Thumbs up
Big surplus. So the state has $1.3 billion more than projected coming into this year? Let’s do something big and bold, not piecemeal or fritter it away. How about all of it to roads and dealing with the flood? Or all of it to building better schools?
Supreme Court. Glad you’ve agreed to hear a case that would expand the state’s new domestic violence law to cover unwed, same-sex couples. Everyone should be treated the same under the law. More.
Thumbs down
Haley. Political targeting of state abortion clinics by Gov. Nikki Haley went another round this week as the state’s three clinics face more proposed fines. Here’s what will happen: They’ll fix whatever minor infraction has been found. They’ll continue operating, despite the politically-motivated harassment. And then it will start all over, until Haley is out of office and, hopefully, it will stop. More.
Flood hit. The state’s tourism industry took a $35 million hit from the October floods, according to the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. More.
Ethics. South Carolina got a “D-minus” in the second State Integrity Investigation for its “lax ethics laws, sloppy enforcement and resistance to reform,” according to The Post and Courier. That’s up from an “F” in a similar 2012 report, but authors say they’re not really comparable because of different methodologies. See the report card.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!