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June 18, 2008

Democratic club to meet in MB

The Grand Strand Horry Democratic Club will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Magnolia's Restaurant, 2605 N. Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach.

For more information, call 455-8226 or e-mail beacat@sc.rr.com.

June 10, 2008

Bright red firehouse

At Myrtlewood #2 polling place in the Myrtle Beach Fire and Rescue station on 38th Avenue, 141 of the precinct's 1,417 registered voters had dropped in by noon.

That pace is "reasonable," said poll manager Ed Munns, for a primary with only a handful of contested races.

Of the 141 voters, only 12 were Democrats, which poll workers in part explained by pointing at the ballot. Republicans had five races to choose from, while Democrats only had two races to cast ballots for -- both of which were full of little-known challengers to federal races.

Of the handful of voters that came in around the noon hour, none wanted to give their names to a reporter for The Sun News. One man wondered aloud who the sitting coroner was -- Robert Edge, he was told -- then noted that if there were problems with him, police officers would be complaining.

Another woman said she was there to vote for three Republicans: "Luke (Rankin), Roddy Dickinson and the coroner."

Finally, a 13th Democrat showed up, though she also declined to give her name to a reporter. She was dismayed, she said, by how few Democrats were on the ballot.

"I guess," she said with a sigh, "I'll just wait 'till fall."

May 31, 2008

Ice cream with Lindsey

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham plans to spend a few bucks out of his nearly $5 million campaign war chest on an ice cream cone for you.

On Sunday, June 8, he'll make two campaign stops on the Grand Strand, just two days before the Republican Primary.

At 2 p.m., you can find him at Planet Hollywood, 2915 Hollywood Drive, Myrtle Beach.

At 4 p.m., he'll be at Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort, 14276 Ocean Highway, Pawleys Island.

May 17, 2008

Full menu of political fare

If you haven't yet had your fill of chicken bog or campaign promises, there's a full slate of political events over the next week.

  • Coroner Robert Edge's re-election committee will have a fundraising dinner Sunday at Luigi's Trattoria. The cost is $50 per person or $75 per couple, with the meal, soft drinks and tax and tip included.

WHEN | 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

WHERE | Luigi's Trattoria, 503 61st Ave N, Myrtle Beach.

MORE INFO | John Bonsignor, 385-3963.

  • On Monday, the Horry County Democratic Party is holding a "Meet the Democratic Candidate Forum" in Conway. Enthusiastic demonstrations of support are encouraged, but surrogate speakers are not allowed.

WHEN | 6 p.m. Monday.

WHERE | Bethel AME Church at the corner of Racepath and Smith Streets in Conway.

MORE INFO | Racepath1horry@aol.com.

  • Also, don't forget a slew of other events, posted below on this blog: today's Republican debate hosted by the South Strand Republican Club, Monday's Campaign Whistle Stop hosted by the Myrtle Beach Republicans, and the "Luke vs. Liz" debate hosted by the Conway Federation of Republican Women.

April 05, 2008

Coroner's BBQ, Dems' breakfast and GOP on TV

A trio of events await area political enthusiasts in the coming weeks.

  • Horry County Coroner Robert Edge will host a free barbecue meet-and-greet to launch his re-election campaign.

WHEN | 4 to 7 p.m., Tuesday.

WHERE |The Peanut Warehouse, downtown Conway.

COST | Free.

MORE INFO | Call Edge at 272-1143.

  • WPDE news anchor Jim Heath will speak to the Beach Democrats at their monthly breakfast meeting.

WHEN | 8 a.m. Friday.

WHERE | Akels Family Restaurant, 6429 N. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach.

COST | $7 for the breakfast buffet.

MORE INFO | sallyphoward@aol.com

  • In a similar vein, the Myrtle Beach Repulican Club will hear from a panel of local media members on "What makes news" at their meeting later this month. The panel includes newsman Joel Allen and manager David Hart of WPDE TV 15, interim editor John Dawsey of the Aynor Journal, senior editor Carolyn Murray of The Sun News, and Steve Porter of WRNN radio and the Myrtle Beach Herald. Debbie Harwell will moderate.

WHEN | 6 p.m. Monday, April 21.

WHERE | Upstairs meeting room of Magnolia's Restaurant, 26th Avenue and Ocean Boulevard, Myrtle Beach.

COST | $16 for the buffet dinner, which opens at 5:30 p.m.

MORE INFO | Mary Henry, 444-4364 or myrtlebeachrepublicanclub@gmail.com.

March 08, 2008

MB Republicans to discuss economy

With the dominance of the economy in the current Presidential campaign and rising challenges on the Grand Strand, the Myrtle Beach Republican Club has scheduled two speakers on the topic for its next meeting.

Nick Sherfesee, president Grand Strand of First Reliant Bank, and Judy Blackburn, owner of Atlantic Home Mortgage, will lead a discussion of commercial and individual finance issues, club officials said.

"Foreclosures in the real estate market, sliding interest rates, and an uncertain Wall Street are sending mixed messages," the invitation states.

There is no charge and the meeting is open to the public.   

WHAT | Myrtle Beach Republican Club meeting
WHEN | 6 p.m. March 17
WHERE | Paradise Resort, 2201 South Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach
MORE INFORMATION | Mary Henry, 444-4364 or myrtlebeachrepublicanclub@gmail.com.
 

February 05, 2008

State lawmakers to speak to Myrtle Beach GOP

Four state lawmakers from the Myrtle Beach area are slated to speak to the newly formed Myrtle Beach Republican Club later this month.
State Reps. Alan Clemmons and Thad Viers and state Sens. Ray Cleary and Luke Rankin will all speak about possible new laws before the state legislature.
Among the issues they'll address are: immigration, the state budget, tax cuts, roads and bridges, education, healthcare for small businesses, and spending caps. 
There is no charge and the meeting is open to the public.
WHAT | Myrtle Beach Republican Club legislative forum
WHEN | 6 p.m., Monday, Feb. 18
WHERE | Paradise Resort, 2201 South Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach.
For further information, contact Mary Henry at 444-4364 or myrtlebeachrepublicanclub@gmail.com.

January 29, 2008

Mary Henry elected MB GOP President

The newly-formed Myrtle Beach Republican Club elected officers last week, choosing Mary Henry as its president.

Other officers include vice president Peter Yahnis, secretary Nigel Horonzy and hospitality chairman Tom Middleton.

The next general membership meeting will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 18 at Paradise Resort, 2201 S. Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach.

January 26, 2008

Official: No problem with voting machines

As the first ballots were cast at 7 a.m. this morning, Horry County officials reported no problems with voting machines in the South Carolina Democrat Primary.

By 8:30 a.m. officials at several polling sites around Conway and Myrtle Beach also reported no problems.

"Everything is going wonderful," said Sandy Martin, Horry County's registration and elections director. "It's definitely going better this week."

Poll workers at several area sites also reported good turnout among voters.

"We've already got more people now than we had by 10 o'clock last Saturday," said JoAnn Stewart, a poll worker at the Homewood precinct. "It's going perfect."

January 25, 2008

Colbert destroys Obama in sand

Comedian Stephen Colbert gave Myrtle Beach another burst of publicity Friday night with a segment featuring the Democratic sand sculpture that sat outside The Palace Theatre.

The bit compared each verbal blow Sens. Hillary Clinton and John Edwards levied against Sen. Barack Obama in Monday's debate to a physical attack on his face on the sand sculpture.

The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce offered up the sand sculptures to The Colbert Report as a sacrifice before the Republican debate on Jan. 10 to try to get as much publicity out of them as possible. They were paid for by local business sponsors.

To see the clip, check out the video titled South Carolina's Primary on the show's Web site.

He did not use shots of the Republican sculpture being destroyed, or a shot of his own face in sand.

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