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S.C. Ranked 15th in spending by lobbyists
South Carolina's crackdown on lobbyists ten years ago helped give it the nation's
third-highest ranking in a study of state lobbying controls and public reporting
requirements last year, according to a report released today by the private Center
for Public Integrity. Greenville
News, The
State, NY
Times/AP
USO receives $320,000 donation
Bi-Lo officials gave
representatives of the USO a check for $320,000 on Wednesday to assist needy troops
and their families with food, transportation and other necessities. Greenville
News SC Airman dies in Iraq
US Department of
Defense officials said 31-year-old Air Force Staff Sergeant Patrick Lee Griffin
Junior, of Elgin, was killed Tuesday near Diwaniyah, Iraq. WIS-TV,
* WCIV-TV,
*WLTX-TV Lottery
distribution controversial
Even though South Carolina public elementary
schools might receive more money from the SC Education Lottery next year, the
increase could cost state schools desperately needed buses. Beaufort
Gazette 
2-cent
sales hike fails to pass
The first vote in two weeks of budget debate
on a 2-cent sales tax hike failed 30-15, but senators who want the money to increase
education spending are confident the issue will be raised again before the spending
plan is complete. Greenville
News Tax cuts have ill effects on rural
schools. The
State - Rural schools struggle with meek budget. The
State/AP
- Greenville
schools hit hard by budget cuts. WYFF-TV
Senate
continues budget discussions
The chance of meeting next year's budget
by raising taxes on cigarettes, sales or anything else was diminished Wednesday
as the Senate continued fighting over state needs and which ones were and were
not negotiable. The
State, * Post
and Courier, *
Augusta Chronicle Prosecutors fear domestic
violence bill is too weak
A House subcommittee passed a bill Wednesday
to toughen South Carolina's domestic violence laws, but a few prosecutors who
take on criminal domestic violence cases say they do not believe the bill's penalties
are strict enough and it is not a good enough deterrent. WSPA-TV *
Conduct bill passes
A bill that would require grades reporting on a
child's conduct in school received approval in the House Wednesday. WLTX-TV
Over
400 attend Carolina Investors hearing
An estimated 400 people gathered
outside a second-floor courtroom and into the hallways to await information concerning
the fate of Carolina Investors, a Pickens-based investment company. WSPA-TV,
Greenville
News, * Anderson
Independent-Mail - Examiner will review Carolina Investors.
The
State
* Port sails toward expansion
The
State Ports Authority board, which congregated Wednesday at the North American
headquarters of one of its biggest customers, Michelin Tires, took a giant step
toward realizing goals to handle additional cargo in future years. Post
and Courier South Financial expands
The South Financial
Group said Wednesday it will relocate its franchise to North Carolina with the
acquisition of a Hendersonville-based bank that has been in business since 1997.
The
State, Greenville
News, * Anderson
Independent-Mail * Credit Union
to offer additional services
Anderson Federal Credit Union has announced
that it will now offer its customers unlimited free financial education and counseling
services. Anderson
Independent-Mail * AHA gets another
chance
Over a year after its suspension from a foreign-exchange visitor
program, a S.C. firm will get a second chance to convince a State Department panel
it should be allowed to bring in foreign students to learn the hospitality trade
in cities such as Myrtle Beach. Myrtle
Beach Sun News/Baltimore Sun * Myrtle
Beach businesses rallying up bikers
Businesses tired of watching 300,000
potential customers simply roar by during the Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealers
Association Myrtle Beach Rally are coordinating events and setting up vendors.
Myrtle
Beach Sun News * Hitachi to buy Honeywell
plant
Tokyo-based Hitachi Metals will purchase the Metglas Solutions Division
of Honeywell, which has a plant in Conway. Myrtle
Beach Sun News, Anderson
Independent-Mail * Decline in gas prices
could end
Gasoline prices dropped slightly over the past week, continuing
a two-month downward spiral following a March record high level of $1.51 a gallon.
Orangeburg
Times and Democrat
Lexington County to purchase Pelion airport
Lexington
County Council has agreed to pay $250,000 for the 145 acres that make up the drag
strip-turned-airport. The
State
Greenville celebrates National Tourism Week
Visitors to Greenville County bring in more than $45 million every year, improving
the area's economy and lessening the tax burden on residents, a Greenville tourism
official said Wednesday. Greenville
News * Electrolux names new vice-president.
Anderson
Independent-Mail * Yanagawa to expand
Yanagawa
of South Carolina, a Japanese supplier of parts for Honda ATVs, said it will increase
the size of its facility in Clarendon County. Manning
Times, Florence
Morning News
USC
considers department merger
The departure of the dean of USC's largest
college increases the chance for a possible merger between the College of Liberal
Arts and the College of Science and Mathematics, USC officials say. The
State BMW awards German study grant to Clemson
BMW Manufacturing
will give $150,000 over the next three years to Clemson university to help more
students study German. Spartanburg
Herald-Journal * Riley supports students
Charleston
City Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. revealed a stopgap pilot summer school program
last week that will connect community volunteers and borderline elementary and
middle school students. Charleston
City Paper * Sanders proposes law school
Alex
Sanders, the famed state judge, is trying to create a private law school. Charleston
City Paper
Greenville County receives five new principals
New principals have been named for five Greenville County schools: Hillcrest,
Berea and Southside high schools, and Greer and Blue Ridge middle schools. Greenville
News * Darlington school budget gets
tentative approval
The Darlington County Board of Education gave preliminary
approval Monday to a proposed $63.1 million general operations budget for fiscal
2004 that currently includes a $915,000 tax hike. Hartsville
Messenger
Plan for Dreher school may be delayed
Parts
of Richland 1's proposals for Dreher High School may be compromised, as Columbia
City Council voted Wednesday to grant the Melrose neighborhood "historic"
designation. The
State Attorney General McMaster defends
his opinion on Dreher expansion. WIS-TV
Spartanburg schools face change
The addition of an elementary school
along with the retirement of a principal at another have marked the beginning
of a chain reaction of administrative changes in Spartanburg County School District
2. Spartanburg
Herald-Journal
Experts
worry quake could break SRS fire barrier
A federal safety board has suggested
revising the design of a proposed nuclear "pit" disassembly plant at
the Savannah River Site after discovering that an earthquake-induced fire could
spew radiation to the public. Greenville
News * Inland falls prey
to flooding
In the last 30 years, the most dangerous place to be in a hurricane
or tropical storm has been inland, where six in 10 deaths have occurred. Myrtle
Beach Sun News/AP Officials
say dredging was a violation
State officials said Wednesday that the South
Island Dredging Association violated its state permit based on initial examinations
of the water in Calibogue Sound near the project site in Sea Pines. Hilton
Head Island Packet Upstate gathers clean air ideas
Three Upstate county councils will soon devise a plan of action for a major spring
cleaning of their air. WYFF-TV
Lunar eclipse tonight. WBTW-TV Beaufort looking to
increase recycling
Beaufort is looking for ways to make more residents
recycle and may resort to policing household garbage if citizens don't stop throwing
away recyclables. Beaufort
Gazette
*
Malpractice premiums to rise
South Carolina's two biggest medical malpractice
insurers will increase premiums an average of 24.1 percent for the coming year.
Post
and Courier Protecting ventilation the key in fighting disease and
bioterrorism
Efforts to protect public health since Sept. 11 have ignored
air exchange systems in indoor arenas and other big buildings where large numbers
of people gather. Greenville
News *
Fewer volunteering for smallpox vaccination. WLTX-TV
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Obituary
engine
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can click on the links below and easily view today's Obituaries in each of the
following papers: | 
$88
million sewer expansion set to begin
Western Carolina Regional
Sewer Authority has slated construction to begin this summer on an $88.5 million
expansion of its Pelham Wastewater Treatment Plant south of Interstate 85 in Greer.
Greenville
News Columbia budget increase faces opposition
Three of seven
Columbia City Council members are not in favor of increasing the budget for a
fledgling city department by $550,000 this year because they are unsure of what
the office has accomplished. The
State Two former Beaufort deputies to be honored
during National Police Week in DC. Hilton
Head Island Packet * Restaurant health
inspections decrease
The Richland County Health Department is lowering
the number of restaurant inspections due to state budget cuts. Columbia
Free Times * York County taxpayers to
shell out money to fix roads
Approximately $678,000 could go toward repairing
some of York County's worst roads under the proposed 2003-2004 county budget.
Rock
Hill Herald
Columbia commission turns down monument
Columbia's
Memorial Park Commission rejected a request to install a donated monument to honor
recipients of the Purple Heart. The
State
Special operations team formed in Laurens
Laurens
County has coordinated its long-overdue emergency response team and reduced the
need to call on neighboring counties for assistance. Greenville
News Daufuskie residents may have to register golf carts. Hilton
Head Island Packet
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Letters
engine
You
can click on the links below and easily view today's letters to the editor in
each of the following papers: | 
Charter
high school teaches lessons "In its first three years, the Greenville
Tech Charter High School experienced more than its share of challenges, including
severe financial straits, infighting among board members and an attempt by some
to shut down the school. Now, the four-year-old school is on solid financial ground
and ready to help other charter schools avoid some of the difficulties it has
faced." Greenville
News Tax swap plan has potential
"The State House is abuzz with talk of a plan to overhaul our tax system
and our school funding system. The details change daily, and the House leaders
backing the plan aren't even sure they will bring it out, but the idea is being
discussed enough behind the scenes that it's time to bring it into the light of
day and analyze its potential effects on our tax system." The
State
Business support for gas tax hike uncommon
"An
increase in South Carolina's 16 cent per gallon gasoline tax and a change in the
distribution formula probably won't become reality this year, but three Beaufort
County groups have excellent points for consideration. State lawmakers may squander
an opportunity to use the force of the tourism industry to push through a hike
in the state's gasoline tax if they don't act quickly." Beaufort
Gazette Counselors would assist vulnerable borrowers
"Unscrupulous
lenders who make loads of cash by duping poor, elderly and unsophisticated borrowers
fear that. They would rather consumers not get sound advice before accepting loans."
The
State * Bluffton should increase communication
"Bluffton's
police department has outgrown its office in Town Hall and was looking to move
and share space with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, which could also stand
to have a facility in the rapidly expanding town." Carolina
Morning News * Retrial needed
"The
S.C. Supreme Court's order this week that death-row resident James Nathaniel Bryant
III's murder conviction be revoked will anger many local folks. He stands accused
of murdering Horry County police Cpl. Dennis Lyden in brutal fashion. Now, Mr.
Lyden's family and friends must await the outcome of a new trial, always an upsetting
experience." Myrtle
Beach Sun News * CCU dean steps down
"Life
at Coastal Carolina University will lose some of its verve now that Dr. Bob Squatriglia,
longtime dean of students, has retired. In his 25 years on the job, he met students'
needs so capably and imaginatively that students elevated his nickname, "Dr.
Bob," to a term of endearment."
Myrtle Beach Sun News * Charleston Legislature
in need of restraint
"There are indications the Charleston Legislative
Delegation may now be willing to consider trimming its local office budget by
a few thousand dollars as requested by Charleston County Council. It would be
a symbolic gesture if nothing else." Post
and Courier * Garrison a good leader
"When
Don Garrison presided over the 40th annual commencement for Tri-County Technical
College earlier this week, he told the 375 graduates to resolve the ceremony "is
not going to be the end of learning."" Anderson
Independent-Mail * USC motto sometimes
loses meaning
"Every student who ever attended the University of South
Carolina is familiar with the class ring worn by university graduates. It features
the university seal inscribed with the university motto." Greenwood
Index-Journal * Rock Hill chooses new
police chief
"John Gregory III is Rock Hill's first black police chief.
But, more importantly, he takes office as a result of a long and painstaking search
process that reinforces the belief that he is the best available man for the job."
Rock
Hill Herald * York County celebrates
officers
"As we honor men and women in the military returning from
the successful toppling of Saddam Hussein, let us not forget those who have paid
the ultimate price while helping maintain peace and security at home." Rock
Hill Herald * Moredock: Employers cutting
corners
"In a state founded more than 300 years ago on slave labor,
that fought a Civil War to defend that source of labor, it’s not surprising
that the value of labor is little respected by the people who use it and pay for
it." Charleston
City Paper * The Wandering Eye: Legislature
experiencing controversy
"The end of the cycle of any state legislature
is a tense time. And the South Carolina General Assembly is no exception to this
observation." Charleston
City Paper * Cavanaugh: Strand communities
should work together
"Coastal Carolina University and The Sun News
organized a Growth Summit 2003 on May 2. I attended that meeting, as I had done
also last year. The key to handling growth of the Grand Strand is, as stated,
communities working together." Myrtle
Beach Sun News Shaw: Seniors affected by Medicare therapy
"With many of our essential health-care programs for seniors under pressure
from budget freezes and outright cuts, our Medicare beneficiaries residing in
nursing facilities in South Carolina soon will be unduly subjected to unwarranted
and arbitrary limits on their rehabilitation therapy care." Greenville
News | 
