Thumbs up
Beatty. Hats off to Associate Justice Donald Beatty for being elected to serve as the next chief justice of the S.C. Supreme Court after the retirement at the end of the year of Chief Justice Costa Pleicones. More.
Pinckney portrait. Kudos to artist Larry Lebby for his outstanding portrait of the late state Sen. Clementa Pinckney that was unveiled Wednesday in the Senate chamber. One of about 30 portraits in the room, it’s only the second of a black leader. More.
Gambrell. Congratulations to new state Sen. Mike Gambrell, R-Anderson, who was sworn in this week to replace the late Sen. Billy O’Dell. More.
Infrastructure bank. A new legislative audit suggests that the State Transportation Infrastructure Bank should move under the umbrella of the state Department of Transportation to avoid duplication, streamline planning and take some of the politics out of big political money. We agree. More.
Darla Moore. A hearty whoop to the Darla Moore Foundation for its $5 million gift to Florence Darlington Technical College to develop hospitality and culinary programs at its Lake City campus. More.
In the middle
Road funding bill takes step forward. Dedicating $200 million a year for the next 15 years or so to borrow $2 billion for road improvements now isn’t the best solution — a dedicated, continuing stream of new revenue would be best — but it’s better than nothing. The House approved a bill with funding and reform provisions for the state Department of Transportation. The Senate, however, still needs to act.
Thumbs down
Haley. Thumbs down to Gov. Nikki Haley for signing a ban on abortion after 19 weeks. And it was tacky to do it right before going to the unveiling of the portrait of the late Sen. Clementa Pinckney.
Setback for poor schools. Thumbs down to the state Senate for not taking up a $200-million-a-year borrowing plan to help replace or rebuild aging schools in the state’s poorest areas that lack a sufficient tax base to fund long-needed improvements. The House passed the plan but the legislation, one of the responses to an order by the state Supreme Court to improve poor schools stemming from the 1993 Abbeville lawsuit, is stalled in a Senate committee. More.
Sex offender registry. Advocates say incorrect information published by the state’s sex offender registry could scare victims and shows problems with the system. More.
Juvenile Justice. The department should listen to what a state inspector has said about a February riot. It found the agency had not yet properly implemented a strategy for stopping such incidents. More.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!