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Realistic New Year’s Resolutions You Can Actually Stick To

On average, 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail. Why? Because most people set unrealistic expectations for themselves (like “get a six pack”) and essentially set themselves up for failure. But, hope is not lost. Here are some realistic and achievable New Year’s resolutions you can actually stick to this year. 

Read “x” number of books

Choose a specific number of books you’d like to finish reading by the end of the year – for non-readers it can be just one book or for bookworms it can be upwards of twenty. When you stop scrolling through your phone and take a second to read a few pages of something you enjoy, you’d be surprised how much you can benefit.

Make your bed every morning

While it may seem like a small thing to do, it’s a good habit to develop and it starts your day off on a good foot. Your space will also look cleaner and more put together and as a result, it can make you more productive. 

Cook dinner at least once a week

Quarantine has caused many people to become more adventurous in the kitchen. Keep up the good work and commit to cooking dinner at least once a week. You’ll save money and potentially find a new hobby you enjoy. 

Donate or volunteer once a month

Find a charity or non-profit organization that serves to target a need you are passionate about and donate your time or money to them at least once a month. Not only will you benefit others but you also will boost your overall happiness just knowing that you’re making a difference. 

Meditate once a week

The benefits of meditation cannot be overstated. Studies have shown how meditation can lower blood pressure, decrease stress and combat chronic pain and depression – just to name a few. Dedicate just one day a week to meditate and see how your mind and body can benefit immensely. 

Create and stick to a monthly budget

While so many people have been hit hard financially during the course of the past year, quarantine has prevented a lot of people from spending money. You can save even more money by analyzing your current expenditures and setting up a monthly budget for you and your family to abide by.

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Second VC Summer Executive Pleads Guilty to Federal Fraud Charges

Featured Image Source: Grace Beahm Alford – Post & Courier

Kevin Marsh, the former CEO of SCANA, has entered into a federal plea deal on charges of fraud and conspiracy in relation to the VC Summer nuclear expansion in Fairfield County. Marsh is accused of defrauding nearly one million South Carolinians who paid inflated utility bills to fund the now-defunct project.

SCE&G and partner Santee Cooper pitched the ambitious project as a one-fix-wonder to growing concerns surrounding accessible energy versus environmental concerns. The duo claimed that the $8 billion dollar investment would provide South Carolinians with a reliable source of clean energy at an affordable cost… once the plant was in operation. Until then, customers would be footing the bill. Customers were led to believe the increased utility prices were only a short term sacrifice for a long term solution, but executives like Marsh made sure customers were left completely in the dark. 

According to the South Carolina U.S Attorneys Office, Marsh and co-conspirators, including Santee Cooper executives who have yet to be held responsible, covered-up the structural, logistical, and financial issues that doomed the project from the start. Marsh was found culpable of falsifying critical evaluations and misleading both investors and stakeholders in an attempt to salvage the project as they quietly raised utility prices nine times over the course of the venture.

With the fate of Santee Cooper (a state-owned entity) undecided, customers may be looking at even higher energy costs if lawmakers refuse to sell Santee Cooper. As a state-owned utility, Santee Cooper does not have to adhere to the same regulatory scrutiny as investor-owned utilities and executives can raise rates with just the approval of their own board. Critics point out this lack of accountability is what led to the VC Summer debacle and debt in the first place.

After accepting the prosecutors plea, Marsh is now the second executive to plead guilty rather than face a criminal court. While the specifics of the plea deal are not yet confirmed, it is almost certain Marsh will spend time behind bars along with hefty fines. 

Meanwhile, Santee Cooper’s former CEO, Lonnie Carter, retired right after the VC Summer scandal made headlines with a very comfortable retirement package that is also being paid for by Santee Cooper customers, in addition to any legal fees he and other executives managed to rack up. 

More cases of criminal misconduct related to the failed VC Summer project are expected to surface as the investigation continues. 

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High Santee Cooper Electric Rates May Force Century Aluminum Closure, Job Loss “Economic Disaster” for small business

Featured Image: ABC4 News

Earlier this week news broke that Century Aluminum could be on the verge of closing its Mt. Holly aluminum smelter plant for good causing a devastating impact on the local community of Goose Creek. 

The utility, which had to close half its facility back in 2015 due to the high cost of power purchased from Santee Cooper, sent a notice to employees that the plant could close entirely as early as December 31, 2020. 

As reported by ABC4 News, Goose Creek Mayor Greg Habib said the closure and resulting job losses would damage the local economy. “It certainly is a negative impact to put it simply. In 2015, the University of South Carolina did a study that showed the Mt. Holly aluminum smelter has a $1 billion dollar impact on the local economy here.”

Habib wasn’t the only one to address the issue. South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Frank Knapp also spoke out. “The crazy thing about this is Santee Cooper is the entity that’s going to make this all happen. A state agency that is supposed to be helping economic development in this state is doing exactly the opposite. They are creating an economic disaster.”

Meanwhile, Santee Cooper, who is currently billions of dollars in debt and fighting their own battle, said they’ve offered a one-year extension on the current agreement between them and Century Aluminum which has been rejected both times. 

However, just last year, Santee Cooper opposed the City of Goose Creek’s idea to create a municipal electricity utility that would allow Century Aluminum to purchase power at a more affordable price than what they were paying Santee Cooper.

Unless something changes, Century Aluminum will close at the end of the year, and hundreds of employees will be handed pink slips during the holidays.

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Brookgreen Gardens is Brightening the Grand Strand in October

Whether you’re looking for a romantic night with a loved one or a fun night the whole family will enjoy, Brookgreen Gardens has got you covered.

On Friday and Saturday nights during the month of October, Brookgreen Gardens is hosting Autumn Nights in the Field of Light, an extravagant display of lights. Bruce Munro, a famous artist known for his immersive light displays, is the mastermind behind the Field of Light.

Each evening begins with a Lowcountry buffet filled with classic dishes including She Crab soup, Frogmore Stew, Steamed Oysters, and more. You can also grab a drink at the cash bar before walking through the stunning display. 

Tickets are $45 for Brookgreen Garden members and $50 for the general public. VIP Packages are also available for $200 and include two tickets, reserved seating, two glasses of wine, premier parking, and Bruce Munro’s new book Light. Purchase your tickets online today to be sure you get to experience this beautiful evening.

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Alabama Theatre Offers Kids Free Admission

Looking for a fun evening of song and dance with your family? Look no further!

Myrtle Beach’s Alabama Theatre is currently offering free admission for kids 16 and under with the purchase of an adult ticket. The Alabama Theatre is a popular Myrtle Beach attraction. It is located next to Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach and was voted the #1 Live Entertainment Theatre by Myrtle Beach tourists and locals. 

Currently showing to theatre-goers, the Alabama Theatre’s ONE Show is an extravagant show filled with a variety of music genres and plenty of laughs. The show combines popular hits from New York, Las Vegas, and Nashville. It will run from September 25th to October 25th so, be sure to reserve your tickets soon.

You can grab your tickets online or by calling the box office at (843) 272-1111.

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Grand Strand Golf Directors Association Disbands After 30 Years

As a hub for all things golf, the Grand Strand Golf Directors Association has been a part of Myrtle Beach since 1990. Now, 30 years later, it’s time the organization closed its doors. As a pinnacle part of the Myrtle Golf scene, the Grand Strand will be thoroughly missed. 

At its peak, the organization had over 200 members, each partaking in monthly golf outings. Over the course of the last few years, the headcount has dwindled to about 50. 

“The industry has changed,” said GSGDA member A.J. Gohil, who was also a former president and vice president of the group. “There’s so much happening online. It’s not like it was in the old days where you had 100 hotels and 100 golf directors, one at each hotel. Now you might have one golf director taking care of 10 hotels from their home or a satellite office. There aren’t as many hotel directors, and people are working from all different locations and it’s harder to get them out”

Throughout the years, the organization has established scholarship funds for local students. The amount reaches $2,500 per year with a maximum of four years per student. That isn’t the only charity work the group has participated in. The GSGDA has given 100 + college scholarships and raised over $350,000 throughout its time as an active organization.

While coronavirus has played a role in the ultimate closing of GSGDA, it was the prior years combined that made the decision final. Instead of coming together as a group, many of the Grand Strand golf courses have changed gears and allowed walking in order to practice social distancing. Walkers need only carry their bags or use a pull cart in order to enjoy the 18 holes.

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Santee Cooper VC Summer Anniversary Timeline

After Three Years There’s Still No Solution For Santee Cooper Customers

The largest financial disaster in South Carolina history didn’t happen overnight. In fact, it’s been going on for 16 years, since Santee Cooper and SCE&G announced they’d be partnering on a nuclear expansion project at the VC Summer plant in 2008. 

After numerous delays and the project incurring billions of dollars of debt, the project was never finished and abandoned by both SCE&G and Santee Cooper. 

It later came to light that executives fought to disclose a report highlighting serious problems with the project while continuing to pour money into it.

Three years later and with billions of dollars of debt that customers will have to pay, lawmakers are looking at selling the state-owned agency to alleviate customers of Santee Cooper’s debt. And while it looked like the financial disaster might come to an end earlier this year, a few lawmakers stalled. No decision was made, leaving Santee Cooper to continue to make poor decisions, such as extending a million-dollar contract for its CEO and sponsoring a golf tournament.  Santee Cooper’s behavior was so bad it drew a harshly worded rebuke from the Speaker of the South Carolina legislature, who labeled Santee Cooper a “rogue entity” for providing “false and misleading” information. 

So how did we get here? Here’s a timeline of how customers were left with billions of dollars of debt and increasing utility rates. 

There are several key dates before the most recent decision to explore the sale, but we’re focusing on the monumental dates that reveal SCE&G and Santee Cooper’s poor leadership, lack of transparency, and what led customers to be responsible for Santee Cooper’s $8 billion debt. 

May 2008 – The start of this fiasco. SCE&G and Santee Cooper announced a nuclear expansion project at the VC Summer plant. Since the announcement of the VC Summer Project eleven years ago, several delays and massive problems were hidden by the project’s leadership. 

February 2009 – The nuclear expansion plan is approved and construction is set to begin in 2012 with the first reactor to begin operating in 2016 and the second in 2019.

November 2009 – Santee Cooper approves and implements a 3.4% rate increase to help pay for the project. 

December 2011 – The project gets off to a rocky start with the first delay being reported by SCE&G for production issues, manpower issues, and the need to redesign nuclear modules. 

December 2012 – Santee Cooper approves and implements another 1.8% increase to rates. 

June 2013 – Another delay follows pushing the first reactor operation date to late 2017-early 2018. 

December 2013 – Santee Cooper approves and implements yet another rate increase. This time a whopping 5.2% to help pay for the struggling project. 

May 2014 – Obvious signs of trouble appear and Santee Cooper asks to hire an outside company to oversee the project. 

October 2014 – Money trouble becomes more apparent when contractors say it will cost an additional one billion dollars to complete the reactors. 

October 2015 – Westinghouse is brought on board and completion dates are rescheduled yet again. The project is now pushed back to late 2019-early 2020. 

December 2015 – During this time, SCE&G asked the Public Service Commission of the Office of Regulatory Staff to increase rates to help fund the project. Santee Cooper has its own board of directors and doesn’t have to get rate hikes approved by anyone except its own board, so Santee Cooper increases rates to help fund the project. 

April 2016 – Another rate increase is approved and implemented by Santee Cooper. Customers see their rates go up by 5.3% this time.

June 2016 – SCE&G asks for its ninth rate increase. 

March 2017 – Westinghouse files for bankruptcy. The company cites $9 billion in losses from its two nuclear construction projects, one of which is the VC Summer project. 

April 2017 – Santee Cooper increases rates another 2.1%. 

July 2017 – Shortly after this, Santee Cooper and SCE&G announced they were abandoning the project even though customers have already paid up to $2 billion for the reactors. 

At this point, much of the general public was still unaware of the financial effects it was having on them. 

August 2017 – A special South Carolina Senate committee holds their first of MANY hearings and former Santee Cooper CEO Lonnie Carter announces his retirement. 

September 2017 – A month later Santee Cooper turns over the Betchel report detailing their insufficient oversight of the project. 

January 2018 – SCE&G customers hear good news when Dominion Energy announces it will purchase SCANA Corp. 

June 2018 – A state audit reports that the final amount for the failed project could increase by over $400 million. 

August 2018 – A 15 percent rate cut and refund for April-July charges begin appearing on SCE&G bills. Meanwhile, Santee Cooper customers are still continuing to pay for the failed nuclear disaster. 

March 2019 – Santee Cooper executives are unable to answer important questions about the future of Santee Cooper and rates during a Senate hearing. Following this, South Carolina Senate President Harvey Peeler introduces legislation that calls for exploring options for a possible Santee Cooper sale. 

April 2019 – Santee Cooper announces rate increases totaling about 7% between 2021-2024 with no PSC oversight. 

May 2019 – Lawmakers adopt this resolution and will begin exploring options to sell Santee Cooper. Read more about what this resolution means, here. 

July 2019 – The two-year anniversary of the abandonment of the failed V.C. Summer project that started back in 2008, over a decade ago, yet Santee Cooper direct serve and electric co-op customers are still paying for this massive financial disaster. 

Santee Cooper brings on new CEO, Mark Bonsall, guaranteeing him an annual salary of $1.1 million for 18 months. 

August 2019 – The South Carolina Department of Administration announces parties are now able to submit bids for Santee Cooper hoping to alleviate customers from the increasing debt. 

September 2019 – Santee Cooper’s largest customer, the electrical cooperatives which buy its power from the state-owned utility, sue Santee Cooper for keeping them in the dark about the failing VC Summer project, trying to protect their customers from being held responsible for its debt. 

Santee Cooper also releases their “new plan” which fails to recognize its debt or explain what will happen to utility rates. 

November 2019 – Increasing its debt even more, Santee Cooper’s legal fees for current and former executives surpasses $1 million. 

February 2020 – Santee Cooper files a motion to stop any reference to future rate hikes during the cooperative lawsuit trial, hoping to keep jury members in the dark after claiming a “rate freeze” would be put in place. 

The Department of Administration hands over a report to lawmakers detailing its recommendations from the bids it received from Santee Cooper including a management proposal from Dominion, a purchase proposal from NextEra, and a reform proposal from Santee Cooper itself. 

March 2020 – House members vote to further negotiate with NextEra and discuss extensive reforms to Santee Cooper, rejecting Dominion’s management proposal altogether. While Senate members voted to give more time to Santee Cooper to reform disregarding the years it had to reform up until this point. 

April 2020 – Pro-Santee Cooper Senators hold up emergency COVID funding until they win concessions to put off a decision on the sale of Santee Cooper.

Speaker Jay Lucas issues a letter to the Santee Cooper Board of Directors stating that “representations made by Santee Cooper Board members, leadership and staff are not reliable” and states that, had he the authority, he would “seek the immediate and unqualified removal of each member of the Santee Cooper Board and the dismissal for cause, of the entire senior management.”

July 2020 – Santee Cooper extends contracts for its million-dollar a year CEO and sponsors the Heritage Golf Tournament despite it having no fans in attendance. 

July 31, 2020 – Three years since the VC Summer Project was abandoned with no relief in sight for customers or South Carolina taxpayers. 

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4th of July Fireworks

It’s back! The famous Myrtle Beach 4th of July fireworks show is in the works after new show sponsors stepped in. Thanks to Budweiser and McDonalds, Myrtle Beach-goers can expect a grand finale of rockets and sparklers come this Independence Day. 

Join the city of Myrtle Beach at the Boardwalk on July 4th for a 10 p.m. firework show. Originally canceled due to budget cuts, this show’s expected to be as exciting as the last. You can count on crowds for roman candles and colorful firecrackers as we celebrate our nation’s independence. Face masks and social distancing are encouraged in an effort to maintain safety.

While news of the Cherry Grove Pier and Barefoot Landing fireworks being canceled has left many wondering how they’ll celebrate this year, there are still several ways to commemorate the day. Starting at Surfside beach, locals will be hosting a golf cart parade from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Deck out your ride for a chance to win the award for “the most patriotic cart.” Political decorations are discouraged. 

Strap on your running shoes and hit the Market Common’s pavement for the annual Independence Day Race. Choose between a 5k or an 8k at this family-friendly event. You’ll want to get a good night’s sleep for this 7:30 am wakeup call. With a high of 85 degrees on Saturday the Fourth, it’s sure to be a lovely day filled with fun and fireworks.