Apparently some well menain animal rights folks are endangering the life of my beloved dog Brownie. Their bill S833 would likely place my dog on doggie death row and require me to appear in court. Please read item five below and learn about the problems with tethered dog bill 833. I hope you will join with me in opposing this bill unles it is amended to protect folks like me and my dog Brownie. ~FF
1) Anti-crime bills head to Senate floor
2) Sanford likes most of budget
3) S.C. Politics today | Concealed weapons bill passed
4) 2 Gadsden mothers get 10-day notices
5) Problems with TETHERED-DOG BILL
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1) Anti-crime bills head to Senate floor
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http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/feb/27/anti_crime_bills_head_senate_floor31940/
Anti-crime bills head to Senate floor
Proposals would ease searches of those on probation, deny bail to repeat offenders
By Glenn Smith , Yvonne Wenger The Post and Courier
COLUMBIA — The state Legislature got one step closer to putting in place a crime-fighting package local police believe will make communities safer.
Bills to allow authorities to search offenders on probation or parole without a warrant and one that would allow judges to deny bail to repeat offenders were sent to the Senate floor Tuesday.
"I think we posted some big wins today," Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, said after the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting.
"I see us, as of now, having moved forward on almost every front that we could. After talking to the police chiefs, most of their agenda is now moving in the Legislature."
North Charleston Police Chief Jon Zumalt and Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen, along with other top Charleston County police officials, have sought the Legislature's help in fighting violent crime and keeping dangerous criminals off the streets and outlined a five-point plan for doing so.
As part of the effort to address what they see as shortcomings in the criminal justice system, the police officials also want the Legislature to hire more judges and abolish parole for violent offenders and require that they serve at least 85 percent of their sentence before becoming eligible for release.
Another element would allow authorities to collect DNA samples at the time of arrest for certain crimes. That bill passed the Senate in January and is awaiting consideration in the House.
Zumalt said the bills passed by the Senate committee Tuesday would go a long way to help police and state probation agents control problem criminals.
"I'm just thrilled by this," Zumalt said. "I'm very proud of Senators McConnell and Ford for sponsoring this, and very thankful it was approved by the committee."
Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, has been an advocate of strengthening the criminal justice system. On Tuesday, he implored his colleagues on the Judiciary
Committee to support the legislation involving bail for repeat offenders, calling it a "key element" in the crime-fighting package. The committee voted 21-0 on that bill.
On the bill regarding warrantless searches, the committee voted 21-1 to send it to the Senate floor for consideration. Sen. Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, voted in opposition.
Like Zumalt, Mullen and Charleston Mayor Joe Riley commended the Senate for its support and echoed a belief that it could make the community safer.
House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, said he is inclined to support the legislation. House Majority Leader Jim Merrill of Daniel Island said the same, although he is not sure the answer to violent crime can be found in the Statehouse.
"A lot of it is societal changes that I am not sure any law is going to necessarily affect," Merrill said. "Many of the norms and standards that used to exist are now just kind of wiped away. Common decency and expectations aren't there anymore. I just don't know if laws can change that."
David Slade contributed to this report. Reach Yvonne Wenger at (803) 799-9051 or ywenger@postandcourier.com. Reach Glenn Smith at gsmith@postandcourier.com.
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2) Sanford likes most of budget
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http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/feb/27/sanford_likes_most_budget31913/
Sanford likes most of budget
By Robert Behre
Gov. Mark Sanford finds a lot to applaud in the state budget going before the House in a few weeks, but a plan to spend $106 million in Medicaid reserves bothers him.
Gov. Mark Sanford called borrowing $106 million from Medicaid reserves "a bad idea."
"Medicaid is an incredibly important program to literally hundreds of thousands of people across South Carolina," Sanford said Tuesday at Roper Hospital in Charleston. He noted that the hospital served about 40,000 Medicaid patients alone.
"We think the idea of borrowing $106 million from the reserve accounts for Medicaid to be a bad idea, and we would ask that there be some changes," he said.
Sanford praised the approximately $7 billion proposed budget for the way it funds education, including the state's pre-payment tuition program, and saves money in travel. He made his concern about Medicaid public "in the spirit of constructive criticism," and in hopes that lawmakers would change the spending plan before it reaches his desk.
The Medicaid reserve is particularly important to maintain, he said, because the state is making changes to the $5.5 billion indigent health care program that serves about 860,000 state residents.
Sanford said he would prefer to see another $106 million trimmed from the budget or borrowed from the S.C. Budget and Control Board reserves instead of Medicaid's.
State Rep. Annette Young, R-Summerville, serves on the Ways and Means Committee that passed the budget late last week, and she said Tuesday that the committee's work was more difficult this year because the economy hasn't increased state revenues much.
"We're not growing government," she said. "The budget is less. It shows that all agencies except for education took a cut this year."
Sanford also expressed concern about the proposed spending for the state's prison system. He noted that the national average is to spend $62.22 per inmate per day, while South Carolina spends about $45.02. The proposed budget would spend $43.94, which Sanford said could jeopardize the safety of inmates and prison workers.
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3) S.C. Politics today | Concealed weapons bill passed
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http://www.thestate.com/politics/story/329250.html
S.C. Politics today | Concealed weapons bill passed
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I don’t think that’s something we should do.”
— House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, when asked whether South Carolina should join other Southern states that have apologized for slavery. The issue came up as the House passed a bill recognizing Juneteenth, or June 19, 1865. That’s the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the Civil War was over and slaves were free.
SCHMOOZING
Where and when lawmakers can eat and drink for free today — and who’s buying
8-10 a.m.: Breakfast, by the ETV Endowment of S.C., Blatt Building, Room 112
Noon-2 p.m.: Lunch by the S.C. Child Care Association, Blatt Building, Room 112
6-8 p.m.: Reception, by the Petroleum Marketers Association, at the Clarion Town House hotel
ONLINE
For fresh political and legislative news, click on S.C. Politics Today.
To read the full text of bills, click on Find a bill under the General Assembly category.
Also, find out how much state employees earn by clicking on S.C. salary data and searching the online list.
CAPITOL CONNECTION
Caucus’ concerns put nominee ‘on hold’ The confirmation of state Department of Public Safety director James Schweitzer will be reconsidered by a Senate panel because of concerns raised by the Legislative Black Caucus.
Caucus members met with Senate president pro tem Glenn McConnell on Tuesday to discuss inappropriate behavior by some members of the Highway Patrol. The Highway Patrol is under the Department of Public Safety.
In one incident the caucus cites, an African-American woman was handcuffed to the bumper of a patrol car by a Highway Patrol officer. In another incident, a trooper stopped a black motorist who then ran. The trooper yelled a racial slur at the motorist.
“(McConnell) was very receptive to our concerns,” said Rep. Leon Howard, D-Richland, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus. “So until we get some answers, the confirmation is still on hold.”
Schweitzer has told an S.C. media outlet that the officers’ behavior was wrong and that the officers were punished.
Both officers were suspended for 12 hours, Howard said. Howard, along with other caucus members, will meet with Gov. Mark Sanford on Thursday to discuss the issue further.
TETHERED-DOG BILL
The Senate will further study a bill designed to prohibit the tethering and chaining of dogs for certain periods of time in a day.
Amid concerns the proposed new law was too broad, and could be used to interfere with what some legislators said are legitimate instances of tying up dogs for several hours a day, the Senate Judiciary Committee decided Tuesday to amend the measure, though it already contained exemptions for activities such as hunting and leashed walking.
Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Charleston, worried the proposal could affect working dogs. Specifically, Campsen said he was concerned about dogs used in training and hunting activities associated with field trials.
“Every instance of tethering a dog is not cruelty,” Campsen said.
Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, raised questions about how time constraints in the measure might affect tethered dogs at major hunting events.
Committee members will review questions about the bill, sponsored by Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington, and take it up again next week.
CONCEALED WEAPONS
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill Tuesday keeping state lists of residents with concealed-weapons permits private.
The House-passed bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Pitts, R-Laurens, restricts the circumstances under which the State Law Enforcement Division can release such lists to requests from law enforcement agencies involved in an investigation, subpoena and court order.
SLED does not release such lists, according to Lexington Sen. Jake Knotts, a retired police officer and committee member, but he said the agency is under pressure to do so.
“This gives them something to stand on,” Knotts said.
Knotts and other senators said requests for release of the information are designed to serve open government, but feed Internet enterprises and media snooping. “They have absolutely no reason to have this list except they want to have more knowledge and be in everybody’s business,” said Sen. John Hawkins, R-Spartanburg, who supported the bill.
The measure was amended to require an annual report be published by SLED profiling the transactions of gun permits in the state, such as the number issued, denied or renewed each year.
The bill also was amended to require that all existing lists of permitted gun carriers be destroyed under penalty of law once the bill is enacted. Other changes are expected in the bill when it reaches the Senate floor, legislators said.
CAR SALES TAXES
Buying a car would help repair South Carolina roads and bridges under a bill that cleared a House panel Tuesday.
The legislation calls for at least $10 million in taxes generated from car sales to go toward overdue maintenance of roads and bridges.
House Speaker Bobby Harrell said the proposal would generate about $104 million in taxes during the next several years. And that money could be used to back around $1 billion in bonds for road work, state Rep. Tracy Edge said.
The House discussed a similar bill last year, splitting the cash between new projects and maintenance. “Here, we’re putting it toward the state highway fund, which is used for maintenance and paving and generally not for construction” said Edge, R-Horry.
TRAINS
White Rock residents battling a proposed rail siding in the area got help Tuesday from Richland County lawmakers.
Measures that would stop railroads from forcing landowners to sell a site for projects were introduced by Sen. John Courson and Rep. Nathan Ballentine.
WIRELESS CLOUD
A House panel has begun discussions on converting ETV’s broadband service licenses from analog to digital — a move that could result in a windfall of new revenue for the state.
The transition will free up 80 percent or more of ETV’s capacity that could then be used for some other purpose. One use being considered is a “wireless cloud” that would cover the state. In essence, it’s high-capacity Internet access that would be available to nearly all of the state’s residents.
A House panel will resume discussions today. The deadline for a conversion plan is January 2009.
— Staff writers Roddie Burris, Gina Smith, Tim Flach and The Associated Press contributed
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4) 2 Gadsden mothers get 10-day notices
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FF Note: Your tax dollars at work giving free homes to violent offenders. The real victims in this story are the other folks living in the complex in fear.
http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/feb/27/gadsden_mothers_get_day_notices31921/
2 Gadsden mothers get 10-day notices
Lawyer says appeal could end up in front of circuit judge
By Schuyler Kropf
Two single mothers whose children were charged with armed robbery last year were told Tuesday they have 10 days to vacate their apartments in Charleston's Gadsden Green public housing complex.
A third single mother could get a reprieve from the city's Housing Authority if her son can demonstrate a good record in school.
Jacqueline Clinton holds the eviction notice she received from the Charleston Housing Authority at her Gadsden Green apartment. She is one of five mothers whose sons were charged in two armed robberies near the College of Charleston last year.
Still, the case might have a long way to go. An attorney for the women said a hearing in front of a county magistrate likely is the next step. Beyond that, attorney Skip Martin said, the appeals process could eventually put the dispute before a circuit judge.
The notices came as the two women facing immediate removal continued to call the city's actions unfair, contending they never endorsed their children's bad behavior in October and that there have been no negative incidents involving any of their other children since then.
"Why are they pushing this on our kids, and on me?" said Jacqueline Clinton of Allway Street, adding that her two sons arrested in the robbery incident have been gone from Gadsden Green for some time.
If Clinton is forced to leave, she and five children will have to find new housing at a time when she has no prospects of a new place to live, she said, and when she's holding on to a housekeeping job at a downtown hotel that she likes and wants to keep.
The other mother, Elizabeth Speed, also called the city's actions unfair.
"We didn't know our kids got into trouble. We are devastated about what happened," she said.
The eviction notices are part of an ongoing saga that started in the fall when six juveniles, ages 14 to 16 and belonging to five Gadsden Green women, were arrested for allegedly confronting two people in separate incidents near the College of Charleston.
One of the victims was shot in the hand with a pellet gun. Six youths on bicycles were involved, police have said.
Housing Authority officials have said they observe a zero-tolerance policy against crimes committed by their tenants, even when the occur off their property. Also, federal housing regulations allow the authority to pursue evictions against anyone who engages in activity "detrimental" to a housing property.
A separate clause, however, allows the authority to consider other circumstances in allowing them to stay, including "the extent to which the leaseholder has shown personal responsibility and has taken all reasonable steps to prevent or mitigate the offending action."
Two of the five mothers already have been evicted or voluntarily left Gadsden Green for reasons other than the charges against their children. One abandoned her apartment and the other fell three months behind in her rent.
Charleston City Councilman Wendell Gilliard, who grew up in public housing, has taken up the women's cause, urging changes in eviction rules.
Gilliard had earlier contacted Jesse Jackson Sr. of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, and Jackson wrote a letter to Charleston Mayor Joe Riley in January urging him to intervene. In the letter, Jackson pledged to "take a personal interest in these young men to help assure they do not repeat acts of this kind" if their families were allowed to stay in their homes.
"The law should never be applied to impact the innocent, and in this case innocent women and children are being punished," Gilliard said Tuesday. "To make people homeless who had nothing to do with the crime is surely wrong."
Housing Authority Chief Operating Officer James Heyward Jr. said Tuesday that the other single parent involved, identified as Rushia Robertson, might still be able to stay, largely because she has a good history with the authority. The authority is waiting on information from the school district, Heyward said. He has defended the authority's eviction steps as being protective of other law-abiding tenants.
Gadsden Green is a complex of apartment buildings that houses 262 families near the Crosstown Expressway between Hagood and President streets.
David Slade contributed to this report. Reach Schuyler Kropf at skropf@postandcourier.com or 937-5551.
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5) Problems with TETHERED-DOG BILL
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FF Note: I wrote Senator Knotts regarding my concerns with S 833 and copied my state senator as well. The reply from my honorable senator Chip Campsen should alert others in my situation to write and call senators NOW! Please help keep my dear friend Brownie off doggie death row! You may find the contact info you need at the URL below:
http://www.scstatehouse.net/cgi-bin/zipcodesearch.exe
Contact the Senate Judiciary Committee at sju@scsenate.org and (803)212-6610
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Fred:
I am well aware of the problems with the bill, and brought many of them
up yesterday in full committee.
The bill was carried over because of these concerns.
I recommend you and others like you make your opposition known to
members of the Judiciary committee because there are a lot of e-mails
urging passage of the bill.
Chip Campsen
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FF note: The following is the email I sent.
Senator Jake Knotts:
Subject S 0833 TETHERED-DOG BILL
I have had the pleasure of working with you over the years on various pieces of legislation relating to motorcycles both as a friend and fellow member of ABATE. I know you love your dog Boom Boom just as I love my dog Brownie.
However Senate Bill 833 greatly troubles me. I have own dogs my entire life other than my term of duty in the USN. I generally prefer hound dogs and mutts most of whom came from the pound or their owners no longer wished to keep them and they were headed to the pound or doggie death row as I sometimes refer to the pound.
I have had my current dog Brownie for nearly 9 years. Brownie is a Retriever, Labrador, Chow mix; she is actually a pretty dog. She is one of the joys of my life. I generally keep her in the front yard where she can interact with me and my friends. She does not like to be inside more than 10 or 20 minutes. She really likes to be outside where she can run and play. She has three dog houses; two containing beds and one to keep her food dry.
She can run quite fast and easily clear a four to five foot fence. There is a lot of traffic on my street and speeding is a problem. Often North Charleston’s finest set up DUI check point next to my property and roar after folks trying to run at great speed. I am concerned my dog could be struck by a car if I were to let her run wild as my fence will not stop her.
I keep my dog in my yard using a my own trolley system with a 30ft main cable connected to buried anchors on either end. Attached to the main 30ft cable is a 20ft lead. This allows my dog complete free movement and plenty of running space. There is no chance of her becoming entangled. She is a very happy animal and has lived under this arrangement for 9 years. My neighbors love my dog and often look after her for me when I must take long trips. While a small enclosed dog run might be legal but it would certainly be cruel compared to my dog’s current range of mobility.
S 0833 takes away my ability to keep my dog safe and happy. I do not support chaining dogs to trees or other objects where entanglement and the resulting denial of food or water are possible. However responsible owners like me should not be punished by the misdeeds of others. I would grief greatly if bill S 0833 were to force me to place my happy dog into the pound where she would likely be killed.
If you were to visit my front yard you would see my friend Brownie is well cared for and happy. Please consider redrafting your bill to allow for reasonable treatment of folks like me and my beloved dog.
Sincerely,
J Fred Ruddock Jr. “FastFred”
Voter Registration Number: 4666383
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Please help stop or amend this bill by contacting the following members of the Senate Judiciary Committee:
McConnell, Glenn F. , Chm.; Ford, Robert; Gregory, Chauncey K.; Jackson, Darrell; Martin, Larry A.; Rankin, Luke A.; Elliott, Dick; Hutto, C. Bradley; Anderson, Ralph; Hawkins, John D.; Ritchie, James H. "Jim" , Jr.; Knotts, John M. "Jake" , Jr.; Malloy, Gerald; Sheheen, Vincent A.; Campsen, George E. "Chip" III; Cleary, Raymond E. III; Lourie, Joel; Scott, Randy; Williams, Kent M.; Vaughn, Lewis R.; Ceips, Catherine C.; Campbell, Paul G. , Jr.; Massey, A. Shane
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6) Tracy Miles Fundraiser and a Ride to Savannah
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http://www.fastfreds.com/trips/savannah/index.htm
Tracy Miles Fundraiser and a Ride to Savannah
The Tracy Miles Fundraiser and Chili Cook Off took place Saturday afternoon in Ridgeland South Carolina. Many folks entered the chili contest and there was plenty to eat. Savannah Georgia is just a short ride from Ridgeland South Carolina. Around mid afternoon a ride was taken to Moon River Brewing Company located at 21 W Bay St. in Savannah...
Read more and see photos at
http://www.fastfreds.com/trips/savannah/index.htm
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