Coastal resident demands county do its job, developers take Helena project elsewhere
Take it elsewhere
The County Planning Commission should be commended for its unanimous vote to uphold the St. Helena Cultural Protection Overlay District (CPO).
Reacting to litigation fear is not performing one’s statutory duty; our County officials should protect what they were sworn to protect. The CPO was established under strict public scrutiny, public hearings, and approval.
The CPO protects large tracts from precisely the kind of development intensity that, in developer-speak, is called “world-class legacy.” Well, bless their greedy hearts. The impacts and consequences are too severe: environmental destruction, water supply, sewers, traffic, public services, and schools.
Yes, there will be children of school age; recent demographics from Callawassie, Dataw, and Belfair demonstrate that school-age children are rising.
Pastor Jack Ladson suggested that “this is something that rich white folks want.” No, they don’t, pastor. I submit that the only folks who want this are connected with the deal, the owners, developers, and real estate people, and the only reason is lots of money!
The developers should take their world-class legacy elsewhere. There are plenty of vacant tracts in this general area without CPO restrictions.
County officials, a writ of mandamus: Do your jobs.
Michael McNally, Callawassie Island
Islander’s view
My father, Niels Christensen, developed Dulamo where I have lived for 46 years. My dad was close friends with Harry Hannah who owned Pine Island right next door with his sister. They loved the island and would not develop it, but we all knew that after the old people died, their relatives would sell it, and they are doing that.
As neighbors, the residents of Dulamo worried that it would become a little Dataw with chock-a-block houses and such so we were relieved to find that this would be a limited development with a small number of houses and possibly an eight-hole golf course. The only disruption would be more traffic on Dulamo Road.
I have been a member of the St. Helena Island Cultural Protection Overlay Committee for about 15 years and am familiar with concerns that development poses to our Gullah community, their family compounds, the fishing industry and farming that is iconic to our beautiful island. However I do not see that this present plan would pose a disruption to our rural way of life. I also would be hesitant to restrict the use that the Hannah family would make of the property they own.
Anne C. Pollitzer, St. Helena Island
Dysfunction reigns
It appears MSNBC,FOX NEWS and CNN have become entertainment TV after broadcasting the election of the House Speaker.
The Republican Party with a 222-majority vote to elect one candidate running for speaker can accomplish the selection on one ballot, but the GOP took four days and 15 ballots to elect the only single candidate for speaker.
Some call this “politics.”
To me it is a sign of inept, dysfunctional, divisive action that is disturbing, embarrassing and most destructive.
Calvin Jordan, Beaufort
Ethics needed
Following the election of a new speaker of the House, Congress can now carry out the work of the American people.
One place they could start is by tackling an issue that Republicans, Democrats and everyone in between all agree on: corruption. Instead I was shocked to read that, as their first move after taking power, the new House majority approved a rules package that includes weakening the Office of Congressional Ethics.
The Office of Congressional Ethics is one of the only safeguards against corruption in Congress. It provides independent nonpartisan oversight and accountability, ensuring that members of Congress work for the people, not special interests. Over the years, it has done its job: shedding light on shady dealings by representatives of both parties.
It should go without saying, but nearly every American wants less corruption, not more. What possible explanation could the new majority have for opening the door to less transparency and more corruption? Confidence in government is already low because Congress consistently fails to deliver on the issues people care about. Gutting this important ethics office will only make things worse.
Edgar Lopez, Bluffton
