Gov. McMaster rolls back orders + Taxpayer dollars unaccounted for
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Welcome to your weekly
This week, Gov.
-- He allowed some retail stores, including clothing and book stores to reopen;
-- gave local authorities permission to reopen public access to state beaches;
-- and ordered the state's school districts to keep schools closed and go virtual for the rest of the year.
The new directives are all about helping to ensure the state's economy gets "humming" by the end of June, the governor said.
McMaster said this week he has not felt any pressure from President
But McMaster's decision to allow some businesses to reopen runs counter to what Trump's White House COVID-19 task force has recommended as the conditions that states should meet before reversing stay-at-home orders or lifting restrictions on businesses.
As of Thursday, the state had recorded nearly 5,000 positive coronavirus cases and 150 deaths.
"We have not yet seen a consistent decline in case reports," said Dr.
Nursing home outbreaks
Across the country, nursing homes and assisted living facilities have reported a high number of COVID-19 outbreaks.
But in
Up until this week, the state's public health agency would not release information about disease activity in long-term care facilities, resulting in numerous newspaper articles, including from The State, and eventually a lawsuit. The health department this week released names of nursing homes where residents and staff have tested positive for the virus -- at least 241 COVID-19 cases in 46 nursing homes.
But questions arose how those numbers were being recorded.
A
Rural area concerns
Advocates say the state needs to pay greater attention to rural communities during this pandemic.
That, however, can be a challenge.
Some rural communities in the state don't have hospitals, and a lack of adequate testing and poverty that discourages trips to the doctor make having an accurate picture of what's happening in the state's rural areas difficult.
There's also a lack of high-speed internet.
But achieving a longtime bipartisan priority for
Now, pressure is building on members of the S.C. congressional delegation to fight for more money for rural broadband deployment as a part of that effort.
And in State House news
About
It's a striking example of the lack of transparency, accountability and record-keeping surrounding a long-held practice in which state legislators secure money for projects in their districts, according to ethics experts.
Buzz Bites
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-- Doctors think people who have recovered from COVID-19 could help people in hospitals battling the disease. Prisma and other hospitals around the state are participating in an FDA trial coordinated by the
-- After nearly two months of combating the spread of coronavirus,
--
-- In remarks on the House floor Thursday,
-- McMaster convened the first meeting Thursday of AccelerateSC, a 29-member advisory group assembled in the last week to help slowly reopen the state's economy.
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-- African Americans are dying from coronavirus at higher rates in states including
-- After doling out
-- The DCCC is leading a lawsuit against the
-- The incentive deal to bring the
-- Ex-Gov.
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Before we adjourn...
State lawmakers to
To be honest, I'd been there once, so I felt like it was only necessary to let my colleague
"With the closing of Yesterdays, the iconic
Opened in 1978, Yesterdays catered to no certain crowd other than those looking for a fulfilling meal or a simple, satisfying drink. But beyond the goodness that could be consumed from its kitchen and tavern, Yesterdays provided an almost palpable feeling of being part of the fabric of
Yesterdays felt like a place filled with happy ghosts that connected
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