle Beach residents and visitors will be the first in the state to no longer have to dig down deep to find change for parking. It’s happened to most of us after we parked at a meter. “You got to your destination and didn’t have the correct change, or you have to walk to a pay station, or go to a local restaurant and get change and come back and feed the meter, or you’re at the beach and your time is up and you have to go back,” says Parkmobile USA spokesperson Sara Engel.

The meters on the side of the road may be not be as busy, but the phone lines will be. Engel says a new phone parking service is at every Lanier Parking Solutions location throughout Myrtle Beach. You can pay for parking with one phone call.  “On the parking meters in Myrtle Beach you’ll find a Parkmobile green sticker on each parking meter, and located on the stickers are instructions to register. You can download our mobile app, or you can call our toll-free 1-800 number,” says Engel.

The meters still accept change. Phone parking is just an easier way for residents and visitors to pay for parking.

Filed Under: News, Transportation

SC House committee takes up bill to allow guns under car seats (Audio)

April 20, 2010 By

A bill that would allow drivers to keep their handguns under their car seat will be taken up by the South Carolina House’s full Judiciary Committee for debate. It’s on the agenda for Tuesday afternoon’s meeting (following adjournment of the House).

Democrat Bakari Sellers of Denmark sponsored the bill. He talks about the legislation’s purpose.

(Sellers on handgun bill  MP3  1:19)
Sellers on handguns

Drivers are currently allowed to keep handguns in an automobile, in a closed glove compartment or a console or a car’s trunk.

Sellers says too many people are charged with having a gun in their vehicle because they didn’t know exactly where to put it.  Sellers, who has a concealed weapons permit  (CWP), says the current law unfairly gives criminal records to well meaning motorists who want to protect themselves.

Last week, a House subcommittee sent the bill to the full committee without voting on it, in order to enable debate in a larger forum.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Legislature, News

Governor to name Dept. of Employment and Workforce Dir.

April 20, 2010 By

Gov. Mark Sanford is expected to name an interim director of the new Department of Employment and Workforce Tuesday afternoon(2pm).

A new law, signed into effect last month, will make the former three-member Employment Security Commission an appellate body that will hear unemployment cases. The commission previously oversaw the agency and hired its director.

The new cabinet-level department was created following an audit that criticized the Employment Security Commission.  The Workforce Department will undergo periodic audits and provide regular reports on employment trends and the Unemployment Trust Fund’s balance.  The new law now prohibits the agency from giving unemployment benefits in instances where a worker has been guilty of gross misconduct.

The interim director of the Workforce Department will maintain the position until the next governor is elected. The new governor can appoint a new director who can keep the position for at least 4 years.

Republicans say the new law allows the governor to manage the agency like a business.

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

AG’s task force snaring Internet predators (Audio)

April 20, 2010 By

Attorney General Henry McMaster says the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) is making a difference. It uses the help of specially trained local law enforcement.

As of early April, the 53 agencies on the task force have made a total of 188 arrests leading to 111 convictions. No cases have been lost so far and 77 cases are pending.

McMaster says before the task force was developed, there was only one SLED agent trying to find predators online, but he was quickly overwhelmed.  McMaster says every one is on the Internet now.

(McMaster on predators, MP3 4:57)
McMaster on predators

McMaster says the South Carolina task force is unique in the nation, because the involved law enforcement agencies involved blanket the state. He says the task force has sent evidence to Attorneys General in other states where predators lived who contacted South Carolina children, and sometimes other states send information to his office.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, News
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