Carolina Forest gets $300K for new playground
May 19, 2008 by admin
Carolina Forest Chronicle
Ashley Bruno
5/19/08
A playground project “unlike any other” in Horry County received an important financial boost Saturday.
S.C. Sen. Luke Rankin presented Horry County Parks and Recreation with a $300,000 check to build a community playground in the Carolina Forest area.
This past Monday, a recommendation was made to Horry County Administer Danny Knight regarding qualifications to select a firm for the building of the playground.
According to Director of Parks and Recreation Brent Taylor, the project will be unlike any other in Horry County.
The playground will be larger than most playgrounds typically seen at schools and parks and it will be built and designed entirely by the kids of the community.
“The beauty of this project is that the kids will actually design the playground,” Taylor said.
Statewide Web access?
May 19, 2008 by admin
Rock Hill Herald
5/13/08
State lawmakers must be just as uncertain as we are about the wider implications of becoming the first state to adopt the next generation of broadband communication and who should have access if it does.
Last week, lawmakers were mulling the option of adopting WiMax, which would allow extremely fast connection to the Internet from anywhere in the state and access to new interactive tools. They voted to appoint a panel of seven tech experts from the private sector to study the options and make recommendations to the State Budget and Control Board.
Access to the Internet in this day and age is like a utility, a necessary service people need to keep pace with a changing world. Wireless technology also is an increasingly necessary tool in classrooms, offices and homes.
WiMax technology is cutting- edge, wireless, interactive and about 10 times faster than current wireless broadband. State officials believe that it could be used to bring wireless Internet and new interactive tools to everyone in the state.
But that raises a variety of questions. Would that put the state in competition with local broadband providers in the private sector? If the state adopts the technology, would it be limited to rural areas that have no access to wireless services now? How about first responders such as EMS and police?
Some also worry that the technology is too new and untested. What if the state adopts WiMax and then new and better networks come along that make it obsolete?
We don’t presume to have the answers to those questions. But the idea of a uniform statewide network is appealing. We also think it is crucial to extend wireless service to schools and isolated rural areas — something akin to the rural electrification program of the 1930s and 1940s.
But we’re also sympathetic to lawmakers who passed the issue along to a panel of tech experts. While the idea of a network covering the entire state is appealing, the techies are sure to provide a more accurate picture of what that might entail.
New ‘Reform’ Ad
May 13, 2008 by admin
Here’s our new ‘Reform” ad debuting on televisions across the district this week.
Our New Ad
May 13, 2008 by admin
Our new ad titled “Santee Cooper.”
Rankin honors pledge to Carolina Forest homeowners
May 6, 2008 by admin
Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach, is already making good on last week’s pledge to The Farm homeowners in Carolina Forest, where residents objected to an elevated water tank being built by Grand Strand Water & Sewer Authority.
Luke Recieves Lineman’s Award
May 4, 2008 by admin
Horry Electric Cooperative CEO Pat Howle presents state Sen. Luke Rankin with the Lineman’s Award, one of the electric cooperatives’ highest honors.
Howle said Rankin looks out for co-op members, particularly by protecting their “stable and affordable power source,” the state-owned utility Santee Cooper. He was given the award for “his efforts to stop the potential sale of Santee Cooper which saved Co-op members hundreds of millions of dollars in the future. We presented him with the lineman statue – which is the heart and soul of a Co-op.”
Senate finds middle ground on immigration
May 2, 2008 by admin
Compromise bill passes, now heads to the House
COLUMBIA-The Senate passed a new immigration reform compromise Wednesday evening that adds teeth to violations by employers and demands online verification of eligibility for employment.
If the House agrees to it, the measure will be “the toughest anti-illegal-immigration bill in the country,” said Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston and leader of the Senate.
This Week in the Senate 4/3/08
May 2, 2008 by admin
Luke talks about the broadband initiative with Senators Glenn McConnell and Brad Hutto.
