GOOD NEWS: On Santa, sea level rise, banquet, more

Nice far outweighed naughty in Statehouse Report’s annual list by columnist Andy Brack. On the Nice list: Gov. Nikki Haley and state legislators for finally removing the Confederate flag from Statehouse grounds; former U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings, Clemson, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, flood aid workers, the counties in the S.C. Lowcountry Promise Zone, The Post and Courier and former U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis. Read more.

Also in Good News

Sea level rise strategy unveiled. Charleston Mayor Joe Riley last week unveiled an inventory of initiatives by a city task force to address rising sea levels and their impact on Charleston, which is part of the “Lowcountry” for a reason — it periodically floods. Forty years ago, the city had tidal flooding a couple of times a year, as compared to 11 times a year now. “Many of the initiatives are already underway and will be accomplished within the next two years,” Riley said. “Others need to be evaluated and prioritized over the coming years and funded over the coming decades.” Read the report

Sandberg to be here Jan. 22. You can win a chance to spend some private time with Hall of Fame baseballer Ryne Sandberg on Jan. 22 through a special online auction by the Charleston RiverDogs. Up to 30 people will be able to participate in the auction, which will announce two weekly winners. Sandberg, one of baseball’s legendary second basemen, will speak at the Hot Stove Banquet on the same day. It’s an annual banquet hosted by the RiverDogs to keep baseball alive in the off-season and to raise money for charity, including local college baseball programs. More

Special library program. Charleston County Public Library branches in January will offer a variety of programs around the work of Marian Wright Edelman, the South Carolina author and founder of the Children’s Defense Fund. She’ll visit Charleston on March 1 to give a free public lecture at the Sottille Theatre. But before the visit, the library will feature programs for children, storytimes around her book, I Can Make Difference, and discussions about another book, The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children. Program events reportedly are available through the library’s website, but they’re hard to find.