Opinions from around South Carolina: Capt. Sam’s Spit, new money, FOI failures

Capt. Sam’s Spit

The tides rise and fall, continually eroding and accreting Captain Sam’s Spit.

Similarly, state courts’ and permitting authorities’ opinions have swung back and forth, alternately eroding and building people’s hope for conserving the environmentally sensitive spit of Kiawah Island.

The latest swing came early this month as the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control granted a permit to allow development of the spit.

That’s a blow to those who care about the sea birds that live there and the dolphins that use its beaches for strand-feeding, a rare sight as they drive bait fish onto the beach and jump up after them to feed. …

The powers that be need to resist developments — Captain Sam’s and offshore drilling, for example — that would jeopardize the state’s extraordinary coast.

New money

Years of offering “I owe you’s” shouldn’t lead to new spending when a fresh stack of money comes into the coffers.

The General Assembly, however, seems stuck with this mentality of using a recently discovered $400 million budget surplus in that way rather than paying back those that they’ve shortchanged for years. …

The greatest sign of leadership would be fulfilling the promises that have been broken for too many years, particularly mandates placed on local governments, school districts and our state’s colleges and universities.

Lawmakers are apparently more apt toward using these dollars for something new, whether it be paying down the debt, providing income tax relief or injecting a one-time shot of money for roads and bridges. They should instead be doing what they are supposed to be doing rather than passing something new and likely creating other promises that can be broken.

FOI failures

This has been a disappointing session for bills that would help ensure open government. The stalled bill that would require making autopsies public was a response to a different state Supreme Court ruling last year. The ruling stated that autopsies are private medical records, not public records. …

The bill that would require governments to provide public records within a reasonable time and not charge excessive fees to do so was passed by the House but is stuck in the Senate. Stalling tactics and high fees are transparent ploys to prevent the public from gaining access to records.

In some cases, governments have stonewalled requests for records for months. And many governing bodies charge hundreds of dollars for copies of public records, making them unaffordable for many private citizens.

▪  “This year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practise ourselves the kind of behaviour we expect from other people.”

▪  “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, fruitfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”