GOOD NEWS: North Charleston library design to be unveiled Aug. 27

Staff reports  |   Charleston County Public Library (CCPL) will host a community meeting 7 p.m. Aug. 27 to updated designs for the R. Keith Summey North Charleston Library that will replace the Cooper River Memorial Library.

Local residents overwhelmingly approved a referendum in November 2014 to build five new Charleston County Public Library branches and upgrade 13 others. Behind-the-scenes progress has been made on the library building projects since then, and residents are invited to this community meeting to listen to a presentation by the architects and participate in a question and answer session with CCPL and Charleston County Government staff.

The meeting will be at Cooper River Memorial Library, 3503 Rivers Ave., North Charleston, SC 29405.  To learn more about the construction and renovation plan, view a map and see a breakdown of the estimated costs, visit the Library Construction page.

In other Good News:

New photography exhibit.  “Interwoven: The Art of Indigo and Silver” is a new exhibit that will open Aug. 25 and run through Oct. 7 at the City Gallery at Joe Riley Waterfront Park.  The show will highlight the work of silversmith Kaminer Haislip, textile designer Leigh Magar and photographer Jack Alterman, all longtime Lowcountry artists who have been influenced by the city’s cultural heritage and legacies.  The exhibition includes about 60 works with indigo and silver serving as conceptual inspiration and the materials.  An opening reception is 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 24 at the gallery, 34 Prioleau St., Charleston.

Literary Festival set for November.  Legendary editor Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, will showcase the Charleston to Charleston Literary Festival, set for Nov. 8 to 11, which will be held in the Beaux Arts building of the Charleston Library Society and in the Dock Street Theatre, both in downtown Charleston.  The festival, a partnership between the Society and the Charleston Trust in the United Kingdom, will also include presentations by  authors Margo Jefferson, Deborah Lipstadt, Charles Spencer, Christopher Dickey, Judge Richard Gergel and several more.  To learn more about the Charleston to Charleston Literary Festival, visit www.charlestontocharleston.com​.

Nonstop to Minneapolis.  Starting Wednesday, Frontier Airlines will offer seasonal nonstop flights to Minneapolis-St. Paul each Wednesday and Saturday, according to the Charleston County Aviation Authority. The ultra-low-cost carrier is one of eight airlines giving travelers the ability to fly nonstop from the Lowcountry to 25 cities and 30 airports in the U.S.

State ends year with surplus.  South Carolina ended the 2018 fiscal year on June 30 with $177 million more in the coffers than expected, according to a press release from the S.C. Comptroller’s Office. In the budget, lawmakers designated any surplus to roll over into the following year’s contingency fund, according to a House staff member.  Lawmakers could decide what to do with that one-time money in January, according to a Senate staff member.  More.