Local newspapers are missing the mark when they cut staffs and coverage of local news | Opinion

Print more local news

I am a long-time subscriber to The State. In the 1970s, I remember receiving both a morning and an evening edition.

Through all the changes that the newspaper has undergone, I have kept my subscription while many people I know have dropped theirs for various reasons.

The State carries national and state news, and, up until recently, more local news.

Please keep publishing weekly letters to the editor and add more local news.

When we celebrated Juneteenth, The State ran stories of some celebrations across the country, but had nothing about celebrations here.

Through television and online media, readers are inundated with national and international news.

The State needs to consider covering more of what is happening in the Midlands and in South Carolina. By doing so, it would be more likely to keep its current subscribers and perhaps regain some that it has lost.

I hope to see letters to the editor this Sunday because reading what local and state people are thinking matters.

Elizabeth Jones, Columbia

An affordable housing option?

While the huge proposed housing developments around town are given big tax breaks to build, we still have an affordable housing problem in Columbia.

Concerns of existing landlords who struggle with paying homeowners’ ever-increasing water bills and high maintenance costs are largely ignored.

With a little financial help from the city, we could repurpose old buildings and make better use of what we have.

A grant to upgrade some properties while keeping the rent the same would be tremendously helpful.

Converting small buildings into apartments would be possible, again with financial help.

We landlords could willingly help with affordable housing while at the same time saving some beautiful old buildings from destruction and improving others.

John Gregg McMaster III, Columbia

More free time for kids

I would like for all parents of elementary-age children to pay attention to their child’s schedule for the coming year.

Notice when your child has to be in his seat. Notice if there is a morning break and how much time is allowed for lunch. What about an afternoon break?

A child actually gets about 10 minutes of free time a day.

There is no way that I could sit in a classroom for that many hours. I do not think that parents could either.

I could not teach in a classroom today with this schedule.

This neglect has to stop somewhere.

Patricia Milley, Conway

Bipartisanship in the House?

Note: The writer is the chapter leader for the Citizens’ Climate Lobby of Beaufort.

Recently, 29 Democrats and 28 Republicans joined hands to reconstitute the House Climate Solutions Caucus.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-SC, is on board in a long line of worthy bipartisan moves.

If the climate (pun intended) in the House is anything as it appears, these 57 are showing welcome fortitude.

The caucus intends to meet climate change with sound science and economics.

According to Co-Chairs Andrew R. Garbarino, R-NY, and Chrissy Houlahan, D-PA , their first task will be permitting reform for energy projects.

If South Carolina is to continue to enjoy its current rate of economic development in EV manufacturing, advanced battery production and many other sectors, we need increased electric power that is secure, affordable and clean.

Today approval of new energy projects takes years with renewables – the cleanest, most affordable and secure power sources – at the back of the line.

Proposed new transmission lines are the worst victims of the current bureaucracy, now taking 10 years to get underway.

Increased power production isn’t worth much without a way to get where it’s needed.

If you are concerned about climate change, as I am, this tangle of red raises the specter of disastrous delays.

If you are more interested in economic development right now, surely you find the current red tape unacceptable.

It’s essential for members of Congress to work across the aisle for permitting reform that speeds up the approval of clean energy projects and protects the health and safety of the American people.

We can each do our part by encouraging our leaders to work together and find the critical common ground we all must share.

Tim Joy, Beaufort