THE BITTER COLD TEMPERATURES IN THE LOWCOUNTRY, WITH WIND-CHILLS IN THE LOW TEENS HAVE LED TO WARMING SHELTERS BEING OPENED LAST NIGHT AND THEY’LL ALSO BE OPEN TONIGHT IN BEAUFORT AND ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND. THE NORTH-OF-THE-BROAD SHELTER IS AT THE SEA ISLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ON LADY’S ISLAND DRIVE, WHILE CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH ON THE WILLIAM HILTON PARKWAY MID-ISLAND WILL BE OPEN ON HILTON HEAD. BOTH WILL OPEN AT 5:30 PM AND CLOSE AT 7:30 AM AND WILL OFFER BREAKFAST, BUT NO WEAPONS, ALCOHOL, SMOKING OR PETS WILL BE ALLOWED.
IN THIS WORLD WHERE YOU CAN FIND OUT JUST ABOUT ANYTHING ABOUT ANYONE, THERE’S NOW A PLACE WHERE YOU HAVE ONLINE ACCESS TO SOUTH CAROLINA STATE INMATES, THEIR PRISON RECORDS, INFRACTIONS INSIDE THEIR JAILS, THE CLASSES THEY’VE TAKEN AND JOBS PERFORMED. THE SITE IS PUBLIC.DOC.STATE.SC.US/SCDC-PUBLIC. AND YOU’RE JUST A FEW CLICKS AWAY FROM LEARNING MORE THAN YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT NOTORIUS INMATES LIKE ALEC MURDAUGH, SUSAN SMITH, TODD KOHLHEPP AND OTHERS LESS INFAMOUS. MURDAUGH IS A GOOD EXAMPLE. HE’S A PROLIFIC PHONE USER WHO LOST HIS PRIVELEGES FOR A TIME FOR USING ANOHER INMATE’S PIN NUMBER WHO HAS SERVED AS WHAT’S CALLED A ‘WARD KEEPER ASSISTANT’ AND HAS NOT TAKEN ANY CLASSES FROM BEHIND THE WALLS. THAT WEBSITE AGAIN IS PUBLIC.DOC.STATE.SC.US/SCDC-PUBLIC.
JASPER COUNTY TREASURER MICHAEL SKINNER IS BEING INVESTIGATED FOR ALLEGEDLY THREATENING MEMBERS OF HIS STAFF AND COULD ALSO COME UNDER SCRUTINY FOR MISUSE OF PUBLIC MONEY BY MAKING BONUS PAYMENTS TO OTHER STAFFERS. THE JASPER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS SOME MEMBERS OF HIS STAFF HAVE REPORTED THAT SKINNER MADE COMMENTS ‘SUGGESTING POTENTIAL GUN VIOLENCE’ AGAINST SOME STAFFERS AND CALLED IN THE STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION, SLED, TO INVESTIGATE THE SITUATION.
GOVERNOR MCMASTER HAS ISSUED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER HE HOPES TO TURN INTO A LAW DURING THE NEXT SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE TO FORCE STATE AGENCIES AND UNIVERSITIES TO STOP USING RACE-BASED QUOTAS IN AWARDING CONTRACTS. CURRENT STATE LAW REQUIRES, FOR EXAMPLE, THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO AWARD AT LEAST 5% OF CERTAIN CONTRACTS TO MINORITY BUSINESSES AND ANOTHER LAW REQUIRES EVERY STATE AGENCY TO DEMONSTRATE HOW 10% OF THEIR BUDGETS ARE SPENT WITH MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESSES. MCMASTER SAYS THAT NOWHERE SHOULD ANY PERSON BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE OF THEIR RACE. DEMOCRATIC STATE REPRESENTATIVES SAY ITS ALL A POLITICAL PERFORMANCE AND A ‘SOLUTION IN SEARCH OF A PROBLEM.