House to push for bond funding to pay for college repairs
The S.C. House is expected to push an effort to borrow $170 million to $200 million through bonds to pay for long-needed college building repairs and renovations, according to S.C. Rep. Jim Merrill, who chairs a key higher education funding subcommittee.
“We’ve got to reinvest,” Merrill said, adding that failure to maintain buildings now would create more expensive problems in the future. The Berkeley County Republican said because the state has the fiscal capacity to absorb new bonded indebtedness because it has paid off past bonds.
Last year, Gov. Nikki Haley opposed borrowing through bonds to pay for repairs needed to state -owned facilities at college campuses across the state. Merrill said Thursday that he shared the governor’s concern about keeping government growth in check, but that the state needs to pass a bond bill because “deferred maintenance” on existing buildings has piled up after 16 years of not spending for major repairs.
Poll says Clinton should win big
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to trounce U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in Saturday’s Democratic presidential primary, according to a Thursday poll by Clemson University.
The Palmetto Poll of 650 likely voters indicated 64 percent would vote for Clinton and 14 percent for Sanders. Some 22 percent said they were undecided in the poll, taken Saturday through Thursday. It has a 3 percent margin of error.
“It is clear from our poll that African-American voters in the state remember Ms. Clinton fondly and support her campaign,” said Clemson political science professor David Woodard, a co-director of the poll.
Haley says no interest in being VP
You might have missed this, but Gov. Nikki Haley told reporters this week that she wasn’t interested in being vice president, regardless of whom the GOP presidential nominee was.
According to GSA Business, Haley, thought to be on a short list of potential running mates, said, “I have said to all of (the GOP candidates) that my plate is full and that I am perfectly content. You know my daughter is getting ready to go off to college … I’ve got things in South Carolina I certainly want to finish, so I have said from the very beginning that is not something I want to do.”
Many wonder if the answer will be the same if the offer is made Time will tell.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!