Good news

FOCUS: Charleston Currents publishes final issue

FOCUS: Charleston Currents publishes final issue

Staff reports  |  Charleston Currents, a weekly publication that focuses on good news about the Lowcountry, is publishing its final issue today after more than 13 years and 650 weekly issues.

“It’s been a great run, but now that we also publish the Charleston City Paper, it’s time to focus efforts on continuing to improve its local news and feature story offerings,” said publisher Andy Brack. “Since purchase of the City Paper two years ago, many of the weekly sections in Charleston Currents have also been published in the the City Paper.  Now it’s time to consolidate these efforts.”

For example, Brack’s weekly column is published every Friday in Statehouse Report and over the weekend in the City Paper.  If you enjoy the Currents’ News Briefs section, you can find five stories every morning in the City Paper’s email newsletter of daily headlines.  (Sign up for CP newsletters for free.)

by · 12/12/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news
NEWS BRIEFS: Is Lincoln Project the vanguard of American democracy?

NEWS BRIEFS: Is Lincoln Project the vanguard of American democracy?

By Andy Brack  |  America is in the throes of the largest internal political war since its first, the American Civil War, began in Charleston 160 years ago. Then, as now, the nation was being pulled apart by injustice, inequity and white supremacy. Now, however, the battlefield is far different.

by · 12/12/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs
Via Wikipedia.

FOCUS: Legislator warns of  “shell game” on education funding 

By Skyler Baldwin  |  A Midlands state senator who is passionate about education policy warned during a Charleston panel discussion that voters would see a host of distractions from key issues in the coming legislative session.

“You’re going to see some of the shell games this year,” said Sen. Mike Fanning, a Fairfield County Democrat, during a panel discussion with legislative colleagues at a meeting of the S.C. School Boards Association. “You’ve already heard some of it — sex books in Fort Mill libraries, critical race theory — you’ll hear every single thing thrown out the one year South Carolina has more revenue than we’ve ever had in the history of the state — the one year we’ll have more additional revenue than we will ever have in the next 100 years.”

“Don’t buy it,” he said. 

by · 12/06/2021 · 1 comment · Focus, Good news
From a 2011 Senate redistricting map.

NEWS BRIEFS: 5 things we learned about S.C.’s redistricting

By Andy Brack, a news analysis  |  State lawmakers will be in Columbia today to put final touches on new state House, Senate and congressional maps that will be used for the next 10 years for elections.  While the state Senate map has been viewed as pretty good, the maps for House and Congress have been widely panned by observers who say incumbents are just protecting incumbents.  Here’s an excerpted version of what we learned last week.  

by · 12/06/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs
I-526 from North Charleston to Mount Pleasant would be widened and replaced under some SCDOT plans | Credit: Flickr user donwest48

FOCUS: Wednesday is last day for public comment on I-526  project

By Skyler Baldwin  |  The online public information meeting for the Interstate 526 Corridor (I-526) EAST Planning and Environmental Linkages project launched by the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) is ending Dec. 1.

“The 23-mile connection between West Ashley and Mount Pleasant, known as the I-526 Lowcountry Corridor (LCC), has been identified by SCDOT as one of the state’s most congested interstate highways — and it’s among the Department’s top priorities statewide,” reads the project website.

Potential changes could bring more lanes, new technological advancements or other strategies aimed at meeting the growing demand for more capacity on the interstate. I-526 from North Charleston to Mount Pleasant would be widened and replaced under some SCDOT plans.

by · 11/29/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news
NEWS BRIEFS: S.C. justice leaders react to Brunswick convictions

NEWS BRIEFS: S.C. justice leaders react to Brunswick convictions

Staff reports  |  Murder convictions of three men last week for the shotgun-killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, is being considered a major victory for justice in America that nearly brought the Rev. Nelson B. Rivers to tears. 

by · 11/29/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs
Via Unsplash.

FOCUS: S.C.’s long ties with Barbados, a new republic

By Herb Frazier  |  Barbados will become a republic on Nov. 30 when it removes Queen Elizabeth as the head of state on the 55th anniversary of the nation’s independence from England.

Barbados and Charleston have a historic and cultural tie that dates back to April 1670. Settlers from Barbados established the Carolina colony which grew into modern-day Charleston.

As a parliamentary republic, Barbados will have a ceremonial elected president as head of state. The prime minister remains the head of government.

The move cuts the last vestiges of the colonial umbilical cord with England, said Charleston resident Rhoda Green, Barbados’ honorary consul to South Carolina and founder of the Barbados and the Carolina Legacy Foundation.

by · 11/22/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news
NEWS BRIEFS: New battle over vouchers, public education dollars

NEWS BRIEFS: New battle over vouchers, public education dollars

Staff reports  |  Look for another education battle in 2022 as key Republican leaders push a bill that would siphon public education dollars to private schools under the guise of “education freedom.”

According to Statehouse Report, S.C. Rep. Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort, recently sent an email through the Palmetto Promise Institute to push H. 3976, a bill she introduced in February to create “education scholarship accounts” for tens of thousands of early reading program or special needs students.  Anyone in the proposed program would get about $5,000 a year in an online savings account to use for a student’s education.

by · 11/22/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs
FOCUS: Analyst says to review portfolio on proposed tax law changes

FOCUS: Analyst says to review portfolio on proposed tax law changes

By Kyra Morris, contributing editor  |  Many  may be concerned about the changes in the new taxes under the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act, which is President Joe Biden’s signature social safety net and climate change bill.  It has received a procedural vote in the House and still needs a final vote before it heads back to the U.S. Senate.  

The analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office indicating the ultimate cost of this bill will be a determining factor. This article reviews the proposals as of Nov 6, and may at least give us some guidance and potential planning ideas. 

Little change for many.  The first thing that needs to be remembered is that if your taxable income is below $450,000 for married filing jointly (MFJ) or $400,000 for single (S) taxpayers, the proposed new tax laws have very little changes. 

by · 11/15/2021 · 3 comments · Focus, Good news
NEWS BRIEF: New bio highlights Reconstruction-era Senate leader

NEWS BRIEF: New bio highlights Reconstruction-era Senate leader

By Herb Frazier, Charleston City Paper  |  Four years ago, Civil War historian and Mount Pleasant-based attorney Gordon C. Rhea began an exploration into the life and legacy of a little-known black Civil War hero.

by · 11/15/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs