Charleston Currents #13.20 | March 29, 2021
RELAXING VISTA: Here’s a peaceful marsh scene on a waterway between Wadmalaw and Edisto islands. See something you think our readers would enjoy? Snap a shot and send it along to editor@charlestoncurrents.com.
FOCUS: Park Circle Art Walk set for April 10
COMMENTARY, Brack: Vaccinations dampening virus, but pandemic ain’t over yet
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Charleston Gaillard Center
NEWS BRIEFS: Medicaid expansion could help 200,000 get health insurance
FEEDBACK: Dominion knows math on net metering proposal
MYSTERY PHOTO: Natural mystery
CALENDAR: Quiet Edge exhibit at Redux features Dittenber, Fountain
Park Circle Art Walk set for April 10
Staff reports | Almost four dozen painters, sculptors, musicians and other artists will be participating in an April 10 North Charleston community art show in front yards throughout Park Circle.
According to a press release, the art show, which lasts from 1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., has been reimagined to take into account social distancing and the coronavirus. “It has been close to impossible to have indoor art shows so our creative minds got together to create a walking, biking, or car riding art show in our community,” the release said.
“Each artist will display, and some will have their works of art for sale, in their front yards throughout our beautiful community. We recommend viewing the show from your car, scooter, golf cart, or whatever mode of transportation you prefer. The weather is perfect and we are excited to be able to safely interact with each other.”
You can download a map of the artists and where they will display their work. Food trucks will be in the area. Student work will be on view at the courtyard of nearby North Charleston High School, 1087 E. Montague Ave.
- More information is available on Facebook.
- Have a comment? Send to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com.
Vaccinations dampening virus, but pandemic ain’t over yet
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | A reminder popped up on the phone Thursday: “I am fully protected with the vaccine.”
Several reactions at the same time:
- “Hallelujah! Finally!”
- “How could you forget something this big and why did you need a reminder?”
- Utter relief.
- Joy.
Normalcy is slowly approaching after the lost year of COVID-19. As of Thursday, the state had received 2.5 million doses of vaccine. Medical professionals so far have administered 1.8 million doses, which means the state has used 72 percent of the on-hand supply that is continuing to come into the Palmetto State. Almost 640,000 people in South Carolina — about 13 percent of the state’s population — are fully vaccinated. Another 1.1 million people, 23 percent of the state, have received one of two shots. That means more than a third of the people in the state (minus a few outsiders who broke rules to get shots here) is fully or partially protected from the virus that has whacked America for the last year.
Gov. Henry McMaster on Thursday said the state deserved an A or an A-plus for how it handled the pandemic over the last year, pointing to its limited, targeted shutdown of businesses that he said reopened quickly and kept the economy thriving.
“I think that we did as well or better than any other state in the country,” McMaster said at an event sponsored by The Post and Courier.
Sorry, governor, but that is nothing but Trumpian hubris, revisionist history and pure spin. South Carolina for months has been a state at high risk for people to get the virus. It remains so today, according to a risk assessment by The New York Times. The main reason: We never took the virus as seriously as places like Australia and Finland. Also, our federal government initially had a shoddy, doubting response that put people in harm’s way.
First, how’s this for an A-plus: Just over 8,000 people in South Carolina have died from COVID-19. That’s how many people live in Seneca, Hartsville or Moncks Corner. Imagine how that number would have been far less had the state responded by putting people first, not businesses.
At the Thursday event, McMaster noted, ““One life lost is a tragedy, but this was a pandemic. We had no understanding of how to react.”
That doesn’t sound like an observation that goes with a state that had an A-plus response.
Second, it’s not time for a victory lap. Yes, some things have been relaxed because lots of older Americans have been vaccinated. For example, it’s easier to visit folks in nursing homes. The Centers for Disease Control says it’s OK for two vaccinated people to socialize in their homes. But people are still getting the disease.
Some 30.1 million Americans have contracted the virus that has killed more than a half million of our fellow countrymen and women. Almost 70,000 contracted it in just one day this week; about 40,000 remain hospitalized. In South Carolina on Thursday, state officials reported 51 new cases of the virus — far fewer than the 2,000 daily cases just a few weeks ago. But we’re not out of the woods. State officials reported 31 deaths Thursday.
Finally, let’s not relax yet. We need to keep wearing masks, washing our hands and socially distancing in public places.
A guy sauntered into a Charleston coffee shop this week without a mask. When challenged by one of the dozen other customers, he ranted about not believing in masks and said he didn’t have to wear one. When told the city had an ordinance requiring masks, he ignored the common good, mired in a gloating selfishness. The management asked him to leave.
We’ll get through this pandemic. In a couple of months as the majority of Americans who want vaccines get them, people will be able to take the vacation they didn’t have last year.
Hundreds of thousands of more doses of the vaccine are headed to the state. Phase 1C of the vaccination effort should start as soon as April 12. All South Carolina adults should be eligible in May.
This ain’t over ‘til it’s over — or until some fat lady sings. But the day is coming soon. For now, remain vigilant and keep up your guard.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Charleston Currents, and publisher of the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com.
Charleston Gaillard Center
Charleston Gaillard Center provides the Lowcountry with a world-class performance hall, elegant venue space and vibrant educational opportunities that inspire dynamic community throughout the area through the power of the performing arts. The Center’s vision is to enrich the diverse community of Charleston with artistic and cultural experiences that are accessible and unique, and to serve as an educational resource for generations to come.
Did you know that the Charleston Gaillard Center is a 501c3 non-profit that works with over 25,000 students each year from the tri-county area? Promoting education is one of the core values of the Charleston Gaillard Center and an integral part of our mission. By broadening the reach of arts-education in the Lowcountry the Gaillard Center encourages learning through the arts and serves as a powerful tool for student achievement and personal development while providing people of all ages with the opportunity to cultivate and grow their talents and appreciation for the arts. To learn more about our education initiative, click here: www.gaillardcenter.org/outreach.
For more information, click the links below:
- Buy tickets and see our great events
- Become a member today
- Plan your event at the Charleston Gaillard Center
- Learn about our education and community programs
- Contact the Gaillard Center.
- To meet all of our underwriters, click here.
Medicaid expansion could bring health insurance to 200,000
Staff reports | State coffers could get $2.5 billion in new federal funding over two years if lawmakers get over longstanding political objections to expand Medicaid to cover about 200,000 residents without health insurance. At present, many agree expansion is more of a possibility than a probability due to the state’s political climate.
The new funding over two years would come from a 90 percent federal match of health insurance costs plus a new federal incentive of about $790 million with few strings attached, analysts say. And if lawmakers were to cut off funding to pay for insurance for those in the expansion pool, they reportedly wouldn’t have to return the extra money.
But the incentive, which is part of the newly passed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, faces an uphill battle in South Carolina as Gov. Henry McMaster is vehemently opposed to adding uninsured, poor South Carolinians to federal health insurance through Medicaid expansion despite the fact that many of them work.
After the federal government approved the Affordable Care Act in 2010, it provided 100 percent of costs of expanding Medicaid to cover low-income families for three years, with the amount eventually dropping to 90 percent. Twelve states, including South Carolina, did not expand, which means S.C. lawmakers left $11 billion on the table and left eligible poor and working families without health care.
In the new incentive plan, the state would get about $790 million over two years, but would have to pay $95 million a year for its 10 percent share of expansion for state residents. The net — $600 million — could be used to cover state costs of expansion for another six years or used for different purposes. Read the full story.
In other recent news:
New hotel open on waterfront. The Embassy Suites by Hilton Charleston Harbor offers 175 all-suite guest rooms in Mount Pleasant with views of the harbor and Charleston historic district. More.
Senate committee picks new symmetrical state flag design. Symmetry won the day Wednesday — or at the very least the majority vote by the Senate Family and Veterans Services Committee — when it comes to the state flag’s proposed standardized design, the first in 80 years.
S.C. House promises extra pay for teachers, cops in new budget. The South Carolina House gave key approval Tuesday to the state’s $9.8 billion budget, which provides small raises only for most teachers and some law enforcement officers. More : AP News.
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- Also see: State approves $9.8 billion spending plan, The State.
Bill aims to prevent plastic pellets in local waterways. State legislators are considering a bill aimed at preventing plastic pellets, the raw material used to create almost all common plastic products, from spilling into local waterways. More: WCSC TV.
- Have a comment? Send to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com
Dominion knows math on net metering proposal
To the editor:
Dominion Energy’s attempt to alter the current ‘net metering’ relationship and impose additional fees for solar customers will eliminate any thoughtful capital investment into solar energy systems. The math is simple, and Dominion knows it.
Currently, a prudent decision to invest in a solar system hinges upon the investors ability to take the advantage of the ENTIRE state and federal tax credit. With those tax credits the current ‘breakeven’ system cost should be around 7 to 10 years depending on the price paid for the system, under the current net metering arrangement. Without the tax credits, considering the gradual productivity degradation of the panels, 15 to 20 years? If the homeowner does not have enough tax liability in the year the system was installed, they can’t use all of the federal credit, this eliminates 70 percent to 80 percent of homeowners. The reality is they just don’t have that much tax liability, look at the IRS’s numbers.
Dominion understands the threat of a ‘green wave’ and is addressing it. By changing the net metering arrangement in the proposed fashion, you effectively remove solar as a viable capital investment, period. As an investment advisor and planner, who installed a system on my own home in October of 2017, I track kWh production, usage and net metering relationship every month. I believe the tax credit we received (total 55 percent — 25 percent federal and 30 percent S.C.) with the present metering arrangement was critical in electing to install our system. I was able to take the full federal credit in 2017, due to our income level.
Most households I provide financial counseling to, do NOT have enough taxable income, hence tax liability to claim the full federal credit in the year installed. That means recouping the capital outlay takes longer. Once my client understands this, the decision becomes much easier, one way or the other. I believe with the proposed net metering, the math will dictate that solar isn’t a worthwhile consideration, and no further discussion will be needed! I will never recommend a financial outlay to my client that makes no financial sense but will always help them run the numbers so that they can elect the appropriate course of action for their household.
This proposal will result in reducing solar projects, which will in turn reduce competent and ethical installation companies. Bottom line: Does S.C. wish to have solar energy as an option or not? Personally, if net metering changes, when my panels degrade enough and it is time for a new roof, I won’t replace my panels, I’ll rip out the system – simple math. Again, Dominion (I’m a stockholder of Dominion, by the way) knows this.
— Christopher and Caryl Randazzo, Charleston, S.C.
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Natural mystery
Here’s a photo of something you might see if you look really closely. What is it? Send your best guess to editor@charlestoncurrents.com. And don’t forget to include your name and the town in which you live.
Our previous Mystery Photo
Last week’s mystery, “Old church,” was a little tougher than expected with guesses coming that it was in Summerville, Rockville and all the way to Laurens. Actually, it was Christ Church in Adams Run between Ravenel and Edisto Island.
Congratulations to these eagle-eyed sleuths for getting it right: George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; Allan Peel of Palmyra, Va.; Jay Altman of Columbia; and Bill Segars of Hartsville.
Peel noted that the church in the small, unincorporated Charleston County community was organized around 1835 but completed in 1887.
- 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.
Quiet Edge exhibit at Redux features Dittenber, Fountain
Staff reports | Next month’s Quiet Edge exhibit at Redux Contemporary Art Center brings together the works of two artists who address rectangular forms that ebb and flow between depiction and abstraction: Suzanne Dittenber of Ashevlle, N.C., with the form of the book and Benny Fountain of Waco, Texas, with the window and room.
Benny Fountain, “windowroom out side (sun and hill),” detail, 2019, Oil on canvas, 60 x 48”
Dittenber’s quiet works probe the meaning of books beyond the contents inside, reflecting on use and wear, affection and attachment, and the impact of knowledge gained. Paintings and sculptures bring attention to the embodied qualities of books —their weight, mass, and shape— drawing forth a sense of touch and the hushed environment that their presence evokes.
Using a window and room motif, Fountain’s variation on a theme works take us through a diverse range of sensation and emotional experience. In the works’ dual attention to flatness and illusion, two art-historical worlds seem to meet—the domestic interiors of Vermeer or Chardin and the formal, color-centric abstractions of Rothko and Albers.
The exhibition is open April 9 to May 22 at Redux Contemporary Art Center, 1056 King St., Charleston. Hours are Monday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Also on the calendar:
Wine Down Wednesday: 5:30 p.m. March 31, Old Towne Creek County Park, West Ashley. You can enjoy a glass of wine and explore Old Towne Creek County Park, a West Ashley gem, with the return of this evening event. Guests will enjoy wine and live music from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. from a local Charleston performer, while experiencing the beauty of this natural site. A commemorative wine glass is included with admission. Food truck fare will be available for purchase on-site. Cost: $15. Ages 21 and up. There is no onsite registration. You must purchase tickets in advance.
Jean-Yves Thibaudet: Noon and 7 p.m., April 11, Charleston Gaillard Center, Charleston. World-renowned pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet will perform Debussy Preludes, Books I and II — that’s 24 preludes — during a much-anticipated appearance at the Gaillard. With more than 50 albums, he’s delighted people all over the world with his performances. Tickets start at $50.
Safe Sounds: Series starts April 17, Firefly Distillery, North Charleston. Here’s a list of some of the shows at the beginning of the 15-concert series:
- Saturday, April 17 – 20 Ride
- Saturday, April 24 – Randall Fowler with special guest
- Sunday, April 25 – The Allman Betts Band
- Thursday, April 29 – Sam Bush
- Saturday, May 1 – On the Border – “The ultimate Eagles tribute Band”
- Head over to citypapertickets.com to secure a spot. Tickets are available now. (Editor’s note: City Paper Tickets, which is run by sister publication Charleston City Paper, is operating ticketing for Safe Sounds.)
Ongoing
Drawdy on display: Through March 31, Park Circle Gallery, 4820 Jenkins Ave., North Charleston. The representational and abstract paintings of Summerville artist Stephanie Drawdy will be on display this month at the North Charleston public gallery for free.
Like A Girl: Dare to Dream: Through May 2, City Gallery, Prioleau St., Charleston. Featuring portraits of more than 35 South Carolinian women, Like a Girl is a new exhibition by artist Fer Caggiano that brings attention to women who have excelled, each with unique and inspiring stories. In them, girls and other women will see on canvas their potential: they can be strong, smart and beautiful, and ready to make their mark on the world. Learn more.
Sunday Brunch Farmers Market: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., every Sunday, Charleston Pour House, 1977 Maybank Highway, James Island. While the market is discouraging people from spending too much time hanging out during the market, everyone is invited to shop their local vendors.
Bird-watching at Caw Caw. Every Wednesday and Saturday — particularly through the end of February — you can see a plethora of birds at Caw Caw Interpretive Center in Ravenel as they make their way through the Lowcountry. The two-hour regular walks, which start at 8:30 a.m., are through distinct habitats that allow participants to view and discuss a variety of birds, butterflies, and other organisms. Registration is not required. Participants are encouraged to bring their own binoculars. A paid chaperone is required for participants ages 15 and under. Max. 10 participants. Fee: $9; free for Gold Pass holders. Open to all ages. More: Caw Caw Interpretive Center.
- 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 of our new book, 350 Facts About Charleston, 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.
- DONATE. Now also would be a great time to contribute as we deal with the crisis. In advance, thank you.
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