Commentary
Reduce the influence of lawyer-legislators in selecting SC judges
The 2024 session of the South Carolina General Assembly will face a major controversy over the question of whether the current system of selecting state judges should be changed to reduce the influence of lawyer-legislators over the judges that they elect and practice before. This is an old controversy dating back to the troubled period […]
Poor men south of Richmond? Why much of the rural South is in economic crisis
For a brief moment in the summer of 2023, the surprise No. 1 song “Rich Men North of Richmond” focused the country’s attention on a region that often gets overlooked in discussions of the U.S. economy. Although the U.S. media sometimes pays attention to the rural South — often concentrating on guns, religion and opioid […]
Remembering Rosalynn Carter and the challenges she overcame as first lady
As I write this, the airwaves, online news sites and print media are filled with tributes to Rosalynn Carter, the former first lady who passed away Sunday at the age of 96. It is likely that many are learning of her groundbreaking years as first lady and her post-presidential work – beyond building houses for […]
National ‘unwinding’ takes 63,768 SC children off Medicaid
It’s a tough Thanksgiving for tens of thousands of South Carolina children and their families. While other headlines have grabbed our attention over the past few months, 63,768 children in low-income families have lost Medicaid coverage in South Carolina. This is a dramatic step backward for a state that already is notoriously stingy on Medicaid. […]
Studies, class-action suit link hair relaxers to cancer; Black women are at risk
When I saw reports about a National Institutes of Health study that found women who used chemical hair straighteners known as relaxers were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer than those who didn’t, a sulfur-scented flashback zapped me back to my first experience getting my hair relaxed. I was 10 or 11, […]
This Thanksgiving − and on any holiday − these steps will help prevent foodborne illness
Thanksgiving is a time for gathering with friends and family around the dinner table. No one wants to cause their family or friends to get sick from a foodborne illness on this holiday or any other occasion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 1 in 6 Americans, or 48 million people, get […]
Mid-year transfers latest example of disrespect causing SC teachers to quit
The fall tends to be a slower time for education policy debates in South Carolina, but that has not been the case this year. From book selection policies to superintendent contracts, school districts across the state have been roiled by conflict. I have been especially concerned by the ongoing controversy in Richland School District One […]
No matter what US Supreme Court decides, more voters must turn out in SC elections
In 2022, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF), assisted by the ACLU, proved before a three-judge federal panel in Charleston that in redrawing South Carolina’s congressional map about 30,000 Black voters were systematically removed from Congressional District 1 (represented by GOP Rep. Nancy Mace) and placed in Congressional District 6 (represented by Democrat Rep. Jim […]
What is the SC Daily Gazette? A free, online news outlet on a mission.
Welcome to the South Carolina Daily Gazette and a column 291 years in the making. Well, that’s obviously hyperbole. We’re brand new. But our name truly dates to 1732. I wanted our name to reflect South Carolina’s history and uniqueness. Hopefully, it will also hint at the future success of not only our outlet but […]
Helping the homeless in SC is a ‘team sport’
Homelessness continues to be an issue in South Carolina. Last January’s point-in-time survey counted 1,165 unhoused individuals on a single night in the 13 central counties of South Carolina, reported the Midlands Area Consortium for the Homeless (MACH). As bad as this may sound, it was an overall decrease of 4% since the same count […]