islandpacket.com - The Island Packet Online

• Archive Search

Search Everything in the Lowcountry and the Coastal Empire.

• Let's vote on restricting cell phone use, driving
  Your May 2 editorial, which thoroughly disagreed with state legislators' decision to send back to committee a bill to restrict the use of cell phones by 15- and 16-year-old drivers, must echo the opinion of the large majority of South Carolina residents.

• Take steps to fully fund our children's education
  The Beaufort County School District will present its fiscal year 2009 budget to the Beaufort CountyCouncil in June. I hope council members will fully fund thebudget for children. Once again, the powers that be in Columbia, under strong objections from state Sen. Catherine Ceips and Reps. Bill Herbkersman and Richard Chalk, have decided education is not a priority for students in Beaufort County.

• War spending robs us of other opportunities
  Recently, I toured Fort Pulaski, which was constructed almost two centuries ago in Savannah. This enormous fort incorporated 25 million bricks, and it took 18 years and vast amounts of money to build. But when the test in battle came in 1862, Fort Pulaski held out under Union bombardment for just one and a half days before it surrendered.

• Type of tourists coming at odds with 'high end'
  I am confused by the portrayal of Hilton Head Island as a high-end resort destination. Filling up the big rental homes with college kids, spring breakers and families of four or five in every bedroom does not constitute high end.

• Bring back best talent for Magnolia Hall opening
  Now that we have had the groundbreaking for Sun City Hilton Head's magnificent entertainment complex, Magnolia Hall, we should start planning for the gala grand opening this December or January, according to developer Pulte Homes.

• You can help save a life by registering as donor
  Every year, more than 10,000 Americans get life-threatening diseases that can be cured only with a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor. These patients do not have a family donor, and a transplant is their only hope for a cure.

• Children's truths reveal what's important
  The Island Funeral Home & Crematory recently performed services for our father. One can always expect them to act with professional aplomb coupled with a refined dignity toward the family.

• Judge Obama by actions, not opponents' innuendo
  As we approach the November presidential election, and it becomes clear that Sen. Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee, the opposition will be coming out in force to attack the credibility and honesty of the senator. Please do not be fooled by the mud-slinging efforts presented by those who fear Obama has the best chances to become our next president. I will admit that his squeaky clean halo has been slightly tarnished in the past few months. However, it also shows that Obama is human and makes misstatements like the rest of us.

• Criticism of Bluffton unwarranted by facts
  Learning that the town of Bluffton, in the eyes of The Island Packet, can do nothing right or well has saddened me in the nearly two years I have been town manager.

• Pelosi displays ignorance on Middle East situation
  Not so long ago, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "... the road to Damascus (Syria) is a road to peace." This was while she was photographed shaking hands with Syrian strongman President Bashar Assad.

• National sales tax a daily tax increase
  By now we should all be aware that expenses are increasing almost daily in response to motor fuel price increases.

• Weekly TV schedule no longer meets needs
  One of the reasons I subscribe to the Packet is the weekly TV schedule. This week, the schedule was cut so severely that I no longer find it useful. Specifically, please re-institute the daily program highlights, the daily sports contests, and the weekly TV movies section.

• Follow up on Ceips' performance as senator
  After state Sen. Catherine Ceips was elected last year, The Island Packet ran an editorial challenging her to meet certain expectations in her new position. Now that she is campaigning for re-election, it would be of interest to many of us to see if she has lived up to those expectations. It may be appropriate to have another editorial rating her job performance.

• Public works employees deserve much gratitude
  As you read this, please reflect on how many times a day you depend on public works professionals in your community.

• State should step up and raise cigarette tax
  One constantly reads about the forthcoming state budget shortfall. Why am I not surprised? It looks as though the pending legislation to increase the cigarette tax is about to be swept under the rug for another year. It seems like once again a handful of good ol' boys, with the collusion of the rest of the legislature, will kowtow to the wishes of a small special interest group.

• Lack of movie theater not mall's only problem
  The movie theater is not the answer to saving The Mall at Shelter Cove. Why have so many stores closed in our mall? Has anyone talked about the rent there? The square-footage price is ridiculous. I know we love our island, but we are far from a cosmopolitan city.

• Focus on future, not past to make country better
  I was "channel surfing" one morning recently and happened on one of the C-SPAN channels (I think). It was about the views of college students on various matters.

• Officials hurt credibility with lack of candor
  A week after Beaufort County voters approved a school bond referendum, the school district indicated that one of the two Bluffton elementary schools included in the referendum might not be built on the original schedule.

• Clinton only pandering with windfall profit tax
  Lest there be any question about Hillary Clinton's socialist pedigree, witness her call for a windfall tax on the oil company profits. That is socialist philosophy. As a percentage profit, the oil companies earn less than Coca-Cola. As usual, Clinton is pandering by blaming the price of gasoline on the big bad oil companies.

• Candidate choice makes one fearful for country
  Because Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama seem to be the best this country has to offer her citizens in November, I fear our wonderful country is in mortal danger of going the way of all wonderful countries in the past.

• Congressional stalemate causing much frustration
  The federal legislature, Congress, is bicameral (with two separate bodies), the House of Representatives and the Senate. Any legislation, in order to become law, must pass both houses and be signed by the president. Failure to be passed by either house orthe president means the legislation dies. (The president can veto).

• Written survey preferred to intrusive phone calls
  Hilton Head Island officials have lost me. I do not want to be included among the 1,200 residents of Hilton Head who will get phone calls asking about their vision for the future of our town. I am very happy to read that the town is updating the comprehensive plan regarding the legal framework for development regulations, goals for recreation, cultural resources and housing.

• Local sports news better than sterile stock report
  In response to the letter writer who wrote suggesting that The Island Packet "cut down on the excessive space they give to high school sports rather than butcher the stock and mutual fund listing."

• Is Clinton's threat policy or election ploy?
  "Madame Strangelove," aka Hillary Clinton, has threatened to "obliterate" Iran, provide an unasked for unilateral umbrella of military protection to many of the Middle East and Persian Gulf states at our expense, and I assume, the lives of our young men and women.

• Is Clinton's threat policy or election ploy?
  "Madame Strangelove," aka Hillary Clinton, has threatened to "obliterate" Iran, provide an unasked for unilateral umbrella of military protection to many of the Middle East and Persian Gulf states at our expense, and I assume, the lives of our young men and women.