Council's Final Vote on Four-Year Terms Tuesday

Anderson County Council will hold a final vote to approve four-year, staggered terms, for council members as part of the regular council meeting Tuesday tat 6:30 p.m. in the historic courthouse downtown

Most other counties in the state have adopted this election schedule for council, and Anderson County Council members have expressed support for the bill as it cleared the first two votes in council.

If approved, the issue would be set to votes for a referendum to allow voters in the county to determine the ultimate fate of the proposal.

County council will also take a look at the first draft of the fiscal year budget for 2016-2017 at the meeting Tuesday.

Full Agenda Here

Supreme Court Expands FBI Search of Computers

The Supreme Court on Thursday approved a rule change that would let U.S. judges issue search warrants for access to computers located in any jurisdiction despite opposition from civil liberties groups who say it will greatly expand the FBI's hacking authority.

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts transmitted the rules to Congress, which will have until Dec. 1 to reject or modify the changes to the federal rules of criminal procedure. If Congress does not act, the rules would take effect automatically.

Magistrate judges normally can order searches only within the jurisdiction of their court, which is typically limited to a few counties.

The U.S. Justice Department, which has pushed for the rule change since 2013, has described it as a minor modification needed to modernize the criminal code for the digital age, and has said it would not permit searches or seizures that are not already legal.

Google, owned by Alphabet Inc, and civil liberties groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Access Now contend the change would vastly expand the Federal Bureau of Investigation's ability to conduct mass hacks on computer networks.

They say it also could run afoul of the U.S. Constitution's protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Roads Bill, Ethics Reform Alive; Bathroom Bill Dead in S.C.

Thursday was the crossover deadline at the South Carolina Statehouse, when a bill had to have passed either the House or Senate and crossed over to the other body to have a realistic chance of becoming law this year. The deadline is actually May 1, but since that’s on a Sunday this year and lawmakers don’t meet on Fridays or Saturdays, Thursday was this year’s deadline.

A bill that doesn’t make the deadline isn’t completely dead, but it would require a two-thirds vote just to bring it up, which is unlikely.

The biggest issue of the year, fixing state roads and bridges, is still alive. The House and Senate have passed separate plans and a conference committee of three senators and three House members has started work on a final bill. The Senate also passed a bill to borrow about $2 billion for roads. Under the Senate bills, the state gas tax would not go up.

Rep. Gary Simrill, R-Rock Hill, is one of the House members on the conference committee. He says the Senate borrowing plan looks promising. “It is a five- to ten-year projection. It does much that is needed in South Carolina as far as preservation, resurfacing, expansions of roads,” he says. But he says it’s not a long-term solution to the state’s road problems.

Ethics reform is also still alive, after the Senate passed two bills Wednesday. One would require public officials to disclose the sources of their income. The other would create an independent panel to look at serious ethics complaints against lawmakers, instead of having them police themselves.

A bill to require refugees to register with the state is still alive, and so is a bill that would ban abortions after 19 weeks, except to save the life of the mother or in cases of extreme fetal anomalies. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.

Also alive is a bill to have the state borrow up to $200 million to repair crumbling school buildings.

One of the bills that’s dead for the year is the so-called “bathroom bill,” because it would have prevented transgender persons from using the bathrooms or locker rooms of the gender with which they identify. The bill never made it out of a Senate committee.

But sponsor Sen. Lee Bright, R-Spartanburg, says he’ll try to get it added to the state budget. “Basically, the budget amendment would say that any local subdivision that passes an ordinance that requires businesses to allow men in women’s restrooms, then we would take the aid to subdivisions, their state funding, away,” he says.

Another bill that’s dead would have changed the state’s disturbing schools law. Critics say the law was intended to protect students and staff from outside agitators, but it’s now being used to arrest students for discipline problems that should be handled at school.

4-Time Oscar Winner, FX Specialist, to Speak at Clemson

The visual effects that help make films such as “Avatar” and “The Hobbit” trilogy come to life will take center stage on May 3 when four-time Academy Award winner Joe Letteri visits Clemson University.

Letteri, the senior VFX supervisor at Weta Digital, has been at the forefront of many modern techniques and specializes in the creation of realistic characters, ranging from the dinosaurs of “Jurassic Park” to Caesar in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.”

His talk, “Bringing the Virtual to Reality: Creating the VFX Image,” will be at 12 p.m. in 119 McAdams Hall.

Letteri has won Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects on “Avatar,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” and “King Kong.”

He also received the Academy’s Technical Achievement Award for co-developing the subsurface scattering technique that brought the character Gollum to life in “The Hobbit.”

At Clemson, Letteri plans to discuss the changing landscape of visual effects creation and the integration of virtual tools into the film production process.

Letteri plans to begin his talk with the origins of virtual production, going back to “The Lord of the Rings” and continuing through “Avatar,” “The Adventures of Tintin,” “The Hobbit” trilogy and the “Planet of the Apes” franchise.

Most recently, Letteri has been focused on Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the Roald Dahl book “The BFG” and Luc Besson’s new sci-fi epic, “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.”

For more, go to: https://www.cs.clemson.edu/socseminar/s2016/abstracts/letteri_abstract.pdf

Celebrate Anderson Bringing Charlie Daniels to Town

The long-haired country boy himself will be the featured guest at Celebrate Anderson, performing Sept. 4 at the William A. Floyd Amplitheater at the Anderson Civic Center.

Anderson's annual Labor Day celebration will also feture a weekend of other concerts and outdoor events. Daniels will perform Sunday night just before the grand finale fireworks display.

“There’s no need to look further than your hometown for something to do this Labor Day weekend, its right here in Anderson County,” said County Council Chairman Tommy Dunn.

New to this year’s Celebrate Anderson will be a family fun area filled with activities for children and the young at heart. The area will be free and open to the public prior to the concerts on the front lawn of the Civic Center from 2-5 p.m. 

Poll: Most in S.C. Still Favor Confederate Flag Removal

A majority of S.C. residents continue to think it was the right decision to remove the flag. The latest Winthrop Poll showed that 57 percent of whites and 87 percent of blacks favored the decision.

S.C. African-American residents surveyed in poll believe that racism is the most important problem facing the country.

The poll, released this morning, touches on several topics, beginning with how blacks and whites in South Carolina view issues differently.

According to the release, last summer, S.C. legislators voted to remove the Confederate battle flag from the State House grounds. The decision came after nine African-American church members, including the pastor who was a S.C. state senator, were gunned down in their Charleston church in what was viewed as a racially motivated killing.

The issue of race was mentioned by African Americans in South Carolina more often than politicians/government, jobs/unemployment and education, in that order.

Speaking about this survey, Winthrop Poll director, Scott Huffmon said,

"In the past year or so, we have had multiple events that raised conversations about race in South Carolina," said Winthrop Poll Director Scott Huffmon "The time seemed right to take an accurate measure of where race relations in South Carolina really stand."

Check here for poll questions and answers.

Senate Bill: Borrow $2 Billion to Fix S.C. Roads, Bridges

House leaders like a bill being considered by the Senate that would borrow about $2 billion for a decade of highway projects and bridge replacement in South Carolina.

The Senate may give final approval to the bill Wednesday. The proposal uses $200 million in fees and other revenue to borrow $2 billion.

The Department of Transportation would use that money to fix all the state's load-restricted bridges and 51 structurally deficient bridges on major highways. It also would expand interstates and fix bottlenecked interstate intersections.

Rep. Gary Simrill says the Senate proposal will give lawmakers time to find a more permanent funding source for roads. A conference committee also met Wednesday and is considering eventually combining the funding bill with a bill changing how the DOT is run.

GE CEO to Address May 7 Clemson Graduation

Clemson University will hold its commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 7, in Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, honoring thousands of graduates and GE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey R. Immelt.

Approximately 2,625 Bachelor of Arts degrees, 550 master’s degrees, and 85 Ph.D. degrees will be presented during three ceremonies:

• 9:30 a.m.: College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities; College of Engineering and Science
• 2:30 p.m.: College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences; Eugene T. Moore School of Education; College of Health, Education and Human Development
• 6:30 p.m.: College of Business and Behavioral Science

A doctoral hooding ceremony for Ph.D. candidates will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday, May 5, at the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts on campus.

University officials will bestow an honorary Doctorate of Humanities on GE Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey R. Immelt during the 9:30 a.m. ceremony for his continued partnership with Clemson University as well as his devotion to excellence in business and to improving the lives of citizens around the globe.

Sheriff's Dept. Warns of Scams

Anderson County Sheriff's Department is warning residents in Anderson about the dangers of potential phone scams, after investigators said county residents lost more than $17,000 to scammers in April.

Anderson County Sheriff's Lt. Sheila Cole detailed the incidents Wednesday:

• A Pelzer couple lost $1,275 to an out-of-state individual by providing him with their bank account password, in exchange for a chance to make some easy money.
• A Belton woman sent $500 to a scammer in Nigeria who claimed to be a US soldier stationed in Iraq that needed money for an air flight back to the United States.
• Another local woman sent an engagement ring valued at $6,700 to a buyer in Australia that she found on the website LetGo.com, only to find out that the Pay-Pal receipt she received was not legitimate.
• An Easley man lost $8,964 to an individual who claimed to be with the Internal Revenue Service. The scammer told the victim that he owed back taxes and would be arrested if the amount was not paid. In the Easley incident, the scammer even called the victim later that day from a number that showed up on caller ID as being from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.  The scammer told the victim he had a warrant “in hand” and was ready to serve it if the victim was unable to pay.

Cole said the scam artists are using equipment to spoof caller ID and display fake phone listings.

“This practice of caller ID spoofing is not new but it can be intimidating, especially if the number that shows up on your phone indicates the call is coming from a law enforcement office,” Cole said. 

Sheriff John Skipper said his office would not be calling to serve a warrant for the IRS.

“The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office does not work for the IRS and we do not serve warrants on their behalf,” Skipper said “If you receive one of these fraudulent calls, simply hang up.  Don’t lose your hard earned money to these thieves.  They are out to steal from you rather than doing an honest day’s work.”

Skipper also advised people to never give out personal or bank account information to anyone over the phone and to “only deal with reputable, established merchants.”

“One final note,” Skipper added, “if an individual asks you to send them money by a money gram, iTunes gift card or any other money-type card, be aware that this could be a scam.”

If you lose money as the result of a scam, deputies said to contact your local law enforcement agency and also go to www.treasury.gov to make an official federal report.

Anderson Fair to Open Thursday

Anderson County will kick off the Great Anderson County Fair at the Anderson Sports & Entertainment Center Thursday, with a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. The ribbon cutting will take place at the main entrance of ASEC complex, where a new fair entrance gate has been installed welcoming all to the fair.

In conjunction with the ribbon cutting, Anderson County will announce the entertainment for this year’s Celebrate Anderson, in its 18th annual free outdoor concert that will conclude with a patriotic fireworks finale.

For more information on this year's fair, visit here.

Publix Donates $20,000 in Food to AIM

Publix employees from across the Upstate will volunteer in Publix’s Day of Caring at Anderson Interfaith Ministries on Wednesday.

Officials said Publix is also donating $20,000 worth of food for use in AIM’s hunger ministries. The supermarket also donated $11,000 to help AIM continue serving the community through their other programs.

In addition to food assistance, AIM offers emergency assistance programs, employment pathways, housing programs, and a Christmas gift program.

More about AIM here.

AIM officials said 80 employees from Greenville, Anderson, and Clemson area stores will paint, perform yard work, and work in the food pantry at the facility on South Murray Avenue.

S.C. Senate Makes Jan. 17 Eartha Kitt Day

Senators have given key approval to make every January 17th in South Carolina "Eartha Kitt Day" in honor of the late actress.

The Senate approved the bill 35-5 on Tuesday. After one more routine vote, it heads to Gov. Nikki Haley's desk.

Kitt was born on Jan. 17, 1927, on a farm near North in Orangeburg County.

She spent six decades in entertainment, getting her big break dancing with the Katherine Dunham troupe. She sang on stage, movies and television and called herself a "sex kitten," punctuated with a cat-like purr.

Kitt won two Emmys and also was nominated for several Tonys and two Grammys. She died in 2008.

Democratic Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter of Orangeburg has been working for years to honor Kitt.

House Oks $200 Million to Repair S.C. Schools

The South Carolina House has approved borrowing up to $200 million annually for building and repairing K-12 schools.

The House voted 98-5 Tuesday on legislation meant to partly address the state Supreme Court's ruling in November 2014 that the Legislature must do more to provide educational opportunities in poor, rural school districts.

Borrowing would not begin until next year. The proposal first requires a statewide evaluation of districts' infrastructure needs. Legislators would then get a priority list of projects approved by the State Board of Education.

Gov. Nikki Haley proposed the idea in January, saying she can't ignore the leaky roofs, moldy walls and other unsafe conditions in schools she visits. She said then that education includes improving the buildings where students spend most of their day.