Senate to Allow Schools to Vote on Sales-Tax Hike

At virtually the last minute on Thursday, the S.C. Senate has passed a bill that will give S.C. School Boards the authority to ask voters to approve a one-cent sales tax in the November general election.

A successful vote then would provide funds to assist school districts in providing new school construction. Thursday’s vote now only awaits the signature of Gov. Nikki Haley.

The Senate vote was passed 35-5, following a lengthy filibuster by Sen. Kevin Bryant of Anderson County. 

Johnny Mann Passes Peacefully at Anderson Home

Legendary show business conductor Johnny Mann died peacefully at his home on Wednesday, June 18, 2014, according to his wife, Betty. Mr. Mann was 85. He had been active until the last, attending a two-hour rehearsal for the Concert of Hope and Remembrance on Tuesday night.

Mr. Mann, known as “John” to his friends, began his music career in the late 1940s in his native Baltimore, Maryland. He served in the army as a member of the U.S. Army Field Band and relocated to Los Angeles after his honorable discharge to continue his professional music career. In his career as a singer, entertainer, choral director, arranger, composer and producer, he worked with some of the biggest names in show business, including Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Nat King Cole, Danny Kaye, Joey Bishop, Regis Philbin and Kelsey Grammer. [Photo at left shows Regis, Johnny and Joey during his days as music director for “The Joey Bishop Show.”] He released 40 albums, won two Grammy awards, had his own television show, “Johnny Mann’s Stand Up and Cheer,” and performed at the White House twice with his Johnny Mann Singers. He was also the voice of Theodore in “Alvin and the Chipmunks” in the 1950s and early 1960s.

John and his wife Betty retired to Anderson, S.C., in 2005, where he continued to produce radio station jingles, guest conduct around the country and participate in local choirs. He was presented an honorary doctorate by Anderson University in 2010 and wrote the university’s new alma mater, “The Sounds of Anderson.” 

In 2013, John released his memoir “The Music Mann: My Life in Song,” a rich telling of his experiences during the golden years of Hollywood choral music. Not only a  show business memoir, it is the testimony of one man’s relationship with God and how his faith guided, nurtured and sustained him in very bleak times. 

The Manns celebrated their 30^th wedding anniversary in August 2013. John has two daughters from a previous marriage, and Betty has a daughter and son from a previous marriage as well. Funeral arrangements are being made with McDougald Funeral Home, with a celebration of John’s life planned  June 27 and 28^th to allow out-of-town family and friends to travel to Anderson.

For more information about John’s life, visit his website, www.johnnymannsingers.com.

S.C. Senate rejects Pay Raise

S.C. State senators voted Wednesday night to reject a $12,000-a-year raise that they earlier inserted in the state budget.

The vote sustained a veto by Gov. Nikki Haley, and came a day after the S.C. House voted to override Haley’s veto and accept the raise.

Thirty-two senators voted to sustain Haley’s veto of the raise, which would cost $2 million a year. Only 10 senators voted to override the veto.

However, the Senate could reconsider the veto Thursday, its final day in session this year. Several senators switched their votes at the last minute Wednesday, a parliamentary maneuver designed to ensure the vote is reconsidered.

As of Wednesday, the House and Senate had sustained $2.7 million of the governor’s $18.5 million in vetoes to the state’s $7 billion general fund budget that takes effect July 1.

Supporters say the pay raise – a $1,000-a-month increase in legislative expenses – is justified to pay the higher cost of gas as lawmakers travel around their more populous legislative districts.

South Carolina lawmakers now are paid a $10,400 a year salary. They also get $12,000 for in-district expenses. Legislators also receive mileage costs, and $140 a day for hotel accommodations and food costs while the Legislature is session.

Haley vetoed the raise, condemning the way lawmakers went about increasing their pay. She said the raise should be decided by voters.

The pay raise was the last veto to be considered by the Senate, which spent more than six hours going through 61 vetoes the House had voted to overrule.

Senators joined the House in restoring earmarks for museums that Haley had vetoed, including state money for the Woodrow Wilson Family Home in Columbia, the Greenville Children’s Museum and the S.C. Hall of Fame in Myrtle Beach.

Full Story Here

Respite Care Funds Restored in S.C. Budget

Thousands of South Carolinians who are caring in their homes for loved ones with illnesses or disabilities will be able to get some help, after state senators voted Wednesday to restore $2 million to the state budget. Gov. Nikki Haley had vetoed the money that would be used for respite care.

Respite care provides a break to those caregivers so they can run errands, get some rest, or just have a break from providing round-the-clock care. Amy Davenport cares for her 29-year-old daughter Stephanie, who has a neurological disorder. "She's what they call total care, as far as dressing and toileting, bathing, eating, taking medication," she says.

She says having someone come in to provide care temporarily gives her a much-needed break. "Families have a very hard time, when you have a child with a disability, or a parent, or anyone else that takes your care, those marriages have a lot of strain on them, so for us it's a good time of refreshing, reconnecting," she says.

Davenport was at a “Respite Summit” for caregivers and state agencies in Columbia while the Senate was voting on the governor’s vetoes.

SC Respite Coalition director Susan Robinson says respite keeps people out of nursing homes, so it saves taxpayers much more than the $2 million cost of the respite vouchers.

"A quarter of the population is involved in some sort of caregiving,” she says. “That does not mean they all need respite. But if a quarter of American families and South Carolina families are doing some form of caregiving, if even 1 percent of them need respite it is a colossal number of people."

Senate Elects McGill as Lt. Governor

The state Senate twice elected a president pro tempore Wednesday, allowing Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell to resign and focus on his new responsibilities as president of the College of Charleston.

The power shift wasn't without controversy: One senator alleged a coup had taken place because of opposition to the University of Charleston bill.

Senators elected Yancey McGill, D-Kingstree, to the leadership position without opposition. He was sworn in as lieutenant governor after McConnell resigned. A Democrat has not held the seat since 1995, also under a Republican governor. 

Minutes later, Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, was subsequently elected president pro tempore, making him the most powerful member of the General Assembly. Leatherman also chairs the Senate Finance Committee.

McGill, a 26-year Senate veteran, praised McConnell's work as a senator and as lieutenant governor.

"Senator McConnell's academia and his strength could have been about Charleston," McGill said. "But it was not about Charleston. It was about helping every member in this chamber. ... And I just want to tell you that I appreciated the amount of love and compassion."

Home Depot Volunteers to Work on Civic Center Fields

The Anderson Home Depot, located at 3427 Clemson Blvd., is partnering with the Anderson Sports Center and Keep America Beautiful Program of the Upstate on a volunteer based project to restore the Anderson Sports and Entertainment Center ball field grounds, concession common areas and entrance. 

This event is happening on Thursday from 8 am-1pm and will be at the main ball field entrance 3047 Martin Luther King Blvd. This project will consist of remulching, landscaping as well as pressure washing and fence repainting. More than 25 volunteers and coordinators are expected attend the event and lend a hand for this project.

County Finance Committee to Meet Thursday

The Finance Committee of the Anderson County Council will meet Thursday at 10 a.m in the historic courhouse downtown. The agenda includes Armory security enhancements, communications consoles, a 2014 JAG grant and the STARS system.

The public is invited.

The Fox Closes Downtown Restaurant

The Fox at Anderson, a downtown English Pub-restaurant-sandwich shop, announced this morning that the establishment is now closed.

John Martin, who started the restaurant in 2009, said the business was just not turning a profit in 300 block of South Main Street.

In a post on the restaurant's Facebook Page, the following message appeared late last night:

"Thanks for the memories folks, but due to some circumstances beyond my control, and others within my control, The Fox at Anderson is no more. We have officially closed the doors for good. I will be posting a longer version of the details. For now I just want to say thank you to all of you that supported us throughout the years."

County's Last Budget Workshop Set for June 24

Anderson County Council will hold the final budget workshop on the county's 2014-2015 budget June 24 at 6 p.m. in the historic courthouse downtown.

Council Adopts Motto, Gives Final OK to Irish Company

Anderson County Council on Tuesday night passed a resolution to display the motto "In God We Trust" in a prominent place in the Council Chambers in the historic courthouse downtown. Council announced a plan to reschedule the July 1 meeting to vote on third reading the 2014-2015 budget. 

Council also unanimously made official the tax-incentive agreement with Ireland-based E&I Engineering, the United Kingdom's leading provider of switchgear and power distribution solutions, bringing 250 jobs to Anderson as they build their company's first facility. The agreement makes official the announcement made in May.

The company will occupy the 50,000 sq. ft. Supreme building on Harris Bridge Road near Interstate 85 in Anderson, and will serve the North American Market. The move will bring a $17 million investment and 250 jobs to the county over the next five years. The jobs will iinclude, among others, electrical engineering and CAD designers. E&I which will build an additional 100,000 sq. ft. expansion of the facility over the next five years, will manufacture switchgear and busducts.

"This brings the total capital investments for the first half of 2014 in Anderson County is $720 million which created 336 jobs," said Anderson County Economic Director Buriss Nelson. 

Earlier Anderson County Councilwoman Cindy Wilson expressed her concerns on details of the 2014-2015 budget.

"The good news is we have incredible economic gain in our county," Wilson said, thanking Anderson County Administrator Rusty Burns and Economic Development Director Burris Nelson. Wilson also said progress had been made on the sewer fund.

The not-so-good news, according to Wison, was shortfalls in the EMS budget, a request for a .6 millage increase by the Anderson County Sheriff's Department, an increased projected loss for the Civic Center and a dramatic increase in the cost of health insurance for county employees.

Wilson suggested that the county's part in covering health insurance costs for employees should be considered an across the board benefit. She suggested that pay raises be given only as merit raises to employees with increased duties or exceptional performance.

Anderson County employees have not received an increase in salary in more than six years.

Wilson also pointed out the projected decrease of around 40 percent in legal costs for county for the coming budget year. 

Council also:

Agreed to amend the Joint County Industrial Park with Greenville County to enlarge the park.

Agreed to limit some vehicles from Cason Road.

 Approved on second reading, an agreement on the revenues of the Joint Industrial Park.

Approved on second reading the acceptance of certain right of way propery on Marina Road.

Accepted a group of roads into the county road system.

Study: U.S. Health Care World's Worst

The U.S. healthcare system notched another dubious honor in a new comparison of its quality to the systems of 10 other developed countries: its rank was dead last. 

The new study by the Commonwealth Fund ranks the U.S. against seven wealthy European countries and Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It's a follow-up of previous surveys published in 2010, 2007, 2006 and 2004, in all of which the U.S. also ranked last.

With enactment of health reform, the U.S. should be able to make significant strides in improving the delivery, coordination, and equity of the health care system in coming years.- Commonwealth Fund

 

Although the U.S. ranked in the middle of the pack on measures of effectiveness, safety and coordination of care, it ranked dead last on access and cost, by a sufficient margin to rank dead last overall. The breakdowns are in the chart above.

Conservative pundits hastened to explain away these results after the report was published. See Aaron Carroll for a gloss on the "zombie arguments" put forth against the clear evidence that the U.S. system falls short. 

In the conservative Washington Examiner, for instance, Philip Klein complains that the study is "rigged to produce a result that favors socialized health care systems." He observes, accurately, that the low ranking for the U.S. results heavily from its lack of universal healthcare and thus scores low on "equity." He doesn't seem to think that's a bad thing. "It's an ideological decision to view equity as one of the most important factors in judging a health care system," he writes.

So there you have it: The principle that healthcare should be available to all is just "ideology." It doesn't matter if a huge percentage of your citizens can't get healthcare, as long as the people with access do all right.

Full Story Here

House Overrides Most of Haley Vetoes

The South Carolina House voted Tuesday to override most of Gov. Nikki Haley's vetoes, including $2 million for elderly caregivers.

The House voted 103-6 to keep the money in the budget for programs designed to help seniors live at home independently. It was among $18.5 million the Republican governor struck from the Legislature's $7 billion spending plan for state taxes that takes effect July 1.

Of her 76 vetoes, the House sustained just 15 of them, tallying $1.4 million. Eight of those items designated no money.

The Senate is expected on Wednesday to take up the 61 items the House voted to restore. It takes a two-thirds vote by both the House and Senate to override.

The House voted 79-21 to retain a $1,000 monthly increase for lawmakers' in-district expenses, which would double the stipend that hasn't changed since 1995 to $24,000 yearly. Haley, a former three-term House member, said legislators should ask voters if they deserve a raise.

Rep. Nathan Ballentine, R-Chapin, agreed with the governor.

"Voters talk to me about roads, schools and jobs, not more money for the General Assembly," he said.

But Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Charleston, said that couldn't take effect for at least four years. The Charleston Republican said the Legislature needs to increase pay to attract good candidates. Legislators' base salary is $10,400, also unchanged since 1995. They also receive mileage reimbursements for driving to Columbia and stipends to help cover food and hotel rooms while here. Merrill said that doesn't nearly compensate for the time involved.

"More and more people are saying they simply can't afford to serve in the General Assembly," he said. "People say they want better folks in the House of Representatives and Senate but nobody wants to pay them to come here. We're creating a scenario exactly the opposite of what people who want change are trying to achieve."

Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell said Tuesday he was stunned Haley vetoed money for the Office on Aging, which the lieutenant governor oversees.

Haley said there's legitimacy in the program, but the agency is growing too fast. Even after her veto, she said, the office gets nearly $13 million next year from the state, compared with $4.5 million four years ago.

Anderson Teen Told to Remove Makeup for DMV Photo

An Upstate teenager was told to take off his makeup before he was allowed to get his picture taken at the DMV. However, the 16-year-old said he was not in disguise. He was dressed as who he is.

Chase Culpepper, of Anderson, was told he needed to look more like a boy before he could receive his new license.

He said he was only dressed the way he does every day to school and to his job at McDonald's. He doesn't think he violated any rules and now he wants the DMV to let him re-take his license picture, wearing makeup.

Culpepper got his license in March but felt like he had been singled out and mistreated at the DMV for dressing differently.

He went to the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, and on June 9 the group contacted the DMV explaining that Culpepper's rights had been violated.

South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles spokesperson Beth Parks said it's important for a license picture to portray who the person is legally.

"When this young man has to show his ID, his ID shows that he's male. The card says he's male [and therefore], he needs to look like a male," said Parks.

She explained that if someone is transgender and changes their name and gender through the courts, the DMV will honor that change.

According to the South Carolina DMV's photo policy, which was updated in 2009:

"At no time will an applicant be photographed when it appears that he or she is purposefully altering his or her appearance so that the photo would misrepresent his or her identity."

Culpepper said he thinks people should be able to walk into the DMV and take a picture no matter what he or she is wearing.

"This is how I am every day. And if a police officer wanted to recognize how I am, then, he would want to see who I am in my picture as well," said Culpepper.

His mom has stood behind him throughout and said she is appalled that her government is telling her son that he needs to conform to specific ideals of what a man should look like.

Culpepper hopes his story can be part of a movement toward change so that others don't go through what he did.

Parks said that the staff at the DMV acted in accordance to policy. She said that Culpepper will not be allowed to take his photo with makeup because he needs to look like a male, as indicated on his legal identification.