South Carolina might have a higher percentage of smokers per capita than any state. Based on that alone, a recent proposal by the Budget and Control Board to add a $300 per year surcharge to state employees' insurance premiums could make some headway. But it would be the wrong approach.

I spent years asking my sons, "What did you learn at school today?" Often the answer was, "not much," and the conversation ended. Out of desperation to get them to talk, I would resort to, "Well, what did you have for lunch?" The answer was always "French fries."

Department of Corrections Director Jon Ozmint is probably feeling a bit beleaguered these days with all the bad budget news affecting his cash-strapped agency. But he should have used more restraint in regard to a survey designed to provide the Legislature with information about working conditions in the prison system.

At least 555 people, including 111 children, died riding all-terrain vehicles in 2006, according to The Consumer Product Safety Commission. Injuries related to ATVs for that same year totaled 146,600, up 10,000 from the year prior.

Whenever I write about all the money Manhattan millionaire Howie Rich is investing to remake our General Assembly in his image, I get two main complaints: All politicians are bought and paid for; you shouldn't pick on this one guy.

This week will be an important milestone for joint planning by the city of Rock Hill and York County, as public presentations -- one held Tuesday night and the next scheduled for Thursday -- roll out modified plans for consistent Airport Overlay Districts in both jurisdictions.

The recent Herald editorial concerning the beautification of the intersection of White Street, Charlotte Avenue and Elizabeth Lane should have helped keep readers better informed. It is, therefore, somewhat puzzling to some members of the East Town Neighborhood Association and members of Historic Rock Hill that improvements should not have been cause for celebration.

As the dog days of summer approach, some South Carolinians are assuming more than a lethargic attitude toward the education of the state's younger residents. They want more than a constitutional guarantee of "minimally adequate" education.

Given the mounting pressure on the state to free wrongly convicted prison inmates, it took guts for Gov. Mark Sanford to veto the DNA bill passed last month by the General Assembly. Even though the veto denies S.C. prison inmates the right to use DNA evidence to prove their innocence, Sanford was right to exercise it.

On school funding