Charleston Currents – 2015

BRACK: Why is the governor picking on GOP legislators?

By Andy Brack | Only one in 10 state legislators apparently is conservative enough for Gov. Nikki Haley, who last week reignited a feud with the General Assembly by singling out just 17 state lawmakers for voting with her on three issues — pay raises, gas taxes and bonded indebtedness. (List at bottom)

We’re not quite sure how Haley is the queen of figuring out who is conservative enough, but you’ve got to wonder a little about her leadership skills after winning a second term if only 17 legislators out of 170 are backing what she thinks is important.

“Her strategy of calling people out is a unique strategy — one I’m not familiar with in terms of what she hopes to gain, other than rankle people whose votes she needs on other things,” one veteran Republican insider said. “It’s clearly a strategy, but to what end?”

by Andy Brack · 05/11/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

The Sergeant Jasper building, Charleston, S.C.

GOOD NEWS: Associations oppose new Sergeant Jasper plan

Eight neighborhood associations say they’re strongly opposing a plan by The Beach Company to build an 18-story residential tower, 118,000-square foot of office space, 40,350-square-foot retail facility and large parking garage to redevelop property at Broad and Barre streets.

Also featured: More good news from around the area involving recent college graduates, a winning chef, a volunteer program, Giving Day and a winning recruiter.

by Charleston Currents · 05/11/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

CALENDAR, May 11+: Black history, special film, dancing

Coming events: New shark exhibit, Above and Beyond film, black history series, dancing, more.

by Charleston Currents · 05/11/2015 · Comments are Disabled · calendar

HISTORY: Dr. Benjamin Mays

Civil rights activist, writer and college president Benjamin Elijah Mays was born on August 1, 1894, in rural South Carolina near Rambo in Edgefield County (now Epworth in Greenwood County).

by Charleston Currents · 05/11/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Features, S.C. Encyclopedia

REVIEW: The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion

The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion: A fantastic summer beach book which will effortlessly pull you into Sookie Poole’s world in Point Clear, Alabama, Fannie Flagg’s writing has you laughing out loud while blending in deeply touching moments with unexpected twists and turns.

by Charleston Currents · 05/11/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Features, Reviews

POEM: Summer Afternoon

By Zoe Abedon | My sister is running down the stairs
in front of me,
sees the frog first and lifts
the smooth, green beast between two fingers.

by Palmetto Poem · 05/11/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Features, Palmetto Poem

PHOTO: Nature is coming alive

These juvenile anhingas were nesting very low on Sunday with an adult in the Audubon Swamp near some egret nests, contributing photographer Michael Kaynard writes.

by Michael Kaynard · 05/11/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Photos

FOCUS: Why you should give on Lowcountry Giving Day

By George C. Stevens | The main reason to give to your favorite charity tomorrow is that they do good work, needed work, work that improves society. Giving tomorrow, May 5, is especially beneficial as dozens of good citizens have pooled their funds and given Coastal Community Foundation $3 million to dole out based on your choices. Those incentivizing donors are letting you decide where their money goes. Who doesn’t want to give like a millionaire, even if only for a single day?

Setting aside those obvious reasons, the not-so-obvious ones reveal something deeply good about America.

In America, we encourage re-invention, innovation and change. When teaching in Europe several years ago, I encouraged my students to challenge the status quo and ask for change. They looked at me like I was Paul Revere. It was a deeply Americanizing experience.

by Charleston Currents · 05/04/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

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.

by Andy Brack · 05/04/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

GOOD NEWS: Trident United Way’s 2-1-1 Hotline evolves

The United Way Association of South Carolina (UWASC) will assume management of the area’s 2-1-1 Hotline later this month in a new strategic partnership with the Trident United Way that will allow for better services and use of real-time data for improvement.

by Charleston Currents · 05/04/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs