Editorials

Each year, hundreds of South Carolina high schoolers get a close-up lesson in how government works as part of the Palmetto Boys State and Palmetto Girls State programs.

When S.C. lawmakers passed the gas-tax-hike bill last year, they promised every penny would go toward fixing deteriorating state roads and bridges.

Critics, though, said then that filling potholes that riddle South Carolina’s roadways was never the real priority.

Jay Nolan surveys his media empire from a shed-like building outside London, Kentucky.

In May, the House passed its first version of the state appropriations bill. After it was amended by the Senate, the budget returned to the House for another round of extensive revisions before going to conference committee.

Suicide is always a tragedy. And it is far too common.

The deaths of fashion designer Kate Spade and chef and journalist Anthony Bourdain last week from suicide have sparked a needed conversation about mental health. But they are only high-profile examples of a heartbreaking trend in the United States.

The General Assembly recently turned down a request from the State Election Commission and Gov. Henry McMaster to expedite the replacement of the state’s aging voting machines, providing only $4 million of a $20 million request to get going on a project expected to cost about $50 million over two years.

It’s easy to look at this Memorial Day and be grateful for a long weekend to get away from work, relax, have a cookout or do something else you enjoy.

Everyone looks forward to a holiday weekend, but please don’t forget that this is also a time to remember those who paid the ultimate price--in service to their country.

Public education is one of the state’s primary responsibilities, and one of its major struggles, but South Carolina’s top elected official has little influence over it. That thankfully could change this fall.