Charleston Currents – 2015

REVIEW: It Ended Badly: 13 of the Worst Breakups in History

It is common knowledge that “breaking up is hard to do,” yet Jennifer Wright’s narration of the most extreme relationship collapses in history seems too bizarre to be factual.

by Charleston Currents · 12/21/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Features, Reviews

HISTORY: Spanish moss

S.C. Encyclopedia | Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is a gray tree-borne epiphyte native to the coastal plain of the southeastern United States. As an epiphyte, Spanish moss gets water and food from the air and does not harm the host tree. It is not a true moss but a relative of the pineapple family in the genus Bromeliaceae.

by Special to Charleston Currents · 12/21/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Features, S.C. Encyclopedia

FOCUS: One powerful action to close out the year

By Ben Fanning | The holiday season can run you ragged, and it’s easy to get swept up finishing projects and preparing for special events. By the time January rolls around, you may find yourself feeling exhausted and even behind.

Instead, take one powerful action, close out the year to set yourself up for more success, and build positive momentum…

Reflect.

by Charleston Currents · 12/21/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

BRACK: Make smart investments with robust economy

By Andy Brack

DEC. 21, 2015 | The good thing about budgeting on the conservative side is that when things go well, there’s a little extra money left over.
On a national level, the stock market is relatively robust. Overall growth is pretty steady. The dollar is strong. And the federal deficit is the lowest since 2007. Things seem to be going so well that the Federal Reserve this week finally lifted its benchmark interest rate from zero to 0.25 percent, a long-expected minor rise intended to rein in the economy a little bit.

by Andy Brack · 12/21/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

GOOD NEWS: What do you think of the new state license plate?

You’ll start seeing a new license plate for cars in South Carolina early next year as a new design is phased in. The plate features a white background with an iconic palmetto tree and crescent design in the center that is a reverse of the state flag. (Some say it’s a crescent moon; others say it’s a gorget.)

by Charleston Currents · 12/21/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

MYSTERY: This one may be pretty easy

Here’ a scene that should be pretty familiar to folks who walk around downtown Charleston. There’s no prize this week — just the satisfaction of knowing you guessed it right — if you do. Send your guess — and the town you live in — to editor@charlestoncurrents.com. Photo by Michael Kaynard, Kaynard Photography.

by Charleston Currents · 12/21/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Mystery Photo, Photos

CALENDAR, Dec. 14+: From a holiday train to a holiday play

Magnolia’s Children’s Village: Through Dec. 31, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. A children’s village, holiday train rides and assortment of child-friendly and pet-lover activities will be open through for kids of all ages. More: MagnoliaPlantation.com

by Charleston Currents · 12/14/2015 · Comments are Disabled · calendar

LETTER: Immigration is a federal issue

Responding to the recent letter writer who wrote to laud Gov. Haley’s position to keep out Syrian refugees, I write to remind your readers that whatever your position on the Syrian refugees issue, the decision at the end of the day is not one made by individual states.

by Charleston Currents · 12/14/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Feedback

REVIEW: Mr. Mercedes

Fans of the TV shows Criminal Minds and C.S.I. will thoroughly enjoy Mr. Mercedes. This is the first hard-boiled detective novel written by Stephen King, the renowned author of the horror genre. King sets his novel in present day with flashbacks to the recession and a single event: the day a Mercedes sedan plows into a line of unemployed people waiting to get into a job fair.

by Special to Charleston Currents · 12/14/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Features, Reviews

HISTORY: The New Deal (part 2)

S.C. Encyclopedia (part 2 of 2) | Aiding the National Recovery Administration (NRA) in effecting business recovery was the Public Works Administration (PWA), which stimulated purchases in construction and related industries such as steel, cement, and lumber. In South Carolina the PWA was synonymous with the construction of public housing at University Terrace, Gonzales Gardens, and Calhoun Court in Columbia and Cooper River Court, Meeting Street Manor, and Anson Borough Homes in Charleston, eighty-seven schools and ten city halls and courthouses across the state, and massive hydroelectric projects at Buzzard Roost in Greenwood County and Santee Cooper in the Lowcountry.

by Charleston Currents · 12/14/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Features, S.C. Encyclopedia