Latest Updates

  • Supreme Court justice defends secretive disciplinary system

    By RICK BRUNDRETT At a recent S.C. House special committee hearing on judicial reform, Supreme Court Justice John Kittredge touted the “almost non-existent” number of ethics violations committed by state judges. “Each week, members of the judiciary receive a report of all the ethical violations of judges around the country,...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    November 30, 2023

  • Electric bus maker required to do less for taxpayer-backed incentives

    By RICK BRUNDRETT When Proterra announced in February 2010 that it was locating a hybrid- and electric-bus assembly plant in Greenville, the then-CEO said the company selected South Carolina over some 30 states because of the “numerous benefits in terms of workforce capabilities and research and development support.” Former CEO...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    November 14, 2023

  • Hidden currents: How S.C. officials kept electric vehicle project secret

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Update: 11/7/23 - Eight days after this story was published, voters in the town of Blythewood ousted incumbent Mayor Bryan Franklin, electing Town Council member Sloan Griffin as the new mayor by nearly 70% of the vote, according to state election results. Voters also rejected a re-election...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    October 30, 2023

  • Courting favor? Senator's cases before magistrates raise ethics questions

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Update: 10/16/23- Less than three weeks after this story and a companion investigative piece were published, Gov. Henry McMaster in a letter to the S.C. Senate called for reforms in the magistrate selection process, pointing out that his "relatively recent predecessors adopted or acceded to a custom...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    September 29, 2023

  • S.C. senators maintain strong grip on local magistrates

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Update: 10/16/23- Less than three weeks after this story and a companion investigative piece were published, Gov. Henry McMaster in a letter to the S.C. Senate called for reforms in the magistrate selection process, pointing out that his "relatively recent predecessors adopted or acceded to a custom...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    September 29, 2023

  • State agency surpluses total $4 billion to start fiscal '24

    By RICK BRUNDRETT When fiscal 2022-23 ended on June 30, the state’s general fund had a balance of less than $58 million – a relatively paltry amount compared to the $1.2 billion surplus reported a year earlier. But that doesn’t mean state government in South Carolina is poor. Far from...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    August 29, 2023

  • Federal school-choice suit raises questions about future court, legislative actions

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Update: 10/26/23 - The South Carolina Education Association announced that the association, the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and six public school parents filed a lawsuit asking the S.C. Supreme Court to nullify a state law passed earlier this year creating a school-choice program that...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    August 11, 2023

  • S.C. counties spending above population growth, inflation

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Oconee County Council Chairman Matthew Durham will tell you he ran on a campaign promise of low taxes and limited government growth. Durham, who was elected to County Council in 2020 and became its chairman this year, says he was alarmed that the county’s annual budget grew...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    July 31, 2023

  • Governor’s vetoes don’t touch hundreds of millions in earmark spending

    By RICK BRUNDRETT When it came to reining in lawmakers’ spending on their favored local projects for the upcoming fiscal year, Gov. Henry McMaster used a veto butter knife on earmarks totaling more than $709 million. In his annual written veto message released Tuesday, McMaster vetoed just six out of 515 state...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    June 21, 2023

  • Under the hood: huge taxpayer tab, ESG mandates in Scout Motors deal

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Taxpayers in South Carolina likely will be on the hook for more than the $1 billion already dispersed to help a recently created Volkswagen company build its first electric vehicle plant near Columbia. On top of that, under a state incentives agreement obtained by The Nerve, Virginia-based...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    June 06, 2023