Saturday, May 18, 2013
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. …
Friday, May 17, 2013
Biggest month-to-month drop in 25 years.
The unemployment rate in South Carolina fell from 8.4 percent in March to 8.0 in April, according to the latest report from the Department of Employment and Workforce. The month-to-month decrease is the largest since May of 1987 and the overall unemployment rate is now the lowest it's been since October 2008. Since April 2012 more than 26,000 jobs have been added to South Carolina's economy. All 46 counties added jobs in the last month and three counties--Charleston, Greenville and Lexington--now have unemployment rates below 6 percent. Four counties saw their rates drop a full point since March--Marion, Horry, Barnwell and York. "This drop in unemployment is yet another piece of great news for South Carolina," said Governor Nikki Haley…
Claims stem from whistleblower suit brought by SC employee.
RS Medical has agreed to settle Medicare fraud claims following a whistleblower suit by one of its South Carolina employees, U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said. The Vancouver, Wash.-based company, which maintains an Upstate location at 1200 Woodruff Road, has agreed to pay $1,214,665 to settle the claims against it, he said. According to Nettles, employees of RS Medical in South Carolina and Illinois submitted claims to Medicare for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) Units, conductive garments for TENS Units, back braces, cervical traction systems, muscle stimulators, and custom-fit knee braces that either lacked physician orders, lacked the required supporting documentation, and/or lacked medical necessity. The …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Video has group's leader explaining the dealings with IRS.
The IRS scandal that has rocked Washington, DC and the Obama Administration has also affected groups in South Carolina. Reports last week revealed that the IRS had specifically targeted conservative groups for more rigorous vetting of non-profit status than usual. Subsequently, the IRS confirmed that right-leaning groups seeking 501(c)4 status were in fact put under greater scrutiny. The temporary director of the IRS resigned yesterday in the wake of the revelations. At least two conservative groups in South Carolina were among those targeted, one in Myrtle Beach and one in Laurens County. Joe Dugan of the Myrtle Beach Tea Party spoke about his experience at a press conference this morning in Washington, DC. Yesterday, Dianne Belsom, the …
Palmetto State ranks last along with five others.
The Center for Public Integrity, a government watchdog group that monitors, among other things, transparency in campaign financing, has given South Carolina an “F” on its latest report card. The states were asked the five questions below and given grades on their responses: South Carolina received the lowest possible score, a zero. Only five other states were as low—Alabama, Indiana, New Mexico, New York and North Dakota. The report notes that most states have less stringent campaign finance reporting rules and they often receive less media coverage. View the full report here. In the Palmetto State, groups not linked to a candidate are not required to disclose how much was given to them or by whom. Nor are they required to disclose how …
But Haley said the charges are baseless and use of plane was approved by State Ethics Commission.
UPDATED: 4:45 p.m. The state planes are once again a source of controversy. After Democrats accused Gov. Nikki Haley of using a state plane to transport a videographer for political purposes, the spokesman for the governor said she violated no ethics laws. Rob Godfrey, citing Cathy Hazlewood of the State Ethics Commission in a February email, said, “A videographer is a legitimate expense for the Governor’s office, so it is also a legitimate expense to be paid from her campaign funds pursuant to 8-13-1348(A).” Sen. Joel Lourie (D-Richland) who was one of four Democrats at a Statehouse press conference on Thursday morning, said that though Haley may not be in violation of the letter of the law, she was breaking the spirit of it. Lourie …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
National Transportation Safety Board recommends states adopt tougher standard to reduce drunk driving deaths
The National Transportation Safety Board says that many people are killed each year by drivers who are not drunk under legal standards, but have impaired vision, reaction times and decision-making skills due to alcohol. The NTSB is recommending that states adopt a tougher standard in defining when a person is drunk and should not be behind the wheel, according to the New York Times. It's recommending that states change their laws and reduce allowable blood-alcohol concentration by more than a third from .008 percent to 0.05 percent. More than 100 countries have adopted the 0.05 percent blood-alcohol concentration standard, WSPA reports. Such changes, NTSB officials believe, would reduce drinking and driving by reducing the number of drinks…
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Say bi-partisan effort should be an example for the House.
In a press conference at the Statehouse on Tuesday, Treasurer Curtis Loftis and Sen. Vincent Sheheen (D-Kershaw) announced the need to establish a special fund that would compensate victims of the Department of Revenue’s cybersecurity breach last September. Loftis and Sheheen made the announcement as the House begins deliberations over the budget. The measure they called for would require an amendment to the existing budget bill. In order to be reimbursed from the fund, a South Carolina taxpayer would have to submit a claim to the Treasurer’s office and proof that a financial loss occurred as a result of the breach. More than six million people may have been affected by the hack. Read Patch's coverage of it HERE. Last month, Sheheen …
Monday, May 13, 2013
Suggests November election results might have been different.
Lindsey Graham learned a long time ago that a politician who tries to please everyone doesn’t stay a politician for long. He’s the rare elected official who can infuriate and pander to the same group of people within a matter of minutes. Considering he is up for re-election next year, it might seem prudent for Graham to dial back the rhetoric, but if Monday is any indication that won’t be happening any time soon. That Graham, the one who sounds ready to impeach Barack Obama as quickly as he would talk fiscal policy with the President over dinner, was on full display during a session with the media in Greenville. On Benghazi “We still don’t know who changed the talking points, but they were unconnected to reality on the ground,” Graham …
Slated to close June 15 because of federal sequestration budget cuts, the tower at SCTAC will remain open.
The Donaldson Center air traffic tower at the SC Technology & Aviation Center (SCTAC) will remain open after all. The Federal Aviation Administration, which had planned to close the local tower and 148 others nationwide, will remain open thanks to recent Congressional legislation. Sequestration required the FAA to cut $253 million, resulting in the FAA’s plans to furlough air traffic controllers and close the towers, including two others in South Carolina, GSA Business reported. Recent legislation in Congress, however, gives the FAA the ability to reprogram existing funds to keep the towers open, the paper explained. SCTAC said it would not have been able to fund the Donaldson Center itself, and feared a closure would create safety issues…
Alex Saitta
6:55 am on Sunday, May 19, 2013
One more statistics. The number of people on the payroll in the US stands at 135.474 million. That is down from its peak of 138.056 in January 2008. Sure more people have been rehired the last few years, but employment is still down about 2.5 million the past 5 years. The population of the country has grown the last five years. In sum, we have less working and more people in the country. That's … more ›