NEWS BRIEFS: Trident Literacy Association gets major grant 

Staff reports  |  Trident Literacy Association  will use a $150,000 grant to provide intensive case management to help adult students through a program to help them get a high-school degree and build job skills competencies.  The grant is from Power:Ed, a philanthropic arm of the S.C. Student Loan Corporation. 

“These funds will enable Trident Literacy to implement an evidence­ based model of adult education that will be transformative for our most vulnerable students,” said Eileen Chepenik, executive director of the association, in a news release. ”The holistic, student-centered approach made possible by this grant will help them successfully navigate a career pathway that will have a life-changing impact for generations to come.” 

Power:Ed awards grants through a competitive application and review process. 

“We are delighted to support the Pacesetters in Adult Education Program of the Trident Literacy Association, an extremely worthwhile and important project,” says Sara Fisher, director of Power:Ed. “At Power:Ed, our vision is to work with partners that strive to eliminate educational barriers, create opportunities and change the lives of many of our South Carolina residents. The Trident Literacy Association is doing exactly that, and we are proud to be a part of this initiative.”

Also in the news:

Time to pay taxes. The S.C. Department of Revenue matched the IRS in extending the deadline for 2019 tax returns to July 15. Both will be due next week. Read more. According to S.C. Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Director Frank Rainwater, tax payments will help the state get a clearer picture of revenue impacts for the 2020-2021 budget that lawmakers plan to draft in September.

Tax holiday is set for August.  The state’s annual sales tax holiday will run from Aug. 7 to Aug. 9 across the state.  You can get computers, clothes and school supplies — just a few of the long list of items — during the 72-hour period without paying sales tax.  Find shopping lists and learn more here.

Charleston launches Citibot.  The city  now offers this new tool as an interactive text messaging and customer service tool for civic engagement.  Citizens can also use Citibot to report issues, including potholes, broken street signs, or missed garbage or trash pickups, via an interactive chatbot that instantly responds to text messages and follows up once the issue has been resolved. To start a conversation with Citibot, Charleston residents can text “hello” to 833-990-2427.

Trident United Way awards grants.  Community engagement grants worth a total of $25,000 were split into roughly equal portions to eight groups: Bridges for End-of-Life, Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services, Inc., Charleston Promise Neighborhood, Kingdom Restoration Community Development Corporation, Metanoia, Shifa Free Clinic, Teach for America South Carolina, and Wake UP Carolina.  The grants are part of an annual community outreach to help grassroots groups for special, one-time events. Trident United Way has awarded $225,000 in engagement grants to 37 organizations since 2016, according to a press release.

Curbing virus and reopening schools:  Reopening school has become a central focus from the Statehouse to the White House as politicians seek to save a floundering economy, Statehouse Report said in a Friday news story.

“The thing we’re the most focused on is how do we get the economy moving as quickly as we can to increase jobs, increase people’s pay and get children back in school?” said state Rep. Kirkman Finlay, the Columbia Republican who chairs the House COVID-19 Employment, Workforce and Business Recovery Committee. 

But coronavirus cases are still soaring in South Carolina, leading medical experts to caution that the state needs to reel in the virus before reopening schools. 

Data showed this week that Arizona, Florida and South Carolina led the world in coronavirus cases per capita. As of Thursday, South Carolina had 50,548 confirmed cases with more than 20 percent of those tested being positive for the virus.  There have been 898 confirmed deaths linked to the coronavirus. State health officials predict that the death toll will soar to nearly 3,000 by Oct. 1.

Statehouse Report’s Lindsay Street contributed to this section. Have a comment?  Send to:  editor@charlestoncurrents.com