Posted on 06/01/2014 6:12:13 AM PDT by Gamecock
CONWAY, SC (WMBF) – Governor Nikki Haley said that she wants Bikefest to end in the Grand Strand at a meeting with area leaders Friday morning.
Gov. Haley had been scheduled to meet with leaders at the Conway Emergency Operations Center to discuss hurricane preparedness, but after the string of violent incidents over Memorial Day Weekend, Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes and other leaders said they wanted to discuss these issues with the governor.
"There is nothing worse that a governor wants to see than Myrtle Beach on the front page of USA Today in a negative light," Gov. Haley said. "In a time where we are trying to improve the tourism in South Carolina, trying to bring jobs to South Carolina trying to show everybody why Horry County is such a great place to live, work, vacation and raise a family, this was not something to be proud of."
Gov. Haley said that the string of shootings that left three people dead and more injured was not a problem with law enforcement, but a problem with the event itself.
"This is no longer a law enforcement issue," Gov. Haley said. "Our law enforcement was stellar. We had more than enough people – 273 we sent from the state."
She questioned how Atlantic Beach leaders could claim the violence wasn't the result of Bikefest, and reiterated that the whole event has to go. She added that she intends to sit down with the Atlantic Beach leadership to discuss how to boost the economy and tourism for the area without Bikefest.
"It is time for that Bikefest to come to an end, and that is the way that I am going to talk to the elected officials of Atlantic Beach, and I think it's time for everybody in Horry County to come together and say, ‘No more. We are proud of our state, we are proud of the look of our state, we are proud of the actions of our state, we are proud of the people of our state," Gov. Haley said.
Myrtle Beach Mayor Rhodes, North Myrtle Beach Mayor Marilyn Hatley, Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus, and Myrtle Beach Councilman Randal Wallace were all pleased to hear what the governor had to say.
"That is what I wanted to hear," Mayor Rhodes said.
The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce released the following statement in response to Haley's remarks Friday afternoon:
"We want to applaud Gov. Haley and thank her for providing the necessary leadership and recognizing the activities surrounding the Memorial Day Bikefest attracts far too many problems. We would like to restore Memorial Day weekend to what it was meant to be, and stand ready to work with the governor, our local governments, the business community and our citizens to make that happen." Earlier, in a letter to Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce members, Dean made the following remarks: "The Myrtle Beach area is one of America's premier vacation destinations, welcoming 16.1 million visitors a year. Thankfully, we only have to deal with this level of senseless crime and random acts of violence one weekend each year. Unfortunately, this situation is all too familiar. What should have been a stellar weekend celebrating our military heroes and kicking off the summer season has once again been marred by criminals and felons who show no regard for our laws. The loss of life seen over the Memorial Day weekend is tragic, and we must do everything in our power to prevent this from happening again. We, as a community, must act in a responsible and caring manner to protect our citizens, visitors and businesses. We should not allow the unfortunate circumstances of this one weekend to define us as a community."
Ruh Roh! Gov. Haley will now be tarred and feathered due to her racis’ attitude towards the Black Bike Bash in Myrtle Beach. How dare she bus’ up the fun?
Isn’t it racist to oppose anything blacks want to do?
So its that Atlanta Freaknic trainweck on bikes.
What a nightmare .
In before the “That’s Racist!” kid.
Is the Bike Week event a black oriented event?
I know the Urban Beach Weekend in Florida is a black themed event. I was surprised they call it “urban” because the liberals have told us that for a conservative to say the word “urban” is a racist code word.
It's long past time for black America to grow up and join the civilized world. I'm tired of their excuses and it looks like others are as well.
Note that article no where notes that the event was taken over by black bikers.
Word has it that they not only don’t tip at the eating places, many walk out without paying at all and local businesses want it gone too......
The lyin’king responds: “If I were a biker, I’d look a lot like xxx (fill in the blank)” I’m thinkin’ he’d look like a doofus like he does riding his bike in mom jeans.
Ho’ County?
I stayed in a motel from Sunday through Thursday this week in Myrtle Beach. Sunday was the last full day of black bike week. The motel was insane. There was screaming and hollering in the hallways until 3 AM. One person drowned in the pool. I did see a surprising number of rather large butts wearing Daisy Duke hotpants, hanging off the back of sport bikes.
The crowd also included a surprising number of black women on ornate sport bikes. Fully 10% of the motorcycles were Harleys this year. That is a big increase from past years.
The locals told me that although traffic was very high in their businesses, tips were almost nonexistent during the week. They also commented that in the previous week, regular bike week, there had been no trouble, tips were good, and the patrons were pleasant.
It’s overdue but even conservative fave Haley tiptoes around the real issue.
The mayor is overwhelmed with relief at passing the buck. Now he can get back to the important business of banning beach tents in a city where the beach is the primary draw. Next week’s agenda: blotting out the sun.
Not surprising, anyone who's ever worked in the restaurant business knows that to be a constant. Notoriously bad tippers pretty much across the board.
Me, too. What a mess. But, then, I like riding alone anyway.
SC ping.
There are two events in Myrtle Beach....
May 9 – 18, 2014 — Spring Rally
May 23 - 26, 2014 — Atlantic Beach Fest
There are also a couple schedule for the fall
Link to a listing of the major bike events across the nation.
http://www.cyclefish.com/browse_events.php?major=1
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