Thumbs up
Bender. Hats off to media lawyer Jay Bender for urging the state Supreme Court to open secret filings by Attorney General Alan Wilson in his corruption dispute with special prosecutor David Pascoe. More.
Supreme Court. And hats off to the state Supreme Court for deciding Thursday to take original jurisdiction in the Wilson-Pascoe spat and for making some previously-secret filings public. More.
Robotics team. Kudos to a Greenville Lego robotics team that saw the need for a new state law banning the use of lead wheel weights to balance tires due to the environmental damage they cause. A bill was introduced this week to make it happen. More.
In the middle
Quinns, Merrill. State Rep. Rick Quinn, R-Lexington, and his father, Richard Quinn, and his political consulting firm reportedly are listed in a secret eight-page part of a State Law Enforcement Division report on political corruption in the General Assembly. Also said to be mentioned in the report: State. Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Daniel Island. Both he and Rick Quinn have told media that they were relieved the report was out because it showed they did nothing improper. The whole thing is part of a continuing political drama between Attorney General Alan Wilson, who has close ties to the Quinns, and special prosecutor David Pascoe, who Wilson fired. The high court said Thursday it would rule on whether the firing was proper. More.
Sheltering choices. We’re not sure that we like a bill to limit services offered by nonprofit animal shelters in favor of private veterinarians. Seems like the measure would do just what critics complain about — limit choices and drive up costs. More.
House on roads. Lots of folks are giving the S.C. House grief about taking out a general fund revenue source for $400 million to pay for road costs. But the House is right — removing general fund dollars will hurt other programs and there’s a long untapped source of funding — increasing the gas tax — that can absorb the cost (and make visitors to the state pay a good chunk of it.).
Thumbs down
Bright. State Sen. Lee Bright, R-Spartanburg, still doesn’t look too good after another week of trying to get people to understand he’s not a Neanderthal because he proposed a “bathroom bill” like the one that North Carolina passed — and then lost businesses and other stuff for intolerance.
Roof. The state trial of accused murder Dylann Roof, who is charged with the deaths of nine worshippers last year at Emanuel AME Church, has been put off until next year. Sheesh.
Ethics reform. It is a shame that more than half of the Republican Senate Caucus doesn’t support more openness in state ethics laws to shed light on so-called “dark money” given by secret donors to influence elections.
Quotes: On Graham, the S.C. House and transgender assaults
Gets sh– done
“He gets s— done in a way, in a place, where it’s hard to get things done. It’s people like him that just give me hope in the political process. … I’ve seen him fight for what you call ‘partisan causes,’ but then you see him search for a way of working with people in order to get stuff done for the world’s poor. He puts his ego away. He puts even his politics away and he goes to work for people he’ll never meet or know. And that’s amazing.”
— U2 rock star Bono extolling the virtues of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Over the last eight years, they’ve traveled to several countries, including Turkey, Egypt, Rwanda and Mozambique. More.
Thanks, House
“Those who voted YES voted to insert more legislative power, killing the bill. #NoExcuses”
— Gov. Nikki Haley in a Wednesday Facebook message criticizing the S.C. House for amending a Senate bill on roads funding.
Zero
“There have been none.”
— U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles in testimony on the “bathroom bill” on the number of times a transgender person has assaulted a straight person in a South Carolina bathroom. He added that if there were any such assault, current laws allowed authorities to deal with it. More.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!