The Opinion Blog

Kids' Parole Board: Vacancy, or Vacate?

Friday's editorial takes a look at the problems facing the Juvenile Parole Board:

Decrying what he saw as a broken system inadequate to deal with a new generation of evil, Greg Killian of Myrtle Beach resigned his post at the state Juvenile Parole Board this month and called for its abolition. His frustration - while possibly an extreme position formed after five years of fighting on the front lines - raises one of society's most vexatious challenges: how to deal with the worst of the worst among our children.

After the board released a teen convicted in a controversial and tragic drag-racing death, Killian resigned, saying when the juvenile parole board was first established, the types of crimes that now come before it were never envisioned: gang-initiation killings, children raping other children, what he called a dozen or so unredeemable "super-predators" who showed up every month. The justice system for children is usually based on rehabilitation rather than punishment, but Killian says that dichotomy should be abandoned.

THURSDAY OPEN FORUM

Here's today's open forum. Comments on any topic are welcome, as long as they are civil, non-defamatory and so forth. Enjoy.

Tax cut math could get fuzzy

Thursday's editorial praises the recent property-tax swaps by the Horry County school board, but also praises one board member for arguing the reductions may not have not gone far enough.

Last week - fending off its own declining tax revenues and dire news from the state - the Horry County school board narrowly voted to shift a number of local funding sources that will have the net results of, first, keeping part of a promise made during last year's school sales-tax pitch and, second, lowering the school's property-tax rates on owner-occupied homes by about 29 percent.

On the surface, the maneuver sounds like and is a good deal for taxpayers. But school board member Joe DeFeo, leading the opposing faction in the 5-4 vote on the budget, doesn't want you to call it a tax decrease.

Well, OK, Joe - a tax decrease it isn't. But it's not exactly a tax increase, either. And the process has so many moving parts that it is tempting to call it, as DeFeo does, a shell game. But we don't believe it's that, either.

WEDNESDAY OPEN FORUM

The big news so far today comes in the form of incremental steps forward from yesterday's issues - the sales-tax increase in Myrtle Beach was passed unanimously, and scrutiny is beginning of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Meanwhile, North Korea has threatened its way into the headlines again, and details are emerging about the restructuring of General Motors.

What's on your mind?

Freestyle Season's Under Way

Wednesday's editorial urges locals to patronize the newly opened Freestyle Music Park, based on its importance to the local economy and better value for families, and also praises a judge's recent decision in the new owners' favor:

Freestyle Music Park is open and running as a transformed attraction for residents and tourists alike - and a positive force in the regional economy.

The future of the bike rallies?

During a rather heated public-comment portion of the Myrtle Beach City Council meeting today, a number of speakers called for compromise on the future of the bike rallies. For example, hotelier Robert Kelley, a leader of the BOOST tourism-promotion group, noted that the debate has been dominated by two extreme sides: those who want the rallies to end, and those who believe bikers should be allowed to ride when and where they wish. 

Is a compromise possible? What would it look like?

TUESDAY OPEN FORUM

As I post today's open forum this morning, President Obama is announcing his choice for U.S. Supreme Court, and the Myrtle Beach City Council is holding a final workshop before this afternoon's anticipated approval of a one-percent sales-tax increase.

If that doesn't give you enough to talk about, feel free to pick any topic you want.

Committed to helping

Tuesday's second editorial highlights the good work of a local charity:

Perhaps the first thing to understand about Catholic Charities of the Pee Dee is that about 90 percent of the folks helped are not of the Roman Catholic faith.

Untimely tax rise

Tuesday's editorial bemoans the seemingly unstoppable march in Myrtle Beach toward a sales-tax increase, which is expected to pass this afternoon.

When the Myrtle Beach City Council inevitably approves the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce's appeal for a tax rise today, the new tax will have moved from idea to law with a quickness that far outpaces the normal speed of government. First introduced Feb. 25, the bill allowing the tax passed both houses of the legislature, received the governor's tacit approval (though not a signature) and then two readings before the City Council, all in the span of three months.

Stimulus war drags on

Sunday's editorial bemoans the governor's continued obstinance on what we believe to be a flawed opposition to taking $350 million in federal stimulus money.

The Sun News has long commended Gov. Mark Sanford for his fealty to fiscal conservatism, while decrying his preference for principles and theory over the practicalities of real-life governance. This week, as he and the state legislature head to federal court over the use of $350 million in federal stimulus money to shore up next year's shrunken budget, we continue to shake our heads.