Protect the Catawba

The Catawba River is designated the most endangered river system in the nation by an environmental watchdog group.

South Carolina is heading into another parching summer without any extra rainfall predicted and every single county still officially in a state of drought -- in a dozen cases, severe drought.

Population growth both in South Carolina and in the North Carolina counties that get first dip into our rivers is increasing the demand by industry and individuals for cheap, readily accessible, clean water.

Our part of the world is changing, and we haven't quite wrapped our minds around it yet. We've always taken water for granted -- a free, unlimited resource, much like the air we breathe. ....

The clock is ticking -- on this legislative session, and on the era of abundant water. It might be unpleasant, but lawmakers need to act. There are lots of important details, but at its heart the impasse is over how much water companies must leave in the rivers. Given the consequences of setting those levels too low, and the reality of our Legislature, it's far better to err on the side of too much water in the rivers than too little. You can always loosen the limits later if it turns out that they are too conservative. But with this Legislature, the opposite will not be so easy.

A Spoleto reunion

The stage was set here last year. The 2007 opening ceremony of the Spoleto Festival USA featured the mayor of Spoleto, Italy, who left no doubt how eager officials of his country were to arrange a reunion between the American festival and its Italian counterpart. Now, this year's opening ceremony can celebrate the happy and long-awaited news that the 15-year, forced separation has finally come to an end.

In reality, collaborative efforts between the two festivals aren't expected to begin until 2009. But, according to our report, the Spoleto Festival USA's music director will go to Italy this summer to conduct the Italian premiere of a rarely performed opera.

That's the kind of artistic exchange between the two festivals that used to take place on a much larger scale. ...

While the American festival has proven in the past 15 years that it can more than stand on its own, the debt it owes to its Italian roots has never been forgotten. Indeed, even in those years of estrangement, Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. has never failed to end his opening-day speech with a greeting in Italian. This year, that greeting will have particular significance.

On the Net: http://www.charleston.net/editorial/

(Spartanburg) Herald Journal on tax reform, April 28:

South Carolina lawmakers adopted yet another poorly considered tax "reform" measure two years ago that has had "unforeseen consequences." They want to fix these consequences by making the law even worse and more unfair.

When the property tax was administered fairly in this state, everyone's property was reassessed periodically, and all property owners paid taxes based on the fair market value of their property.

But those who owned waterfront property and other expensive homes that appreciated rapidly complained about their property taxes rising too quickly. Lawmakers, eager to be seen as responsive to the complaints of taxpayers, offered a referendum that would limit reassessments so that the value of property could increase no more than 15 percent when revalued. If a property changed hands, it would be reassessed to the purchase price.

Voters approved the referendum, thinking it would hold down property taxes.

Of course, that wasn't the real function of the bill. It simply shifted the property tax burden off those who own waterfront property and other expensive, trendy homes. Under the new law, those people will pay taxes on only a fraction of the real value of their property. ...

Lawmakers seem to be unable to take anything other than a Band-Aid approach to tax reform, uniformly making the state's tax system less stable and less fair. At this point, they need to do more than roll back their quick fixes. They must take a comprehensive look at the tax system and redesign it to restore stability and equity.

On the Net: http://www.goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?CategoryOPINION

The (Rock Hill) Herald on Maurice Bessinger, April 30:

Maurice Bessinger is selling more than barbecue at his restaurants around the state. He is selling his philosophy, many parts of which we find reprehensible. Bessinger's decision to open a barbecue restaurant at Rock Hill's Galleria has set off a small tempest with many people weighing in on whether locals should frequent his eatery.

The publicity might upset Bessinger. Or, who knows, he might relish it. Ultimately, it might do as much to attract customers as repel them.

Either way, it's a free country. Bessinger and his admirers are free to express themselves and buy his barbecue. And his detractors are free to criticize him and give his restaurant a wide berth.

But it would not be accurate to label Bessinger a victim in this dispute. For many years he has courted this controversy, and he has little right to complain when people express an opposing point of view. ...

Some may share Bessinger's philosophy. Others may choose to ignore it because they like his barbecue. Others will refuse, as a matter of principle, to darken the door of his restaurant.

As noted, it's a free country. Consumers, as they often do, will vote with their pocketbooks.

But let there be no mistake: Bessinger is the one who started this fracas.

On the Net: http://www.heraldonline.com/opinions/

This story was originally published May 3, 2008 at 12:33 AM with the headline "Protect the Catawba."