YOU’VE HEARD ABOUT THOSE LARGE DATA CENTERS BEING BUILT AROUND THE COUNTRY THAT OFFER UP A LOT OF JOBS, BUT ALSO EAT UP A LOT OF ENERGY AND WATER TO COOL THEM DOWN. ONE COULD BE COMING TO OUR BACK YARD. THE COLLETON COUNTY ZONING BOARD MEETS THURSDAY EVENING IN WALTERBORO TO DISCUSS AN 860-ACRE DATA CENTER CAMPUS JUST SOUTHEAST OF WALTERBORO. CLIMATE ADVOCATES ARE OPPOSING THE DATA CENTER THAT WOULD OCCUPY LAND AT THE HEAD OF THE ACE BASIN, AN ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE AREA OF WETLANDS THAT’S UNDERGONE DECADES OF LAND CONSERVATION. DEVELOPERS SAY THE CONSTRUCTION WOULD CREATE MORE THAN A THOUSAND TEMPORARY JOBS BUILDING THE CENTER AND 500 PERMANENT JOBS ONCE ITS BUILT.
THE STATE’S CRIME REPORT IS FINALLY OUT, FOR 2024 IF YOU CAN REMEMBER THAT FAR BACK, AND SHOWS THAT BEAUFORT COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT MADE MORE ARRESTS THAN ANY YEAR POST-COVID, NEARLY 5 THOUSAND IN ALL, WITH FRAUD, D-U-I AND LIQUOR VIOLATIONS LEADING THE WAY. CASES LIKE CREDIT CARD FRAUD AND IDENTITY THEFT IN THE COUNTY HAVE GONE UP FROM ABOUT 600 CASES IN 2021 TO NEARLY 800 IN 2024. MURDERS STAYED STEADY AT 18 IN 2024, DOWN ONE FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR, ROBBERIES WERE DOWN SLIGHTLY, BUT D-U-I ARRESTS NEARLY DOUBLED. WEAPONS ARRESTS WERE ALSO UP ABOUT 10-PEPRCENT. STATEWIDE, VIOLENT CRIME DROPPED FOR THE FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW.
AS WHHI-TV REPORTED EARLIER THIS WEEK, REPUBLICAN STATE SENATORS HAVE BEEN MEETING AT A RETREAT AT PALMETTO BLUFF TO PLAN THE 2026 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA. THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT HOW TO PAY FOR INFRASTRUCTRURE IMPROVEMENTS TO HANDLE ALL THE GROWTH IN THE STATE, WHICH TAXES TO CUT- INCOME OR PROPERTY- AND HOW TO FUND HEALTH CARE WITH CHANGES IN MEDICAID AND OBAMACARE COMING DOWN FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNENT. AND THEY’LL ALSO NOW HAVE TO DEAL WITH A LARGER-THAN-NORMAL REQUEST FOR TEACHER PAY RAISES, THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ASKING FOR A 2-THOUSAND DOLLAR ACROSS-THE-BOARD INCREASE THAT WOULD BRING THE LOWEST BASE SALARY FOR A TEACHER TO OVER 50-THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR. THAT NUMBER IS ACTUALLY A BIT MORE THAN GOVERNOR MCMASTER HELD UP AS A GOAL BEFORE HE LEAVES OFFICE. CURRENTLY 45 OF THE STATE’S 72 TRADITIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS PAY ENTERING TEACHERS UNDER 50-GRAND A YEAR. THE RECENT PAY HIKES FOR TEACHERS ARE CREDITED WITH LOWERING THE NUMBER OF TEACHER VACANCIES THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. THERE WERE ONLY A LITTLE OVER 700 TEACHER VACANCIES STATEWIDE WHEN THE FALL SEMESTER BEGAN IN AUGUST, COMPARED WITH OVER A THOUSAND THE YEARE BEFORE. DISTRICTS HAVE ALSO SEEN A 5% DROP IN DEPARTURES OF TEACHERS. BACK IN 2018, THE MINIMUM STARTING PAY FOR TEACHERS WAS ONLY 32-THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR.