Three Days Left if You Want Permit to Hunt S.C. Alligators

South Carolina’s alligator hunting season is still months away, but you have only three days to apply for a permit to hunt the crocs.

The deadline to apply online for this year’s public alligator hunting season and the Wildlife Management Area alligator hunting season is 11:59 p.m. Thursday. Applications are available at www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/alligator/index.html.

The American alligator – Alligator mississippiensis – is the only crocodilian native to South Carolina, according to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.. 

Though once listed as a federally endangered species, populations have rebounded and the alligator’s status has been upgraded to threatened due to its similarity of appearance to the threatened American crocodile, the department says on its alligator website page 

The state’s alligator populations have done so well that the Department of Natural Resources started a hunting season in 2008.

American alligators can live to be 60 or older and grow to at least 13 feet in length.

Report: S.C. Ranks 39th in Overall Child Well-Being

South Carolina has made strides when it comes to children living in poverty, children with health insurance, teen births and high school graduation rates, according to a report that will be released Tuesday.

The Palmetto State was ranked 39th nationally for overall child well-being, according the 2017 Kids Count Data Book, a report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The foundation has provided the annual report since 1990 to show how American children and families fare in every state.

Sue Williams, CEO of the Children’s Trust of South Carolina, said her organization is encouraged by a number of items in the report, including a 40-percent decline in the state’s teen birth rate from 2010-15.

Williams also noted that since 2010, the state has seen a 14 percent decline in the number of children whose head of household lacks a high school diploma.

Still, the state has room to improve, particularly in early childhood education. Data shows the number of 3- and 4-year-old children not in school has risen by 10 percent since 2010.

“We see slow and steady progress toward improving child well-being in South Carolina, especially where we are making investments in prevention and using proactive policies that work to support children and families,” Williams said.

Full Story Here

Study: One-Third of the World's Population Overweight

More than 2 billion adults and children globally are overweight or obese and suffer health problems because of their weight, a new study reports.

This equates to one-third of the world's population carrying excess weight, fueled by urbanization, poor diets and reduced physical activity.

The United States has the greatest percentage of obese children and young adults, at 13%, while Egypt led in terms of adult obesity, with almost 35%, among the 195 countries and territories included in the study.

While 2.2 billion people were obese or overweight in 2015, more than 710 million of them were classed as obese, with 5% of all children and 12% of adults fitting into this category. 

Obesity in the US Fast Facts

An increasing number globally are dying from health problems linked to being overweight, such as cardiovascular disease, said the study, published Monday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Almost 40% of the 4 million dying as a result of their higher body mass index were not yet obese, highlighting that deaths are occurring almost as often in those considered overweight as those considered obese.

Body mass index is the ratio between a person's weight and height; a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, while anything over 30 is obese.

"People who shrug off weight gain do so at their own risk -- risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and other life-threatening conditions," said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, who worked on the study. 

"Those half-serious New Year's resolutions to lose weight should become year-round commitments to lose weight and prevent future weight gain," he said in a statement.

More

Clemson Expert Says Bad Weather Hit Peach Crop Hard

For most, peaches are a staple of summer. During the year’s warmest months, restaurant and at-home chefs get their fix by making everything from peach pies to salsas and chutneys. There is no limit to what they can create, unless there are no peaches to be found. And in 2017, that may be an unfortunate reality for many.

An unseasonably warm winter coupled with a late freeze in March has dramatically impacted peach production in South Carolina, resulting in reduced yields across the state.

“The later the freeze, the more damage it does,” said Juan Carlos Melgar, an assistant professor of pomology at Clemson who was recently quoted in The New York Times’ coverage about the shortage. “We believe the one in mid-March killed an estimated 80 to 90 percent of the state’s peach blossoms.”

Late-season freezes aren’t necessarily uncommon, but this year’s was drastic. According to Southeast FarmPress, “this marks the worst South Carolina peach crop in 10 years, since the Easter freeze of 2007 destroyed 90 percent of the crop with close to $1 billion in crop damage across the region.”

In 2016, farms also faced a freeze but only lost an estimated 10 percent of flowers. Why did the numbers increase so drastically this year? During the winter months of 2015-16, cool temperatures provided peach trees with the number of dormant hours required to produce a thriving crop, helping prevent early buds and lowering the risk of loss due to a late freeze. This winter was much warmer, producing early buds more susceptible to damage with last-minute frosts.

“Think of it as a biological clock, peach trees need cold during winter months for dormancy and we know how many hours each variety needs based on a mathematical model,” Melgar stated.

On average, peach trees in South Carolina need 650 to 1,050 dormancy hours between 45 to 32 degrees. The amount of time required depends on the peach variety, which can be summarized in two categories: low chillers and high chillers. This year, farms in the Ridge, the main peach producing area in South Carolina, experienced around 600 hours. This provided low chillers with barely enough dormant hours resulting in early blooms that were killed by the late frost. High chillers tend to bloom later so while they didn’t experience the same amount of damage from the frost, they simply didn’t receive the required number of dormancy hours, causing below average production.

While 32 degrees Fahrenheit is considered freezing, 25 degrees is typically the cutoff point where anything in full bloom or post-bloom is killed. This year, farms in the Ridge — between Columbia, South Carolina, and Augusta, Georgia — saw temperatures in the teens. On the other hand, some farms in the Upstate, where blooming occurs about 10 days later than in the Ridge, had relatively less damage. Some areas do not have any crop but there were a few farms that weren’t impacted simply because of their location.

“Depending on where the farm is, their slope and whether it’s south-facing or not impacts how much heat they receive,” Melgar continued. “Location is everything and can be very valuable.”

Will the available peaches still have that great taste we’ve all come to know and love?

“Something we normally see when there is a lack of chilling is that peaches appear more green and feel firmer than consumers are typically accustomed to,” Melgar said. “Typically, there is also a more pronounced tip, which ultimately affects shipping. There are ways to protect peaches from bumping into each other to avoid bruising, but that can impact bottom line for shipping costs.”

Peach growers will not be the only ones facing the economic impact of this spring’s frost. Farms often hire many additional hands to help prune, thin and harvest the crop, but fewer peaches means less work resulting in most farms canceling contracts and letting workers go.

So consumers looking for local peaches this summer should try local vendors rather than national retailers since many farms will sell this year’s peaches in baskets versus working with distribution centers. Mother Nature’s freeze didn’t provide South Carolina with copious peach crops, but freezing peaches at home can help people enjoy them year-round.

McMaster Vetoes Lottery Money for School Buses

Gov. Henry McMaster says he reluctantly vetoed using $20.5 million in lottery proceeds to buy new school buses in South Carolina on Monday, two of 41 vetoes that targeted what he called lawmakers' spending tricks and wasteful spending.

The vetoes of more than $56 million in the nearly $8 billion spending plan were the first since McMaster ascended to the governor's office in January after Gov. Nikki Haley resigned to work in President Donald Trump's administration.

McMaster said he wants to work out a plan to replace several hundred two-decade old school buses with rear-mounted engines that are expensive to maintain and more prone to catch fire. But he said using lottery money generated by greater sales and unclaimed prizes isn't the way to do it.

"The lottery money should be used only for scholarships for our young people because that's what voters were promised 17 years ago," McMaster said in a taped message released on social media.

State schools Superintendent Molly Spearman said she was deeply disappointed with McMaster's veto and planned to work with lawmakers to have the money restored to the budget.

"By vetoing funding for the purchase of new school buses, the governor is putting the safety of our students at risk," Spearman said in a statement. "Our school bus fleet incorporates more than 1,500 buses that are over 20 years old and not only are these old buses twice as expensive to operate and maintain, but they are also experiencing structural and mechanical issues."

McMaster issued a traditional letter describing his vetoes, but didn't plan to discuss his vetoes with reporters.

It also isn't clear when the Legislature will try to find the two-thirds support needed to override the vetoes. Before passing the budget earlier this month, lawmakers suggested they might wait until January if the governor didn't veto too much.

Other items McMaster vetoed in the budget Monday include:

STATE CONSERVATION BANK

The governor returned nearly $17 million to the state Conservation bank that was removed by the House.

McMaster, a supporter of the agency that sets aside money to help buy and protect land from development in a rapidly growing state, said the House removed the money to shut down the bank before its state mandate expires. The current law authorizes the bank continues until July 2018.

Instead of using the budget, McMaster says lawmakers should debate the bank's future through regular legislation when they return next January.

___

COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION

One of McMaster's vetoes restored power to the state Commission on Higher Education.

The Legislature stripped the agency's power to review all construction projects at South Carolina's public universities and colleges, limiting it to just new academic buildings.

McMaster said the agency provides a critical oversight role for taxpayers and must be able to review all construction spending.

South Carolina's largest universities — Clemson University and the University of South Carolina — had asked to limit the commission's role.

UNIDENTIFIABLE PORK

The governor also struck nearly $25 million out of the budget that he said went to "unidentifiable pork" programs.

Officials said lawmakers approve a budget line like "agribusiness development" without details, then individual legislators go back after the budget is approved and tell the agencies getting the money how to spend it.

"I vetoed items vaguely called 'Medical Contracts' and 'Water Quality' so ambiguous that even our agency directors don't know how all that money would be spent," McMaster said in his video.

ODDS AND ENDS

McMaster rejected $8 million to provide contraceptives for dependents of state employees covered by the state health plan. Lawmakers approved the money so dependents would be treated like employees and spouses and get contraceptives without any additional cost after visiting a doctor. The governor said state health plan administrators didn't ask for the change and it wasn't fully funded.

McMaster vetoed a provision he said would allow a single go-kart track in South Carolina to use a go-kart that does not meet standards. He did not name the track or where it was located.

The Department of Health and Environmental Services was given money to hire three new "public information consultants," McMaster said. He vetoed that proposal, saying the money could be better spent on dam inspections and safety or better technology for the agency.

But the governor didn't fully understand the proposal, the agency said. Instead, the department wants three computer experts to help move data into a newer system, DHEC spokeswoman Jennifer Read said.

Clemson Football Team to Be Honored at White House Today

The college football national champions, the Clemson Tigers, will be honored at the White House on Monday, according to a news release from Clemson University.

The Tigers will meet tour the White House and meet President Donald Trump at 3 p.m. and then head to the U.S. Capitol.

Head Coach Dabo Swinney said on June 7 that former quarterback Deshaun Watson and defensive tackle Carlos Watkins, who were both drafted by the Houston Texans, will be able to make the trip to the nation’s capital.

“I think (Houston Texas owner Bob McNair is) actually going to fly Deshaun and Carlos,” Swinney said. “So that’s really the only way they’re going to be able to get there.”

Swinney said multiple players from the national championship team who are now in NFL training camps will not be able to make the Washington trip.

“…We’ve got guys out in California and down in Miami. So, it’s just kind of hard for them, because they’re working,” Swinney said.

This will be Swinney’s second trip to the White House as a national champion, but the first time as coach. Swinney was a player on Alabama's 1992 national championship team.

Rawhide Dog Chew Toys Recalled

United Pet Group, a division of Spectrum Brands, Inc. is voluntarily recalling multiple brands of packages of rawhide dog chew products that were distributed to retail outlets and sold online in the U.S. The recall involves the brands and products described below.

The recall was initiated after  United Pet Group identified that certain of its rawhide chew manufacturing facilities located in Mexico and Colombia, as well as one of its suppliers in Brazil, were using a quaternary ammonium compound mixture as a processing aid in the manufacturing of rawhide chews. The compound is an anti-microbial chemical that is approved for cleaning food processing equipment, but it has not been approved in the U.S. as a processing aid in the production of rawhide chews for dogs.

United Pet Group received very limited reports of pet illness based on the volume of possibly affected rawhide chew products manufactured and distributed. The primary complaint received from consumers was that the affected product had an unpleasant odor. Diarrhea and vomiting were also reported.

Exposure to quaternary ammonium compounds through direct ingestion may cause the following symptoms in dogs: reduced appetite, and gastric irritation including diarrhea and vomiting. These symptoms may require treatment by a veterinarian depending on severity.

The affected product was distributed nationwide from United Pet Group’s Edwardsville, Illinois distribution facility and was delivered to consumers through various retail establishments including online outlets. All of the dog chew products included in the voluntary recall identify an expiration date ranging from 06/01/2019 through 05/31/2020 located on the back of the package.

Complete list here

Aldi $3.4B Expansion Promises 2,500 U.S. Stores by 2022

German grocery chain Aldi Inc said on Sunday it would invest $3.4 billion to expand its U.S. store base to 2,500 by 2022, raising the stakes for rivals caught in a price war.

Aldi operates 1,600 U.S. stores and earlier this year said it would add another 400 by the end of 2018 and spend $1.6 billion to remodel 1,300 of them.

The investment, which raises Aldi's capital expenditure to at least $5 billion so far this year, comes at a time of intense competition and disruption in the industry.

German rival Lidl will open the first of its 100 U.S. stores on June 15. In May, Lidl said it would price products up to 50 percent lower than rivals.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the largest U.S. grocer, is testing lower prices in 11 U.S. states and pushing vendors to undercut rivals by 15 percent. Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, is expected to spend about $6 billion to regain its title as the low-price leader, analysts said.

The furious pace of expansion by Aldi and Lidl is likely to further disrupt the U.S. grocery market, which has seen 18 bankruptcies since 2014. The two chains are also upending established UK grocers like Tesco Pl and Wal-Mart's UK arm, ASDA.

In May, Aldi Chief Executive Jason Hart told Reuters the chain intended to have prices at least 21 percent lower than rivals and would focus on adding in-house brands to win over price-sensitive customers. 

"We're growing at a time when other retailers are struggling," Hart said in a statement. Hart added that Aldi's prices were also up to 50 percent lower than traditional grocery chains, a move that appeared to follow rival Lidl's announcement on prices.

The latest store expansion will create 25,000 U.S. jobs and make Aldi the third-largest grocery chain operator in the country behind Wal-Mart and Kroger Co, the German chain said in a statement. Aldi's 2,500 stores would equal about 53 percent of Wal-Mart's U.S. outlets.

"As we continue to expand and grow, our purchasing power continues to increase and allows us to bring products at better prices for consumers," Scott Patton, Aldi's head of corporate buying, said in an interview.

Sessions to Face Senate Questions on Comey Firing

Attorney General Jeff Sessions will face questions about the firing of FBI Director James Comey and undeclared meetings with Russian officials at a U.S. Senate hearing on Tuesday, though it was unclear whether he would testify in public or in private.

Sessions, an early and ardent supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign, would be the highest government official to testify before the Senate intelligence committee in its probe of allegations that Russia may have sought to interfere in the election.

Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer and fellow Democratic Senator Jack Reed questioned on Sunday why Sessions was involved in Trump's May 9 dismissal of Comey after he had recused himself from investigations of whether Russia meddled in the election, possibly with help from Trump associates.

"There's a real question of the propriety of the attorney general participating in that in any way, shape or form," Reed said on "Fox News Sunday."

Russia has denied interfering in the U.S. election. The White House has denied any collusion with Moscow.

Sessions said in a letter on Saturday that he would appear before the committee to address matters that Comey brought up last week in testimony to the same panel.

He did not say if he would appear in open or closed session. Democrats are pushing for a public hearing. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, an intelligence committee member, asked the panel's leaders in a letter on Sunday to hold an open hearing.

A Justice Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity initially said the department expected Sessions to testify in closed session but later stressed that the decision was up to the panel's Republican chairman, Senator Richard Burr.

A Sessions spokeswoman said she did not know if it would be public. "That's a question for the committee," said Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores.

Republican Senator James Lankford, a member of the intelligence panel, told CBS' "Face the Nation" the decision was not finalized, but "I assume that this will be public."

Full Story Here

Shortage of Law Enforcement Officers Critical in S.C., U.S.

While the City of Anderson and Anderson County work to raise salaries for law enforcement in their respective fiscal budgets for 2016-2017, the problem of hiring and retaining officers is a growing trend across the state and nation.

About half of the South Carolina police academy graduates end up leaving law enforcement altogether within a year, according to the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy.

It’s a troubling trend the academy and some police departments are struggling to address. With fewer resources to work with, law enforcement agencies are being stretched thin trying to provide the public safety residents expect.

“We’re getting more to come in the door. … They’re just not staying in law enforcement,” said Maj. Florence McCants, the criminal justice academy’s administrative operations manager. “When the rubber hits the road, for various reasons, they’re just not staying in.”

Officer shortages aren’t just a South Carolina problem.

An April 2016 report by the U.S. Department of Justice shows the number of sworn police officers nationwide grew incrementally until 2012, when the total plummeted from 768,287 to 750,340.

Read More About Law Enforcement Shortages at the State Newspaper.

Legislature Finishes Week with Budget, Crime Victims Bill

Special to the Observer

The South Carolina General Assembly returned to Columbia last week to approve the final budget, which included additional funding for replacing many of our state’s aging school buses. The $28.9 million approved will allow the State to buy 298 new school buses and lease another 116 new buses.

This will still leave more than 1,000 school buses that are more than 20 years old operating in our South Carolina.  S.C. Sen. Mike Gambrell said the issue will be an ongoing item in future budgets.  To review the State Budget, visit here.

Two other bills that had been in Conference Committees also passed. One creates the S.C. Crime Victim Services Act to consolidate the majority of victim’s services programs under one office, making it a more straightforward process for both victims of crime and those who work to assist those victims.

The other bill gives limited immunity to someone who seeks medical assistance for an individual experiencing a drug or alcohol overdose. In light of the growing addiction problem across S.C. and the nation, it is hoped that this will save lives when an individual who may themselves be using drugs or alcohol can call 9-1-1 without fear of prosecution. The ‘good Samaritan’ may still be open to charges, but cannot be charged simply because they may be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol and are with the person needing medical attention.

Work on the state's roads will be going on thanks to the Infrastructure Bill that was passed in May. You can check on the projects scheduled for our area or across the state on the Department of Transportation website at www.dot.state.sc.us.    

The lawmkers will return in January of 2018 if there are no major budget vetoes from the governor. 

Hyundai Recalls 600,000 Cars in U.S.

Hyundai has announced two recalls affecting nearly 600,000 cars in the United States for hood latch and parking brake problems.

The bigger recall is 437,400 Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport SUVs from 2013 to 2017.

In a letter to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration dated June 7, the South Korean automaker said a secondary hood latch may corrode and bind, causing it to remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed. If this happens and the primary latch is inadvertently released, the hood could unexpectedly open while driving, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash, the company said.

No accidents or injuries have been related to this issue.

This problem occurs more frequently in northeastern United States, where salt is applied to the roads during winter, according to Auto News.

The second recall affects 161,074 Genesis and Sonata models from 2015 and 2016, according to a letter to the NHTSA, also dated June 7. In the problem, a parking brake light might not work because of corrosion to a switch.

Symptoms of the problem include acceleration, parking brake noise and "drag" and smoke and/or smell from driving with the applied parking brake, according to the safety recall report.

Hyundai will notify owners of the problems and the dealer will replace the items starting June 30.

Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 855-671-3059 for either recall.

FSA Issues Recall of Mibelas 23 Fe Birth Control Pills

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a nationwide recall on Mibelas 24 Fe birth control tablets, CBS Miami reports.

The packages were "rotated 180 degrees within the wallet, reversing the weekly tablet orientation and making the lot number and expiration date no longer visible," the agency said.

The four non-hormonal placebo tablets were incorrectly placed at the beginning of the sequence, pushing the active tablets back.

"As a result of this packaging error, oral contraceptive tablets that are taken out of sequence may place the user at risk for contraceptive failure and unintended pregnancy," the FDA said.

There are no reports of any adverse effects from this issue, according to the FDA.

The tablets are distributed nationally by Lupin Pharmaceuticals.

Lupin produces brands such as Methylphenidate HCI, Alinia, InspiraChamber, Antara 90mg and Suprax.

The company is notifying its distributors and customers by recall letter and is arranging for return of all recalled products.

Consumers who have the affected product should notify their physician and return the product to the pharmacy or place of purchase.

More information about this recall is posted on the FDA's website.