Last week’s Palter and Chatter article about the City of Charleston’s purchase of right-of-way for extension of the Glenn McConnell Parkway was informative as far as it went, but David Slade either has a very short memory, lacks the in-depth journalistic skills needed to adequately research his subject matter, or, more likely, is just another wooden-headed puppet dangling from the strings of the Riley Palter and Chatter sycophants that sign his pay-check.

If there was a Pulitzer Prize for disinformation Brian Hicks would be on the short list. His recent piece on James Island displayed, in only a few hundred words, an amazing facility for factual error, distortion and misinformation.

A worthwhile confrontation in our opinion

City Council meets only once a month over the summer period. It normally meets twice a month and in the past, the reduction of the frequency has been offset by the length of meetings. We can remember in past years where some meetings in summer have extended to about 10 pm. This is long haul for a meeting beginning with Ways Means at 4.30 pm. Whether its the weaker economy and a diminution in commercial and housing projects needing approval, or just an aberration, yesterdays meeting was no longer than normal. There were no speakers during Public Participation which promoted the Mayor to joke that the public was mindful of the desire to get home to view a major sport event. Indeed, excluding those who turned up to participate in the award ceremonies, the public attendance was probably less than 10.

The City’s latest planning and engineering consultant “from off” may have unintentionally spilled too many beans as he extolled the virtues of his planned “network of streets” proposed as his “top priority” for solving growing traffic congestion on Johns Island.

Sunday’s Palter and Chatter lead story, “CLOGGED and getting worse”, made a good argument for considering commuter rail and other public transit options as worthy alternatives to spending $300 million for the widening of I-26 to alleviate rush-hour gridlock down the spine of the upper and lower Charleston Peninsula. Unfortunately, like all complex problems and their equally complex solutions, there are other underlying variables and a few five hundred pound gorillas in the equation that must also be considered if the Lowcountry is to remain economically competitive and viable in the next century. The increasing cost of energy and its impact upon the region’s equation of commerce, coupled with the unintended consequences of previous regional land planning strategies, will dominate the actions of local policy makers for decades as they attempt to out-guess several other rapidly changing national and international market forces.

With all the national campaign hype about the need for change in the Executive Branch of our national government, it’s easy to become desensitized to the various meanings of change. Webster defines change as an alteration, transformation, substitution, or exchange. For the remaining readers of the Palter and Chatter’s editorial page, one can only hope that the retirement of Barbara Williams as editor of editorials brings either of the former definitions but neither of the latter. For nearly four decades the editorial page of the Palter and Chatter has been little more than a convenient political broadside in defense of the never-ending Riley Administration. Seldom, if ever, have local editorials seriously questioned the covert nature, politically ruthless, single-handed tactics, or misguided visionary choices of Charleston’s unique career mayor. To the contrary, countless favorable editorials, blatant platitudes, and journalistic influence upon the composition of Charleston’s City Council has underpinned, defended, supported, and colluded with the Riley Administration to forge a symbiotic relationship that has benefited the Palter and Chatter and sustained Riley in a position of unchallengeable local power and influence for nearly four decades.

Request for State to address issue of safety on Johns Island roads

There was little on the agenda for yesterday’s Finance Committee that seemed contentious. But Council Member Thurmond took exception to the fiscal 2009 annual allocations for road and drainage work financed by the half cent sales tax. He did not object to the spending but questioned as to how the specific projects were chosen.

County has some hard decisions to make on solid waste disposal

A month or so ago, Council members probably felt very satisfied with their plans for the County’s waste disposal. They would close the North Charleston incinerator in 2010 and divert the waste, previously incinerated, to the Bees Ferry dump. By refusing to take construction waste from contractors and developers, and by other measures, the life of the Bees Ferry dump could be extended to 20 years. And all of this would be achieved without a major increase in waste disposal charges.

For nearly four decades the citizens of Charleston have been either awed, misled, or intimidated by “…that man behind the curtain…” as he frantically jerked levers, pushed buttons or pulled strings to beguile Charleston with smoke, mirrors, glitter, festivals, and other assorted side-shows. Time and time again Charlestonians were told that, under Riley’s inspiring leadership, his self-made Acropolis by the Sea was second to none, “World Class”, and the envy of cities throughout America. Time and time again we were told that we either were the best of or had the best of all those municipal attributes that made this City second to none.

Preservation Plan, Long Savannah and CARTA budget

Chief Rusty Thomas received a standing ovation last night. He and four other long standing members of the City administration, who were retiring, were honored at the City Council meeting. The Mayor spoke eloquently and passionately about the service rendered by the staff members. But predictably, his comments relating to the Fire Chief were the most passionate.

This week’s proposed memorial services to honor the needless and tragic deaths of nine brave CFD firefighters one year ago should not become a shameless excuse for Mayor Riley to practice false humility, personal image rebuilding or self-aggrandizement. There should be no speeches about how great Riley’s Class One ISO fire department was or will become or what a great leader his ex-Fire Chief Thomas is or was; none of these hollow platitudes are appropriate for the solemn occasion the City of Charleston faces this week.

Public meeting next week

At a Finance Committee meeting last month, the proponents of a new expressway across Johns Island had their say. An expressway was needed to alleviate the traffic on the existing roads. Those working and living on Kiawah and Seabrook Island would be the main users. It also could be a toll road, they said.

Joseph Pericles Riley, Jr., having chosen politics as his only career, now finds his fate falling out of his control in the local public arena. Last week Pericles watched his mythical kingdom of Rileyworld continue to slip from his imperial grasp as a consequence of his three-decade mismanagement of the Charleston Fire Department. The unpardonable lost of nine CFD firefighters on Riley’s watch has now even been questioned by one of his handpicked lackeys, albeit now independently courageous Councilmen, the Reverend Jimmy Gallant. As Public Safety Committee Chairman, Gallant attempted to call a special meeting to ask Pericles and his “Good Old Boy” political crony, Rusty Thomas, for answers to demands for information from several of Gallant’s constituents, other citizens of Charleston, CFD firefighters, and firefighter experts from around the nation.

Last Tuesday evening’s May 27th meeting of Charleston City Council was more entertaining than most Spoleto events. From all accounts, it was better scripted and rehearsed than many competing festival performances and provided “world-class” entertainment for all in attendance. It coincidently provided orchestrated fodder for the lapdog Palter and Chatter that Charlestonians suffer as a local daily newspaper. As in other recent local tragedies, Mayor J. Pericles Riley stole the show with his superb acting skills. In recognition of such well-honed talent, Pericles is hereby awarded the first ever “Rusty (Ruthless, Unscrupulous, Subversive, Tyrannical Yeasayer) Award” for his outstanding performance as a world-class, self-righteous demagogue.

The outlook wasn't hopeful for the Charleston nine that day;
The Sofa Store was full with flames, with but one more prayer to say.
And then when one hose dried of thirst, and another did the same,
A pall-like silence fell upon the firemen from everywhere that came.