Charleston Currents – Center for a Better South

BRACK: Remembering Leo

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | A friend died last week and I’ll miss his wise counsel and long, engaging conversations.

Leo Fishman, a Massachusetts-born Washington lawyer who retired to the Lowcountry, believed in something many Americans seem to have forgotten – the vital need to protect and promote the common good to keep our democracy strong.

Leo knew the country gets in trouble when private, often selfish agendas impede that which is best for all. Investing in the common good got America out of the Great Depression and won World War II because Americans worked together to meet common goals. Investing in interstate highways, education for veterans through the G.I. Bill and even the space program moved our democracy forward.

by Andy Brack · 01/18/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: Promise Zone is shot in arm for S.C.

By Andy Brack | Talk about a shot in the arm for the southern rural counties of South Carolina. Witness the just-announced federal Promise Zone designation for a six-county area centering on Allendale County that should pump in millions of dollars of aid over the next 10 years.

But let’s be clear: It’s a hand-up, not a handout for people in the zone area of Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties. There’s a lot of hard work ahead for these counties, nonprofits, government agencies and businesses that are part of the effort to generate more jobs, improve education, reduce crime and get more affordable housing in a region where 28.1 percent of 90,000 residents live in poverty.