May 21, 2012

2nd District Race heats up (AUDIO)

South Carolina Adjutant General Stan Spears spoke at a Statehouse press conference, calling on Democrat Rob Miller, a candidate in the 2nd District congressional race, to return $370,000 in contributions from the organization MoveOn.org.   Spears called MoveOn.org a liberal organization, and said it was associated with advertisements against General David Petraeus, who led American forces in Iraq and just took over forces in Afghanistan.  Spears says Petraeus is a great man.

AUDIO: Spears on MoveOn.org (:20)

South Carolina Republican Party Executive Director Joel Sawyer says MoveOn.org should be held accountable for an unfair attack on Petraeus.

Also Wednesday morning, Miller called on incumbent Joe Wilson to return a $5,000 campaign contribution which Miller says came from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. The group was represented by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who was convicted of bribing public officials and vote buying.  But Mark Powell with SC Victory 2010 says the records will show that the contribution to Congressman Wilson’s campaign came in 10 months after the Chippewa organization terminated its relationship with Abramoff.

Three die in Grand Strand plane crash

Three people on board a private plane perished Wednesday night when the aircraft crashed into a mobile home  in North Myrtle Beach.  The victims of the cash have been identified as  Danny Carroll, his wife Rachel, and their granddaughter. No one was inside the home at the time of the accident that occurred at 8:45 pm.

Carroll is listed as  co-owner of Lady’s Funeral Home in Kannapolis, North Carolina.  A licensed pilot, he owned his own plane, but may have been flying a rented plane. The family had been at the beach and were headed home. The Associated Press is reporting that the  Piper PA-28 was registered to Robert O’Neale III of Concord, NC.

Three others, two men and one woman , were transported to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center as a precaution. One of the men, a police officer, was treated for smoke inhalation. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are expected to investigate the crash.

Plane crash near SC coast, at least one dead

A small plane heading to North Carolina crashed in North Myrtle Beach, and authorities have confirmed at least one dead, so far. The Federal Aviation Administration has found one body in a mobile home park in North Myrtle Beach, but they continue to look for others. The small plane is said to have had three on board during the time of the crash, but that has not been confirmed. The FAA says there were no survivors in the aircraft. The plane departed out of the Grand Strand Regional Airport at 9 p.m. Wednesday night and was heading for Concord, North Carolina.

The AP reports records show the Piper PA-28 was registered to Robert O’Neale III of Concord. When authorities tried to reach O’Neale by phone, there was no answer. Two people at the home were taken to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center.

SC becomes 25th state to adopt new education standards (AUDIO)

(from press release/interview)

South Carolina is now the 25th state to adopt a national set of academic benchmarks that detail the math and reading skills students will learn as they move through public school grades.

The State Board of Education voted Wednesday to adopt “Common Core Standards” developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers.

The Common Core standards were developed over the last 12 months by teachers, parents, school administrators, civil rights leaders, education policymakers, business leaders and others from across the country. The group produced multiple drafts and collected comments from more than 10,000 people online.  State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex says this is the first time states have collaborated to determine what students should know.

AUDIO: Rex on new standards (3:20)

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