Thumbs up
Task force. Hats off to the S.C. Prosecution Coordination Commission for creating a task force to look into how law enforcement officers are prosecuted when accused of a crime.
Pension committee. Thanks to Senate President Pro Tem Hugh Leatherman and House Speaker Jay Lucas for forming a new committee to find reforms for the state’s underfunded pension fund. Now let’s get something done.
Front page girl power. Thumbs up to state Sen. Margie Bright Matthews of Walterboro, state Democratic Party Executive Director Christale Spain and Columbia lawyer Marguerite Willis for being pictured prominently on the front page of The New York Times and other major newspapers during the Democratic presidential convention. Congratulations also to South Carolinians who spoke at the convention: Emanuel AME Church shooting survivors Polly Sheppard and Felicia Sanders, both of Charleston, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin, state Democratic Party chair Jaime Harrison and former state Rep. Bakari Sellers.
Mercedes. The company broke ground this week on a Sprinter van plant in North Charleston. Welcome.
Thumbs down
Cotty. Condolences to the friends, colleagues and family for former state Rep. Bill Cotty, a Richland Republican who passed away this week. He is remembered for helping to bring down the Confederate flag off the Statehouse dome. More.
DOT corruption. With four indictments from the statewide grand jury this week on corruption at the state Department of Transportation, you’ve got to wonder if anything else is going on.
Heat. Yeah, it’s supposed to be superhot in July. But really? It’s a little much this year. The weather was so bad recently that a fire started by a lightning strike destroyed a nature center at Huntington Beach State Park in Georgetown County.
SCE&G and rates. Something doesn’t seem right here: SCANA, the parent company of SCE&G, had quarterly earnings rise 6 percent to $105 million. But in May, we learned the power company wanted a $70 million rate increase.
Fear-mongering. Thumbs down to former DHEC director Catherine Templeton of Charleston who spoke to the Greenville Chamber recently and said newcomers to the state are largely pro-union. So? It’s a right for people to unionize. If you don’t want unions, treat your workers better.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!