Charleston Currents – 2015

FOCUS: Real estate prices rising in sellers’ market

By Doug Holmes, contributing editor | Charleston real estate has recovered nicely from the torture of 2008-2011. Back then, the country was in recession and a lot of it was due to the real estate crisis caused by banks giving money away too freely. It became very difficult to sell homes and buyers had it all their way. We were mired in a buyer’s market of unprecedented proportions. It’s interesting to compare months of inventory for that market to months of inventory for the market today.

by Doug Holmes · 11/09/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Real estate, Views

GOOD NEWS: How bike lanes could come to J.I. Connector

A draft study for the City of Charleston outlines how the James Island Connector could be modified to include bike lanes to allow bicyclists to cross the Ashley River safely. Over the last few years, there has been much controversy about turning a lane of U.S. Highway 17 over the Ashley into a bike lane. The new study suggests an alternative, which would cost about $3.6 million to implement.

by Charleston Currents · 11/09/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

MYSTERY: Substantial building, but where?

Our friend Deborah Getter of Johns Island sent along this photo of a beautiful building with bright red brick. But where is it? (Hint: It could be in another Carolina.) Send your guess to editor@charlestoncurrents.com– and be sure to but your name and town in which you live.

by Charleston Currents · 11/09/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Mystery Photo, Photos

#JohnNotLeon — a special election commentary

By Andy Brack | updated 11.7.15

After all of Leon Stavrinakis’s whining about negative campaigning in the race to replace Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, you might have been surprised that the first thing out of his mouth after the polls closed was an attack.

Stavrinakis, who has been a frontrunner for so long that he was obviously stunned that he came in a close second to commercial real estate agent John Tecklenburg on November 3, criticized the lead vote-getter as a “developer” in comments to the press.

by Andy Brack · 11/04/2015 · Comments are Disabled · 2015 Mayor, Andy Brack, Views

11/2: New issue marks 8th year!

In the Nov. 2, 2015 issue:
PHOTO: Fall color
FOCUS: Charleston Currents, version 8.01
BRACK: If you want a friend, get a dog
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Titan Termite & Pest Control
GOOD NEWS: YALLFest coming soon with 60 young adult authors
FEEDBACK: Send us your letters
CALENDAR, Nov. 2+: Festivals, tours, roasts galore
REVIEW: Evolutionary Enlightenment: A New Path to Spiritual Awakening
MYSTERY: Somewhere on the peninsula
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: Boykin Spaniel, state dog

by Charleston Currents · 11/02/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Full issue

CALENDAR, Nov. 2+: Festivals, tours, roasts

Oyster roast, Harvest Festival, Blessing of the Vines

by Charleston Currents · 11/02/2015 · Comments are Disabled · calendar

HISTORY: Boykin Spaniel

S.C. Encyclopedia | The Boykin spaniel was originally bred in South Carolina before the 1920s. This amiable, small, dark brown retriever is a superb hunter and loving family pet. It was bred to provide an ideal dog for hunting fowl in the swamps along the Wateree River, which demanded a sturdy, compact dog built for boat travel and capable of retrieving on land or water.

by Special to Charleston Currents · 11/02/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Features, S.C. Encyclopedia

REVIEW: Evolutionary Enlightenment

Nonfiction by Andrew Cohen: Up until recently, the sages of the past had a set formula and definition for enlightenment. Though the paths to enlightenment are varied and individualistic, the final goal is to transcend the ego and achieve unshakable peace. In Evolutionary Enlightenment Andrew Cohen proposes a new goal, a new awakened consciousness, expanding on the teachings of ancient sages.

by Charleston Currents · 11/02/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Features, Reviews

Celebrating our 8th birthday!

Today’s issue marks a big milestone — the start of our eighth year of publication. [Flashback to our first issue? Click here.]

We continue to be happy to serve as a great conduit for Charleston-area residents to get good news about the Lowcountry. (We still believe there’s way more good news out there that goes unreported by traditional media, which gives us a leg up on the competition!)

During the past seven years, some features have dropped away, such as a weekly list of cool stuff offered by readers, friends or from sources we’ve found while perusing media. But in place of the list, we now offer a weekly Mystery Photo, which readers seem to enjoy thoroughly.

by Charleston Currents · 11/02/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

BRACK: If you want a friend, get a dog

By Andy Brack | Life got darker last week when a shining light of my family’s lives went out.

Our 14-year-old dog passed on Thursday, leaving our daughters without an elegant presence that’s been with them ever since they were born.

There were lots of tears for our Simon, a Labrador-Dalmatian mix whose long legs suggested a speck of greyhound thrown in for good measure. Rescued from a local agency, he joined us a year after my wife and I married.

by Andy Brack · 11/02/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views