Thumbs up
Friendship 9. Congratulations to the Rock Hill’s civil rights pioneers, whose sentences from 1961 for trying to eat at a whites-only lunch counter were vacated this week. They refused bail on misdemeanor charges and had to serve 30 days of hard labor at the county jail some 53 years ago. More.
Uber. Thanks to a flip-flop by the Public Service Commission as it faced irritation from the legislature, the ride-hailing platform Uber has a temporary reprieve and can operate legally until at least June. Hipsters across the state are grinning (if you can see their teeth through their hipster beards). More.
Haley. Hats off to Gov. Nikki Haley for creating a blue-ribbon domestic violence prevention task force. Now, do something about the problem and don’t just try to snare headlines to look like you are doing something. More.
Graham. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., took a baby step closer to running for president in 2016 with the launch of a political committee and the Security Through Strength website. More.
Ethics. Congrats to the S.C. House for pushing through new ethics reforms. Now it’s time to get the Senate on board. More.
S.C. Supreme Court. Congratulations for denying requests by Gov. Nikki Haley and the legislature to rehear the November ruling on the 21-year-old Abbeville school equity funding case. Now it’s time for the legislature and leaders to get down to work and reform how school funding works to make it fairer to poor counties.
Thumbs down
Townes. We’re saddened by the passing of Greenville native Charles Townes, the Nobel laureate and laser inventor who was an inspiration to us all. More.
DHEC. Shame on the state Department of Health and Environmental Control for failing to field nominations to fill its agency head position. Instead, its board departed from best practices and hired former state insurance director Eleanor Kitzman, who awaits Senate confirmation, without conducting a wider search. More.
Hill. A mega thumbs down to GOP Rep. Jonathon Hill of Anderson for a 30-question survey to judicial candidates that included inquiries about their views of a supreme being. Talk about inappropriate. Hey bud, ever hear of the separation of church and state? More.
Obama Administration. Don’t destroy our coast with offshore drilling for what is a pittance of a supply of oil and gas. Keep our coasts free of drilling.
Tax swap. Despite Gov. Haley’s increasing use of the bully pulpit to push a tax swamp that would cut billions in general fund revenues, it’s still a bad idea.
McGill. It looks pretty dicey that former state Sen. and short-term Lt. Gov. Yancey McGill got a $122,000 a year job directing the state Office of Aging which is housed in the (wait for it) lieutenant governor’s office. More.
Abortion ban. Thumbs down to the S.C. House for ignoring the wishes of many women to be able to make their own decisions regarding abortions. Approving a measure in committee to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy is irresponsible and insulting. It puts personal religious agenda ahead of governing. More.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!