Thumbs up
Beatty. Congratulations to state Supreme Court Associate Justice Don Beatty, who appears to have a clear field and no competition to be the next chief justice of the high court. He would become the second black chief justice since Reconstruction.
Bingham. After eight terms in the House, GOP leader Kenny Bingham of Lexington County will hang up his legislative spurs. We’re sad to see you go. Thanks for your service. More.
Thumbs down
Conroy. We’re saddened by the death last week of novelist Pat Conroy, whose love for the state came through crystal clear in his blockbuster, popular novels. If you want to get a taste of his love for the state and humor, read his 2001 graduation speech to The Citadel here. Or you can find his 20-minute speech starting at the 12-minute mark on this video.
Highway robbery. The Senate’s partisan plan calls for $400 million in general tax revenues to be used to improve roads instead of hiking a road tax like the House proposed. Democrats called the Senate’s plan “hocus pocus.” If this passes eventually, it will redirect millions from K-12 education, higher education, corrections and more into roads — not the smartest budgetary move over the long haul.
Juvenile Justice. Another state agency is in the hotseat — this time the Department of Juvenile Justice. Lawmakers heard this week that the agency’s facilities are riddled with violence and gangs, and that guards work in fear. The director told legislators that a police chief hasn’t been hired in more than two years. Really?
Abortion politics. Thumbs down to the state Senate for passing a bill that allows for an abortion at or after 20 weeks only if the mother’s life is in jeopardy or if it’s determined the fetus can’t survive outside of the womb. The measure did not have exceptions for rape or incest.
Food stamp requirements. Making it harder for people to get food stamps isn’t really going to solve poverty. It’s just going to make people who are hurting hurt more. Bad politics. Bad policy.
Number: 3,108
That’s the number of homes that were “flipped” in South Carolina in 2015, which represents 5 percent of all single-family home sales, according to this story.
Quote: “I wear the ring”
“I have told my wife and my heirs that I wanted the class of 2001 to have an honored place whenever my funeral takes place. And I hope as many of you will come as you possibly can because I want you to know how swift time is, and there is nothing as swift—and you know this—from the day you walked into Lesesne Gate until this day—a heartbeat, an eye blink. This is the way life is. It is the only great surprise in life.
“So I’m going to tell you how to get to my funeral. You walk up. . . You find the usher waiting outside, and here’s your ticket. . . You put up your Citadel ring. Let them check for the 2001, and each one of you, I want you to say this before you enter the church at which I’m going to be buried. You tell them, ‘I wear the ring.’”
— The late Pat Conroy in a commencement speech to the Class of 2001 at The Citadel. More than 1,000 people, including many graduates of the 2001 class, attended Conroy’s funeral this week.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!