Letters to the editor

Give surface a try
My wife and I would like to add our thoughts to the discussion of paving the greenway in West Ashley. My wife came to work in this beautiful city for the better part of a month. I accompanied her. We have walked the greenway and find it a great place to walk off calories in the evening.

We live in Okeechobee, Fla., which is located at the top of Lake Okeechobee. Around our lake was a natural path. Great and heated discussions took place as to whether it should be paved or not paved. It was paved and, much to everyone’s surprise, it was a success. Runners, bicyclists and walkers all love it. We found your greenway’s surface not so soft as a runner described. You will be glad when it is done.

MIKE and LYNN SMITH Southwest 20th Avenue

Okeechobee, Fla.

Tour de force
Give a big shout-out to an exceptional South Carolina athlete. George Hincapie has just completed his 17th Tour de France. Considering the physical brutality of the Tour, his commitment to excellence at that level for 17 years is an incredible achievement.

Congratulations, George.

SEYMOUR ROSENTHAL

Waterfront Drive

Mt. Pleasant

Where are leaders?
On July 24, The Post and Courier published a story from The Washington Post about new regulations regarding the “heavy fuel” ships burn and the sulfur content of this fuel. Beginning Aug. 1, the sulfur content of fuel had to drop from 2.7 percent to 1 percent for ships within 200 miles of U.S. and Canadian shorelines. By 2015, the standard will drop to 0.1 percent.

The article gave credit to the George W. Bush administration in 2007, the U.S. and Candian governments, the International Maritime Organization and the Obama administration. Add the Environmental Protection Agency and you have a lot of people who think big ship pollution is a very serious subject.

Now if I am the guy in charge of our city or the guy who heads up our port, or the guy who runs the big ship, I would want the local population to think I’m at the forefront of the battle to get sulfur dioxide under control. If this subject is in the public eye, I want to look like a leader who is interested in the safety of the city’s inhabitants.

If there is concern about the health of our populace, I want to be part of the conversation regarding solutions — regulations that will improve the situation. Why would I want to be anything else?

It is my opinion that our leadership is in an obstructionist mode. Not so long ago, smoking cigarettes with a percentage content of nicotine was acceptable in public places. Old Humphrey Bogart movies show the actor almost constantly lighting up. For the last 30 to 40 years, we have come to realize the horrendous effects of cigarette smoke and nicotine on our health, and thus we now ban smoking in public places.

I understand that it takes time to accomplish these changes. What I do not understand is our Charleston leaders’ obstructionist stance in the current debate on sulfur dioxide pollution from big ships in our harbor. We want our leaders to be at the forefront of this conversation. We want our leaders to be interested in our health. We want to trust them.

It is time to sit at the table together and do the right things.

W. C. WILSON

Church Street

Charleston

Insurance help
A recent article highlighted the rebates that consumers are receiving from BlueCross BlueShield South Carolina due to the federal health care law’s “medical loss ratio” regulations, which limit insurers’ administrative expenses. (“South Carolina’s largest health insurer issuing rebates,” July 24). But these rebates pale in comparison to the savings that insurance agents, who are being forced out of business by the rules, deliver for individuals and small businesses.

Small businsses depend on brokers to “handle the responsibilities that larger firms generally delegate to their human resource departments — such as finding plans and negotiating premiums,” according to the Congressional Budget Office. Without agents, they’d face substantial new expenses managing their benefits themselves.

Take South Carolina-based agent Colin Smoak. To help his small-business clients take advantage of their health plans’ benefits, he built a free online portal that includes insurance plan specs, HR forms and wellness content.

JANET TRAUTWEIN

Executive vice president/CEO

Natl. Assn. of Health Underwriters

New York Avenue

Washington, D.C.

CAFB important
After reading about the Boeing mishap closing the airport, I am concerned for the future of Charleston Air Force Base. I have not heard any conversations about the encroachment rules that every agency must adhere to. I understand growth and development, but I also understand security and air traffic patterns that must be maintained within and around the base.

We know what we have in CAFB, but are we being blindsided — moving so fast, and not looking at the whole picture? I remind our elected officials that CAFB continues to play an important role in this community. BRAC (the base realignment commission) takes very seriously these mishaps and how each incident negatively impacts the mission of the military.

VIRGINIA W. JAMISON

USAF (Ret.)USAF (R.)

Long Shadow Lane

North Charleston