NC Senate panel backs school religion bill, AI funds

Residents in the private Hilton Head Island community of Spanish Wells found a swastika painted on a roadway in late May, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

The symbol had already been painted over when deputies responded May 26 near Widewater Road, according to an incident report. Deputies noted “multiple areas” that appeared to have been covered with paint.

A property manager told deputies she did not know when the graffiti was painted but believed it happened May 24 or 25, based on emails from residents, the report said. She declined to press charges and sent a mass email asking whether any neighbors had surveillance footage.

As of Wednesday, deputies had not identified a suspect and did not know exactly when the swastika was painted, sheriff’s office spokesperson Lt. Daniel Allen said. Allen said investigators also were unsure whether other hate symbols had been drawn near Widewater Lane before being covered.

Spanish Wells is a non-gated private community in the historic Gullah neighborhood of the same name overlooking the Calibogue Sound. It is governed by a property owners association and includes a members-only sports and lifestyle club.

This was not the first reported case of swastika graffiti in the area.

In 2021, three May River High School students were charged with spray-painting swastikas, racial slurs, and other messages at a hotel construction site in Hardeeville. The suspects were not publicly identified because they were minors, police said.

In 2022, officials at Battery Creek High School reported swastika graffiti in a boys bathroom, along with threats directed at Jewish and Black people and a message threatening a school shooting.

The three Democrats running for South Carolina governor differed Wednesday on how to make the state more affordable, while agreeing on expanding Medicaid eligibility and legalizing medical marijuana.

State Rep. Jermaine Johnson of Richland County, Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod, and Upstate businessman Billy Webster discussed taxes, housing, and health care in an hourlong debate hosted by South Carolina Educational Television, less than a week before the June 9 statewide primaries.

Johnson and McLeod said they would use the governor’s office to push for a livable minimum wage in a state that follows the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour, unchanged since 2009. McLeod said it should be $18 an hour; Johnson did not name a figure.

All three are seeking to become South Carolina’s first Democratic governor since Jim Hodges was elected in 1998. The Democratic nominee will face the Republican primary winner in November to succeed Gov. Henry McMaster.

Webster said eliminating the state income tax would leave too little money for services, noting income taxes account for about 45% of the state’s proposed $14.4 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Legislation signed March 30 lowers income tax rates. According to the state Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, about 43% of filers will pay less in the first year, reducing state revenue by nearly $309 million; about 23% will pay more, and 35% will see no change. The law calls for further reductions as the economy grows, with eventual elimination of the tax.

Johnson also said fully eliminating the income tax was not feasible, but he supported further cuts so 70% of filers would owe no state income tax. He also called for lower property tax rates for small businesses.

Webster supported expanding a property tax break for older homeowners from the first $50,000 of assessed home value to $150,000, matching a plan passed by the Senate.

McLeod said he would stop offering state incentive packages to large manufacturers.

They also backed legalizing medical marijuana, but not recreational use. Johnson said he would push for relief for people convicted of nonviolent marijuana offenses, though South Carolina governors do not have pardon authority.

More than 207,000 South Carolinians had voted through Tuesday, according to the State Election Commission, and 64% cast Democratic ballots. Early voting continues through Friday.

State Sen. Josh Kimbrell ended his campaign for South Carolina governor Wednesday, the Spartanburg County Republican said in a video posted to social media.

Kimbrell remained on the June 9 Republican primary ballot. His announcement came with two days left in early voting.

Kimbrell, first elected to the state Senate in 2020, said his decision to leave the six-way race involved several factors, “including some of the nastiest politics I’ve ever experienced in my life” since launching his campaign last June.

His campaign faced months of legal disputes tied to the private aircraft chartering business he founded in 2017. Two weeks after Kimbrell entered the governor’s race, former business partner Frank Rogers sued him, accusing him of funneling more than $2 million from the business into personal and campaign expenses.

Kimbrell denied the allegations and filed a defamation countersuit.

In a 21-minute Facebook video posted in December, Kimbrell said the legal fight left him thousands of dollars in debt and forced him to sell the home he shared with his wife and two children.

Beyond the debates, Kimbrell did not appear to campaign publicly and ranked last in various polls. He also trailed the field in fundraising, reporting about $80,000 raised through March 31, according to his latest filings with the state Election Commission. The other five candidates each raised or self-funded millions of dollars, reports showed.

In Wednesday’s video, he said he was still deciding whom to support for governor and would back the candidate he believed “will carry forward an agenda of pro-family, pro free markets, pro limited government in our state.”