The Opinion Blog

Ending the Cycle

Sunday’s editorial argues that the seemingly endless plight of Atlantic Beach could be solved by a bill in the legislature that would create objective benchmarks all towns must follow.

The story of Atlantic Beach in 2009 will end the same way it did in 2008: any growth or progress in the town, all the efforts to improve such an important and historic place, are completely overshadowed by a government apparently bent on consuming itself.

Restart the Search

Sunday’s editorial condemns the Horry County Council’s deadlock over the new administrator job as politics at its worst.

The intense politicking surrounding John Weaver's possible appointment as Horry County's next administrator illustrates precisely why high-level governmental appointments should be filled when possible with external searches – to prevent every job opening from becoming a political prize.

Last chance for truth

Friday's editorial suggests that lawmakers still have yet to do due diligence in their investigation into the Sanford affair.

Believe us: we're as tired of Mark Sanford as you are.

We're tired of this unending fixation on a middle-aged man's love life. We're tired of the pain this saga must still be inflicting on his family. We're tired of everything that happens in our State Capitol being about Mark Sanford, and we're tired of everyone we know elsewhere in the country asking us how he can possibly still be our governor.

But even more than all that, we're tired of politicians who abuse their office and our money, knowing that even if caught, their consequences will depend solely on crass political calculations unrelated to their misdeeds. And as the last official investigation into Sanford's activities winds to an inauspicious end - grateful though we are to see the light at the end of the tunnel - it's disgraceful that Sanford's most likely abuse of power and money was never given more than cursory examination.

The Unturned Stone

Sunday's editorial argues that lawmakers involved in impeachment proceedings should first determine whether Gov. Sanford misspent state money in pursuit of his affair.

Impeachment proceedings began against Gov. Mark Sanford this past week, but the political apparatus in Columbia still seems intent on missing the point.

Try a Little Openness

Saturday’s lead editorial is a reminder than in its second round, the Horry County Council’s search for a new administrator should have the transparency the first round mostly lacked.

Though the process improved toward the end, taxpayers don't know exactly what led their representatives on the Horry County Council to a stalemate in choosing a new county administrator and the subsequent need to interview a new set of candidates. Citizens are largely in the dark on the why and how because the process was kept secret until this week, when three semifinalists were interviewed publicly.

Seeking Reinforcements

Friday’s lead editorial suggests the Atlantic Beach Town Council bring in the Horry County Election Commission to conduct town elections for the foreseeable future – not to prevent fraud, but to head off allegations of fraud.

It comes as little surprise to observers of Atlantic Beach politics that the results of the town's Nov. 3 election were challenged, then protested, then postponed two days, and now postponed another week.

Back in the sunshine

Thursday’s lead editorial praises Horry County for two recent decisions opening its hiring process to the public and placing its spending records online.

On the heels of the troubling way the Horry County Council conducted the first part of its search for a new county administrator, the news last week that the county has joined the growing group of local governments to put all its spending online is welcome indeed.

Add to that the county's more recent decision to open the remainder of the administrator-search to the public, and we feel much more confident about the entire process than we did only a few days ago.

Shameful Secrecy

Sunday’s editorial criticizes the Horry County Council for an absolute lack of transparency in their search for a new administrator – to the point of breaking state law.

The Horry County Council's search for a new administrator has been fraught with secrecy in so many ways that it's hard now not to wonder what else they are planning when the public isn't watching.

Modern-Day Carpet-bagging

Saturday’s editorial encourages the Atlantic Beach Election Commissioners to take a hard look at whether the apparent winners of town's election actually live in town.

This week's electoral debacle in Atlantic Beach proves that the tiny town's longstanding tradition of employing a “transient electorate” to decide elections is still alive and thriving, though its practice has changed hands. In fact, the transients are no longer just the voters – they're the candidates, and the winning ones at that.

New Jobs, Same Worries

Saturday's editorial takes an updated look at Gov. Sanford's hold on his office.

Amid the continuing spectacle of the post-Argentina Mark Sanford administration, a number of interpretations are possible of his role in marketing firm Red Ventures LLC's announcement this week that they will hop over the state line from Charlotte to relocate 1,000 employees in Lancaster County.