NEWS BRIEFS: 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