Recent editorials from South Carolina newspapers:
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May 24
The Aiken Standard on the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility:
Reaction to the proposed termination of MOX has been as polarizing as the president seeking elimination of the under-construction facility at the Savannah River Site.
In his budget proposal for fiscal year 2018, President Donald Trump was unequivocal in his desire to terminate MOX, or the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility. The plant, if completed, would convert defense plutonium into fuel for commercial reactors.
But MOX has also been besieged by cost overruns, constant delays and minimal funding from Congress. Construction has limped along. Supporters fear without MOX, the state will become a nuclear dumping ground.
In his budget proposal, Trump adopts the philosophy of his predecessor, former President Barack Obama. Both men have said they prefer downblending as a less costly, faster alternative to MOX.
“Multiple independent analyses confirm that the MOX approach would be significantly more expensive than originally anticipated and would require approximately $800 million to $1 billion annually for decades,” the budget states. “It would be irresponsible to pursue this approach when a more cost-effective alternative exists.”
Trump’s dismissal of MOX is perplexing. The commander in chief has gone to great lengths to separate himself politically from Obama only to follow in his predecessor’s footsteps as it relates to MOX.
It’s also baffling considering both South Carolina senators and at least one House member are ardent supporters of MOX.
Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Joe Wilson both issued statements Tuesday criticizing the budget proposal’s termination of MOX. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., didn’t specifically address MOX in remarks to our sister paper, the Post and Courier.
“I’m not overly concerned with the president’s budget at all,” Scott told the newspaper.
Scott, though, has traditionally been a major support of MOX. He spoke highly in favor of the facility during an August 2016 visit to North Augusta.
“The opposition to MOX is, in my opinion, nonsense. There is no other way to dispose of this weapons-grade plutonium other than the MOX facility,” Scott said.
Additionally, Trump has two South Carolinians in his administration - Mick Mulvaney and Nikki Haley, the later of whom vocally voiced her opposition to turning South Carolina into a dumping ground.
To his credit Trump did reiterate his support for pledging $120 million to reopen the Yucca Mountain repository. It’s an important part of the disposal equation, but the equation doesn’t add up without MOX, in our view.
As we’ve noted, the Russians suspended their participation in the Plutonium Management Disposition Agreement, or PMDA, citing delays in MOX as a main reason.
In a conference call with reporters Tuesday, National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, officials said restarting MOX isn’t the only condition Russians have placed on returning to the PMDA.
NNSA Administrator Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz said the Russians also are demanding reparations for U.S. imposed sanctions relating to Russia’s invasion of Crimea. Klotz also said the U.S. has concerns over Russia’s human rights record.
In spite of the politics, the president’s proposed budget is exactly that - proposed. Seldom do presidential budgets cruise through Congress without any scrutiny or debate. Already there’s a counter budget proposal that appropriates $335 million to MOX.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has called the Trump budget “dead on arrival.” Other more conservative lawmakers have been hesitant to unequivocally embrace it.
Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., one of the House’s more conservative members, called Trump’s 3 percent growth projections a “Goldilocks scenario.”
Moving forward, there will be plenty of haggling over the budget. Remember in 2016 - MOX funding wasn’t locked in until December. Approval came despite Obama stating his desire to shut down MOX, and also in spite of a paltry $270 million being awarded. We suspect this is how things will play out this year, as well.
Online: https://www.aikenstandard.com/
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May 27
The Sun News of Myrtle Beach on a scandal involving the Coastal Carolina University cheerleading team:
In announcing it has concluded its investigation into the cheerleading team, Coastal Carolina University left unanswered many more questions than were answered during the entire ignominious episode.
The matter is decidedly not a proud one for our regional university, beginning with the anonymous letter of March 8, which brought the suspension of all cheerleading activities and the investigation, which confirmed some - not all - cheerleaders worked in an escort service and were paid $100 to $1,500 a date. The women participating also received purses, shoes and clothes.
The anonymous letter from “a concerned parent” made accusations far more serious and claimed “several girls” quit the team “due to these disgusting issues.” That is, the unproven accusations made in the letter. Investigators learned the identity of the letter writer, a man who refused to be interviewed. Employment as an escort is not illegal per se, although it is hardly an approved activity for college-age women, as far as most parents are concerned. Illegal activities such as prostitution are sometimes connected to escort services. CCU’s code of student conduct prohibits sexual exploitation and illicit drug use.
CCU President David A. DeCenzo defends the investigation, and presumably the suspension of the entire cheerleading team, saying “… we have a duty to investigate serious allegations. We had no choice.”
We beg to differ.
Given the anonymous nature of the allegations, DeCenzo had a choice of ascertaining the name of the accuser, and learning that he would not cooperate in an investigation prior to suspending the entire cheerleading team.
It’s disconcerting that an anonymous accuser initiated the investigation, although many surely appreciate DeCenzo feeling that he “had no choice.” The investigation showed that seven of the 18 cheerleaders were not aware of the escort service, so we also appreciate the view of attorney Amy Lawrence: “… the university’s rush to judgment and use of a broad brush has damaged the many young women on the cheerleading team who had no involvement with this website.”
The service operated through seekingarrangement.com, a legal dating website.
DeCenzo also cites CCU’s “No. 1 priority and obligation to protect the safety and well being of our students.”
Protect them from what? Employment as escorts? Or, for the women not involved, from association with those who were involved? How does that work? Would the entire football team be sidelined if half the members were male strippers?
Does the statement “No further action is being taken by the University” mean there has been action beyond the suspension and the investigation? Have any cheerleaders been dismissed from the institution? On what grounds? Will the suspended cheerleaders be allowed to compete for the 2017-2018 cheerleading team? Tryouts are scheduled July 23-24.
No doubt, DeCenzo and others at CCU want the case closed, saying administrators “will not be granting interviews regarding this matter.” Still, questions remain. And they need to be answered.
Online: https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/
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May 30
The Post and Courier of Charleston on use of smartphones while driving:
An app that tracks smartphone use behind the wheel shows that distracted driving is more prevalent than mere mortals knew - or were willing to admit.
Drivers fiddle with their phones on 88 percent of all car trips, according to San Francisco-based Zendrive, which based its nationwide study on 3.1 million drivers on 570 million car trips over 5.6 billion miles.
The data backup studies that show distracted driving plays a big role in traffic fatalities, which after a decade of declining jumped 7 percent from 2014 to 2015 and 14 percent from 2015 to 2016.
The National Safety Council estimates that 40,200 people died last year in wrecks considered to be preventable. And, in 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that fatalities from distracted driving increased more than any other crash-related factor.
The figures are sobering, considering that smartphones don’t just take your eyes off the road - they take your mind off the road. That’s self-evident for anyone who has ever been engrossed in a conversation while driving only to arrive home and realize they only vaguely remember the drive itself.
The Zendrive study also suggests that drivers don’t pay much attention to laws regulating the use of phones while driving.
Vermont drivers ranked as the most distracted, even though the state has a ban on hand-held phone use. The next most-distracted drivers were in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas and Oklahoma, none of which has hand-held bans.
South Carolina, which doesn’t have a hand-held ban, ranked No. 38, sandwiched between No. 37 Connecticut and No. 39 District of Columbia, both of which do have hand-held bans.
On average, South Carolina drivers spent 5.36 percent of their time behind the wheel using their phones, according to Zendrive, which uses an app that detects when a driver handles a phone for talking, texting or navigating, among other things.
For each hour of driving, Zendrive found that drivers spent an average of 3.5 minutes using their phones.
Data from big cities showed the most distracted drivers were in Los Angeles, where city and state hand-held bans are in place, followed by Austin, Texas, Miami and Philadelphia, which don’t have bans.
Seattle, which has a hand-held ban, had the least distracted drivers, followed by Washington, D.C. (ban), Boston (no ban) and Atlanta (no ban).
The study underscores the hazards of distracted driving, and pinpoints the primary culprit. In this case, we should do a better job listening to what smartphones are telling us.
Online: https://www.postandcourier.com/
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