Charleston Currents #13.01 | Nov. 2, 2020
BIG BIRTHDAY: Today’s issue marks the start of our 13th year of publishing Charleston Currents. Hooray! Enjoy!
TODAY’S FOCUS: Our nation’s soul will endure
COMMENTARY, Brack: Newspapers have a responsibility to publish opinions, endorsements
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: S.C. Ports Authority
NEWS BRIEFS: Live improv is back at Theatre 99
FEEDBACK: Send us your thoughts
MYSTERY PHOTO: Where’s this door?
CALENDAR: Redux’s annual art auction will be Nov. 9-21
Our nation’s soul will endure
By Tom Ervin, special to Charelston Currents | Two Fridays ago, I stood in line for almost three hours to vote. It was heartwarming!
Ervin
A young mother pushed a double stroller holding her twins and carried a third baby tucked in her backpack. Many elderly voters waited patiently in line while leaning on their walkers. Several voters arrived in wheelchairs. College students were voting with their parents.
Although the line wrapped all the way around the parking lot at the Greer Recreation Center, everyone was smiling and talking. Almost everyone wore masks and exercised social distancing. Several of us pleaded with a poll worker to move the young mother with her three small children to the front of the line. When he agreed, everyone cheered. Another woman passed out bottles of water to strangers. These folks were demonstrating their love of freedom and democracy. They were determined that their voices would be heard.
By the time you read this, hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians will have voted early, either in person or by mail. Some pundits have predicted that our democracy won’t survive the deep divisions in our country. I disagree. Our democracy has survived a civil war, two world wars, a Great Depression, and now the COVID-19 pandemic.
The soul of our nation can and will endure. We have an opportunity to make our country even stronger provided we listen and learn from one another and unite around the common good. We must stand against hate and reject violence and extremism.
Judge Learned Hand described the spirit of liberty as that “which is not too sure that it is right, but seeks to understand the mind of other men and women….It is the spirit of Him who, near 2,000 years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned, but has never quite forgotten; that there may be a kingdom where the least shall be heard and considered side by side with the greatest.” The late civil rights leader John Lewis wrote that “democracy is not a state. It is an act. Each generation must do its part to help secure our nation,”
Please make a plan to vote on or before November 3. Take your S.C. driver’s license along with a folding chair, a bottle of water and an umbrella. Be patient. Thank the poll workers for their service. Call your family and friends to make sure they are voting too. Please do your part to honor and serve our democracy!
Tom Ervin, a former state circuit judge and state representative who lives in Greenville County, serves on the S.C. Public Service Commission.
Newspapers have a responsibility to publish opinions, endorsements
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Social media and personality-driven television shows that comment constantly on news blur the traditional firewall between news and opinion. As a result, some newspapers are abrogating a traditional role of endorsing candidates during election season.
This, we think, is wrong. And kind of lazy.
It’s vital in a democratic society for there to be robust debate about candidates seeking to lead our councils, statehouses and other seats of power. Newspapers, as an integral part of the fourth estate, traditionally comment on all aspects of community life. Good ones also publish letters to the editor about candidates and offer commentary opportunities for candidates and interest groups to make their cases. So for newspapers to fail to provide their own informed opinions on which candidates would best serve a community’s needs is to fail the community.
Fortunately if voters don’t want to hear a newspaper’s view of candidates, they can flip the page or use it as bird cage liner before moving on to the sports section.
Newspaper editors certainly don’t endorse candidates for the fun of it. Evaluating candidates, their records and their positions takes a lot of work with in-person interviews, review of detailed questionnaires and candidate material, discussions with members of the community or more.
Newspaper editors suggest the best candidates for particular slots because they believe the opinion pages have a social responsibility to provide readers with the information they need to make informed decisions in our society. Voters certainly can read unbiased news stories by reporters or listen to completely slanted television ads to get information on candidates. But they often ask or wonder, “Yeah, I read that, but what do you really think about Candidate X or do you think Candidate Y will really be able to do the job?”
Because newspaper editors spend much more time than regular readers thinking about government, how it works and the people who are involved, editors and opinion writers are in unique positions of having deep insights into candidates’ characters, effectiveness, work ethics, bias, representativeness and commitment to democracy than do many voters, who often are looking for guidance at the last minute before they head to the polls.
Too many people these days, critics of endorsements say, believe newspapers distort news and create “fake news.” Or, they say, the media are biased and don’t properly distinguish between news and opinion. “As much as we can state definitively that journalists do not make up stories and the vast majority are devoted to reporting without bias,” the Orangeburg Times and Democrat wrote last week, “it’s not hard to see how the line has become blurred between reporting and commentary.”
This criticism reminds me of a recent conversation with a younger journalist who didn’t understand why news and opinion couldn’t be in the same section of a website. Younger people, he said, don’t really see much of a difference between news and opinion.
Perhaps. But to accept that premise is to give up on real journalism and the important role it plays in a democracy to inform, on one hand, and to help readers interpret the news through its opinion pages.
The fact that the lines between news and opinion are blurred also means the media haven’t done a good job of educating young readers about its different roles — to impart information with unbiased coverage of news and to comment on it to help make sense of what’s going on in a community. Those functions are completely separate and should never be inside the same story. News and opinion are separate. The firewall shouldn’t be breached.
Newspapers without editorial endorsements of candidates during the election season are akin to everything in grocery stores marked “lite” these days. They’re pretty good, but just missing the edge that gives them character. Now is the time for the print media to work harder to educate readers on the differences between real news, “fake news” and authentic opinion necessary to keep our democracy strong. The founders knew while robust debate often pits people against each other, it also steers leaders toward compromise and public policy that is better for all, not the few.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Charleston Currents, and publisher of the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com.
South Carolina Ports Authority
Founded in 1942, the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) owns and operates public marine terminals at two port facilities, the Port of Charleston and the Port of Georgetown, in addition to inland ports in Greer and Dillon, S.C. These facilities are owner-operated terminals, meaning the SCPA owns the terminals, operates all container cranes, manages and operates all container storage yards and leads all customer service functions in both the yard and the lanes.
SCPA promotes, develops and facilitates waterborne commerce to meet the current and future needs of its customers, and for the economic benefit of the citizens and businesses of South Carolina. In fact, SCPA facilities in Charleston, Dillon, Georgetown and Greer drive $63.4 billion in annual statewide economic impact and 1 in every 10 S.C. jobs is attributed to the port.
- For more information, visit www.scspa.com.
- To meet all of our underwriters, click here.
Live improv is back at Theatre 99
Staff reports | Theatre 99, Charleston’s home for improvisational comedy, is again selling tickets for live shows, now scheduled for 8 p.m. every Wednesday. Seating is socially-distanced and limited.
“We are not giving up on our dream to keep Charleston’s awesome improv theatre alive,” a press release said. “We can’t just quit, so we have reopened to do live shows. Also, we all need to laugh and we need to make you laugh. It is why we got into this business in the first place – to make people laugh.”
Attendees who buy tickets ($10) will get a free beer or glass of wine when they attend a show. For those under 21, you’ll get a free soft drink or water.
Private shows also are available for up to 25 people throughout the week.
- Click for more information and the ensemble’s schedule.
In other news:
Absentee votes expected to hit 1.3M. The South Carolina Election Commission is projecting 1.3 million ballots to be cast absentee, either in-person or by mail, by Election Day on Tuesday. If 76 percent of voters turnout for the election — the turnout in the 2008 election — as many as 2.7 million could vote, with 1.4 million showing up to precincts on Tuesday.
Ports will be busy, CEO says. S.C. State Ports Authority President and CEO Jim Newsome says the agency will be busy in the coming year as it advances big infrastructure projects, attracts new business and more. In the coming year, it will open a new terminal, deepen Charleston harbor to 52 feet, welcome new cranes, expand the inland port in Greer and celebrate the construction of a new Walmart distribution center in the Charleston area. Read the 2020 State of the Port address.
Fewer than 2,000 coronavirus cases tied to S.C. schools. Weeks into the resumption of in-person classes in public schools across the state, fewer than one in 20 coronavirus cases in South Carolina is tied to students or staff. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control began reporting positive COVID-19 cases in K-12 schools on Sept. 4. Since that time, there have been 1,956 positive cases among K-12 (public and private) students and staff who attended school face to face during their infectious period, according to the latest data released Oct. 26.
Bypassing a renewable solution? As utilities around the nation continue to shutter coal-fire plants, more investment is expected in natural gas — potentially locking consumers into higher energy prices than if the utilities invested in more solar power, clean-energy advocates say. Energy consultant Lazard released its annual report this month comparing the costs of energy across technologies. According to a new report, the operation of nuclear and gas-fired plants — the dominant energy production modes in South Carolina — costs nearly the same as building new utility-scale solar facilities. Read the full story in Statehouse Report.
Reported anti-LGBT incident in Charleston fuels cries for hate crimes law. LGBTQ advocacy groups say a reported incident being investigated as a hate crime by Charleston police reiterates the need for a statewide ordinance. Read more.
- Have a comment? Send to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com
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Send us a letter: We love hearing from readers. Comments are limited to 250 words or less. Please include your name and contact information. Send your letters to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com. | Read our feedback policy.
Tell us what you love about the Lowcountry. Send a short comment – 100 words to 150 words – that describes something you really enjoy about the Lowcountry. It can be big or small. It can be a place, a thing or something you see. It might be the bakery where you get a morning croissant or a business or government entity doing a good job. We’ll highlight your entry in a coming issue of Charleston Currents. We look forward to hearing from you.
Where is this door?
You may have seen this door before, but where is it? Send your guess to editor@charlestoncurrents.com. And don’t forget to include your name and the town in which you live.
Our previous Mystery Photo
Our Oct. 26 photo, “Golden dome,” wasn’t in South Carolina, as a few readers guessed. The photo showed the golden dome of the Savannah City Hall that overlooks the Savannah River.
H/T to these intrepid sleuths for identifying the photo: George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; Stephen Yetman and Jim McMahon, both of Charleston; Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas; Marnie Huger of Richmond, Va.; and Jacie Godfrey of Florence.
Godfrey shared that the city hall, built in the early 1900s, replaced “the original 1799 building. It is considered a spectacular architectural masterpiece. The domed roof rises 70 feet and originally was made of copper, but was gilded in 1987 with sheets of 23-karat gold leaf. It is home to the mayor’s office, council chambers and the Hall of Mayors containing photographs and paintings of past mayors since 1790.”
- Send us a mystery: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send it along to editor@charlestoncurrents.com.
Redux’s annual art auction will be Nov. 9-21
Staff reports | Redux Contemporary Art Center’s18th Annual Art Auction will be held in-person and virtually from Nov. 9 to Nov. 21. The auction is the organization’s primary fundraising method each year.
More than 150 pieces are available for purchase. Visitors can see the artwork in the Redux gallery art space at 1056 King Street and in these partnering businesses throughout Charleston: Haegur (1102 King Street); Harbinger Café (1107 King Street); Monarch Wine Merchants (1107 King Street, Suite B); J. Stark (498 King Street, Suite 100); Ted’s Butcher Block (334 E Bay St); and Haven’s Fine Framing (1070 Johnnie Dodds Blvd, Mount Pleasant).
All of the auction artwork will be up for bid online via Bidr. The virtual auction will go live on the Redux website on Nov. 9 and remain open through Nov. 21. During the auction, Redux will be open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
According to a press release, the theme of this year’s auction is “Home is Where the Art is.” It is “a nod to the collective experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine. During this time, we have re-discovered art’s essential impact on our lives. From beautifying our physical spaces, collaborating with neighbors, to finding a common cause with strangers, art proves to cultivate connection and comfort. Home.”
Also on the calendar:
Freedom Ship of Robert Smalls exhibition. Through Nov. 22, City Gallery, Prioleau Street, Charleston. The gallery will offer free viewing of The Freedom Ship of Robert Small, an exhibition of large format reproductions of artist Jonathan Green’s illustrations for Louise Meriweather’s children’s book of the same name. A new edition of the 1971 was published in 2018 with Lowcountry artist Greens pictures. Gallery hours are limited due to coronavirus. Tickets are free, but must be reserved online. More info.
Two new Safe Sounds shows at Firefly: Doors open 6 p.m; Show begins 7 p.m. on Nov. 12, Firefly Distillery, North Charleston. The distillery’s socially-distanced concerts are back with its fall Safe Sounds series. The next show is Futurebirds with a special guest. Tickets are $125 for four and can be purchased in advance at citypapertickets.com. On Nov. 21, Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses will perform.
Holiday Festival of Lights: Nov. 13 to Dec. 31, James Island County Park. The annual event, now in its 31st year, will offer a dazzling array of displays and about 2 million lights. The festival will be open every evening nightly from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. through Dec. 31, 2020. You can take a heartwarming cruise along the three-mile display of glimmering lights with your closest companions. The driving tour features over 700 light displays, most of which were created in-house by park staff. Displays range from traditional holiday scenes to Lowcountry icons such as Rainbow Row and the Cooper River and Ravenel Bridges; to various themed sections that delight all ages like Sea Land, Dinosaur Land, Candy Land and Toy Land. For details or to register, visit HolidayFestivalofLights.com.
Antigone at CofC: Livestream performances at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 19 and Nov. 20. The College of Charleston’s Department of Theatre and Dance will present Sophocle’s classic Greek tragedy, “Antigone,” with a modern twist in an adaptation by Peabody Award-winning playwright Emily Mann. Theatre students comprise the cast. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and the military and $8 for students. Show and ticket information is available at showtix4u.com/events/cofcstages.
From Etchings to Pastels: Through Nov. 29, Lowcountry Image Gallery, The Charleston Museum. The museum has partnered with the Pastel Society of South Carolina to present new interpretations of etchings stemming from the Charleston Renaissance Movement about 100 years ago. Learn more.
Online offerings:
- Gibbes Museum. You can enjoy lots of local art offerings through the website and social media accounts of the Gibbes Museum. At 10 a.m. on weekdays, the museum posts virtual readings and workshops on Facebook. Find more online.
- Avian Conservation Center. Access videos and live streaming presentations online to learn about what’s going on at the Center for Birds of Prey.
- Around the world. You can visit 500 museums across the world online through this Google amalgamation of sites.
If you have any online events, drop us a line (editor@charlestoncurrents.com) and make sure to put “Online event” in the subject line. Similarly, if you’ve got cool ideas for stuff to do while in isolation at home, send them our way.
- ORDER NOW: Copies are in Lowcountry-area bookstores now, but if you can’t swing by, you can order a copy online today.
As more people stay home to deal with the coronavirus crisis, people are looking for things to do. You can find some fun things to do online in our calendar section below, but let us also encourage you to FORWARD your issue of Charleston Currents to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. It’s got a great price, as you know: Free! We hope they’ll enjoy our coverage.
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Charleston Currents offers insightful community comment and good news on events each week. It cuts through the information clutter to offer the best of what’s happening locally.
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Charleston Currents is provided to you weekly by:
- Editor and publisher: Andy Brack, 843.670.3996
- Contributing editor, common good, Fred Palm
- Contributing editor, money: Kyra Morris
- Contributing editor, Palmetto Poem: Marjory Wentworth
- Contributing editor, real estate: Digit Matheny
- Contributing photographer: Rob Byko
- Charleston Currents also uses content from the outstanding staff at the Charleston City Paper, a sister publication.
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