Editorials from across South Carolina: Volvo expansion, questions answered, men killing women
Volvo expansion
Two years ago, Volvo announced that it would build a $500 million facility in Berkeley County and hire 2,000 people to produce its S60 sedan. That news was greeted with celebration.
Now double that. Volvo’s decision to invest another $520 million at its campus near Ridgeville and hire another 1,910 workers to produce its SC90 SUV gives the region twice the reason to celebrate.
The expansion will mean more money infused into the state and local economy, more jobs that pay well, more business for the port of Charleston and more visibility as a place ready to compete successfully in the global market.
It also means that Volvo, a Swedish company that conducts business around the globe, has enough confidence in South Carolina to start expanding even before the first automobile is produced.…
State leaders and budget officers should pay special attention to (Volvo’s) assertion that the state’s technical college system was a key incentive and that all the production workers hired to date are state residents who have gone through its ReadySC training program. The program deserves continued, ample funding by the state.
Questions answered
How are are state, municipal, county and public school leaders doing the business of the people who elected them to serve? What is being done with taxpayer dollars in the operation and maintenance of governments, in the dispensation of services?
What is law enforcement doing in protecting residents? How are they treating those they arrest? Where have crimes occurred?
What is being done with that large tract of land? What big business or industry is cropping up?
Are the rumors of a major employer closing up shop true? How many people will be affected?
Who has applied for a liquor license? Who has a new business license?
What property is being proposed for rezoning and for what purpose?
Who died? Who is handling someone’s estate through probate court?…
These are but some of the questions your newspaper tries to answer on a daily basis. Our reporters go out in the field, in the trenches and onto the benches. They attend the meetings you don’t have time to attend but are interested in. They respond to the late-night calls when breaking news occurs. They interview people of interest, with interesting stories to tell.
Men killing women
Alaska ranks first in the nation in the rate of women killed by men: 2.86 per 100,000. Ranked behind Alaska are Nevada, Louisiana and Tennessee with rates of 2.29, 2.22 and 2.10 respectively.
South Carolina is fifth with a rate of 1.83 per 100,000. This is the sixth year in a row that South Carolina has been in the top five states for women murdered by men.…
“Women killed by men are most often killed by someone they know and more than half were killed by an intimate partner,” Violence Policy Center Legislative Director Kristen Rand said. “Much more must be done to identify and implement strategies to prevent these tragedies. More resources are needed at the federal, state and local levels to help keep women safe.”
If there is good news in anything to do with the statistics, it is that during the 20 years that the Violence Policy Center has been publishing the report, the nationwide rate of women murdered by men in single victim/single offender incidents has dropped 29 percent — from 1.57 per 100,000 in 1996 to 1.12 per 100,000 in 2015.
But can it be said that any number of such deaths is acceptable? No.
The focus on this violence is necessary. Hopefully, calling constant attention to the problem will promote both community outcries (neighbors not remaining silent to the problem) and growing awareness on the part of men that women are to be respected, not abused.
This story was originally published October 2, 2017 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Editorials from across South Carolina: Volvo expansion, questions answered, men killing women."