Earlier today this website broke the story of an alleged $43 billion shortfall at Nikki Haley’s Department of Transportation (SCDOT) – one that will create annual deficits of $1.7 billion for the next twenty-five years.
Do we believe those numbers? Sure … if South Carolina’s “Republican” leaders continue trying to operate the nation’s fourth-largest network of roads via a nakedly political and shamelessly corrupt system of spoils that places pork barrel projects ahead of legitimate needs.
We could see that …
Anyway … one item of interest we neglected to mention in our coverage was the author of the report, CDM Smith.
For those of you unfamiliar with the company, it used to go by a different name: Wilbur Smith. And yes, that’s the outfit that paid then-S.C. Rep. Nikki Haley more than $40,000 (money the “transparency” candidate failed to disclose, incidentally) for – allegedly – her “connections.”
And by “connections,” we of course mean a whole lotta nothing.
Wilbur Smith is one of two companies Haley was accused of lobbying for while serving as a member of the S.C. House – which of course is flagrantly illegal. In fact there was incontrovertible evidence of lobbying activity by Haley related to one of those companies – Lexington Medical Center – but nothing ever came of it. All of the governor’s transgressions were ultimately washed away by her GOP cronies.
Oh well … it’s nice to know Wilbur Smith, errr CDM Smith, finally got something worthwhile out of Haley.
14 comments
I guess I am having a senior moment, what exactly did he get from Haley?
A $1.8 million contract to write a study saying that they want the state to spend $billions more.
SCEIS The South Carolina Enterprise Information System Supplier Search
Search Name: CDM
http://webprod.cio.sc.gov/SCContractWeb/contractDetail.do?contractNumber=4400005349
Vendor: CDM SMITH INC
Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan
Material Group: 91896 – transportation consulting
Agency: SC Dept of Transportation
Total Price: $ 1,771,875.00
State government is a sewer. Drain it and start over.
You can’t know the half of it. Lots of officials and managers are not corrupt, but lots of them are dumb.
Oh come on. Wilbur has been dead for 20 years. You can’t blame him.
One day the Feds will come here and removed the infestation of cockroaches we call the “POLITICAL LEADERS”.
Not as long as Jean Toal has Bill Nettles’s testicles in a jar on her desk, it ain’t gonna happen.
Don’t hold your breath Larry
the Southern Mafia is at it again…..go Nikki !
Speaking of sewers:
Here’s a BREAKING story concerning government in SC for ya “FITS”
Town of Lyman’s computers and other electronic gathering devices were seized by FBI the Utilities Director was suspended without pay. The Mayor has not been seen in two weeks.
This may or may not have any connection with the ongoing PCB invistigation that has affected treatment plants along the I-85 corridor from Greenville to Charlotte and is costing MILLIONS to rectify.
When/if the perps who dumped the PCB’s into grease traps are identified it will be BIG NEWS (that “FITS” either has ignored or was unable to understand the technical aspects of the situation and the ramifications of this illegal dumping) Either way I am disapointed that it has not been covered on this site.
Looks like Spartanburg H/J & WSPA ch. 7 have scooped ya “FITS”
Get on it son – show us what ya got!!!!!!!
Being unable to understand technical aspects has never slowed down Sic Willie.
You could be right – I recall him posting he nothing about the workings of an automobile a few years back
That said, I am disappointed that he has not covered the PCB problem (which originated with the Town of Lyman about a year ago). Feds,SLED,DHEC, & EPA are actively persuing this situation and a Lyman cop has been arrested for evidence tampering – along with exposing a sordid history of this slug which also involves a police dog …….. HONESTLY, YOU COULDN’T MAKE THIS SHIT UP IF YOU TRIED BUT IT’S ALL TRUE and has been excently covered by the Spatanburg H/J – so much for the death of newspapers and relying on information from the internet!!!!!
Anyhow, the PCB contamination is costing MILLIONS to rectify and will eventually be passed on to the customers who use public utility disposal systems and I’m talking BIG Water/Wastesater utilities = (ReWa in Greenville,Spartanburg Sanitary Sewer District,CMUD in Charlotte; maybe even Columbia, seems like I heard they showed up positive for PCB contamination but I don’t know to what degree.
Not to mention smaller systems like Lyman 9again that is where is was discovered first and where the shit hit the fan (literally!!!!!!!)
You have wonder – have we reached a point with Nimrada where we say “Enough is enough.” Go Tom – Go Tom!
CDM Smith just got a $1.2 m contract to do a water study for DNR. Has done it again?