Latest Updates

  • Scott pushes unspent covid funds for school choice options

    By RICK BRUNDRETT More than a year after the federal government’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus-relief plan became law, South Carolina’s public school districts have spent relatively little of their share of the money, state records show. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott believes lower-income parents nationwide should be able to use the unspent...
    Rick Brundrett

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    August 12, 2022

  • Short-term rental owners, managers worry about discrimination

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Editor’s note: Today’s story is the second of two initial articles on short-term rentals in South Carolina. The other story can be found here. Update: The city of Columbia’s ad hoc committee on short-term rentals is set to meet again on Sept. 29, according to city clerk Erika Hammond. Meanwhile,...
    Rick Brundrett

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    July 27, 2022

  • Property rights at center of battles over short-term rentals

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Editor’s note: The Nerve today is featuring the first of two initial stories on short-term rentals in South Carolina. With South Carolina’s tourism season in full swing, many summer visitors are looking for short-term rentals through popular sites such as Airbnb and Vrbo. As of May, there were...
    Rick Brundrett

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    July 26, 2022

  • Voters back school choice bill. Can lawmakers get it across the finish line?

    By RICK BRUNDRETT S.C. residents generally support using public money to allow children to attend private schools, a South Carolina Policy Council poll shows – and a key negotiator on a related school-choice bill says he’s pushing to get it passed. It remains to be seen whether the Republican-dominated, 46-member...
    Rick Brundrett

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    June 23, 2022

  • Compromise bill reflects SCPC poll results on tax relief

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Just days before a legislative conference committee approved a compromise tax-cut bill, South Carolinians expressed strong support for tax relief in a poll released by the South Carolina Policy Council – The Nerve’s parent organization. Contacted last week by The Nerve before the deal was announced, several senators who...
    Rick Brundrett

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    June 15, 2022

  • Feds pushing liberal investment schemes in local government, business sectors

    By RICK BRUNDRETT The Biden administration and Democratic-controlled U.S. House collectively have been focusing on local municipalities, publicly traded companies and private retirement plans to promote the environmental, social and governance movement that is popular among liberal groups, records show. Republican state and federal officials in South Carolina are opposing...
    Rick Brundrett

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    May 26, 2022

  • Critics fear ESG factors could diminish state pension investments

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Two major investment management firms that handle a large chunk of South Carolina’s pension plan for state retirees are big proponents of the controversial environmental, social and governance (ESG) movement, The Nerve found in a review of pension and other records. Of the approximately $39 billion market...
    Rick Brundrett

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    May 19, 2022

  • Serious business: How ESG mandates can hurt small SC firms

    By RICK BRUNDRETT In a letter last year to Cromer Food Services, one of the Anderson-based company’s hundreds of customers – a foreign-headquartered corporation – said it was drafting a “Business Partner Code of Conduct that expresses all our essential requirements for sustainable cooperation.” The letter asked the company to...
    Rick Brundrett

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    May 12, 2022

  • Officials warn ESG movement heading to SC amid ‘woke’ power play

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Imagine a small business applying for a bank loan and being rejected despite having an excellent credit rating and strong revenues. The reason? Its “ESG” score was too low. If you’ve never heard of ESG, you’re probably not alone. But the corporate and financial worlds are well-acquainted...
    Rick Brundrett

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    May 12, 2022

  • State law keeps judicial income hidden from public

    Update 3/17/25: The salaries of judges and court staff making at least $50,000 annually can now be found here on the Judicial Department's website. By RICK BRUNDRETT Under state court rules, judges must avoid even the “appearance of impropriety” in all of their activities, and “minimize the risk of conflict”...
    Rick Brundrett

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    March 10, 2022