Recent editorials from South Carolina newspapers:
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April 14
The Times and Democrat on recent tornadoes in the area and the difference between a storm watch and a storm warning:
To know the strength of the anchor … you need to feel the storm.”
The sign at Springfield United Methodist Church on the Monday after Easter was dirtied from violent early morning weather but it survived, its message a prophetic one for a day in which the coronavirus at least temporarily seemed less of an emergency.
Violent weather made it to South Carolina in a big way, leaving a trail of death and heavy damage. In Orangeburg County, the western areas of Neeses and Springfield were hit hard but there was damage in multiple locations. Two people were killed. The National Weather Service is investigating the possibility that multiple tornadoes are to blame.
The storms here and across the South over the weekend are deadly reminders that this is called by experts “the mean season” for a reason.
As much as summer is associated with thunderstorms, some of the worst isolated damage from such storms and tornadoes occurs from March through May.
During springtime months, the atmosphere is in transition from cold to warm. Air masses often times interact, resulting in turbulent weather conditions. Each year hundreds of communities and lives are shattered as a result of such weather disasters.
For Palmetto State residents, recent years are proof that severe storms, tornadoes and flash floods are significant hazards: the “1,000-year” flooding of 2015, Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Irma in 2017.
People have gained new awareness of preparedness amid the coronavirus emergency. Hopefully that will lead to more taking seriously the need to be ready for any emergency – and certainly those brought on by weather.
Having proper supplies is one thing about which awareness should be high, and social distancing has now become the norm for safety. But how much do people know about staying as safe as possible in violent weather?
In the era of alerts via cell phones, there is no reason not take action. And that means knowing the difference between watches and warnings.
A tornado or severe thunderstorm watch defines an area where tornadoes and other kinds of severe weather are possible in the next several hours. It means that you need to be alert, and be prepared to go to safe shelter if tornadoes happen or a warning is issued.
A tornado warning means a tornado has been spotted, or that Doppler radar shows a thunderstorm circulation that can spawn a tornado. When a tornado warning is issued for your area, seek safe shelter immediately.
The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center issues tornado and severe thunderstorm watches. But when a tornado warning comes, it originates from local National Weather Service offices and means there is immediate danger and the need for action.
About 1,200 tornadoes are recorded in the United States annually. Thankfully, South Carolina is not normally a tornado hot spot by comparison to some states. But as Monday morning proved again, when the warnings come, they are not to be taken lightly.
Online: https://thetandd.com/
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April 14
The Index-Journal on taking the good with the bad:
“Stop writing about the number of cases!”
“Stop writing about how many died!”
“Tell some good news for a change!”
“Tell about the people who have recovered!”
While not necessarily direct quotes or written in SHOUT on our Facebook page, these have been some of the comments received as we have covered the impact of COVID-19 in the Lakelands.
To a degree, we get it. All of us are likely inundated - perhaps saturated is a better word choice - with news from TV, the internet, radio and, yes, newspapers. COVID-19 seems to have consumed our very lives to the point many of us simply want to break free, be more than merely distracted and simply be done with it all.
But each of us has a choice to make. We can, for example, binge watch something on Netflix or Amazon Prime, dig out old home movies (if you still have the equipment to play them on), enjoy a playlist of songs that are not depressing. We can do that while yet getting a steady dose of news and information we need and should want to receive.
During the few weeks our newsroom has been submerged in the coronavirus coverage, we have made every effort to tell the positive stories we can find. Sure, we would like to tell of people’s road to recovery and not merely report numbers. Numbers represent people, and it is people’s stories we ultimately want to share. Only, we cannot make those who test positive come forward any more than we can make those who ultimately recover come forward to share their experiences. DHEC doesn’t give us names and contact information; they only provide daily numbers of each county’s positives and, yes, deaths.
Still, we have been fortunate enough to have some glimmers of light to share in the darkness: People volunteering to make masks from home to be given to health care workers. The Ninety Six couple who are sharing their health care skills in New York City, a coronavirus hot spot. Easter celebrations and Easter egg hunts done safely. Chalk art that celebrated Holy Week. Musicians safely performing free concerts around Greenwood in support of area venues where they perform, venues whose employees have been jobless for weeks.
You want more positive, uplifting stories? Then by all means let us know about them, get your friends to share with us. Mind you, we are an extremely small newsroom doing our best to cover all we can while maintaining our own sanity and not working 24/7. And we practice safe distancing and the other recommendations while we report. Unfortunately, that also means much of our reporting is being done via phone and email. We do that to keep the staff safe and to ensure they do not unwittingly pass the virus on to others, knowing any one of us could be carrying the virus without any signs of illness.
Yes, these are difficult times for us all. The effects are widespread and hit each of us in different ways. For a newspaper’s newsroom, it means overdrive and plenty of juggling in what is an extremely fluid situation. Rest assured, we’d appreciate more good news too.
But we will and must continue to report the unpleasant side. To do any less would be irresponsible.
Online: http://www.indexjournal.com/
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April 12
The Post and Courier on canceling parole hearings:
Many government functions have understandably ground to a halt because of the coronavirus pandemic, but parole hearings shouldn’t have been one of them. The hearings should be considered essential business, and the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services needs to find a safe workaround to keep the wheels of justice turning.
But on April 1, the department announced it was suspending parole hearings through June 1 – two months. That represents about 175 prisoners and four scheduled hearing sessions.
Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia, a defense attorney and the House minority leader, called it “the worst decision that could ever be made” and told The (Columbia) State newspaper there was “no reason they can’t figure out how to use Zoom like everyone else.”
Indeed, the department already uses video links at eight prisons for hearings.
Spokesman Peter O’Boyle said PPP Director Jerry Adger made the decision under the authority of the governor’s emergency declarations after considering all the moving parts and the totality of risks involved.
We understand that holding parole hearings can be complicated, legally and practically, even under normal circumstances. By law, the hearings are public. They require public notices; victims are required to be notified and their testimonies, among others, have to be accommodated.
But most hearings don’t require the full seven-member parole board, and if other government bodies can figure out how to hold public hearings without running afoul of the law, it’s hard to understand why PPP can’t do the same.
The state chapter of the ACLU also objected to the decision to suspend hearings, but there was little public outcry. After all, who cares if prisoners have to wait two months for a parole hearing? Probably few of us, but we all should.
Reducing the prisoner population reduces taxpayer costs. Recently, the statewide headcount dipped below 18,000 for first time in 25 years. But that’s mostly due to long-term efforts by the separate Department of Corrections. Delaying parole hearings for only about 1% of those prisoners still moves us in the opposite direction.
Unlike some other states, South Carolina has taken no extraordinary measures to cut the prison population to reduce the risk of the coronavirus spreading within prisons. And, amazingly, not a single prisoner has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
While some other states also have suspended parole hearings, two months seems overly long. We urge Mr. Adger to find a safe way to resume parole hearings sooner than June 1.
Otherwise, the department will face a backlog of about 175 cases that will have to cleared, which could open the state to litigation because, as the saying goes, “justice delayed is justice denied.”
Online: https://www.postandcourier.com/
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