Big government, anti-free market crony capitalist Bobby Harrell – arguably the most powerful politician in the state of South Carolina – will pressure members of the S.C. Department of Transportation to approve more money for the totally unnecessary Interstate 526 boondoggle this week.
The powerful Speaker of the House is a very late addition to the SCDOT board meeting scheduled for this week in Columbia, S.C. – a move which strikes us as evidence of desperation on the part of the road’s supporters.
The SCDOT board has rejected this road once already – but legislative pressure (including potentially illegal involvement from Harrell’s political action committee) has it back on the front burner.
Specifically, Harrell will seek to convince commission members to sign an agreement obligating the expenditure of another $136 million on the eight-mile, $558 million project.
FITS has consistently opposed this expansion– which has negligible public benefit and dubious local support. In fact next to the totally unnecessary Interstate 73 project, we view it as the single most wasteful highway expenditure in the state.
Of course in the Palmetto State – where up is down and down is up (and lots of lawmakers are cross-eyed) – that means it has rocketed to the very top of the state’s infrastructure budget.
22 comments
Thanks for breaking the news. I requested to speak a few weeks ago. Last week Brian Derberry, head of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, was added to the agenda to promote the 526 extension to John’s Island, in spite of the fact that it diverts funds from key economic development projects like improving the road system around Boeing and reducing congestion on I-26 in the Charleston region and between Charleston and Columbia. The hypocrisy of the “business community,” as represented by the Chamber, knows no bounds. Speaker Harrell was added to the agenda, after me, yesterday. The meeting will certainly be an interesting one.
526 is a sop to the residential builders. The developers want it bad.
You gotta wonder where Thurmond, I mean Harrell, owns property along the proposed route.
A low-ranked project sucking up a HUGE amount of the taxpayers’ money, for no demonstrable benefits except to his developer and real estate buddies (and their other political shills) who would be able to turn Johns Island into Mt. Pleasant if this thing ever got built. Their greed is exceeded only by their disregard for what makes the Lowcountry a very special place. For supposedly “conservative Republicans” they are mighty easy about spending the taxpayers’ money.
What happened to the “ethics investigation” into Harrell’s use of campaign funds for his personal airplane expenses, and his pharmaceutical bundling company that sells medicines to clinics and hospitals for Medicaid patients (competing with pharmacies)?
Hypocrite.
“Hypocrit”…ethicly challenged, self serving, Hypocrit!
Dear Captain of Spawar Atlantic, how does this story and comment section relate to the 36 Million building at Camp Leatherneck. How is the lack of Informational Dominance on the homefront being illustrated by Dana Beach. Captain, you are fully aware of how 4000 students at Wando High School can use their SMARTPHONES to tell Bobby Harrell something all on the same day …aren’t you. Captain do you care to wager how many students in the lowcountry are following this money trail in CIVICS classes in real time. How would this “view” have helped win the hearts and minds along a road being used to bury IEDs. Captain, do you care to pop up a Google Earth Map on your computer to take a look at road and rail easements in the Charleston “Fitsnews” area..?
CAPTAIN…….do you think WIl Folks is STUPID because Dana Beach knows exactly how smart Nancy Mace is with a camera.
My God……
Can anyone explain WTF any of that means?
Sorry man, you’re on your own here. It hurts to read.
Nope. Blathering nonsense appears another attempt at ‘sexy spy talk’ using allusions intended to imply sophisticated information analysis (allowing poster’s occupation is info geek as posted).
Geek affliction: ( posted by one so afflicted..) Awkward (umm….none?) social communication skills. We don’t use/understand unstated connotations, denotations, contextual references customarily applied by others in social communications. Instead our unstated stuff is customary only for those who wallow in the same waters. It’s requires conscious effort to learn how to communicate outside this narrow view.
Perhaps Branton’s spending all his awake time under a mandatory 7/12 day/hour program schedule in a windowless locked area wallowing in data no contact with non geek/nerds. That’ll screw with anybody’s social communication skills. So I’ve heard…
Dear “Grasshopper”, be mindful of the nimble minded. Remember when you wanted to learn mixed martial informational “artz” and you did not understand my “wipe on-wipe off” trialz…? Remember when everyone in the room laughed as you stood on one leg and closed your eyes and raised your arms in anticipation of the “right moment” to react to an actionable “move”. The Taliban are not stupid and Jon Stewart is not stupid and neither is Wil Folk’s “dojo”. Everyone thought Walt Disney was stupid for buying all that land outside of Orlando. How many times did fellow friends laugh and question his time with a cartoon mouse. How wealthy would those fellow friends be today if they had each became a mouse “friend” and joined in the “cartoon” fun and monetary gain. We wonder if Wil Folk’s wife has ever watched the cartoon “Mouseland” on youtube. Would she stop to realize that Wil Folks is just a mouse with an “idea”. A wagered question on “jeopardy” would be…”Wil Folks serves what kind of “cheeze” to Lindsey Graham to defeat his re-election..?”
{Boomerang 101, 406, 909, move Goofy ahead 3 spaces and move Jon Stewart “Blackstone” ahead 3 spaces, wager 3 cheese Bitcoins, Facebook Pepe Escobar and General Dempsey, Pintarest Nancy Mace }
“be mindful of the nimble minded”
numb minded
“wipe on-wipe off”
Your style of mental masturbation is called “wack on-wack off”.
My powers can be used to purge you of your ignorance and hatred, but first you must enroll in an English Literature and Writing class at USC.
Bobby Harrell is one more reason that SC AG Alan Wilson does not deserve to be re-elected in 2014. That Harrell is not in jail now is either proof that Wilson is a crook or that he is totally incompetent.
That Harrell is not in jail now is either proof that Wilson is a crook or that he is totally incompetent.
Can it be both?
Well, there is certainly always that, too!!!!
Nail on the head! Alan Wilson grew in this corrupt culture! Remember he is Congressman, former tate Senator Joe Wilson’s son and son of the infamous Roxanne Wilson, neighbor and friend of disgraced Town Councilman Danny Frazier, disgraced former Lt. Adulterer Gov. Bob Peeler and sychophant to former Senator Jake Knotts. You lie with dogs, some of whom are rotting with corruption and immorality, you not only get up with fleas, maggots infest your corrupt ass!
~$700 million on a worthless project, but we need to consider raising the gasoline tax, or begging the feds for money, in order to not let the actually necessary infrastructure we already have go to shit.
Man, if only there was a simple solution…
Federal indictments possibly could forcibly be brought against Harrell via court order(s).
What a bunch of angry people. We need this road badly on Johns Island, thank god our elected officials are doing something. Don’t believe me, watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxjWDqOi55M
You are full of it. This project will be shut down in due time. You better believe it (echo echo echo).
The entire population of South Carolina will be pounding their first in due time – demanding Harrell be crucified. It comes ~~~