Charleston Currents – Andy Brack

Articles by: Andy Brack

BRACK: Cast of characters grows in corruption probe

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | With three politicos added last week to the ongoing corruption scandal at the Statehouse, it’s getting kind of hard to keep up with the cast of characters. Here’s a handy guide for what’s going on:

To date, seven Republicans – six legislators or ex-legislators and uber-consultant Richard Quinn Sr. – have been indicted in the probe that goes back to 2014 when state officials started looking into the campaign finances of the sitting House speaker.

by Andy Brack · 10/23/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

COMMENTARY, Brack: Looking beyond corruption at the Statehouse

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The S.C. General Assembly is far different than 27 years ago when Operation Lost Trust blew open the cozy culture of the Statehouse with federal charges against 28 legislators and lobbyists in a cash-for-votes sting.

People went to jail. Some avoided it. Ethics rules were changed to become some of the toughest in the nation as it became virtually impossible for people to buy a cup of coffee legally for a friend in the legislature.

by Andy Brack · 10/16/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

The Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles is shiny, curvy and a sight to behold.

PHOTO ESSAY: Downtown Los Angeles

A recent trip to downtown Los Angeles found a thriving, multi-cultural city filled with a lot of things to see and do, from great museums to a lively Grand Central Market.

Click to find photos of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, some great art from the contemporary Broad Museum and scenes from the market, where you could get anything from Mexican and Salvadoran cuisine to falafal, ice cream and fresh raw oysters from all over. There was even a shop that made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

We thought you’d enjoy this photographic drive-by from editor and publisher Andy Brack.

by Andy Brack · 10/15/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Photo Essay, Photos

CALENDAR, Oct. 9+: THAT Big Book Sale, festivals, more

Staff reports | Looking for the perfect holiday present? You can find an outstanding array of 60,000 books, CDs, DVDs and other materials at the Charleston Friends of the Library’s biggest event of the year, THAT Big Book Sale.

Held Oct. 13 to Oct. 15 at the Omar Shrine Auditorium, 176 Patriots Point Road, Mount Pleasant, the event has something for everyone. Proceeds help the Friends fund thousands of programs put on throughout the Charleston County Public Library’s network of libraries.

by Andy Brack · 10/09/2017 · Comments are Disabled · calendar

COMMENTARY, Brack: Demand real gun control now

y Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Let me be crystal clear: It is time for real gun control.

No more pussyfooting around the edges. No more talk and blather as more people are killed in mass shootings in churches, schools, nightclubs and music festivals.

Real. Gun. Control.

Let me also be clear: This does not mean the government is going to take away your guns. Remember when President Obama got elected president and the nutcases shouted and screamed that he would take away guns? Did he? No. Instead, a vocal sub-minority of zealots pitched an NRA-led fit to make people believe authorities would take away their guns. And the violence continued.

by Andy Brack · 10/09/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: More gun violence prompts reprint of 2016 column

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | After the Orlando shootings, my wife wrote a letter to several newspaper editors that made me think.

She boiled all of the back and forth about escalating gun violence in America into a simple, salient point that many seem to have missed: It’s become an issue of national security.

The glut of guns solely made for killing people — handguns and assault rifles — is changing America into a country where fearful people feel they need more and bigger guns to protect themselves. They respond to patronizing rhetoric from groups like the National Rifle Association who taunt that the federal government is going to take away people’s guns. Throughout the seven years of President Obama’s term, we’ve heard such chants time and time again, yet Obama hasn’t taken away guns.

by Andy Brack · 10/02/2017 · 1 comment · Andy Brack, Views

CALENDAR, Sept. 25+: MOJA Arts Festival kicks off Sept. 28

There are dozens of events for the 2017 MOJA Arts Festival, which runs from Sept. 28 to Oct. 8 throughout the City of Charleston as a community celebration of African-American and Caribbean arts. To find what’s right for you, visit this website to see the dynamic offerings, some of which include:

Opening Day Parade, 6 p.m., Sept. 28, Marion Square to U.S. Custom House.
Higher Ground: The Music of Stevie Wonder, 8 p.m., Sept. 28, Charleston Music Hall, 37 John Street. Tribute concert by Charlton Singleton, Quiana Parler and more.
College of Charleston Gospel Choir Concert, 7:30 p.m., Oct. 2, Mount Zion AME Church, 5 Glebe St., Charleston.
Literary Corner with Kwame Alexander, 7:30 p.m., Oct. 3, City Gallery, 34 Prioleau St., Charleston. Free.
Free Verse Poet’s Laureate Show, 6 p.m., Oct. 6, City Gallery, 34 Prioleau St., Charleston. Free.
MOJA Finale, 4 p.m., Oct. 8, Hampton Park, Charleston. Free.

by Andy Brack · 09/25/2017 · Comments are Disabled · calendar

COMMENTARY, Brack: Alexander offers a lesson of poetry’s power

Kwame Alexander was the keynote speaker of Saturday’s Black Ink, a gathering of four dozen writers celebrating African American writing in a six-hour book festival that filled the main library. The festival, now in its second year, reportedly did very well, with writers selling two or three times as many books to hundreds of attendees.

In a poignant talk about memories ranging from a boyhood spent selling books for his father to his mother’s recent death, Alexander kept his audience spellbound with his passionate, strong voice.

But an extended version of a relatively new poem, “Take a Knee,” cut to the core. It showed how a rat-a-tat-tat of common-day phrases starting with the word “take” can generate real emotion and lead, perhaps, to new ways of considering issues.

by Andy Brack · 09/25/2017 · 2 comments · Andy Brack, Views

GOOD NEWS: Star Wars Reads Day to launch Oct. 7

Staff reports | One of the most fun-filled days at Charleston County Public Library’s main library is just a few days away – Star Wars Reads Day is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 7. Also, you can see one of two Star Wars movies starting at 2 p.m.

Dress up your kids (or yourself) in your favorite Star Wars costume and join more than 1,500 people in an event that continues to grow in size and entertainment value. You might not think about your library doing this kind of thing, but if you visit, you’ll see lots of happy people (and some Stormtroopers), library officials say.

by Andy Brack · 09/25/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

FEEDBACK: Memories from 100 years ago and more on evacuation readiness

P.C. Coker, Charleston: “As Theodore White said in the Making of the President 1960, three things were the center of American discourse after World War II, civil rights, television, and the bomb. To that I would add for the South, air conditioning. ” Click to read more thoughts, including a letter from George Graf.

by Andy Brack · 09/25/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Feedback