Charleston Currents #13.35 | July 12, 2021
NATIVE AIR PLANT. Spanish moss is one of more than 700 air plants that are members of the bromeliad family and the genus tillandsia. It’s a non-parasitic epiphyte that supported not by soil, but by another plant, such as a live oak. Fun fact: It’s in the pineapple family. Look around. It’s all over the place, particularly during this humid time of the year. Learn more about Spanish moss in Wednesday’s edition of the Charleston City Paper. See something you think our readers would enjoy? Snap a shot and send it along. Photo by Andy Brack
FOCUS: Ways to ensure a summer full of safe, fun swimming
COMMENTARY, Brack: Big pay hikes in Columbia leave a stench
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Charleston RiverDogs
NEWS BRIEFS: Blood donations needed across the Lowcountry
FEEDBACK: Send us your thoughts
MYSTERY PHOTO: Rear view
CALENDAR: Big ballet to be in Charleston July 17
Ways to ensure a summer full of safe, fun swimming
Staff reports | A day of enjoying the sun and swimming may seem relaxing, we have to beware and prepare for the inherent risks of the water.
Charleston County Parks highlights safety is a top priority as 10 people drown unintentionally every day. To ensure a safe summer during the swimming season, the park system has lifeguards at its beach swimming areas and waterparks. Lifeguards undergo extensive education and training on drowning prevention and recognition. The county parks organization employs more than 275 lifeguards per season to ensure guest safety.
While lifeguards are the final link in the chain to prevent drownings, swimmers can do their part to ensure their own safety. Officials recommend following five easy safe swimming tips:
- If possible, swim in designated zones that are supervised by lifeguards;
- Obey all posted signage, flags, warnings and lifeguards’ commands;
- Always go into the water with a buddy who can swim; never swim alone;
- Inexperienced swimmers should wear a properly fitting U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket when enjoying the water; and
- Designate a water watcher to supervise children in and around water.
At the beach, it is essential for beach swimmers to learn how to identify rip currents and be able to escape from them. Rip currents are identified by choppy and different colored water, a break in a wave pattern or foam and seaweed moving out towards the sea. Charleston County Parks advises swimmers not to panic or swim against the current if you are caught in one. The best way to escape is to swim along the shoreline and swim back to the shore in a diagonal direction to move away from the rip current. In addition, swimmers are urged to wave to get the lifeguards’ attention so they can assist in a rescue.
Learning to swim is a great way for people to feel more comfortable in and around the water. Charleston County Parks offers swim lessons throughout the summer at West County Aquatic Center in Hollywood. Lessons are broken down into age groups: Baby/Tot (6 months to 3 years old), Preschool (3 to 6 years old), Youth (6 to 13 years old), and Teen/Adult (13 years old and up). Lesson curriculum varies based on the participant’s swimming experience level and comfort in the water. Each session of 4 lessons is $25 per participant. To learn more about and register for swim lessons at Charleston County Parks, visit CharlestonCountyParks.com.
- For more information on water safety and Charleston County Parks’ beach parks, aquatic facilities, and swim lessons, call 843-795-4386 or visit CharlestonCountyParks.com.
Big pay hikes in Columbia leave a stench
Gov. Henry McMaster. Photo via Office of the Governor.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | South Carolina’s governor earns $106,078 a year, making him the 3,248th (*) highest paid state employee as of April.
* (Of course there’s a caveat in South Carolina. The S.C. Department of Administration’s salary search portal of the 23,328 state employees who earn more than $50,000 does not include people who work at several agencies, such as the legislature, the courts, Santee Cooper and the S.C. State Ports Authority. And we know some of those folks earn money by the bucket.)
Among those who earn far more than Gov. Henry McMaster, who is simply designated as an “agency head,” are football coaches, university administrators, college professors and hundreds of other agency leaders. Even in the governor’s office, four people are paid more than the statewide elected head of the executive branch, including the governor’s chief of staff ($193,545), chief legal counsel ($139, 528), deputy chief of staff ($128,484) and senior education adviser ($120,000).
Last week, we learned five agency heads who already earned far more than the average state employee and average family in South Carolina got raises that can best be described as obscene. These agency directors included:
- S.C. Office of Regulatory Staff Executive Director Nanette Edwards, who now earns $265,000 a year (a 48 percent raise);
- S.C. Department of Administration Executive Director Marcia Adams, $284,679 (a 27 percent raise);
- S.C. Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling, $250,000 (a 25 percent raise);
- State Fiscal Accountability Authority Executive Director Grant Gillespie, $245,000 (a 22 percent raise); and
- S.C. Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall, $298,000 (a 19 percent raise). A little over a year ago, Hall got a 32 percent raise, according to news reports.
“Unfortunately we have been behind the curve on salaries in South Carolina,” House Majority Leader Gary Simrill, R-Rock Hill, told a reporter. “It’s difficult to hire and retain talent.”
Lord, have mercy. I bet that for the amount of the unadjusted salaries, the state could find more than enough highly qualified alternative leaders who would jump at the jobs.
The folks who voted for the raise are on the state Agency Head Salary Commission, a panel made of four House members, four senators and three people appointed by the governor. The panel includes three Democratic legislators and five Republicans.
The only person voting against the raises was Senate President Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, who suggested raises could be spread out over three years as the increases were more than the annual pay of some employees.
“It’s not the people,” Peeler said. “We have great people. They’ve earned their pay, but it’s just the numbers. It’s hard for me to justify this time.”
Yep, he’s right on target. In a time when the vast majority of state employees earn less than $50,000 and who get small raises every few years, it’s hard to feel comfortable about any individual five-figure raise. Furthermore, it just doesn’t look good. After state employees busted their butts during the pandemic, these raises seem like a slap in the face.
The agency head pay hikes predictably raised the ire of the state Democratic Party, with Chairman Trav Robertson one day calling for McMaster to explain why his appointees deserved big raises. The next day, Robertson turned it up a notch, calling on the governor to direct them to refuse the pay increases. Like that will happen.
He also called on the state to double the minimum wage paid to many state workers to $15 per hour: “The work our state employees do is imperative to the success and health of our state, these administrators included, but to have their pay raised so dramatically while many of their subordinates make poverty wages is bad form and stinks of corruption.”
He’s right about one thing: The whole mess reeks.
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 RiverDogs
The public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring Charleston Currents to you at no cost. This issue’s featured underwriter is the Charleston RiverDogs.
The Lowcountry’s leader in sports entertainment, Charleston RiverDogs baseball is an attractive, affordable medium for your group or business. The RiverDogs, now affiliated with the Tampa Bay Rays, offer one of the finest ballparks in Minor League Baseball — Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
Three short words sum up the everyday approach taken by the Charleston RiverDogs front office. The brainchild of club President Emeritus Mike Veeck, the nine-letter phrase “Fun Is Good” is meant to be a guideline and daily reminder of how employees should approach their jobs and in turn capture the imagination of the fans to turn them into repeat customers.
- Visit the ‘Dogs online at: RiverDogs.com
- To meet all of our underwriters, click here.
Blood donations needed across the Lowcountry
Staff reports | More than 60 blood donation sites will be open over the next two weeks to help the American Red Cross meet what it calls a “severe blood shortage.”
“Right now, the Red Cross needs to collect more than 1,000 additional blood donations (nationally) each day to meet current demand as hospitals respond to an unusually high number of traumas and emergency room visits, organ transplants and elective surgeries,” the agency said in a news release.
Donors who give by July 31 will get a $10 Amazon gift card and a chance to win bigger prizes. Most people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine can give blood, officials said. To make an appointment or learn more, visit RedCrossBlood.org or phone 1-800-RED CROSS.
In other recent news:
Pictured from left are outgoing club president Lisa Van Bergen, new president Rob Dewey, Matheny, and members of the Hall family. (Photo by Rob Byko).
Matheny named club’s Rotarian of the Year. Local Realtor Digit Matheny recently received the first Bill Hall Rotarian of the Year Award from the downtown Rotary Club of Charleston as it installed new club president Rob Dewey. The new award is named in honor of the philanthropist and restaurateur Bill Hall, a member who passed away in August 2020. Matheny, a former club president, currently serves as membership chair for the area’s district of more than 70 clubs.
Three Charleston public housing complexes to get overhauled. Kiawah Homes, Robert Mills Manor and Meeting Street Manor public housing units will be renovated, rehabilitated or updated under a program that leaders hope will address the needs and wants of those living in public housing or in need of more options. “The neighborhood around public housing development has changed significantly, and there are now opportunities for redevelopment that didn’t exist 30-40 years ago,” said Donald Cameron, CEO of the City of Charleston Housing Authority. But he said that these new opportunities will maintain the values of the properties’ original construction. Learn more
McMaster may face opposition from two sides. GOP S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster is seeking reelection in 2022 but is expected to face opposition from more than just Democrats. A lot of eyes are on Republican John Warren, an Upstate businessman and political newcomer who has not held elective office but was able to secure a runoff four years ago against McMaster. McMaster, then running for his first full term after ascending to the office when Gov. Nikki Haley left to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, won the primary runoff, but not by much. He received 54 percent of the vote. So far, three Democrats are in a bid to unseat McMaster — former Congressman Joe Cunningham of Charleston, state Sen. Mia McLeod of Columbia and activist Gary Votour, also of Columbia. Learn more in Statehouse Report.
Commission OKs raises for five state agency heads. The Agency Head Salary Commission has approved a 48 percent raise for the executive director of Office of Regulatory Staff, a 27 percent raise for the executive director of the Department of Administration, a 25 percent raise for the director of the Department of Corrections, a 22 percent raise for the executive director of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority, and a 19 percent raise for the Secretary of Transportation. Each now makes more than $200,000 a year. More: AP News | The State
Cunningham breaks fundraising record in governor’s race. Former U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham says he has raised more than a half-million dollars in the first two months of hise gubernatorial race. More. WCSC TV
Great challenge to read the Declaration
To the editor:
Great challenge issued, illumination of facts and insights regarding our constitution. You have made me think and that is a good thing. We have much to be thankful for and much important work remains to be accomplished.
— Luther Reynolds, chief of police, Charleston, S.C.
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.
Rear view
A reader sent in this rear view of a church and what apparently is a companion pump house. Where 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. And if you’ve got a clever mystery photo for our readers, send it to the same address (Try to stump us!)
Our previous Mystery Photo
Last week’s mystery, “Tough photo ahead,” showed the gated entrance to the Wild Dunes complex on Isle of Palms. Congratulations to the Charleston area residents who correctly guessed: Dr. Charles Darby, Jim McMahon, Chris Brooks, Tom Dallas and Caleb Lowe.
- 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.
Big ballet to be in Charleston July 17
Chloe Misseldine and Jose Sebastian in La Follia Variations. Photo: Todd Rosenberg Photography.
Staff reports | The American Ballet Theatre will be in Charleston July 17 for a free outdoor performance at The Citadel’s parade ground, Summerall Field. To attend, you are asked to RSVP for the first-come, first-served performance.
Presented by the Charleston Gaillard Center, ABT Across America is being staged in eight cities across the country. Each show will be performed without an intermission. Repertory for ABT Across America will feature Lauren Lovette’s La Follia Variations, a work for eight dancers set to music by Francesco Geminiani, Jessica Lang’s Let Me Sing Forevermore, a pas deux blending ballet and jazz vocabulary set to songs sung by Tony Bennett, Darrell Grand Moultrie’s Indestructible Light, a celebration of American jazz music, and a classical pas de deux from ABT’s extensive repertoire.
- Support for this program is made possible by generous donors who have committed time and resources to the Charleston Gaillard Center’s Dance Initiative. FAQ.
Also on the calendar:
Safe Sounds: Firefly Distillery, North Charleston. Head over to citypapertickets.com to secure a spot. Tickets are available now. Doors open 6 p.m. for shows that begin an hour later. (Editor’s note: City Paper Tickets, which is run by sister publication Charleston City Paper, is operating ticketing for Safe Sounds.) Check out some of the shows that are on the way:
- July 15: Sevendust with Austin Meade and Kirra.
Party at The Point: 6 p.m., Fridays in July, Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina, Mount Pleasant. The long-beloved Happy Hour concert series is back with live music and plenty of food and drinks. Each event is limited to 600 general admission ticket holders. Tickets are available at citypapertickets.com. All shows are $10, with children 12 and under are free. Gates open at 5 p.m. The lineup:
- July 16: The Red Dog Ramblers.
- July 23: Mr Holland’s Oats: A Tribute to Hall and Oates.
- July 30: Rock the 90s: The Ultimate 90s Tribute Band.
Shaggin’ on the Cooper: 7 p.m., July 31, Mount Pleasant Pier, Mount Pleasant. The SugarBees will perform live music as part of this popula Charleston County Parks monthly event. More shows on Aug. 21, Sept. 11 and Oct. 23. Gates open at 7 p.m. Click to learn more and buy tickets.
Art of Jazz Series: 6 p.m., Aug. 25, Gibbes Museum of Art, 135 Meeting St., Charleston. The 2021 Art of Jazz Series of original music inspired by art at the museum will feature the Geoffrey Dean Trio on Aug. 25. Tickets are $40.
Ongoing
Now free: Weekend beach bus. The Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority is operating a new Beach Reach Shuttle with hourly weekend service to provide a new connection between Mount Pleasant and Isle of Palms. Landside Beach Reach parking is located along Market Center Boulevard in Mount Pleasant Towne Centre. The on-island Beach Reach stop is located at 9th Avenue and Ocean Boulevard, adjacent to public beach access. Open through Sept. 6 from 9:15 a.m. through final departure from Isle of Palms at 5:35 p.m. Cost: free.
The Lawn Party exhibition: Through Sept. 19, Charleston Museum, Meeting Street, Charleston. The Charleston Museum is pleased to present The Lawn Party: From Satin to Seersucker, the latest offering in its Historic Textiles Gallery. In an “unprecedented” era when large gatherings have been discouraged and fashion has trended towards leisurewear, this exhibition is a celebration of getting dressed up for an outdoor party. Bringing a hint of glamour to a trying time, the garments on display were selected with the grand idea of “after” in mind. This is a perfect opportunity to come see what to wear for your next outdoor event as we head toward the new “normal.”
Reviving photos. Through Oct. 31, Charleston Museum, Meeting Street. The museum is exhibiting The Lowcountry in Living Color: Making Historical Photographs Come to Life as the latest offering in its Lowcountry Image Gallery. Colorizing black and white pictures allows viewers to see components that otherwise might be overlooked. Buy tickets.
Birds of Prey flight demonstrations: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Thursdays and Saturdays, Center for Birds of Prey, 4719 Highway 17. Awendaw. The center has reopened its doors to visitors after closing due to the COvID-19 pandemic, inviting people to once again come and explore the world of raptors through an outdoor program and flight demonstration. Tickets: . $20/adult; $15/children age 3-17.
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.
Farmers markets
Here’s a look at a bunch of local farmers markets where you can find fresh fruit, vegetables, crafts and more. If you know of others, send us a note at: feedback@charlestoncurrents.com.
Mount Pleasant Farmers Market: 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., every Tuesday, Market Pavilion at Moultrie Middle School, 645 Coleman Blvd., Mount Pleasant. Check here for more.
Holy City Farmers Market: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., every Wednesday, Holy City Brewing, North Charleston. vendors rotate weekly to provide shoppers with a tiny but mighty shopping experience. vendors will be selling a range of products from specialty foods, home and body care to arts and crafts. More info.
West Ashley Farmers Market: 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., every Wednesday, Ackerman Park, 55 Sycamore Avenue, Charleston. More.
North Charleston Farmers Market: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., every Thursday, Felix Davis Community Circle in Park Circle. The market offers fresh, locally grown produce as well as arts-and-craft vendors, specialty foods and live music. More.
Charleston Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., every Saturday, Marion Square, 329 Meeting St., Charleston. More.
Summerville Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., every Saturday, First Citizens Bank parking lot near Town Hall, 200 S. Main Street, Summerville.
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. More info.
- 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.
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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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