Charleston Currents – 2016

LETTER: Liked old tag motto better

Mary Heatherly, Spartanburg: “Whatever happened to “Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places,” which really gave a more positive spin to our state? Just wondering.”

by Charleston Currents · 01/04/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Feedback

HISTORY: Emancipation Day celebrations

S.C. Encyclopedia | The tradition of marking the end of slavery with Emancipation Day celebrations began in South Carolina on January 1, 1863—the day the Emancipation Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln declared three million slaves in the Confederate states to be “thenceforward, and forever free.” Since then, African Americans in South Carolina have gathered annually on New Year’s Day to commemorate the “Day of Jubilee” with food, song, dance, and prayer.

by Special to Charleston Currents · 01/04/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Features, S.C. Encyclopedia

FOCUS: Don’t let S.C. become a nuclear dumping ground

By Julie Hussey and JoAnne Day | Nuclear waste is one of those things most people hope someone else is thinking about. The good news is that for 40 years, members of the League of Women Voters of South Carolina (LWVSC) have been following waste issues at the Savannah River Site (SRS). Recent national and international proposals require all South Carolinians to become informed and take action.

Nuclear waste is usually from commercial power production and weapons facilities. All forms of U.S. nuclear waste are the responsibility of the U.S. government. Although the Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessor agencies have been generically charged with this responsibility, Congress establishes national policies and appropriates funds.

by Charleston Currents · 01/04/2016 · 1 comment · Focus

BRACK: New year brings new look at how we’re doing as community

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Just as individuals review how they’re doing at the beginning of a new year, a practice that fuels resolutions that seek to transform lives, maybe now is a good time to take a reading of how our county as a whole is doing based on an array of statistics.

For this, we turn to CountyHealthRankings.org, a collaborative tool by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute that offers accessibility to data to seek to build awareness of factors that influence health across the United States and engage leaders to create change to make places healthier.

by Andy Brack · 01/04/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

PALMETTO POEM: I heard irises blooming

Al Black: By Al Black

Yesterday, in her voice
I heard a little girl who
walked rows of beans
picking worms from the vine
to plop in a tobacco can

by Palmetto Poem · 01/04/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Features, Palmetto Poem

MYSTERY: Familiar, but maybe not, too

Here’s a photo of a place that may look familiar, but then again, it may look a little different. Clue: It’s not in Charleston County, but it’s nearby. What and where is this great photo by contributing photographer Michael Kaynard? Send your best guess to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com — and be sure to include the town in which you live.

by Michael Kaynard · 01/04/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Mystery Photo, Photos

GOOD NEWS: City offers new business license renewal system

Starting Jan. 5, the City of Charleston will allow business owners to renew licenses online through a new Customer Access Portal at http://charleston-sc.gov/cap.

The new online business license renewal system is a password-protected, secure system that can be accessed by businesses that receive a business license renewal notice in the mail.

by Charleston Currents · 01/04/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs