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Local Politics 
Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 17:36:10 PM EDT
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If I had a quarter for every time that line gets uttered at some state agency or organization, I could probably hire all of South Carolina's 250k unemployed.
From an AJC article on Georgia's lack of preparation for the national high-speed rail system:
President Barack Obama announced plans Thursday for a national high-speed rail network that would include lines crisscrossing Georgia connected through a hub in Atlanta.
The plan would create a European-like system with trains that could run at more than 100 mph. Obama is pledging $8 billion toward development of the system as part of the economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act. [...]
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for Atlanta,” Williams said. The chamber has been pushing the concept, he said, and years ago it put together a coalition of cities in the corridors.
On the other hand, he said: “Virginia and North Carolina are way, way ahead of us, probably by 20 years. I have been very disappointed that GDOT has not gotten onto this thing a lot sooner. But South Carolina’s worse off than we are. I think this is a great shot in the arm to rejuvenate Georgia and South Carolina.”
Luckily for Georgia, the fearless and failing majority in South Carolina are more concerned with preventing phantom voter fraud, protecting loan sharks, and discouraging tourism than working to improve the lives of their constituents. So don't worry, neighbors. It looks like South Carolina will be "worse off" than you are for some time.
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Sun Feb 15, 2009 at 20:49:48 PM EST
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Temperatures in the Palmetto State have cooled off this weekend but that's no reason to expect the political scene to follow suit. Read on... For a live stream of these links and more, check out the Snead Feed.
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Mon Feb 02, 2009 at 21:59:08 PM EST
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Tape-delayed to avoid Super Bowl festivities... - I actually intended to link to a Palmetto Scoop post this week, but a funny thing happened on the way to the Reader. Fogle's post accusing Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer's Senior Shield program of "ripping off seniors, taxpayers" disappeared. Luckily, Google Reader has a good memory. See and read the original post here
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Tue Jan 20, 2009 at 19:59:01 PM EST
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Richland County needs your help.
Duh.
But this time they are actually asking for it. Our capital city's county is making plans and looking for feedback from the public. Richland County will hold several public hearings and workshops to answer questions, listen to concerns, and collect opinions on long term plans.
Check below the jump for what/when/where...
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Sun Jan 11, 2009 at 20:20:34 PM EST
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Some blog posts and articles you might've missed.
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Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 12:32:37 PM EST
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In today's The State, Warren Bolton asks "Are we our brothers' keepers, even when they're from out of town?" Mr. Bolton is far more eloquent than I, so I just wanted to highlight his words and add a few of my own. He opens by describing one of the problems with Columbia leadership and homeless issues: DURING A Columbia City Council meeting last month, Councilman Sam Davis told a story about an encounter with a homeless man. Mr. Davis said as he was showing an out-of-town guest around the city, they came upon a homeless man. He told his guest that more than likely the man wasn’t from Columbia. The councilman gave the man a few dollars and asked where he was from. Sure enough, he was from out of town. Mr. Davis, and others on the council, worry that far too many homeless people come to Columbia seeking haven. They lament the fact that the city must use its limited resources to serve homeless people who aren’t from here, thereby diluting the effort the city can put forth. Other cities, they say, give the homeless one-way bus tickets to Columbia to get them out of their hair. I don’t doubt that happens sometimes, although it’s questionable as to how much. But the bottom line is that Columbia has a significant homeless population it must address, and complaining about where the people come from isn’t going to make things better.
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Tue Jan 06, 2009 at 10:10:09 AM EST
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( - promoted by Jennifer Read)
Dan Cook @ the Free Times explores the similarities and differences in Columbia Mayor Bob Coble and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. His conclusion: Columbia needs new political blood in 2009. Lacking that, both could benefit by learning a little from one another: In both cases, constituents lose out. In Coble’s case, residents can’t be sure what Coble will ultimately throw his weight behind because it could change if enough residents show up to complain about any given decision. Whether it’s public parking in Five Points or a new homeless services center, plans fester from a lack of forceful leadership in a steady direction. And in Sanford’s case, the only thing certain is that meaningful legislative changes will be few and far between, because Sanford has almost completely abandoned the art of politics in the apparent belief that people should simply follow his lead because he’s right. Sanford undoubtedly has been “right” on a number of issues, and his instinct toward attacking old-boy politics at the State House is a laudable one. But with just two years left in his second and final term, it seems Sanford has learned little about the art of politics thus far, and it would be foolish to expect anything different in his last two years. Is it too much to ask for some new political blood in 2009? Actually, it is, since neither Coble nor Sanford is up for re-election. But if each of them could just borrow a smidgen of the other’s approach — consensus seeking on the one hand, and sticking to one’s guns on the other — we could all be a lot better off.
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