Latest local news, weather and high school sports for Myrtle Beach and Florence

Thursday, November 01, 2012  The lobbying organization representing South Carolina's hospitality industry has a new leader and a new name.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012  A woman who pleaded guilty to embezzling nearly $400,000 from the South Carolina Hospitality Association has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012  A former South Carolina Hospitality Association employee has pleaded guilty to embezzling about $500,000 from the group and prosecutors said she had a sexual relationship with the director who killed himself.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012  A high-ranking Columbia police officer fired for her handling of the investigation of a missing lobbyist that turned out to be a suicide says she was unjustly fired.

Thursday, March 08, 2012  Suicide counselors shed light on what to look for in suicidal individuals

Thursday, March 08, 2012  An independent audit of the South Carolina Hospitality Association has revealed nearly $400,000 missing from the association's accounts, according to a source close to the investigation. A Columbia accounting firm hired by the association conducted the forensic audit.

Thursday, March 08, 2012  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Officials with a lobbying organization at the center of a federal investigation surrounding hundreds of thousands of dollars which led to the suicide of its founder plan to hold a news conference.

Friday, March 02, 2012  Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott issued a statement Friday to assure citizens the city is safe. His department has come under fire because it took officers ten days to find the body of South Carolina Hospitality Association President Tom Sponseller in the garage of his office building.

Thursday, March 01, 2012  Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott is making changes in his department as he reviews why it took officers 10 days to find the body of a missing lobbyist who killed himself in the parking garage of his office building and left a suicide note in his desk.

Thursday, March 01, 2012  Myrtle Beach Area Hospitality Association president Stephen Greene said an ongoing fight over hotel pool enclosures and the legal definition of seasonal employees are a couple of the main issues of concern for the hospitality industry. Right now, the state association representing the industry has no lobbyist, but Greene said the organization can still push ahead successfully on those matters without one.

Thursday, March 01, 2012  Columbia police are launching an internal investigation into why it took officers 10 days to find the body of a missing lobbyist.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012  Richland County officials say the president of South Carolina's Hospitality Association died around the same time he was reported missing more than a week ago.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012  The body of the South Carolina Hospitality Association president missing for more than a week has been found, and Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott says Tom Sponseller died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Monday, February 27, 2012  Federal officials have confirmed that they are investigating several hundred thousand missing from the South Carolina Hospitality Association.

Friday, February 24, 2012  NewsChannel 15 has learned the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce has immediately ceased any further payments to the Hospitality Association of South Carolina, pending an investigation into the state association's finances.