Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Alliance Pickens staff working on recruiting new industry and helping developing the workforce they'll need.
Ray Farley, Executive Director of Alliance Pickens, recently gave Pickens City Council an update on the work that he and his staff have been doing. “Our mission is jobs, capital investment for Pickens County,” Farley said. “On the recruiting front, activity has been very strong.” This year has been “somewhat of a track meet” since January 1, compared with a slow 2012. “We had a very strong 2011,” Farley said. “But activity remains good as we approach the midpoint of the year.” Among the 2011 Alliance Pickens announcements were the expansion of Kongsberg Automotive, which moved its facility into the former Confluence Watersports site in Easley and the new JR Automation Technologies facility in Pickens. Last month, Alliance Pickens announced…
But Democrats say she's not sincere.
In a Statehouse press conference on Tuesday, Gov. Nikki Haley called on the Senate to pass ethics legislation approved in the House earlier this month. Haley was joined at the press conference by the co-chairs of the Ethics Reform Commission, Travis Medlock and Henry McMaster as well as Attorney General Alan Wilson. “We have the blueprint. We need the eagerness and the will,” Haley said. The governor said that after the budget is approved she is hoping that ethics can be passed. She also is optimistic the Department of Administration legislation she’s been pushing for three years will finally become law. Haley rejected the notion that legislature can’t do more than one big thing per session. “At what point can we do multiple things in a …
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Council members say House Bill 3290 will rob counties of power to reject solid waste from other states
County Council is pushing back against a bill that could impact trash collection and what's going into county landfills. At their regular May meeting, council passed a resolution opposing House Bill 3290 According to the Edgefield Advertiser, the “Business Freedom to Choose Act” was designed to prevent government entities from excluding competition regarding landfill usage and setting prices on solid waste services. But county council members are concerned about the amount of power built into the legislation, which would void county ordinances related to solid waste, including fees. “This is a bill that's basically giving out-of-state trash companies the ability to bypass any county ordinance when it becomes apparent that the county needs…
Monday, May 20, 2013
Annual event for those who made the ultimate sacrifice
Pfc. Barrett Austin was one of seven soldiers honored in Columbia on Monday at the Fallen Soldiers Ceremony. The annual event, held at the Palmetto Club in Columbia, recognizes those South Carolina service members who made the ultimate sacrifice in the past year. The other six South Carolina soldiers who lost their lives: Families of those who died were presented a framed certificate from both Houses of the General Assembly, the South Carolina Palmetto State Hero Commendation, and a South Carolina State Flag. The event was hosted by Sen. Katrina Shealy (R – Lexington) and attended by numerous state officials including State Adjutant General Robert Livingston, State Attorney General Alan Wilson and State Superintendent of Education Mick …
Gov. Haley's husband Michael was deployed in January.
Governor Nikki Haley's husband Michael has returned home for two weeks of leave from his deployment in Afghanistan, the governor's office said on Monday. The First Gentleman was deployed on January 10 for a tour of 11 months and his leave was granted by his commanding officers. Two weeks is a customary amount of time for leave for a soldier in Haley's position. As a result of her husband's return, the governor cleared her public schedule for the week, including a scheduled speech in Mount Pleasant on Monday morning.
Latest controversy has legislators split.
Last week the state airplane became a source of controversy yet again. Democrats accused Gov. Nikki Haley of misusing the state plane and the governor's staff provided documentation that she had not. The Democrats countered by saying that even if the governor had not violated the letter of the law, she had violated it in spirit. The state senate then spent much of an afternoon debating whether or not the Budget Control Board should look into simply selling the planes. As has been noted before, just about any part of the state can be reached in a few hours by car and the state could always charter a plane when it was absolutely necessary. Selling the two planes the state owns would probably net the state a significant windfall. The two …
Museum Director hopes Rock Art Center at mill site will be opened by end of fall.
The Hagood Mill Historic Site in Pickens received some recognition from the state Saturday. A new State Historical Marker from the South Carolina Department of Archives and History was unveiled Saturday as part of the site's Armed Forces Day celebration. The marker tells of the historic gristmill and the site’s ancient petrogylphs. The petroglyphs, discovered in 2003, include 17 depictions of human figures along with abstract art. The discovery of the petroglyphs on the public Hagood Mill site sets it apart from most other petroglyph sites, which are on private property. Cultural Commissioner Wayne Kelley said the moment was a very special one for the Hagood Mill. Pickesn County is blessed with “world-class natural resources and history…
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Two entities will continue to share assets and personal in natural resources and wildlife conservation teaching, research and extension.
Clemson University and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCNDR) renewed their cooperative agreement during recent meetings in Clemson. The agreement strengthens a more than 31-year collaboration between the two entities by codifying the process of sharing assets and exchanging personnel in natural resources and wildlife conservation teaching, research and extension. “This agreement has enabled the DNR and Clemson to work together in research, outreach and teaching in natural resources conservation, and to collaborate in maintaining a healthy environment and high quality of life for our citizens, especially those that enjoy the outdoors," said Alvin Taylor, director of the DNR. "Clemson’s programs have been crucial in …
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Closing attorney Scott Allmon implicated in failed Riviera Estates development investment scheme.
Scott Allmon, a 38-year-old closing attorney from Easley, pleaded guilty this week in federal court for his alleged role in an illegal real estate investment scheme, U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said. The alleged scheme revolves around the failed Upstate real estate development, Riviera Estates, Nettles said. Rufus Revis and William Binnicker, who have already pled guilty, joined forces to put the project together, in which Allmon acted as closing attorney, Nettles said. Riviera Estates was a "straw buyer scheme" where investors would borrow the funds to construct homes in Riviera Estates and split the profits with Revis and Binnicker upon the completion and sale of the homes, Nevis said. According to one investor, “Rufus and William …
Cuts will affect thousands throughout the state receiving federal unemployment pay.
Thanks to federal budget cuts created by sequestration, South Carolinians receiving unemployment assistance will see a cut in their benefits beginning next week. According to the SC Department of Employment and Workforce, approximately 16,000 people receiving benefits through the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program will not be getting checks for claim weeks ending May 18, as well as July 13 and Aug. 31. In other words, aid recipients will not see a benefit payment on May 20, July 15 and Sept. 2. Sequestration, which imposed automatic, across-the-board cuts to the federal budget from March 1 through Sept. 30, required South Carolina to trim $14 million in benefits for the remainder of the fiscal year, according to DEW. …
Ken
8:41 am on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
If Nikki is for it then I am against it, there must be some kind of loophole in it to protect her. more ›