Our View

The priorities of our state lawmakers are hard to fathom in many aspects of the budgeting process. But it is especially alarming that they don’t care enough about the welfare of our children to provide them with safe school buses.

The plan in the S.C. Senate to extend full-day kindergarten to more of the state’s poor 4-year-olds is a step in the right direction. But we question why it is such a timid step.

Officials with Duke Power contend the millions of tons of coal ash stored in lagoons along the banks of the Catawba River pose no threat to the river’s water quality. The problem is, if they’re wrong, the river might not get a second chance to recover.

In terms of its long-term impact on the future of the state, the Read to Succeed Act could be the most important bill the state Legislature considers this year.

One runner in last week’s Boston Marathon remarked after two bombs were detonated near the finish line that “marathons in big cities will never be the same.”

The success of a program that links nurses with low-income women in their first pregnancies demonstrates both the health benefits of preventive care and the money it can save.

York County Council and public safety officials knew seven years ago that an expansion of county court facilities was desperately needed. That need has only grown more dire since then.

An “open enrollment” school bill that would allow students to attend any public school in the state they wanted to is a good option. While kinks might need to be worked out as the program progresses, this is a good answer to families who aren’t satisfied with the schools their children now attend.

Elected officials justifiably oppose arbitrary gun restrictions that wouldn’t make people safer. But responsible lawmakers also are obligated to oppose expansions of gun rights that are likely to put people in jeopardy.

When it comes to emergency calls, there’s plenty of work for all. The tricky part is finding the right balance. The county council was right to put off a decision.