***Palmetto Morning Presented by Jim Dyke & Associates***
THIS FIRST — LAZY EIGHTH — South Carolina teems with remote-clenching, sleepy-eyed, unproductive people who rarely exercise and work a mere three hours and 26 minutes a day. Or so says the latest BusinessWeek ranking. The magazine rolled together various government studies that examined the nation’s sleeping habits, exercise patterns and overall time spent working. The report declared the Palmetto State the eighth-laziest in the country.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Upstate Nobel Prize Winner: Charles Townes, Garfield’s Dad: Jim Davis, and from 90′s stardom: Lori “Aunt Becky” Loughlin and Elizabeth “Jessie Spano” Berkley
***GOT AN EVENT, STORY, TIP OR ANYTHING ELSE ON YOUR MIND YOU WANT INCLUDED IN PALMETTO MORNING? CLICK HERE AND TELL US ABOUT IT***
NATIONAL LENS — GROSS LEAK — Marine Gen. James Mattis, nominated to head the command that oversees wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, sought to assure the United States’ allies and enemies that the U.S. is committed to the region despite the massive leak of classified information that has shaken support for the war. “Despite any recent papers leaked to the media, we are remaining in the region,” Mattis said at his confirmation hearing in Congress on Tuesday. “We are not leaving.”
SPILL BILLS — House and Senate Democratic leaders Tuesday rolled out their big “spill bills” — the main legislative responses to the Gulf oil spill. The proposals are packed with aggressive offshore drilling reforms that Republicans have long fought and were immediately met with fierce pushback from the GOP and the oil industry. That could make it tough to get the bills passed, especially in the Senate, where a handful of oil-state Democrats may cross the aisle to vote against the package.
SLEAZE SQUEEZE — One of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s top lieutenants demanded yesterday that Rep. Charles Rangel quickly settle the swirling ethics charges against him rather than face a trial tomorrow that could embarrass Democratic candidates across the country — but the disgraced pol isn’t going without a fight.
WELCOME FRESHMAN — Joe Heck is running for Congress in Nevada and says he and his fellow Republicans eyeing the majority in the House are out to make history this year. The optimism from these Republicans — all part of the Young Guns program — is undoubtedly high, and they say GOP members of Congress have made it clear how serious they are about taking back the House. But will these optimists be able to deliver specific policies if elected? Mick Mulvaney, running for Congress in South Carolina, says he thinks so, claiming that Tea Party activists have helped keep GOP candidates “on message” this year.
GETTING OLDER — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on Tuesday would not rule out raising the retirement age to try to solve the $53 trillion in unfunded liabilities the federal government faces in Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid and federal pensions. Since May, the Maryland Democrat has been working behind the scenes with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to find enough Democratic and Republican lawmakers to willing to commit to making Social Security reform a priority.
WRIGHT NOW — A top South Carolina utilities regulator warned Congress on Tuesday that the failure to build the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada could delay licensing of the country’s first new nuclear power plants in a generation. David Wright, vice chairman of the S.C. Public Service Commission, testified at a hearing convened by House Budget Committee chairman John Spratt. “Without a solution to the storage of spent nuclear fuel – meaning a permanent repository – state regulators may be hesitant to approve the construction of new nuclear units,” Wright said.
LITTLE HILLY — The House of Representatives agreed on Tuesday to provide $59 billion to continue financing America’s two wars, but the vote showed deepening divisions and anxiety among Democrats over the course of the nearly nine-year-old conflict in Afghanistan. Some of the Democratic opposition stemmed from the decision by party leaders to strip from the bill money that had been included in the original House version to help address the weak economy at home, including funds to help preserve teachers’ jobs.
FAMM-TASTIC — Julie Stewart, president and founder of Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) commended the U.S. House of Representatives today for its approval of H.R. 5143, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2010. “We applaud the House for taking this enormous step, and we look forward to seeing this bill through until it reaches the president’s desk before the 111th Congress adjourns,” Ms. Stewart concluded.
START-ING TO LEAN — As the Senate Foreign Relations Committee gets ready to vote on President Obama’s nuclear arms reductions treaty, several Republican senators are now hinting that they will support the agreement and are working toward bipartisan ratification. Contrary to some Republicans who don’t believe that reducing nuclear stockpiles is a good idea at all, such as Jim DeMint, R-SC, Utah Sen. Bob Bennett said the treaty is a good idea and even characterized it as a constructive part of President Obama’s reset policy with Russia. “I think it’s a step in the right direction and a continuation of the thawing of the relationship between the United States and Russia that goes all the way back to the Ronald Reagan. We’re now at the point where this is probably a good idea.”
***SIGN UP NOW TO HAVE PALMETTO MORNING DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX EACH MORNING***
2010 WATCH — TIGHTEN UP — Democratic U.S. House candidate Rob Miller proposed slashing congressional pay and perks as part of a plan to win back voter trust. Miller would also cut federal spending by 3 percent to 5 percent, exempting military, veterans affairs and homeland security budgets. “Hard-working South Carolinians, men and women, have lost faith in Washington,” Miller said during a press conference at the Colonial Center, one of few he has held. “Everybody is tightening their belts. It’s long past time for Congress to lead the way.”
GOOD & TACKY — The reliable little marsh tacky is finally getting its due in South Carolina. Gov. Mark Sanford on Wednesday holds a ceremonial bill signing designating tackies the official state heritage horse. The measure passed the legislature earlier this year.
ACROSS THE POND — Perhaps South Carolina’s grandest aerospace industry endorsement flew into the Farnborough International Airshow last week. For at least six years, South Carolina representatives from the state and local levels have attended the European airshows, which attract makers of commercial jets, military aircraft and small private planes, as well as suppliers. But this year, the Palmetto State contingent showed up with the added credibility of the new assembly line that Boeing is building in North Charleston for the 787.
ROUND TWO — South Carolina has been named a finalist in a national competition for federal money to improve schools. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced Tuesday the 19 finalists for Race to the Top funding, saying judges selected them from a pool of 36 applicants as having the boldest plans for reform. “It’s gratifying but not surprising,” State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex said in a statement. “Today’s announcement validates, once again, that South Carolina is viewed as being on the cutting edge of making the changes that will make schools stronger.”
JUST TACKY — Outdated political signs on a busy highway in Boiling Springs are causing some residents to speak out. They say they want the signs taken down, now. We talked to the Department of Transportation to find out who is responsible for what residents call a “tacky eyesore.” All types of signs line highway 9, a heavily trafficked highway in Boiling Springs. But its left over campaign signs that are giving some residents something to honk about. Pete Poore with the Department of Transportation says, “The people who put them there or the people who own them are responsible for removing them.”
CHARLESTON — Area sees string of sex crimes
SPARTANBURG — Westview-Fairforest taxpayers question fire department spending
COLUMBIA — Newman tops Howard in District 2 race
FLORENCE — Concerts in the Park series begins with The Flowtown Band
STEELE CREEK — Workout event Saturday helps memorialize 8-year-old killed in Lake Wylie Boating accident
CHARLESTON — School has high expectations
ANDERSON — Anderson Woman Hits Jackpot With $200,000 Winning Lottery Ticket
SUMTER — Red Cross recognizes dedicated volunteer
VIEWPOINT — GOING PARKING — “Within an hour’s drive from the Greenville-Spartanburg area are two extraordinary places: Jones Gap State Park and Caesar’s Head State Park. Both afford an amazing array of nature-based opportunities for all to enjoy. Unfortunately, many of us take these two parks — and all of our natural areas — for granted. The fact is that without grants provided by the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), these and other public parks would not exist. This is why a bill pending in Congress (H. 3534) is so important.”
VIEWPOINT II — FISHY — “Back in 2006, the Department of Transportation cut off funding to S.C. State’s planned James E. Clyburn University Transportation Center project. That was about the time federal auditors said the school’s financial records were so screwed up they couldn’t tell how millions of dollars given for the project had been spent. At the time, the feds had already given the school $50 million, more than half of which just disappeared. All this dodging and maneuvering just makes it look more and more like something fishy’s going on here.”
FINALLY THIS — CHILD OF LIGHT — It’s been 30 years since a dinner in a basement apartment on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. on an icy winter evening that spawned the first conversation about what would become the Emrys Foundation. Over bowls of melting ice cream, Keller Cushing Freeman and Sally Wyche Coenen talked about the obstacles confronting writers, composers and artists who were in sore need of somewhere to present their work, especially when those artists were women or minorities. That initial conversation morphed into Emrys, a nonprofit organization formed in 1983.
THAT’S IT FOR THIS MORNING – STAY TUNED ON TWITTER OR FACEBOOK FOR UPDATES THAT JUST CAN’T WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW. HAVE A GOOD ONE!
You must log in to post a comment.