Thumbs up
Big bucks. South Carolina will get $3.5 billion over the next five years after passage of a major federal highway funding bill, but that doesn’t let us off the hook for at least $1 billion a year that’s still needed to fix roads and bridges. More.
No evidence. The House Legislative Oversight Panel voted unanimously Tuesday to finish its study on DHEC’s oversight with Planned Parenthood, concluding that there was no evidence — as we suggested in earlier stories about a political witch hunt of the organization — of misuse of taxpayer money. More.
Haley. Gov. Nikki Haley is right to say that the state should pay its $114 million flooding repair bill with existing monies and not borrow. More.
In the middle
Santee Cooper. We haven’t been closely following the electricity rate negotiations between Santee Cooper and the Mount Holly aluminum smelting plant, but it seems pretty stupid to lose 600 jobs because of a rate dispute. As some have written, Santee Cooper is a public agency. There may be a greater benefit to keeping the high-paying jobs than sticking to talking points about a rate. (Who do you think will pay for unemployment if these jobs are axed?)
Thumbs down
Museum commission. It shouldn’t cost $5.3 million to put a Confederate flag that flew on the Statehouse grounds in a place of honor in a museum. Wise up, folks. Get another consultant — or just go to a good cabinetmaker for a neat display case. We bet if you spent $50,000, you could get a really neat display.
Gun violence. So the Colorado shooter from last week is from South Carolina and there’s a guy who hoarded thousands of guns from the state. Seems pretty clear that a culture that makes it easy to get guns and incites people through highly-charged invective and rhetoric, particularly on conservative TV, is a continuing recipe for disaster. Let’s all take a deep breath and do something smart to tamp down the violence.
Corley. Thumbs down to Aiken Republican Rep. Chris Corley whose Christmas card sent to Republican colleagues had an image of the Confederate flag outside the Statehouse that included an insensitive, divisive, politically-charged message that’s the opposite of the teachings of the Bible. Corley, who was irritated that GOP colleagues “caved” to take down the flag, also referenced a level of hell from Dante’s Inferno for those guilty of “treachery.” And now, he seems to be trying to sidestep the flak over the card with unadulterated spin about his “sense of humor.” Pitiful. More.
Development change. Thumbs down to a state Senate committee that removed language that would have cut the chance of development on Capt. Sams Spit at the end of Kiawah Island. More.
Scary story. If you haven’t read the Washington Post story about what happened after the state of Alabama won a big competition to attract a Chinese company, then prepare to be shocked. The story, “A grim bargain,” highlights how the company seems to be preying on low-skilled workers who are paid little. Let’s hope this kind of thing doesn’t happen here. Read it here.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!