Resident irritated by foul-tasting water suggests management change and refund needed

Water woes

Spectrum recently experienced a widespread problem with its streaming app and, apparently, customer account identification access. This resulted in an approximately 24-hour service blackout for some subscribers.

I called Spectrum to complain, asking why I should have to pay for a full month’s service when only 29 days of service were provided. Spectrum promptly agreed, politely apologized, and immediately refunded one day’s worth of the monthly fee.

Compare this example of private sector customer service with recent actions taken by the municipal monopoly, Columbia Water. After approximately one month of providing all but undrinkable water to its clients, Columbia Water has published several explanations describing the “harmless” effects of geosmin and 2-Methylisoborneol (MIB) and several of their actions intended to remedy the situation.

If Columbia Water were a private sector company, their board would likely hold the company’s management responsible for the problem, and make management changes. New management would be required to establish some early warning testing strategy that would reduce the possibility of the problem recurring again. Concerned about its customer service, new management might also refund some portion of its customers’ monthly water bill.

Walter Rolandi, Columbia

Simplify primaries

The June primary season is another reminder that South Carolina must end its archaic runoff election practice.

South Carolina should employ instant runoff voting (IRV) (also called “ranked choice voting”) to eliminate dragging voters and volunteers back to the polls two weeks after the primary election.

Rather than cast a vote for one candidate, voters in IRV elections are able to submit a list of candidates ranked in order of preference. (South Carolina voters stationed overseas already do this for federal runoff elections. https://www.fairvote.org/where_is_ranked_choice_voting_used )

Once all ballots are cast, if there is no candidate with a majority of first place votes, the candidate with the fewest first place votes is eliminated. For any ballot that placed the eliminated candidate as the first choice, the ballot would then count toward that ballot’s second choice. This process is continued until one candidate has garnered a majority of the ballots. The result is one primary election day.

A handful of states (both “red” and “blue”) have employed IRV and the process has been well received. IRV would save taxpayer money and eliminate election volunteers having to work two separate election days.

Chris Elliott, Columbia

This is not normal

I’m no longer babying you, America. I’m tired. I’m tired of the anger, I’m tired of the fear, and I’m tired of the bloodshed that is becoming horrifyingly normal in this country. Is this to become our reality?

Is it going to become normal for parents to worry whether their children will make it to their fifth grade promotion, let alone their high school graduation? Is it going to become normal for my friends to not come to school because they’re scared they might get shotl?

How many people – how many children – will have to die before you realize that this is just beyond politics? This is about more than just guns. This is about life and death.

This is about me and the millions of other students who want to go to school without wondering if their safe space will become a war-zone of fear and pain, that their school will become a name on the list of schools that have already succumbed to this violence.

In the simplest of terms, I want things to change.

Gabrielle Richardson, Columbia

Where’s the money?

Can someone show us where the road improvements are that we have been paying for through the gasoline tax for the last five years?

With the current price of gas, now is certainly not a good time for the scheduled, sixth, yearly increase.

I live in Forest Acres and the roads here are falling apart.

How bad do the roads have to get before they will be repaired?

Please, someone show us where this money is being used.

Bill Williamson, Columbia