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FLORENCE COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – West Florence Fire Rescue is consolidating into the new Florence County Fire Rescue as part of a major overhaul that began in 2014.The consolidation aims to strengthen emergency resources and services across the county. The seven agencies to eventually combine are Sardis-Timmonsville Fire Protection, Johnsonville Fire District, Howe Springs Fire District, Hannah Salam Friendfield Fire District, and Windy Hill, Olanta Fire Districts.Officials said the move will provide residents with more consistent, equitable and effective fire protection.Improved services and resourcesThe consolidation will be achieved through better resource management, standardized training, improved purchasing power for equipment and…

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Finance Director Jodi Adams. Leader photo by Mallory Kruml Finance Director Jodi Adams presented Port Townsend’s city council with the third and final list of supplemental budget appropriations for 2025 at its Dec. 8 meeting.! “Supplemental 3 has a total expenditure increase of $327,766,” Adams wrote in an email to The Leader. “Of that amount, there’s $100,933 in interfund transfers making that actual spending increase of $226,833.” Council members approved the first reading of the supplemental budget at that meeting and voted unanimously to adopt it on Dec. 15.! “Just for those that are kind of coming fresh into this…

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The holidays are loud.Calendars fill up, spending increases, and attention gets divided. Fraudsters know this—and they rely on distraction more than sophistication. The holiday season is loud. Your calendar fills up, your to-do list gets longer, and your spending usually increases. That combination is exactly what fraudsters count on. When you’re moving fast, it’s easier to miss a strange text, click a convincing delivery update, or overlook a small charge hidden among legitimate purchases. Federal rules and card-network policies can limit losses if fraud happens. Still, the real cost is often the time and stress of fixing it. The goal…

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(InvestigateTV) — It is scary when a credit card bill is due and there is not enough money to make a payment. Cherry Dale, the vice president of financial education at Virginia Credit Union, said the worst thing to do is not address it.Dale said don’t pretend like it isn’t happening and think this through. Is this a one-time situation or a larger problem that going to keep happening?“Because if it’s one time in a month, you can call your creditor, tell them the kind of situation, most creditors will work with you and help you,” she shared. “If this…

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A tourism company owned by the Irish government agreed to pay back more than $4.4 million after receiving a Paycheck Protection Program loan they were ineligible for, officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. CIE Tours International was accused of violating the False Claims Act by applying for two PPP loans in 2020 and 2021. The company received two loans of more than $1.7 million each, both of which were fully forgivable under the program’s terms, according to the settlement.However, the company was ineligible for those loans as an entity owned by the government of Ireland and because they exceeded…

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As funding and grants dry up for victim advocate services, Colorado law enforcement and district attorney offices are having to consider cutting services to victims of crimes in 2026. CBS News Colorado has confirmed multiple agencies in Northern Colorado are facing threat of cutting victim advocate services, and some have already done so.The Weld County District Attorney’s Office, lead by Michael Rourke, confirmed they had to eliminate a victim’s advocate position for 2026.”We are starting to become concerned of what services we can provide to victims who come into our office,” Rourke said.Rourke said his office is far from the…

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As someone who has been writing about financial independence and escaping corporate America since 2009, I’ve developed several rules that serve as the backbone for achieving FIRE and staying free. They are simple, but not easy. Ignoring any one of them can set you back years. Below are the first two rules as a reminder, followed by the third rule that many people overlook until it’s too late. If you do not follow the third rule, you will have no way out when you’ve finally had enough. Lucky for you, you’re reading this post so you won’t look back on…

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