The Opinion Blog

Time for a Law Review

Thursday’s editorial:

South Carolina budget hawks have long been fond of touting the need for zero-based budgeting. The idea – in which state agencies would have to justify all of their spending, not just the increases or differences from year to year – has its merits. But we’d go further. South Carolina could use some zero-based lawmaking.

In the Horry Garbage Trenches

Sunday’s editorial attempts to explain why normal folks might want to pay attention to the flow control debate that’s been consuming local politicians:

Your trash disappears each week like clockwork. Leave it by the curb or throw it in the Dumpster and it’s gone in the morning. Most of us don’t care that much about how it happens as long as it takes place.

So why should Horry County residents care about the knock-down, drag-out fight taking place over the county’s trash management rules? A couple of reasons. First because it’s your money being used to wage this fight. Second, because our leaders’ time and energy are not infinite, and the vast amounts of energy expended on dealing with local garbage means less to spend on other issues.

Outside Help for Atlantic Beach

Thursday’s editorial uses the plight of Princeville, N.C., to illustrate the usefulness of the municipal oversight bill that South Carolina is lacking:

Stop us if this sounds familiar:

A small but historic Carolina town with deep roots in black history and a proud tradition of overcoming the odds finds itself mired in a nasty cycle of incompetent or corrupt leadership. Its debts vastly outweigh its income. Its finances are a shambles, with residents and outside officials alike asking where the money went. Town leaders bicker, argue and take each other to court rather than discuss problems like grown-ups.

The town’s current political leaders, facing hard questions about dubious expenses, have responded with claims of “witchcraft” and enemies “raised by the devil.” And residents watching events unfold are left shaking their heads at the mismanagement and negligence that has brought their hometown so low.

If it Ain't Broke ...

Friday’s editorial (if you’re not already tired of the subject after the marathon discussion yesterday) takes on the issue of policy governance in Horry County Schools:

Socastee High School teacher Robert Chandler carries first and last names that mean “bright with glory” and “candlemaker,” appropriate for somebody who’s become doggedly determined to shine a light into dark places. Horry County Board of Education members might be forgiven for believing that the name actually means “thorn in the side.”

Fake Pot, Real Bans

Should Surfside Beach be spending its time banning synthetic drugs? We take a look in Thursday’s editorial:

We can certainly understand the worries of Surfside Beach leaders, who appear poised to ban a slate of synthetic drugs in the town in the coming weeks. The substances in question can induce vomiting, nausea, hallucinations, paranoid behavior, anxiety and seizures. Why anybody would voluntarily choose such nasty experiences is mystifying. Nevertheless, the town’s proposed action may not be the best solution.

Congratulations, Tim and Tom; Now Let's Get a Plan

Tuesday’s editorial has some appreciation for the words of our newest congressman and urges those leaders in D.C. to get a national gameplan in place and then follow through on it.

There’s nothing like starting your job smack dab in the middle of a crisis. New U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, R-Myrtle Beach, and new U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-North Charleston, took their oaths on Thursday as the nation they seek to help lead struggles through a particularly nasty patch of partisan bickering and stonewalling.

Governing has taken a back seat to mud-slinging and shouting. Rather than work together to improve the United States, Congress has settled for lurching from crisis to crisis, barely averting each fresh disaster just days or hours before it happens. What a reality to encounter on your first day on the job.

What We're Watching for in 2013

Sunday’s editorial is our annual piece laying out our priorities as an editorial board for the coming year:

As Myrtle Beach, Horry County and the state continue to grow, issues of all kinds compete for our attention. Election integrity, development, transportation, energy policy, education, gambling, we could spend years and fill books on any of these subjects.

But time and space is limited, so each year, as we on The Sun News editorial board finish celebrating the New Year with friends and family, and pack up the Christmas decorations, we ponder our priorities for the coming year. What are the most pressing needs of our region? What is not being talked about elsewhere? How should we budget our time for the coming year?

Welcome Harmony on Laser Rules

Friday’s first editorial:

Kudos to Myrtle Beach leaders for moving this week to bring the city’s ordinance governing the sale of laser pointers in line with the rule that Horry County is considering. Too many rules on the Grand Strand differ by municipality and city boundaries, an issue that has gotten better in recent years but which continues to vex residents, visitors and businesses.

Without Great Choice for President, It's Obama

Sunday’s editorial offers the editorial board’s thoughts on the presidential election:

Few things about this presidential election have lent themselves to unambiguous, clear decisions, despite what the campaigns and their diehard supporters might like us to believe. Neither of the major candidates is a miraculous savior or unmitigated fiend. Both stand before U.S. voters with significant high and low points, and nobody has managed to leap to the fore as the obviously better choice.

For proof, you need look no further than the latest polling data. We give our fellow Americans credit for being fairly smart and invested in the future of this nation, and as such, if the decision on picking our next leader were an easy one, we wouldn’t be coming down to the wire with two candidates that are still neck and neck.

Why We Recommend

Why do we even bother to share our thoughts on the upcoming election? Sunday’s editorial attempts to explain:

Over the coming week, The Sun News editorial board will be sharing our analyses, and our recommendations, of the candidates running for local, state and federal offices in the Nov. 6 election.

We do not call these pieces “endorsements;” nor do we think of them as such. An endorsement, in our view, is an exhortation that you vote for a particular candidate, and that’s not what we’re doing.

We simply want you to have as much information about these races as possible as you go to the polls. In these pieces, we will describe our impressions and critiques of these candidates in a way that the journalists who write in our news pages will not. (Rest assured, as always, that the two functions of newsgathering and opinion writing are separate at The Sun News.)