Trump’s fight with Goodyear is another example of why he must be voted out this fall

On Trump

Despite all of the critical and important things going on both in the United States and around the world at the moment, President Donald Trump is fighting with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

Trump is ill-equipped to be president.

He’s self-centered.

He’s a liar.

He’s thin-skinned.

He’s a bully.

And he can’t get out of the White House soon enough for me.

Joel Lerner, Bluffton

On Maxwell Pearce

The Island Packet recently ran a story about Maxwell Pearce, a Black member of Harlem Globetrotters who had a banana and other fruit thrown at him while performing basketball tricks during an appearance on an Alabama TV station.

The story prompted these four thoughts:

▪ The news anchors who threw the banana and other fruit at Pearce were totally and inexcusably insensitive to the racial implications of what they were doing.

▪ Pearce overreacted by characterizing the act in the context of “the history of Black people in human zoos.” Sometimes a thrown piece of fruit is just a thrown piece of fruit.

▪ The Island Packet chose to emphasize and elevate the divisiveness among people by placing the story on the front page of its sports section and devoting several column inches to it.

▪ Together we can accomplish so much more in this country when we see — and write about — the good in people rather than the bad.

Richard Soaper, Hilton Head Island

On the bridge project

Thanks to the combined efforts of Beaufort County Administrator Ashley Jacobs, Hilton Head Island Town Manager Steve Riley, state Sen. Tom Davis and our legislative delegation, the funding for the U.S. 278 bridge project has been secured.

Recently the public and Town Council learned that the state Department of Transportation has dropped “increased capacity” as one of the project goals. By removing that goal, engineers should be capable of designing a smart solution for the corridor within its current footprint.

Taxpayers expect and deserve to get the most value for their $272 million investment, and the state transportation department’s revised goals deserve an independent engineering consultant to ensure that our corridor is a model of excellence.

In addition the project should meet our unique values in these ways:

▪ Enhanced safety.

It must replace a bridge that is beyond its useful life while also improving safe access to the Historic Stoney Community, Windmill Harbor and Pinckney Island.

▪ Reduced congestion.

It must provide connection to the Cross-Island Parkway and make other enhanced intersection improvements.

▪ Improved functionality.

It must create an iconic entrance to the island that is “human scaled” and provides bicycle and pedestrian access to the mainland — and is also safe for both residents and those who operate businesses (whether they are future establishments or existing ones such as Crazy Crab, Lowcountry Seafood, Willie Young’s Upholstery, etc.).

We the people of Hilton Head Island are tasked to ensure that this once-in-a-generation project is designed and executed with excellence defined by our own community.

I am in favor of implementing the best practices that many coastal communities employ to ensure that their large-scale road project are successful. In order to achieve this, a dedicated professional should be hired to ensure equity for all stakeholders.

Alex Brown, Hilton Head

Brown is a candidate for Hilton Head Island Town Council’s Ward 1 seat.

On McMaster

Recently the Department of Employment and Workforce reported that the statewide unemployment rate dropped from more than 12% in May to 8.7% in June.

And the reason why South Carolina is making such progress is because of Gov. Henry McMaster’s determined leadership.

McMaster has approached the pandemic with the same common sense and good judgment that he has shown in dealing with all of the other crises he has faced as our governor.

McMaster resisted caving in to the media panic frenzy surrounding COVID-19 and safely reopened our state; in doing so the governor has set us on a course for recovery while taking reasonable and constitutional efforts to protect the people.

South Carolina can consider itself very lucky to have McMaster as our governor during this extraordinary moment in the history of our state — and of our country.

Randal Wallace, Myrtle Beach