The Nerve

This is economic development at its finest. By BRYCE FIEDLER Since it secured the Volvo manufacturing plant back in July of 2015, the state has been celebrating its achievement with promises of stellar economic growth and thousands of jobs for the Berkeley County area. A spokesman for Berkeley County was asked if taxpayers would be […]

Regulators move forward with project similar to V.C. Summer By ROBERT MEYEROWITZ Georgia’s Public Service Commission set hearings yesterday to determine whether the Vogtle nuclear facility will be built there, with a decision expected in February. Three weeks ago, the Georgia Power Company told the regulators it wanted to complete the two-reactor project, near Waynesboro. It’s […]

Screening process would be “redundant” By HANNAH HILL and BRYCE FIEDLER The screening process for the Public Service Commission (PSC), the board that regulates the state’s private utilities, has been suspended “until further notice.” The PSC is a central player in the recently abandoned V.C. Summer nuclear construction project, and had primary control of the […]

Good governance is the expectation by BRYCE FIEDLER There are two important lessons we can learn from Hurricane Irma: One, that we as a community possess remarkable resolve when faced with adversity; and two, that we offer too much praise to government leaders who are simply doing their job. We have the misguided tendency to […]

The SC Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (PRT) is spending money to find out how much the state made off the eclipse. According to PRT’s newsletter, museums, state parks, etc. were sold out or nearly sold out due to this “rare celestial event.” It goes on to say: “Because this type of anecdotal evidence […]

Legislators: stop fussing with education By HANNAH HILL $12,007: That’s how much South Carolina spent on average per K-12 pupil in fiscal year 2014-15. Earlier this week the Education Oversight Committee’s Melanie Barton and the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs office’s Frank Rainwater explained to lawmakers how those dollars are collected and divvied up among South […]

Is it a ray of light for V.C. Summer? By ROBERT MEYEROWITZ The Georgia Power Company told Georgia regulators today that it wants to finish two nuclear reactors under construction in the state. It’s now the sole new nuclear construction in the U.S., since South Carolina’s SCANA and Santee Cooper abandoned construction of two V.C. […]

The co-ops’ Mike Couick is angry and hopeful By ROBERT MEYEROWITZ Asked to explain his stake in the two abandoned, partly-built nuclear reactors at Jenkinsville, Mike Couick, head of the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, says it’s simple: “My members have got $2.7 billion sunk in the red clay of Fairfield County.” Couick is referring […]

Time to bid ORS adieu By HANNAH HILL During this week’s legislative energy committee meetings, executive director of the Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) Dukes Scott stated that the statutory duties of the ORS conflict at times. The ORS is the entity tasked by state law to “represent the public interest of South Carolina” before […]

On spending, how about self-discipline? By BRYCE FIEDLER The state Comptroller General’s office released its annual budget report this week, giving citizens insight into the sources of state revenue and how that money was spent as well as suggestions for future spending. Here’s the bottom line: The government needs to spend less. According to the report, […]