Plan to Remove Algae from Water Set to Begin

Almost everyone in the county has noticed their water tastes like dirt. A random survey of 10 local restaurants found that every single establishment had received complaints about the taste of water and may said even many are complaining about the taste of the iced tea.

The problem is not dirt, but blue green algae, also known as pond scum. All of Anderson is dependent on Hartwell Lake for drinking water, and, depending on whom you ask either the drought of 2012 or the record rainfall of 2013 are to blame for the dirty water.

Whatever the cause, the result is the blue‐green algae which produces Geosmin and Methylisoborneol (MIB) compounds. Long-term ingestion of these substances have been found in some studies to potentially cause liver problems. Other studies are inconclusive.

Current plans by the Anderson Regional Joint Water System are to use Powder Activated Carbon (PAC) treatment system to clean up the water beginning June 30. 

Reports from both said it could take from 4-6 weeks after the PAC process begins before water will begin to taste normal again.

The Anderson Regional Joint Water System includes:

Belton-Honea Path Water Authority

Big Creek Water & Sewerage District

Broadway Water & Sewerage District

City of Anderson

City of Clemson

Clemson University

Hammond Water District

Homeland Park Water District

Powdersville Water District

Sandy Springs Water District

Starr-Iva Water and Sewer District

Town of Central

Town of Pendleton

Town of Williamston

West Anderson Water District

Watch here for updates.

Council to Discuss Budget, Industrial Park Tuesday

Anderson County Council will discuss the budget, the joint county industrial park and stormwater issues as part of Tuesday's meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the historic courthouse downtown.

Full agenda here

Museum Looking for Volunteers

The Anderson County Museum is currently looking for Volunteers for the front desk. Volunteers' at the ACM are a big piece of the puzzle and essential to opening the museum doors every day.

The ACM only requires one shift at three hours a month. The shifts are Tuesday - Saturday. There is a morning shift 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and an afternoon shift 1 to 4 p.m. On Tuesday there is an evening shift 4 to 7 p.m.

If you are interested, please contact our Museum Volunteer Coordinator Linda Loparo at 260-4737 or by email lbloparo@andersoncountysc.org. Or better yet, drop by the Museum and fill out a Volunteer application located on the front desk.

U.S. Opens Talks with Iran on Sunni Insurgents

The United States is preparing to open a direct dialogue with Iran about how to deal with the Sunni insurgency in Iraq, a senior official said on Sunday.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the US was considering engaging with its longtime adversary about Iraq, where the government of prime minister Nuri al-Maliki is struggling to repel a militants who have seized several cities.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Washington was preparing to open talks with Iran on ways to push back the militants.

Citing senior US officials, the newspaper said the dialogue was expected to begin this week. It comes as the US and other world powers strive for an agreement with Tehran to curb its nuclear program.

Militants from the Isis group have swept through towns in the Tigris valley north of Baghdad in recent days but appeared to have halted their advance outside Baghdad as they tightened their grip on the north.

US officials said it was not certain which diplomatic channel the Obama administration would use to discuss Iraq, the Journal reported. One possibility was through Vienna, the paper said, where senior US and Iranian officials were scheduled to meet with other world powers on Monday to negotiate limits on Iran's nuclear capabilities.

The US state department said on Sunday that the number two American diplomat, deputy secretary of state Bill Burns, would travel to Vienna this week to take part in the talks.

US senator Lindsey Graham said on Sunday that Washington needed Iran's involvement to prevent a government collapse in Iraq and should open talks with Tehran.

"We are probably going to need their help to hold Baghdad," Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said on CBS' Face the Nation.

Graham, a member of the Senate armed services Committee, said the idea was "unattractive" but compared it to the US working with the Soviet Union against Adolf Hitler. 

US"The Iranians have an interest. They have Shia populations to protect. We need a dialogue of some kind," to help stabilize Iraq but also to set limits to ensure Iran does not use the situation to seize territory, he said.

Some Groups Upset by S.C. Plan to Teach Constitution

The South Carolina legislature has rankled liberal groups after requiring that a pair of public schools use state funds to teach the U.S. Constitution and other founding documents -- on the heels of a budget fight over gay-themed books in the curriculum. 

State House lawmakers previously had cut funds from two public universities in retaliation for required-reading material containing homosexual themes. A revised budget passed by both the House and the Senate earlier this month, though, restored the money -- but dictated that exact amount be spent "for instruction in the provisions and principles of the United States Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Federalist Papers, including the study of and devotion to American institutions and ideals." 

The bill restored at least $52,000 for the College of Charleston, and at least $17,000 for USC-Upstate, which were the original amounts cut back in March. The legislation also says that any school that conducts a mandatory reading program must provide an alternative in case the chosen book conflicts with any students’ moral or religious beliefs. 

Gov. Nikki Haley went along with the Constitution requirement on Thursday, saying she did not agree with it but kept it in because lawmakers spent so much time on the bill. She said her office "didn't want to interject ourselves into that."

"I don't believe legislators should micromanage our boards," she said, according to The Associated Press. "They elect board members, so if they want to beat up on them, go for it... but to go in there and micromanage books being read, I think that's out of our purview."

The supposed compromise didn't satisfy the schools' defenders. 

Full Story Here

Anderson County Board of Education to Meet Monday

The Anderson County Board of Education will meet Monday at 6:00 p.m. in the Foothills Community Foundation Meeting Room located at 907 North Main Street, Suite 201, in Anderson.

The Alternative School Report will be included as part of the agenda.

S.C. Looks at Ways to Stop Human Trafficking

The state's top prosecutor wants Palmetto State residents to understand that not only is human trafficking real, it's happening in South Carolina.

It was a message Attorney General Alan Wilson reiterated several times Thursday to a room packed with members of law enforcement, the media and victim advocates gathered to find out how South Carolina would combat human trafficking in South Carolina.

A task force to come up with a plan was commissioned as part of a law passed in 2012 with the intent of strengthening South Carolina's human trafficking laws, after the state ranked in the "bottom of the bad list," Wilson said.

The Polaris Project, a national organization that fights global human trafficking, ranked South Carolina as No. 6 of the "Dirty Dozen" in 2011, for having weak laws on the issue.

Since the law was enacted, dozens of Palmetto State experts from 18 partner agencies have been working to come up with a plan on how to protect, support and serve human trafficking victims. The first hurdle: getting through to people who don't believe human trafficking is taking place.

"People don't think about human trafficking happening in South Carolina," Wilson said. "They certainly don't think about human trafficking happening in their community."

Another issue the task force ran into is that people stereotype what a human trafficker looks - and their victims - look like. Wilson said in the past, he didn't realize how big and pervasive the issue is in the state.

"It's not easy to fight a war against an enemy that you don't really see, who doesn't wear a uniform," Wilson said.

Tim Scott Asks for Audit of VA

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott on Thursday asked the Veterans Administration for information about its South Carolina facilities, telling the acting department secretary that he continues to be troubled.

"I am concerned South Carolina's veterans may not be getting the best possible care," Scott, R-S.C., said in a letter to Sloan Gibson and obtained by The Associated Press. "I know you agree with me that while we owe our veterans a debt that we cannot repay, the least we can do is ensure nothing but the best care for them and their families." 

Scott's request is similar to those made by senators in other states, hoping to bring to light information about their local VA facilities. Earlier this year, after reports about veterans dying while awaiting appointments, Scott and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called for an independent investigation into "reported mismanagement, incompetence, and corruption" at the VA.

A report by the VA's inspector general found that 1,700 Phoenix-area veterans were "at risk of being lost or forgotten" after being kept off the official waiting list. Officials have confirmed that 18 other veterans whose names were kept off the list have also died. 

In his letter to Gibson, Scott asked for:

— monthly backlog totals for each VA facility in South Carolina

— details of any "secret" or unauthorized waiting list in the state 

— the number of South Carolina patient deaths related to any delay in care.

— information on bonuses and awards for senior staff at South Carolina's VA facilities since January 2009.

Last week, Scott met with South Carolina veterans, traveling the state to hear their frustrations about seeking care through the VA system. Data released Monday showed that patients seeking care through Columbia's VA hospital wait an average of 77 days for their first appointment with a primary care doctor — more than five times longer than the department's goal.

The audit showed that, nationally, more than 57,000 veterans have been waiting 90 days or more for medical appointments. 

Earlier this week, the Senate approved a bill proposing 26 new medical facilities in 17 states and Puerto Rico be leased by the VA, including a walk-in clinic in Myrtle Beach and a primary care and dental annex in Charleston. 

Scott told Gibson he wanted the information on South Carolina's facilities by June 20.

NR: Jeb Bush "Incredibly Popular" in S.C.

Jeb Bush might like to hear that his brother is the most popular Republican in South Carolina, the early primary state where George W. Bush won a key victory in his bid to secure the presidential nomination in the 2000 cycle.

An aide to Senator Lindsay Graham, who defeated several challengers in his Tuesday primary, shared this detail from their internal polling. “There’s no Republican in South Carolina today more popular than George W. Bush,” Kevin Bishop told NRO. “He is incredibly popular in South Carolina.”

That’s a far cry from where Bush was at the end of his presidency. “Bush fatigue was real in South Carolina,” Bishop said. ”But now, six years later, after President Obama, every day his star looks brighter.”

That might be good news for Jeb Bush, given the worry that voters would resist the idea of another Bush in the White House. National Journal’s Josh Kraushaar pointed out that Jeb Bush’s “vulnerabilities in a Republican primary would be remarkably similar to those [Eric Cantor] faced,” but George Bush supported immigration-law overhauls disliked by the base (and Lindsay Graham wrote one) so it’s not guaranteed that the issue would be toxic for him in the early-primary state.

It’s also not certain that George Bush’s approval rating would transfer to Jeb Bush in a 2016 primary. Another South Carolina Republican suggested that Jeb Bush’s difficulty wouldn’t be that he is another Bush, but that South Carolina voters think of him as the wrong Bush — less George W., more H.W.

“Around here, George Bush is a real, big-time conservative and Jeb is a moderate,” the campaign consultant, tying Jeb Bush to the Chamber of Commerce, said. “George Bush is the guy that you’d have beer and pretzels with and Jeb Bush is the guy that you’d have wine and cheese with.”

G News: Haley Vetoes Cut Children's Museum of Upstate

Gov. Nikki Haley took a $150,000 bite out of The Children's Museum of the Upstate but didn't veto funding for the South Carolina Arts Commission as she has in the past.

Haley has vetoed S.C. Arts Commission funding every year for the past three years. Many in the arts community expected the governor to veto the commission's $2.9 million budget again this year, particularly after Haley reiterated her opposition to public funding for the arts during an appearance at Greenville's Artisphere.

In a press conference Thursday, Haley spoke briefly about the arts commission, saying it had cut unnecessary expenses.

"Look at where the arts commission started and where they are now," Haley said. "We've seen that they've tried to makie some improvements. The arts commission should be applauded for making the changes and reducing expenses that were not necessary. They saw we had issues with them and they fixed them."

Haley's decision not to touch the commission's funding this year reflects broad public support for the arts, according to the commission's director Ken May.

"We're very happy about it," May said. "I think it has become pretty obvious because of the actions of the Legislature that there's strong bipartisan support for public investment in the arts."

The Legislature has overridden Haley's past vetoes of the arts commission. The commission provides grants to more than a dozen local arts groups in Greenville as well as to organizations and individuals throughout the state.

Haley's veto of $150,000 for The Children's Museum of the Upstate, however, could negatively impact the venue's programs and relationship with the Smithsonian, said Nancy Halverson, the museum's president and CEO.

Haley has cut state money for the children's museum for two years in a row, vetoing funds related to tourism around the state.

The money was earmarked for the museum's marketing efforts and exhibits, including some potential collaborative efforts with Washington's Smithsonian Institution.

The museum is the only children's museum in the country to be have been designated an affiliate of the Smithsonian.

"We have visitors from all 50 states and 14 countries, and 60 percent of our visitors are from outside Greenville County," Halverson said. "We really are having an impact on tourism for the state and we wish we could get some support for that."

In her veto message, Haley said: "In each of our communities, we have historic sites, museums, and cultural centers that could benefit from a renovation, refreshed exhibits, or new artifacts. The right way to finance these undertakings is by selling memberships, collecting admissions fees and soliciting philanthropic support. The wrong way to do it is by earmarking state funds to choose one site over another to fund."

As an affiliate with the Smithsonian, the children's museum can borrow items from the Smithsonian's vast collections.

"But we have to pay for insurance and travel expenses for the items, and some of those things can be pretty expensive," Halverson said.

The children's museum is an important part of the Upstate's cultural fabric, which is crucial in attracting new residents and businesses to Greenville, Halverson said.

"One of the things we see more and more is that when big companies are coming to town, they'll actually bring people they're trying to recruit to the children's museum because we really are that family friendly place," Halverson said. "We're one of those main attractions when people are thinking about quality of life and moving to Greenville.

"I feel the contributions of museums are not fully appreciated as far as what we bring to our state, our quality of life and the cultural depth of our community," Halverson said. "Greenville is such a wonderful place and there's so much here, but in order to keep it, we've got to support it." 

For the latest in local arts news and reviews, follow Paul Hyde on Facebook and Twitter: @PaulHyde7.

Haley Vetoes Would Trim $18.5 Million from Budget

Gov. Nikki Haley issued 76 vetoes that cut $18.5 million from $7 billion in state funds approved by the General Assembly for next year -- including $12,000 a year pay raise for lawmakers. 

“I don’t fault legislators for wanting a pay raise,” Haley said. "I fault the way that this was done.”

Haley said she told lawmakers throughout the budget process that she would veto the pay raise they gave themselves. She said lawmakers get plenty of checks, having been one formerly, but said it should be put to voters to decide through a referendum. 

The amount cut with this year's proposed vetoes is by far the smallest since Haley took office in 2011.

She tried to punt $94 million from the budget last year -- though more than half came from one project. She called for cutting $67.5 million in 2012 and $213 million in 2011.

The number of vetoes issued this year are on par with the number she announced in the previous two years, 81 each. Some vetoes issued Thursday are tied to measures that had no spending attached for next year's budget.

Haley, who is seeking a second term in November, said she and lawmakers agreed more on the budget than in the past. The General Assembly paid $180 million of her education initiative that includes reader coaches and technology improvements. She did not veto any money for K-12 education.

"We came back with a budget that is very much in line with where we want to go as a state,” Haley said. “It is extremely focused on making education a priority, and I can’t thank the House and Senate members enough for just having that dialogue with us. ... It is really nice to see how we are all starting to work together."

To follow the latest news on S.C. politics, like The Buzz on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. 

The governor did not veto a budget item that requires the College of Charleston and University of South Carolina-Upstate a total of $70,000 on teaching the U.S. founding documents for assigning two gay-themed books to freshman last year. 

Haley said she said appreciated the compromise reached by lawmakers, who originally cut the funding for the schools' freshmen reading program. 

Haley also did not veto all the state funding to the S.C. Arts Commission for the first time since taking office 2011. She said the agency has improved its spending over the years.

Another program staying is one that requires hospitals and medical practices to seek state regulatory approval for large construction projects or equipment purchases. Lawmakers sustained Haley's veto of the Certificate of Need program last year that put a halt on medical-related projects. 

Hospitals and other medical groups won a suit in the S.C. Supreme Court reinstating the program. Haley said she is abiding by the court decision, though she said the program only benefits lawyers helping with the cases before regulators. 

Haley's other vetoes this year included: 

• $2 million for the Lieutenant Governor’s Office for caregivers through the Home and Community Based Services program. Haley said the Lieutenant Governor’s state budget is growing to quickly -- nearly tripling over the past four years.

• $405,000 for six new positions for Clemson PSA. Haley said she wants to limit growth of the Clemson PSA to a more sustainable level. 

• $100,000 for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance for a public swimming pool in Walhalla and $200,000 for a special needs park in Myrtle Beach. Haley said each community must decide how and if to fund local pools and playgrounds, which are not projects the state should pay for. 

• $2 million for grants to youth sports organizations for soccer as well as $75,000 for the Carolina Panthers' training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg and $300,000 for a bowl game in Charleston.

• $1 million for a state tourism grant program to promote "Undiscovered South Carolina." Haley said she wanted money used to make repairs and upgrades at state parks.

• A study committee to look at participating the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.

• $450,000 from S.C. lottery funds earmarked for three private colleges that Haley said could go help the financially struggling S.C. State University, a public school that has a $13.6 million deficit.

Lawmakers will return to the State House on Tuesday to take up Haley’s vetoes.

“There’s always earmarks and pork projects so there are going to be people upset that we got rid of their swimming pools and their boats and their rooftops and things like that,” she said. “That’s always going to be a part of what we do.”

Legal Pad: How Not to Dress for Court

By M. J. Goodwin

This one may seem like common sense, but I notice a lot of people dressed inappropriately for Court.  Court is a conservative, traditional place.  That seems to be lost on some people.  So I thought I would list what is appropriate and what is not.  

Let’s start with clothing that is NOT APPROPRIATE for Court:

Pajamas

Droopy pants (nobody wants to see your underwear)

Tank tops or tube tops

Exposed bras or undergarments of any kind

Sequins

Hats on men (women may wear hats indoors).  This is a long held societal standard.  Look it up if you don’t believe me.

Shorts

Flip flops

Swim suits

T-shirts with odd, vulgar or offense messages written on them.

Pants with “juicy” written across the rear end.  Really there should not be anything written on the read end of one’s pants.

Anything that shows your mid-drift area.  

“See through” clothing of any kind

I also advise people that if you have an odd or an unusually high number of facial piercings or tattoos, you might want to remove or cover those for Court.  Those super large earrings that make tunnels in the ear lobe should also be removed.   I also prefer that my clients have a hair color that occurs in nature (not purple or pink or green) for hearings.

Clothing that is fine for Court:

Slacks and a clean shirt, preferably with a collar for men.

A suit in a conservative color.  Purple, mustard yellow and chartreuse are not typical colors of men’s suits.

A sport coat

A dress

Modest, clean blue jeans.

A skirt and a conservative blouse

Ties are nice for men, but not mandatory.  If you wear a tie, nothing with a vulgar message.

This is not rocket science and didn’t require a law degree for me to learn.  The bulk of this information was taught to me by my parents.  But apparently a lot of folks are not getting the message today.  Some Judges have begun turning the inappropriately dressed away from Court.  Our firm advises all of our clients on how to dress for Court. We have even pre-approved outfits for the fashionably challenged or those who were not sure.    We go to Court pretty much every day and know what is expected.  We are happy to share that knowledge with our clients.  It is always better to ask if you are in doubt.

So why dress for Court?  In short:  respect.  Looking decent and conservative for Court shows that a litigant respects both himself or herself and the process.  In a jury trial situation, impressions are crucial.  One wants the jury to see a respectable, law abiding person, not a fashion rebel with green hair, a nose ring, and exposed underwear.  I am sure people have valid reasons for the things that they wear out in public.  But Court is not the place for one to try to look like a renegade. 

M. J. Goodwin is the founding attorney of Goodwin & Pruette, Attorneys at Law, LLC.  With 22 years of experience in Family Court,  M. J. Goodwin has seen some very inappropriate clothing worn to the Courthouse and understands the impact of a first impression on a Judge or a jury.

App Aims to Save Lives in Anderson County

The Anderson County Sheriff's Office is using a new high-tech tool that aims to turn ordinary bystanders into life-saving heroes. 

Dispatchers in the county will now start pushing information to a new smartphone app called PulsePoint, which is an app that alerts CPR-trained bystanders about a nearby emergency where they may be able to help.

"You know the difference early CPR and defibrillation can make in a sudden cardiac arrest event. Fifty-seven percent of U.S. adults say they've had CPR training, and most would be willing to use CPR or an AED to help save a stranger's life. Yet only 11 percent say they've used CPR in an actual emergency. That's a number we can increase together," PulsePoint says on its website.

The company also makes an app to help people locate automated external defibrillators (AEDs) nearby during cardiac emergencies. 

It allows users to report the locations of AEDs whenever they see them, and that information is then shared with emergency dispatchers, who can share their location with people trained in CPR and off-duty firefighters, nurses and other professionals. 

The apps are available for free in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.