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SEPTEMBER 1–7, 2022
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PRESORTED PERMIT NO. 97 BEAUFORT, SC 29902
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
Cunningham brings campaign message to Beaufort
Joe Cunningham, center, Democratic candidate hoping to unseat incumbent Republican Governor Henry McMaster, chats with supporters Lori and Tom Tull during a meet-and-greet Wednesday morning at the Black Chamber of Commerce in Beaufort. Cunningham spoke to nearly 100 friends and supporters before traveling to Hilton Head Island for another event. Bob Sofaly/The Island News
By Tony Kukulich Democratic candidate for Governor Joe Cunningham got a standing ovation before he uttered his first words when he appeared at the Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce Wednesday morning, Aug. 24. All Cunningham had to do was walk through the door and the 100 or so enthusiastic supporters were on their feet. “I think that Cunningham and Casey will bring forward motion to our state,” said Kathleen Hughes, chair of the Beaufort County Democratic Party. “In a state where things haven’t changed too much over the years. We still have terrible education. We still have terrible roads. I think Joe and Tally can make a real difference
in that by increasing our revenue on the statewide level.” Cunningham wasted no time getting to the key issues during his brief appearance. He started with education and teachers’ salaries. “We are losing our best teachers in droves,” Cunningham said. “We understand that it’s because politicians are failing our teachers. They’re being disrespected and underpaid, and we all know that when we fail our teachers we fail our kids.” He promised an across-the-board salary increase of 10% for all teachers and said he intended, if elected, to raise starting salaries for teachers from $36,000 per year to $50,000 per year by 2030. That initiative will be funded by bringing new revenue
streams to the state. “I want to legalize marijuana in the state,” Cunningham said. “Also I want to legalize sports betting. These are things that are happening in South Carolina. They are legal in other states. We want to use that money to pay our teachers what they’re worth.” In the 2018 election, Cunningham narrowly defeated pro-Trump candidate Katie Arrington for South Carolina’s District 1 seat in the U.S. House of Representative after Arrington defeated incumbent Mark Sanford in the Republican primary. The victory was considered a major upset and marked the first election of
SEE CAMPAIGN PAGE A6
State legislature to debate abortion ban By Tony Kukulich Legislation that would outlaw nearly all abortions in South Carolina was taken up by the House this week in a special session, while the Senate is expected to debate the bill starting Sept. 7. The bill, H.5399, passed the House by a final vote of 67-38 on Tuesday, but only after changes were made. The version of the bill that went to the House outlawed all abortions except if the life of the mother was endangered by the pregnancy. It did not allow for abortions in cases of pregnancy that resulted from rape or incest. It failed on the first vote 47-55. According to the AP, those exceptions were added to the bill, and it passed in a subsequent vote. “It is not prudent to speculate on how anyone will vote on this bill since I expect there will be many votes, very active debate, many amendments and plentiful nuances – each potentially affecting numerous areas of the bill,” said Rep. Shannon Erickson, R-124, prior to the start of debate. Erickson did not cast a vote Tuesday. The House voting record shows that she had an excused absence. When the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Dobbs v. Jackson ruling in June of this year, it overturned the long-standing protection of a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion afforded by the Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. H.5399 is the latest attempt to
SEE ABORTION PAGE A6
Beth Glass, left, digs down to the nest wile JoAnn Davis waits to count the hatched shells, the shells of turtle that didn’t hatch or didn’t make it, as well as any hatchling turtles still alive during a turtle nest inventory Monday afternoon at Hunting Island State Park. Both women are volunteers with the Friends of Hunting Island Sea Turtle Conservation Project. Bob Sofaly/The Island News
Taking inventory
Volunteers keep track of, help ensure success of sea turtle nests on Hunting Island By Mike McCombs HUNTING ISLAND
released a newly hatched sea turtle on the beach and cheered and encouraged it as it made its way to the ocean. Fast forward to Monday, when I got a chance to relive that same scenario from five years ago. Volunteers with the Friends of Hunting Island’s Sea Turtle Conservation Project were conducting a public inventory
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bout five years ago, my girlfriend and I took an early evening trip to Hunting Island to get in a walk on the beach on a day that was overcast and cool for late summer. While there, we happened on a small crowd and several Friends of Hunting Island
MIKE MCCOMBS
volunteers gathered in two columns near the surf. We watched as the volunteers
of nest No. 100, on the beach just north of the Hunting Island lighthouse. It was the perfect opportunity to see just how these volunteers contribute to the success of Loggerhead sea turtle nesting here in Beaufort County. The volunteers on this day were Beth Glass, JoAnn Davis
SEE TURTLES PAGE A3
Committee gives green light on plan to expand Sea Island Parkway
By Tony Kukulich Beaufort County officials stole the thunder from residents gathered at a Public Facilities Committee meeting ostensibly to protest a proposed traffic reduction plan that threatened Crystal Lake Park on Lady’s Island. The committee, chaired by District 11 Councilmember Stu Rodman, in-
stead approved a plan that appeared to have come out of the blue that left the park unscathed. The plan, referred to as Option 0, will result, if approved by county council, in the widening of the Sea Island Parkway to four lanes from the Woods Memorial Bridge to Walmart. The county developed five options
—referred to as Options 1 through 5— intended to improve traffic flow in the area of Beaufort High School as part of the Lady’s Island Traffic Improvement initiative. After an initial review earlier this year, two plans were dropped.
SEE PARKWAY PAGE A4
Beaufort County planners are considering widening Sea Island Parkway all the way up to the causeway leading to the Richard V. Woods Memorial Bridge. Bob Sofaly/The Island News
SPORTS
VOICES
INSIDE
Warriors win ugly: Penalties mar Whale Branch’s victory in home opener.
Gordon Fritz: “Anger is not a strategy for Lady’s Island.”
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