Charleston Currents – 2016

HISTORY: Loggerhead turtle, state reptile

S.C. Encyclopedia | The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), a threatened species, was named the state reptile in an act signed by Gov. Carroll Campbell on June 1, 1988. Recognizing the loggerhead as “an important part of the marine ecosystem” and that South Carolina’s coastline provides “some of the most pristine nesting areas” for the turtle on the East Coast, the General Assembly declared that the state’s responsibility is “to preserve and protect our wildlife and natural resources.”

by Special to Charleston Currents · 09/05/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Features, S.C. Encyclopedia

Depression-era photographer Marion Post Wolcott snapped this image in 1939 of tomato pickers on their lunch break in a field near Homestead, Fla. Charleston County once was home to a huge truck farming industry, which included tomatoes that were shipped to northern markets. Photo from the Library of Congress.

FOCUS: Toward a more truthful — and useful — Charleston history

By Charlie Smith, Special to Charleston Currents | When the Charleston County Planning Commission’s subcommittee on historic preservation announced last year that consultants had been hired to conduct the 2016 update of the Historic Resources Survey, I was initially very excited that we would finally be addressing some of our past failures to protect important historic sites and buildings throughout Charleston County.

Realizing that we did not have endless funds with which to work, we began to narrow the scope to a task that was feasible given our limited resources. I was initially not happy at all with the 1940-1975 time frame chosen for the limited study.

Charleston has a deeply-rooted complicity at every level in the atrocious politics of skin color …

by Andy Brack · 09/05/2016 · 1 comment · Focus, Good news

BRACK: Political cockfighting starts over next year’s budget

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Political positioning has already started for next year’s state budget, not that you should be surprised.

The culprits are two big numbers causing some confusion before the debate even begins.

Last month, the state Board of Economic Advisors projected South Carolina lawmakers would have about $440 million in new revenues for the 2017-18 budget. It’s not the $1.2 billion they had to craft the current budget, but it’s not small potatoes either. The lower number — which would have been a dream come true during the Great Recession a few years ago — reflects a slowing economy, perhaps. But it’s important to note this: The economy is still growing.

by Andy Brack · 09/05/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

GOOD NEWS: Mash it up Friday with Holly Herrick

Staff reports | Food writer Holly Herrick’s new book, “Mashed: Beyond the Potato,” will get royal treatment at a three-course luncheon at noon Sept. 9, the date of the book’s launch.

As part of the Blue Bicycle Books Charleston Author Series at High Cotton (199 East Bay Street, Charleston), Herrick will discuss the book over a meal with costs $31. If you add a cost of the new book, you’ll pay $56.

by Charleston Currents · 09/05/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

MYSTERY: Might remind you of a real lighthouse

The only hint about this week’s mystery by contributing photographer Michael Kaynard is that is somewhere on the Charleston peninsula. Recognize it? Send your best guess of where it is to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com — and make sure to include the name of the town in which you live.

by Michael Kaynard · 09/05/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Mystery Photo, Photos

PHOTO: They’re getting better … all the time

Not only are loggerhead turtles the state’s reptile, as highlighted in today’s history tidbit, but the new Zucker Family Sea Turtle Recovery center at the S.C. Aquarium will next year to serve as a living exhibit and interactive learning landscape. The exhibit will present the remarkable journey from rescue to rehabilitation to release experienced by each of the Aquarium’s turtle patients. The center will allow visitors to share in the as well as learn about issues like water quality, marine debris and plastics consumption. Learn more. (Photo provided by S.C. Aquarium.)

by Charleston Currents · 09/05/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Photos

SPOTLIGHT: LaFond Law Group. P.A.

Attorneys Catherine E. LaFond and Ashley Andrews and their competent team offer compassion and broad experience in helping clients with real estate closings, estate planning, and securing veterans’ benefits and other long-term care benefits.

by Charleston Currents · 09/02/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Underwriters