May 21, 2012

Greenville attorney chosen as SC State interim president

South Carolina State University trustees selected Greenville attorney Merl Code as the school’s interim president after the recent firing of current President George Cooper. SC State trustees have elected Merl Code as the historically black college’s interim president, until they find a full-time replacement for current president George Cooper.

The trustees voted June 15 not to renew Cooper’s contract, who was fired for lacking performance. Cooper took over as president in 2008. Although he said his firing was not clear to him, the board voted for his firing because they say after repeated requests, Cooper failed to develop plans to address student enrollment declines, a falling graduation rate and financial issues.

Trustees voted Monday in a 7-5 vote for Code to replace Cooper. Code is currently a municipal judge in Greenville. One board member, Matthew Richardson, says he will ask the board to reconsider Cooper’s firing and give him a second chance.

Thursday, the board will gain two new members, replacing two members who voted not to renew Cooper’s contract.

Lowcountry seeing rash of robberies

A rash of robberies in the Lowcountry is keeping law enforcement busy. One happened just yesterday afternoon, as the Summerville BB&T was robbed at noon. The suspect, when he left the bank, threatened that he left a bomb. The bomb threat brought in the Police Department, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, the Charleston County Bomb Squad, the State Law Enforcement Division, and the FBI to evacuate the bank until they could confirm that there was not a bomb. The suspect fled the scene and has not been captured. Authorities describe him as a white male approximately 5-foot-7, between the ages of 25 and 30.

The recent robbery count for the region is 22 so far this year. Since the beginning of June, there have been 11 robberies in the Lowcountry. Three in Mt. Pleasant, three in North Charleston, one in Dorchester County, one on James Island, one in West Ashley, and as of yesterday, one in Summerville.

Rasmussen Poll: Haley leading, Sheheen gaining (AUDIO)

The party-to-party race for governor of South Carolina is officially underway—and the numbers in a national poll show Democrat Vincent Sheehen gaining some ground, but still trailing Republican Nikki Haley. Rasmussen Reports conducted the survey last week and he talked to SCRN’s Ashley Byrd.

AUDIO: Rasmussen on Haley and Sheheen early race (2:36)

Whooping cough on rise in SC

Whooping cough may begin with symptoms like a common cold, but can become serious and sometimes even deadly. This disease, also known as pertussis,  is on the rise in South Carolina.

DHEC spokesman Adam Myrick says that whooping cough is not a disease of the past.

Whooping cough in South Carolina and in the United States is not a dead disease. It is something that some people might think of as being from the 1800′s or from Little House on the Prairie. It is something that is not only alive in America but in South Carolina.

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Senate, House return to finish business (AUDIO)

The South Carolina Senate upheld 29 vetoes before adjourning, and plan to take up the rest when they return today. The Senate can’t change the 51 vetoes upheld by the House. which cut about $50 million from the state’s $5 billion budget.

One of the overrides included the Arts Commission- to the chagrin of Spartanburg’s Lee Bright who called it entertainment. Senator Wes Hayes, a fellow Republican, argued that it was more than that:

Sixty-five percent of this money goes for the ABC program, which is the “arts in basic curriculum” going to our schools. If you call that entertainment, where we provide arts education for our children, so be it. 

The Senate debated vetoes during and after a filibuster over a version of the voter ID bill which eventually stalled.

Tuesday the Senate will consider the rest of the veto overrides sent over by the House. The House will also take up the rest of the vetoes it must  consider, and may bring up the Senate version of a voter ID/early voting bill.