The Opinion Blog

Act like an owner, Horry, and airport will remain yours

Today editorial spells out a way for Horry County Council to keep control of Myrtle Beach International Airport:

Horry County Council members seem worried, if not frantic, that an impending regional airport study could wrest control of Myrtle Beach International Airport from county government. An airport regime change, they fear, could derail the county's effort to construct a new passenger terminal on the airport's east side.

This paranoia - which the council could head off if members had the courage to do so - is almost palpable. Consider:

Lease the farmland in the I-73 right of way?

Our communities' best hope for a modern highway link to the outside world, the S.C. portion of Interstate 73, cleared its final environmental hurdle this week. But the dirt can't fly on this vital project until an even bigger hurdle is cleared: amassing the money to build the road.

I-73's progress thus far, to be sure, is encouraging. State and federal transportation leaders signed off Wednesday on the environmental impact statement for the I-73 leg between I-95 in Dillon County and the S.C.-N.C. line near Cheraw.

Sen. Graham's energy compromise makes sense

Today's editorial notes that our bridge-building senator just might have come up with a way to end the energy stalemate in Congress:

Fans of the 10th Amendment will admire the compromise energy proposal advanced recently by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and a bipartisan group of senators. Their bill would end the federal ban on offshore oil and natural gas exploration more than 50 miles off the coast.

Video poker could come back to life

Today's editorial focuses on the high-level attention attracted by a Newberry County proposal to bring back video poker:

With the help of the S.C. Supreme Court, the General Assembly in 1999 drove a stake through the heart of video poker, which subsequently became illegal in mid-2000. But as evidenced by an advisory ballot proposal in Newberry County, video poker didn't stay dead.

Foolish for Horry to duck authority discussion

Today's editorial urges Horry County Council to take part in the legislatively ordered inquiry whether our local airports should be turned over to an authority:

It's understandable why Horry County Council passed this week on joining the state-mandated panel to study whether an authority should take over the county's airports. What better way to scuttle an effort you don't believe in than refusing to consider being part of it? Under current state law, there is no way the county can be forced to give up its ownership of Myrtle Beach International Airport and its three other airports.

Helmet law best way to reduce motorcycle carnage

Today's editorial supports a mandatory S.C. motorcycle helmet law for drivers and riders older than 21:

"[W]earing a helmet is a reflection of your attitude toward riding and shows that you are a responsible rider who takes motorcycle riding seriously." - GEICO Insurance Company

It took guts for Rep. Tracy Edge, R-North Myrtle Beach, to set his sights on requiring adult motorcyclists to wear helmets. Citing a AAA Carolinas study showing an alarming increase - 40 percent - in motorcycle-related traffic deaths between 2003 and 2007, Edge announced Monday that he will seek legislation requiring motorcycle drivers and riders 21 and older to wear helmets.

Real trouble awaits those who harass bicyclists

Sunday's editorial welcomes the S.C. legislature's crackdown on motorists who abuse bicyclists:

Perhaps without thinking of it in this fashion, S.C. legislators passed visionary legislation, signed into law last month by Gov. Mark Sanford, with huge potential to take the sting out of high energy prices. The new law makes crystal clear that motorists must -- must -- share the road with bicyclists and provides harsh penalties for motorists who fail to comply.

It is hard to imagine a more timely piece of legislation. Thanks to gas prices above $4 per gallon and diesel prices flirting with $5 per gallon, residents and visitors across our communities find themselves hard-pressed to meet their daily transportation needs.

'Romeo' clause remains in the S.C. Code of Laws

Ripped from the wires ... Cindi Ross Scoppe of The (Columbia) State explains why S.C. legislators just can't bring themselves to re-criminalize sex between minors:

By Cindi Ross Scoppe

The good news is that the Legislature has finally eliminated the "mistake of age'' defense for men who have sex with underage girls -- a blame-the-victim provision that lawmakers swear they had no idea they passed, but that it took them two full years to repeal.

H.3623, which became law when the governor signed it on June 16, restores to state law the age-old concept that a minor is off-limits to adults and it is the duty of the grown-up to know how old she is, replacing the absurd notion adopted in 2006 that it was the duty of the child -- whom we consider too young to make responsible decisions about sex -- to volunteer that information.

DNA database expansion threatened civil liberties

Today's editorial argues that Gov. Mark Sanford did well last week to veto this year's DNA legislation:

Given the mounting pressure on the state to free wrongly convicted prison inmates, it took guts last week for Gov. Mark Sanford to veto the DNA bill passed last month by the General Assembly. Even though the veto denies S.C. prison inmates the right to use DNA evidence to prove their innocence, Sanford was right to exercise it.

Another section of the bill would have allowed the state to collect DNA samples - genetic markers unique to individuals - from all persons whom the police arrest for felonies. But as Sanford pointed out in his veto message, only about 40 percent of those arrested for felonies are ultimately convicted and sent to prison - with the rest going free.

'Minimally adequate' sets education bar too low

From the afternoon e-mail ... Retired Florence educator Tom Truitt argues that fixing the S.C. Constitution's education article is the key to high quality public schooling:

By Tom Truitt

A state's constitution is a covenant between the government and the people. Since most of us haven't read the South Carolina Constitution, we don't know what it says about education nor understand why the education clause needs to be amended. But if we want to move from the bottom of the educational rankings and have South Carolina students prepared to compete in a global economy, we need to make a change in our state constitution. Here's why.

Article XI, Section 3, of the South Carolina Constitution states:

    The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a system of free public schools open to all children in the State and shall establish, organize and support such other public institutions of learning, as may be desirable.