Letters to the editor

Team effort
In a letter published on Dec. 30, 2011, I challenged Charleston County government and residents of Johns Island on the appearance of Maybank Highway and River and Bohicket roads leading up to the PGA Championship.

I commend Charleston County and everyone else who had a part in this enormous cleanup. The roadsides look great and are no longer a distraction. There are still isolated instances of dumping and trash, but those are manageable by individuals or Adopt-A-Highway groups.

I urge everyone to report littering when you see it and clean it yourself if you can. You will be surprised the effect it has on others when they see your action.

Elton Carrier

King Street

Mount Pleasant

Winning columns
What a breath of fresh air in the sports section of your newspaper. Dave Barry’s column is interesting and a pleasure to read — a worthy substitute for the overdone football stories.

I vote to continue Barry’s column past the Olympics.

D. P. McCann

Chimney Bluff Drive

Mount Pleasant

True motive
I put money on a bet that the PGA Championship would light a fire under I-526 and Sea Island Greenway proponents. I just thought they would have the decency to wait until the event was over to start their letter-writing campaign.

The irony is in the title of an Aug. 8 letter titled “Connect the dots.” The “dots” that will be connected in his fantasy of high-speed travel should these boondoggles be created, are the many parcels of unconfiscated lands — family farms, heirs properties, salt marshes, private homesteads and public spaces that will go up for sale in the wake of these destructive and astronomically expensive projects.

Don’t be naive. These road projects serve one purpose only — to pave the way for unfettered sprawling suburbanization of our sea islands south of Charleston.

Connect the dots of efforts of our local leaders to ramrod I-526 down our throats, press conferences “proving” local support, blindsiding citizens with a proposed half-cent sales tax for transportation projects and the S.C. Department of Transportation poll to gauge public opinion.

Local politicians, ignorant (but well-intentioned) people, and developers are counting on citizens to be stupid, apathetic or both. My fear is that they are right. Stand up and prove them wrong.

Gary Brown

Ruby Drive

Mount Pleasant

Tax Super PACs
Former Sen. Ernest Hollings’ Aug. 6 opinion piece describes one of the major problems with the political system as money. Since, as he suggests, it is unlikely that Congress, under the leadership of either political party, will do what is needed to rein in this never- ending money quest, perhaps there is a way at least to direct some of these funds to our huge deficit.

With all this discussion surrounding raising taxes of our citizens and businesses, there is one significant source that is exempt from income taxes — contributions to political campaigns and Super PACs.

Perhaps now is the time to tax the campaigns and the Super PACs on money they receive.

With hundreds of millions of dollars being raised each month by these numerous political entities, a flat 20 percent tax could send the IRS $20 million for every $100 million received.

Some in the political arena consider $20 million in taxes raised from working citizens and businesses a drop in the bucket, but it might seem more significant when it’s coming out of their respective hides, or should we say their political campaign coffers.

Daniel Gragan

Susan Gragan

St. Julien Drive

Eutawville

Different Folly
For many years I have enjoyed taking my children, now my grandchildren, and house guests to Folly Beach, where we could relax and feel safe. This has all changed.

Now we have busloads of drunks being dropped off, creating riots, trespassing on and fouling private property where families with young children pay big bucks thinking they can enjoy a relaxing, safe vacation away from the everyday stresses of life.

I am all for banning alcohol (and any other mind-altering drugs) on the beach. Every other public beach in the area has done so, and they seem to be doing just fine.

I hope residents will do the right thing in the November election.

As for my family, I think we may just visit our county parks more often, or find a more civilized beach.

Beverly O’Brien

Highwood Circle

James Island

Danger zone
The Arthur Ravenel Bridge has a bike and pedestrian lane side by side.

Bikers have a long hard ride to the top of the bridge and then many times speed downhill. They are at most a foot or two from pedestrians. Those who are walking down the bridge don’t see the bikes coming up behind them.

Sometimes the bikes are in groups of four or five. This needs to be fixed — how, I don’t know.

Remember, a bicyclist going fast killed a pedestrian in San Francisco last month.

An accident will happen here eventually. Perhaps the only solution is to prohibit bikes speeding downhill on the bridge.

Edward Hardwicke

Hobcaw Drive

Mount Pleasant

Above scrutiny
If a state agency wants to hand out double-digit pay raises to its staffers, it has to go through both House and Senate appropriations committees.

Those committees will discuss the raises, and either approve them or not.

Two agencies, however, are effectively exempt from that scrutiny. You’ll never guess which ones.

Actually, maybe you will.

Barton Swaim

Communications Manager

South Carolina Policy Council

Pendleton Street

Columbia