Editorials from across South Carolina: Chanticleer champs, voter apathy, police dash-cam video

Chanticleer champs

(I)n life-lesson lingo, the Cinderella-story team from Conway has taught anew the power of persistence.

Coastal had made the NCAA playoffs 14 times — all but once under coach Gary Gilmore — before this season, but had never reached the CWS.

So the 15th time was a charm for Coach Gilmore and his road-warrior Chanticleers. They won a first-round regional at North Carolina State, then a best-of-three “super regional” by sweeping mighty Louisiana State in Baton Rouge to qualify for the CWS.

Still, the Big South Conference champ Chanticleers remained the overwhelming underdog in the eight-man Omaha field. After all, no team outside the “Power Five” conferences (SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12) had won the CWS since 2008.

However, after beating Florida and losing to TCU in the CWS, Coastal roared back with three straight must-wins (one over Texas Tech, two over TCU) to reach the title series against Arizona.

Officials at Coastal and in Conway had already planned a well-earned parade to honor the team today, regardless of Thursday’s outcome.

Now that triumphant procession of Coastal’s comeback kids will deliver the resounding message that winners never quit, quitters never win — and that the amazing Chanticleers are the champions of college baseball.

Voter apathy

It’s really a shame that more people didn’t turn out to cast a vote in an election that has far more local impact than the national debate we hear on TV and radio.

Here in South Carolina, most races that touch our communities are decided in the primaries.…

But apathy is killing democracy and it’s costing us on an economic level that reaches right into our wallets.

For about every $1 spent on federal taxes, the average household here spends 36 cents on local and state government.

According to the U.S. Census, the average local household earns a little more than $51,000 per year, which translates into roughly $6,800 in federal income tax annually. But between the state income tax, property taxes and county fees, that same household will pay about $2,500 in non-federal taxes.

That figure doesn’t include the 6 percent state sales tax, local transportation taxes, and taxes on other property like vehicles and secondary homes.

All of those taxes are decided by county council races and state elected offices, which are the races that only 10 percent or less of our residents just voted for.

Dash-cam video

(S)ome public bodies continue to fight the release of dashcam footage under the pretense of protecting the “ongoing investigation.”

Such nebulous phrasing doesn’t exist anywhere in state law, yet some government agencies continue to state this flimsy argument.

We were encouraged when state lawmakers filed a bill that would have cleared up any confusion about dashcam video. Senate Bill 913 would have mandated the release of police video.

Unfortunately, the bill died when the S.C. House of Representatives reworded the Senate bill to include other improvements to FOIA.

It should be noted the House took that step only after Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, D-Colleton, placed a procedural stranglehold on H. 3191, blocking its passage.

Hopefully lawmakers will revive dashcam legislation next year.

Otherwise, without a clear mandate from the General Assembly, we fear some public bodies will continue to thumb their noses at future dashcam requests, despite court rulings that have already said they’re public information.

This story was originally published July 4, 2016 at 5:36 PM with the headline "Editorials from across South Carolina: Chanticleer champs, voter apathy, police dash-cam video."