South-Carolina
After release of scathing report, McMaster still maintains confidence in SC treasurer
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The day after the release of a scathing report that puts blame on Treasurer Curtis Loftis for a $1.8 billion debacle, Gov. Henry McMaster said he still has confidence in the ability of South Carolina’s elected treasurer to control the state’s money.
But McMaster is calling on Loftis to communicate and work with other state agencies to resolve the issue — something a group of state senators and South Carolina’s comptroller general claim the treasurer has been loath to do to this point.
For months, a Senate subcommittee has been investigating nearly $2 billion in taxpayer money with no known owner and which lawmakers didn’t know about until last fall.
In a report it released Tuesday, the group holds Loftis responsible for this discrepancy, saying his office created the fund containing the money several years ago but never notified the legislature of its existence.
Loftis has claimed he invested the money and generated around $200 million in interest, which he said the legislature has spent, and asserted Comptroller General Brian Gaines, the state’s accountant, bore responsibility for telling lawmakers about it, which Gaines did last October.
In a statement, Loftis said he did not plan to read the report, though his staff would, and decried it as character assassination from a group of lawmakers set on overturning his election to install their own puppet to control the state’s money.
In the report, senators outlined a series of interim recommendations, including a forensic audit to determine the money’s ownership, but they stopped short of calling for Loftis’ removal from office, at the governor’s request.
Sen. Larry Grooms, R – Berkeley and the chair of the subcommittee, said had McMaster not asked them to hold off, it would have been among their recommendations.
The governor made the request after forming a new task force last week, and he wants to give it time to work.
“The main thing is not to, at this point, is not to point blame or try to find error, but to find out the answers about the money: where is it, where was it supposed to go, did any of it get to where it was supposed to go, what was it supposed to be used for, and if it’s really there,” McMaster told reporters Wednesday.
The multiagency group — led by the Department of Administration and including both Loftis and Gaines, at whom the treasurer has assigned much of the blame — has been charged with determining where this money came from by July 1.
“We have to get those answers,” McMaster said. “Otherwise, the public is going to lose complete faith in the system. That’s $1.8 billion.”
The newly released Senate report details that days after a contentious, hours-long hearing between Loftis and Grooms’ subcommittee earlier this month, the treasurer threatened to publish sensitive information on the state’s finances online.
McMaster had to get on the phone to try to stop him, briefly describing their conversation Wednesday.
“That it would be dangerous to do that, and I wish he wouldn’t do it,” the governor said he told Loftis, confirming the story Loftis claimed in a Facebook post Tuesday is “a bold faced lie.”
Grooms said South Carolina’s top law enforcement officer, SLED Chief Mark Keel, and Attorney General Alan Wilson also had to intervene to stop Loftis, and the treasurer ultimately did not publish the information.
Yet McMaster said he still has confidence in Loftis.
“I think as long as we all work together — communicate, collaborate, cooperate, and work for the people and quit fighting among ourselves — we’re going to be just fine,” he said.
When asked what would happen if the task force did not meet McMaster’s July 1 deadline to determine the money’s ownership, the governor said he was confident they would have answers by then.
But Grooms said he did not believe that was feasible and that the only question they may be able to figure out by then is whether and how much of the money is actually real.
Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with WIS. For more free content like this, subscribe to our email newsletter, and download our apps. Have feedback that can help us improve? Click here.
Copyright 2024 WIS. All rights reserved.
Sea Turtle Release | Canaveral National Seashore; New Smyrna Beach, FL | February 5, 2020 (Photo courtesy of the National Aquarium)
(WCIV) — Turtle nesting season started a couple of days early this year. South Carolina’s first title nest has been reported in Garden City.
“With warmer winter conditions and observations of mating loggerheads, there was some expectation that nesting would begin sooner than May, especially after the initial false crawl reported,” said biologist Michelle Pate, who oversees SCDNR’s sea turtle nesting program. “We ask that beachfront residents and visitors recreating on our coast turn off lights at night as sea turtles begin this annual ritual of nesting.”
The nesting season typically begins May 1.
South-Carolina
College Football HQ Includes South Carolina’s 2024 Football Schedule Amongst Toughest In The Country
It’s a phrase or saying that South Carolina football fans are used to hearing every year: “Man, the Gamecocks just have a gauntlet of a schedule.” It played a role in Shane Beamer‘s squad going 5-7 last season, as they faced nine teams with winning records and four teams that finished the season inside the AP Top 25 poll. Although the schedules for every SEC team have drastically changed because Texas and Oklahoma will be officially joining the conference this summer, Carolina is still getting the short end of the stick compared to the rest of the field. Our friends over at FanNation’s College Football website, College Football HQ, seem to agree with that sentiment, as theyranked the Gamecocks’ 2024 schedule as the fourth most difficult slate in the entire sport. South Carolina was one of seven SEC teams that were included on that list, with only the Florida Gators, Arkansas Razorbacks, and Oklahoma Sooners ranking ahead of the Gamecocks.
You Might Also Like:
Join the community:
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking “Follow” on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to follow us on X at @GamecocksDigest and our page on Facebook!
South-Carolina
Father, daughter complain about ‘pimples’ on new house but builder won’t fix since ‘it’s not a manufacturer’s problem’
A South Carolina homeowner is frustrated after poor construction left their new abode covered in “pimples.”
The new home, which was one of the first built inside the Cypress Preserve subdivision in Moncks Corner, SC shows off its flaws under direct light.
“When I first looked at the house in the summer, the sun hits the side of the house, and the nails on the sheathing aren’t nailed all the way in so the vinyl expands and contracts. And when the sun hits it, and it looks like pimples all over,” Tom Eriksen told WCSC.
Eriksen’s daughter purchased the home in 2022 and when the “pimples were noticed the family immediately contacted the Lennar Corporation, the company tasked with building the entire community.
But when shown the company’s super examined the build, he didn’t own up to the poor craftsmanship.
“’Their super came out here, looked at the house,’ he says, ‘Yeah, but it’s not a manufacturer’s problem.’”
‘”It’s not a manufacturer’s problem, You installed it wrong. You’ve got to correct it. It looks terrible,” Eriksen replied.
“They say, ‘No, we’re not going to do anything with it.’”
After the original visit to the home, Lennar hasn’t responded to any of the multiple follow-up calls the family has sent, according to the outlet.
Eriksen, who owned his own construction business for 40 years says he is helping his daughter get her home fix because even though its not a “structural issue per se” it’s Lennar’s problem because they built it.
“I see it every time I drive up to the house,” Eriksen said. “This is like the whole house — sides, back, front. Whenever the sun hits it.”
The angered father is calling for the company to fix the problems to all the homes they built starting with the homeowners that have lived in the community the longest.
“Start servicing at least the first people that moved in here,” he said. “She was one of the first buyers before anyone came in and you’re not servicing them or taking care of your problems.
“It’s not a good outlook for the other 800 families that are going to move in here,” Eriksen added.
Moncks Corner is located 33 miles north of Charleston.
A home inspector also called out the company for not holding up to their agreement when it comes to house building, saying many builders don’t realize they have to keep up with repairs of the house beyond the one year mark.
“There’s a very common misconception that homeowners have that the builder, after the first year, he has no responsibility to repair anything else in the house,” Robert Knowles told Live 5 News. “Well, that’s not true.
“The law is not optional: you have to comply with the code requirements. The builder is legally required to fix anything that goes wrong with your house that is related to a code.
“If you bring a code violation to a builder’s attention, he needs to repair that,” Knowles added.
The state of South Carolina has adopted the Residential Construction Standards that homebuilders must abide by, according to the outlet.
8 L.A. happenings in May to get you ready for summer
Column: Donald Trump was just fined for contempt of court. Could he go to jail next time?
Long Beach State men's volleyball sweeps Belmont Abbey
Amazon profits may have tripled but don’t expect a dividend
New York City police enter Columbia campus as Gaza protest escalates
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
At least 2 dead as tornadoes hit Alabama, damage homes across Southeast
New York City police enter Columbia campus as Gaza protest escalates
Democrats win a New York special election, further narrowing the House GOP's majority
DHS docs reveal where paroled migrants under controversial Biden flight program are landing
European Union marks 20 years since 'Big Bang' enlargement
Columbia students barricade themselves in campus building; China's EV vehicles
-
Education1 week agoVideo: Dozens of Yale Students Arrested as Campus Protests Spread
-
World1 week agoEU sanctions extremist Israeli settlers over violence in the West Bank
-
World1 week agoShipping firms plead for UN help amid escalating Middle East conflict
-
Politics1 week ago'Nothing more backwards' than US funding Ukraine border security but not our own, conservatives say
-
Politics1 week agoDemocrats hold major 2024 advantage as House Republicans face further chaos, division
-
Politics1 week agoFetterman hammers 'a–hole' anti-Israel protesters, slams own party for response to Iranian attack: 'Crazy'
-
World1 week agoPeriod poverty still a problem within the EU despite tax breaks
-
Politics1 week agoA battle over 100 words: Judge tentatively siding with California AG over students' gender identification