South-Carolina
South Carolina leaders host inaugural SC Governor’s Economic Summit
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Governor Henry McMaster and other state leaders hosted the inaugural South Carolina Governor’s Economic Summit on Monday, featuring many business leaders and companies from across the state.
The summit offered many sessions, panel discussions and presentations, including the unveiling of the new agency brand under the South Carolina Department of Commerce which is called “Launch to Legacy Brand.”
The purpose of the brand is to include qualitative and quantitative research with more than 500 in-state domestic and international stakeholders to understand current perceptions of the state and what it means to do business in South Carolina.
They also hope to identify selling points that differentiate South Carolina from its competitors across the Southeast and the nation.
Secretary of Commerce Harry Lightsey III spoke about being prepared for the future of economic development.
“It’s all about the future,” Lightsey said. “What we’re going through in terms of the automobile industry and the changes representing by scout motors here is just the beginning of what kind of change is gonna speak through every business sector and this is all about preparing our state to be apart of that change, to embrace that change, and to capitalize on the opportunities as they present themselves and we’ve been very deliberate in how we’ve gone about this rebranding process.”
One of the most notable featured businesses was Scout Motors.
The keynote speaker at the summit was Scout Motors President and CEO Scott Keough, who highlighted his company’s electric automotive plant coming to Blythewood in 2025.
The plant is looking to add over 4,000 jobs to the area, and Keough spoke on his confidence in having the plant thrive in Blythewood due to infrastructure and training.
“First and foremost… the land was available, the state was 100% ready for infrastructure,” Keough said. “In our business, you need the railheads, you need the energy to go make it happen. It’s a lot of states that have land and not a lot of states don’t have the infrastructure ready to go. Blythewood is a perfect mix. You throw in the livability of the state, you throw in the likability of the state, you throw in the closeness of a major university in Columbia and it works perfectly.”
Governor Henry McMaster spoke briefly on the state of economic growth and job availability in South Carolina at the summit. He said more work is available with more accessible training available in Palmetto State.
“We have plenty of people that can do the work, but we have to show it to them, we can’t tell them about it,” McMaster said. “That’s one of the reasons why we’re so excited about Scout. Scout is going to excite a lot of people. People are gonna want to get off the sofa and get to work.”
Scott Keough with Scout Motors confirmed today the Blythewood plant expects to hire 600 people by the end of 2025.
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(WPDE) — ABC15 is the new official broadcast home for South Carolina Education Lottery (SCEL) drawings, beginning Wednesday, July 1!
Weekday evening drawings for Pick 3, Pick 4, Palmetto Cash 5 and Cash Pop will air live just before the 7:00 p.m. newscast and are approximately one minute long.
ABC15 will also air live jackpot drawings during its 11 p.m. newscast on:
- Mega Millions: Tuesdays and Fridays
- Powerball: Wednesdays and Saturdays
In addition to the live broadcasts, official SCEL results will be displayed on-screen following the midday Pick 3, Pick 4 and Cash Pop drawings. Weekend evening drawings will also be shown through official results crawls.
Richard Hricik, South Carolina’s Democratic nominee for attorney general, has officially launched his campaign for November’s general election.
Hricik was unopposed in the primary, automatically advancing to the ballot in November. He will now race against the Republican nominee David Stumbo, who beat Republican challenger Stephen Goldfinch in a runoff on June 23.
Hricik launched his campaign on June 25, just two days after the Republican primary runoff concluded.
In a press release Hricik, a Charleston attorney of more than 25 years, said that his campaign focuses on the fact that the rule of law should protect everyone equally.
“The Rule of Law isn’t red or blue. It has to apply to everyone, and be defended for everyone,” Hricik said. “An Attorney General who treats the law as their own political agenda — who protects some people and not others — threatens our democracy and makes every South Carolinian’s rights less safe. If someone attacks the State House in Columbia, I won’t ask who they voted for; it won’t matter — they are going to prison. That’s the law, and the Attorney General’s job is to defend and uphold The Rule of Law. For everyone.”
Hricik also announced that he has a no-money pledge for his campaign.
“An Attorney General is supposed to answer to two things: You and The Rule of Law. No one and nothing else,” Hricik said. “So, I take no money — not from special interests, not even from myself. That’s not a gimmick. It’s my firewall against corruption and influence. When you owe no one, you can fight for everyone and The Rule of Law.”
There has not been a Democrat in the attorney general office since Thomas Medlock, who left office in 1995.
Stumbo, who is currently serving a fourth term as Solicitor for the Eighth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina, ran his primary campaign on the basis of being a career prosecutor and lifelong Republican.
On runoff election night, Stumbo and his supporters gathered at the City Club of Greenville to watch results come in. In his winning speech that night, Stumbo said that while there hasn’t been a Democratic attorney general in South Carolina in many years, there would still be work ahead.
“We still got a lot of work to do, and I need everyone in this room fighting like crazy for the next few months to make sure that when we’re standing there on election night in November that we are officially the next attorney g eneral of South Carolina,” Stumbo said.
Ruth Cronin covers Greenville County business, growth and development. Contact her at rcronin@usatodayco.com.
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — A judge has started the process for South Carolina to pursue the death penalty against Brandon Council, the man accused of killing two women during an armed bank robbery at CresCom Bank in 2017.
Council is charged federally with murder after authorities said he walked into the bank to commit an armed robbery that ended with two employees being shot and killed.
He was originally sentenced to death in federal court, but the Biden administration commuted the sentences of 37 death row inmates, changing their status to life in prison.
With Council no longer facing execution under the federal sentence, South Carolina is moving to revive state charges that had been dropped before he was federally charged.
READ MORE: Spectators pack courtroom as Alex Murdaugh returns to court after convictions overturned
In court, prosecutors sought to add dates to the case calendar as they pursue the death penalty again.
Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said the state had initially been looking at April 2027 for a trial date, but the judge denied that as too soon.
“We were being as aggressive as we could be. But by July 17th, the defense will give their order. We will turn in another order, and we’ll see if we can’t come to an agreement. That way, the judge doesn’t have a lot of problems. It’s just an agreement between the two sides,” Richardson said.
During the hearing, the judge and the state were asked about any bias before moving forward.
Richardson said, “I don’t know him. So he’s from a different state, and, they ask us to let them know about any bias. I don’t know about any bias. I just, you know, it’s whatever the crime is.”
He added, “The main thing for me was to get the schedule in order so that we know where we’re going, and it looks like we’re on the road to that, but we’re not there yet.”
READ MORE: Florence woman sentenced to 35 years in prison for 2-year-old’s death
At one point, Council sought to represent himself in court and objected to statements made by the prosecution.
By the end of the hearing, he changed his mind and accepted representation.
Richardson said he does not expect the trial until 2028.
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