May 19, 2013

Man threatens Spartanburg reporter with Michael Jackson song

A former track & field assistant coach at the University of South Carolina-Upstate was arrested for threatening a reporter, according to a warrant from the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.

31-year-old Joseph Colton Hodge is accused of sending an email to a Spartanburg Herald-Journal reporter with a threatening video attached. Spartanburg County Sheriff’s deputies say the video shows Hodge singing the Michael Jackson song “Smooth Criminal.”

In the Jackson song, the singer references harm coming to a woman named “Annie.” However, in the video Hodge replaces that name with the reporter’s. The video also shows the reporter’s picture. According to an incident report, a deputy was contacted by the newspaper’s editor Michael Smith about the email. That deputy viewed the video and determined that it constituted a threat.

Hodge was a volunteer assistant track coach at USC-Upstate from 2008 to 2012. He is charged with 2nd-degree harassment.

South Carolina Radio Network has decided not to name the reporter since they are considered a victim in this case. In fact, it’s not clear why Hodge targeted the newspaper, although he has previously been arrested for releasing other threatening videos towards USC-Upstate athletic director Mike Hall.

Walterboro’s top cop relieved of his duties

Walterboro’s public safety chief of nine years has been relieved of his duties, but city officials are not explaining why.

Former Walterboro Director of Public Safety Otis Rhodes (Courtesy: City of Walterboro)

Former Walterboro Director of Public Safety Otis Rhodes (Courtesy: City of Walterboro)

Chief Otis Rhodes was let go Friday after 9 years as public safety chief and 21 years of working for the city of Walterboro. City Manager Jeff Lord released a statement praising and thanking Rhodes for his service, but went on to say the department wanted to do more and that it was time for a change in leadership.

“We are grateful to Otis for his contributions, but the time has come for someone else to continue the progress that has been made and to pave the way for even more in the future,” Lord wrote, ”There’s work to be done, and I am confident the City and its citizens will be best served by new leadership in the Public Safety Department.’

Rhodes’s departure is effective immediately.

Maj. Ken Dasen— currently the assistant public safety director— will now serve as acting director of Walterboro’s Public Safety Department until a replacement is found.

The Charleston Post & Courier first reported Rhodes’s firing Friday.

Sheree Bernardi of Charleston affiliate WTMA filed this report

SC unemployment rate drops to lowest level since 2008

South Carolina’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell in April to 8 percent— the lowest level in Gov. Nikki Haley’s administration and the lowest rate since October 2008. However, a large part of the decrease was due to fewer people in the state’s labor force.

Data released from the state Department of Employment & Workforce Friday shows the jobless rate dropped from 8.4 percent in March, the largest month-to-month drop since May 1987.

Over 5,000 people dropped out of the labor force between March and April, according to the SCDEW data. That was combined with nearly 3,000 more people listed as employed across South Carolina.

The state unemployment rates was 9.3 percent in April 2012.

A large part of the growth was 8,700 more jobs reported in the hospitality and leisure sector as the summer tourism season ramps up. The sector has seen a growth of over 10,400 jobs since April 2012. Employment also grew by 2,700 in the Professional & Business Services sector since March.

However, manufacturing lost 900 jobs and government posted a net loss of 200 more.

Every county reported a decrease in the unemployment rate from March. However, a majority (31 of 46) also saw their labor force shrink in that span. Lexington County had the lowest jobless rate at 5.7 percent. Marion County was the highest at 15 percent.

Legislative Update: May 17

— Capping off a long day of debate Thursday, senators voted to sell the two planes owned by the state. South Carolina has owned the planes for decades, but it appears the bad headlines they’ve garnered in recent years finally led legislators to get rid of them entirely. Senators voted 26-14 to include language in the budget to sell the planes.

Gov. Nikki Haley participated in the Governor's Volunteer Awards outside her Statehouse offices Thursday

Gov. Nikki Haley participated in the Governor’s Volunteer Awards outside her Statehouse offices Thursday

— It was a dispute over Gov. Nikki Haley’s use of the planes that appears to have been the final straw. Democrats on Thursday focused on the governor’s videographer Zach Pippin, who frequently flies with Haley to film her press conferences and speeches. The problem is that he’s not a state employee; he’s paid by her campaign. The Governor’s Office insists Pippin is conducting state business and is legally allowed to go on the flights, even producing an email from a State Ethics Commission attorney to back up their case.

— The state Department of Public Safety on Thursday released the dashboard camera video of Rep. Ted Vick’s (D-Chesterfield) arrest on Tuesday night. An officer says he stopped Vick in the Statehouse parking garage after watching him stumble across the Statehouse grounds, then hit a traffic cone with his car. In the video, Vick can be seen struggling to avoid being handcuffed. He also repeatedly tells the arresting officer that he is “not intoxicated.”

— As the House Ways & Means Committee prepares to take up a cyber-security reform bill, a consultant is warning them not to do too much at once. Michael Wyatt of Deloitte & Touce, LLP., was hired to help recommend changes in South Carolina’s antiquated computer network after the Department of Revenue hacking. On Thursday, he told committee members that he felt they were wrong to centralize all aspects of information security into a single office.

— When senators come back for a second week of budget debate next Tuesday, they will likely take up a controversial school-choice proposal. The issue of giving tax deductions for parents whose children attend private school has been fought in the public sphere for years now. But supporters feel they are very close to winning support in the Senate for the first time. Opponents prevented it from coming up to a vote Thursday, knowing three critical “no” votes were not in Columbia at the time.

— Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell joined with Honda to kick off a new effort to fight hunger among seniors in South Carolina. The Sustain Our Seniors effort launched after a brief Statehouse ceremony Thursday. Honda donated two minivans for senior centers to use, while Leadership South Carolina presented over $100,000 in donations. South Carolina has the second-highest level of senior hunger in the nation.

Consultant warns state not ready for cyber-security changes lawmakers want

As South Carolina legislators consider reforms to the state’s computer security network, a top consultant is warning them to not do too much at once.

Michael Wyatt of Deloitte & Touch briefs members of the House Ways & Means Committee Thursday

Michael Wyatt of Deloitte & Touch briefs members of the House Ways & Means Committee Thursday

The House Ways & Means Committee is scheduled to take up a cyber-security bill next week in response to a massive hack at the state Department of Revenue (SCDOR) last fall that compromised over 3.8 million Social Security numbers.

As part of a state contract, New York-based Deloitte & Touche, LLC., conducted a six-week assessment of how the state operates and maintains its complicated computer networks and databases. The project’s lead director Michael Wyatt presented the findings to the committee Thursday.

“There is a crawl, walk, run model that needs to be in place here,” Wyatt told legislators. He said the recommendations would cost nearly $15 million to implement immediately, and over $7 million to maintain each year after that.

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