3 thoughts on “Your Virtual Front Page for Wednesday, October 12, 2016”

1. Douglas Ross October 12, 2016 at 6:11 pm

   > Recreation Commission director indicted on misconduct in office charge (The State) —

   You don’t think six months to come up with a single misdemeanor indictment is too long? When they don’t even address most of the other allegations that have been made? Seriously? How long would he have lasted in private business had the same charges been levied? I think you could measure it in hours.

   >What’s In The Latest WikiLeaks Dump of Clinton Campaign Emails (NPR) — I haven’t found a lot to get >excited about, but that’s me — I would never want to give that creep Assange the satisfaction.

   Because you like your spying to be done in secret by our government against its own citizens. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear, right? All the emails expose is a system of coordinated activities by the DNC, the media, and the Clinton campaign to lay rose petals on Hillary’s path to the nomination. It was rigged from the start.

   >Fed Officials Plan to Increase Rates ‘Relatively Soon’ (WSJ) —
   Think it will be before November 8 or after? I know what Hillary hopes for. A 5% drop in the market would not be good for her. They’ll hold off til November 9.

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2. Brad Warthen Post authorOctober 12, 2016 at 8:46 pm

   Here are comments from members of the Richland County legislative delegation:

   In response to the indictment of Richland County Recreation Director James Brown, members of the Richland County Legislative Delegation commented as follows:

   Senator Joel Lourie:
   “Today’s development is an important step in fixing the horrific problems at the recreation commission. For a year now we have been hearing horror stories from current and previous employees about the way they have been treated by the director. These desperate calls for help have been irresponsibly ignored by the Commission. Today’s action only strengthens our resolve that the five commissioners who support Mr. Brown need to resign or be removed by Governor Haley immediately. Also, I want to personally tell the employees of the Recreation Commission and the citizens of Richland County that you deserve better, and it is my hope that members of this delegation will do everything possible to quickly restore trust and accountability with this agency.”

   Senator John Courson:
   “Senator Lourie and I, in a bipartisan manner, introduced legislation this year to turn the governance of the Recreation Commission over to Richland County Council. They are proving funding and they should have the appointment powers of the commission. I intend to refile the legislation in the next legislative session beginning in January of 2017”

   Representative Beth Bernstein:
   “As a woman and mother of 2 daughters, I am appalled that the women employed at RCRC have been subjected to such egregious and disgusting conduct by Director James Brown. This is one step in the right direction and a small victory for the many women who have been vocal about the inappropriate conduct at the commission and other victims of sexual harassment. Since Director Brown has been indicted, the Governor should utilize her authority to remove Mr. Brown along with the Board Commissioners who were complicit by failing to intervene once they had notice. “

   Representative Mia McLeod:
   “As a parent and citizen of Richland county, this is beyond embarrassing. It makes me angry and disgusted. No woman should ever have to deal with this, especially from her employer. My hope, is that all who are involved will move quickly to restore the faith and trust of our community. Previously, I stated that the Commissioners, regardless of guilt or innocence, would always operate under a cloud of suspicion unless they took decisive action. Once again, I ask them to take decisive action now, for the sake of our children and community.”

   Representative Joe McEachern:
   “This is about the terrible mismanagement of the Recreation Commission from both the director and the five board members that support him. I hope Governor Haley will take quick action to remove them so we can go about the business of cleaning up their mess. The people of Richland County are counting on us.”

   Representative James Smith:
   “The news of Mr. Brown’s indictment adds further support to our request to Governor Haley that she take action to remove the five Recreation Commissioners who voted to support Director Brown’s continued employment.”

   Representative Nathan Ballentine:
   “This is a positive step for taxpayers that want answers. I hope all members of this delegation will take this opportunity to insist upon the truth in this matter and join our efforts to clean house.”

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   1. Brad Warthen Post authorOctober 12, 2016 at 8:47 pm

      Additional comments:

      Senator Thomas McElveen:
      “It is the responsibility of the Richland County Recreation Commission to deliver services to the people of Richland County as efficiently and productively as possible, as well as to be good stewards of the funding provided to the Commission. I hope that today’s development will be the start of eliminating the turmoil and rampant corruption that clearly exists within the administration of the Commission, so that employees can focus on their jobs without the distractions and anxieties that have accompanied the lack of leadership at the top. Hopefully today will mark the beginning of wholesale change within the administration at the Richland County Recreation Commission, so that they can get back to the business of serving the needs of the people.”

      Representative Kirkman Finlay:
      “Everyone is innocent until proven guilty but it is unfortunate that simple administrative steps were not taken to protect the employees of the Recreation Commission. Simply good administration and following the procedures laid out in the personnel handbook would have prevented us from arriving at this sad destination.”

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