Opinion

If I told you that, in a year when most state agencies saw cuts of 30, 40 or even 50 percent, there was one agency that got almost a 50 percent increase, would that strike you as being, well, wrong?

It certainly struck me that way. And last week I voted to sustain S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford’s veto of that expenditure.  But not enough other senators agreed and that funding increase was approved.

What agency got that extra money this year? The South Carolina Senate.

Here is how it happened:

So, what does last week’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on handguns mean? Legal experts on both sides of the gun control debate predict it will mean more challenges to gun-control laws – challenges that might very well be decided in future Supreme Court rulings.

The decision will also almost certainly void gun-control laws in Chicago and Oak Place, Ill., that forbid residents to have handguns in their homes.

I read the editorial about saving the old Lancaster County jail. I do not believe it needs to be restored because it is useless to the public. How many people have come to look at it?

Everything old is not historic. We now have an old courthouse that probably no one will go in. There are old jails in every town. That does not make them unique. It is not like everyone who has been there has such good memories.

The editorial mentioned Robert Mills, the architect who designed the jail. I have never heard of him. Now, if he was Frank Lloyd Wright, that would be different.

The building, which once was the home of Barr Street High School and Barr Street Junior High School, sports new life.

The building, which for the most part has seen little or no activity since 2003, has been renewed through the work of Hope on the Hill, a local group led by the Rev. Wayne Murray to boost opportunities for youth.

Plans called for the renovated facility to open in late June, but the opening is now set for Saturday due to complications with the alarm system.

I want to respond to Jenny Arnold’s article, “Reaching rebellious youth focus of community forum.” There have been candlelight meetings, marches and prayer meetings to bring awareness to the problem of young people killing young people. But there are no solutions that the community likes. Before we can generate a solution to any problem we must understand the cause of the problem.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

– The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The First Amendment was written because at America’s inception, citizens demanded a guarantee of their basic freedoms.

“It’s so hot I saw a dog chasing a cat and they were both walking,” online commenter laconservative wrote on our June 25 story, “More hot temps in forecast.”

Beamsabre chimed in, “I saw a pack of Cub Scouts lighting a bonfire to cool off.”

“It’s so hot the boys in the hood are wearing short sleeve shirts,” reverind ike added.

After reading “More Food Choices for Students at Lunch” in the June 4 edition of The Lancaster News, I decided to log in to the newspaper’s Web site. I wanted to see if there were any reader comments on the announcement that the school district director of food services and the president of the school board were pleased and proud to add Philly cheese steaks and chicken wings to the school lunch menu for next year.

We can picture the scene when veteran Lancaster City Councilman John Howard shook his head and said, “I think I’m in the twilight zone.” Howard often quips at council meetings, and he’s never been a council member to mince words.

And when he wondered if he was in some netherworld at the June 3 special City Council budget meeting, he did so for good reason. The majority on council had just voted to tap into the city’s reserve funds to give employees a 2 percent raise.