Quit building on Hilton Head; start restoring

BlueGreen is building seven, yes seven, timeshare buildings in the Folly Field area. Goodbye Islanders’ Beach.

The Old House Creek development features 200 new homes to be built on our marsh system that, among its many important environmental functions, helps protect our island from storms. Seen any of those lately?

The WaterWalk apartments, those humongous buildings on Broad Creek, will have 240 units upon completion.

Off island, almost 13,000 new homes, all within an hour’s drive from Hilton Head, are planned. Wonder where they will go for a day at the beach?

Hilton Head is at risk. We continue to demonstrate, with each new construction project, that we have lost the unique beauty of Charles Fraser’s vision.

Of course, we can double the size of the bridge so we can allow and encourage more traffic. We can build more timeshares and apartments, not low-income housing. We can continue to erode our marshes and our beaches, further endangering the sea turtles, bird populations, all wildlife and ourselves. We can continue to use plastic and to build sea walls. We can continue to add more lighting, and bigger signs. We can move closer to Myrtle Beach, if only figuratively.

Or, we can elect people who put the environment first. We can stop building anything else. We can stop being blind to the continued destruction of our island.

We do not need to develop, build and expand. We need to restore and preserve as much as we can while we still can.

Hold chamber accountable

The Town of Hilton Head Island, its mayor and council, are derelict in discharging the obligations of their positions.

By giving the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce some $2 million without specific accounting or accountability is totally irresponsible. Where is the money spent? How much is chamber CEO Bill Miles compensated? Where does the $2 million go? How much goes to Bill Miles? Frankly, their so-called “secret is sauce” is just old fashioned bull.

Town Council should simply say, “Show me the money now” and stop paying Bill Miles.

Foreign aid math wrong

You published a letter from a Hilton Head Island reader who suggested an ingenious method to reduce our foreign aid spending. He listed three Central American countries with a combined population of 31 million that currently receive $497 million in American foreign aid. He proposed that we could save $465 million of this money if we simply “gave a million to each citizen” of these countries.

Perhaps he studied the “Three R’s” in the notorious South Carolina public school system. I didn’t, and by my calculations, the people of those countries currently receive $16 per person ($497 million divided into 31 million people). They will be thrilled to get a raise to $1 million each. Sadly, under his plan, the citizens of America will be on the hook for $31 trillion per year.

Let’s pray none of the current “Wizards of Washington” get wind of his idea. They might like it.