Articles by: Andy Brack

A clever window display in Soho catches the eye.

BRACK: Navigating news in times of scandal and hyperbole

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | With scandal swirling throughout Washington and more indictments stemming from a corruption probe in Columbia, it is becoming harder to keep up with what’s really happening in government and politics.

Part of the problem is the Internet, which overturned the news apple cart by diversifying and segmenting sources of news into so many streams that it can be difficult to figure out which are credible. There are traditional media – newspapers, magazines, radio and television – which operate under an old model of hiring professionals to report news as they see it and digest information critically to make it understandable.

by · 05/22/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views
BRACK:  The legislature takes a wild ride in 2017 session

BRACK: The legislature takes a wild ride in 2017 session

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The General Assembly’s 2017 legislative session is sure to be remembered for a long time as a wild ride.

Two things stand out. First, who in the world would have thought the Republican-led legislature would have given millions of dollars in tax relief to working people in South Carolina in a bill to hike taxes to fix roads? Most of the time, tax breaks go to the rich.

by · 05/16/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views
PHOTO ESSAY:   Weekend in New York

PHOTO ESSAY: Weekend in New York

Editor and publisher Andy Brack spent the weekend in New York City, cold and rainy on Saturday, but sunny and pleasant on Sunday, highlighted above at the Columbus Circle entrance to Central Park Here are some more photos to give a feel of the city.

by · 05/16/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Photo Essay, Photos
Close-up of Penchick by South Carolina artist Melvin Way.

BRACK: S.C. artists well-represented in national museum

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The creativity, inventiveness and talent of people who grow up and live in the South, and particularly South Carolina, never ceases to amaze.

A week ago during a visit to Washington, D.C., we stumbled upon the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), also home to the National Portrait Gallery. We were familiar with all sorts of other Smithsonian museums, but had never heard of this one, located a few blocks north of the National Mall.

by · 05/08/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views
REVIEW:  A Travel Guide to World War II Sites in Italy

REVIEW: A Travel Guide to World War II Sites in Italy

A book by Anne Leslie Saunders

Reviewed by Andy Brack | A way to make history come alive is to visit places where it happened. If you’re into World War II history, an updated and expanded second edition of local author Anne Leslie Saunders’ guide to World War II sites in Italy and Sicily will serve you well.

by · 05/01/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Features, Reviews
BRACK:  A pat on the back for Grooms, Sheheen for practical roads bill

BRACK: A pat on the back for Grooms, Sheheen for practical roads bill

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Larry Grooms and Vincent Sheheen pored over spreadsheets for weeks looking for a solution that hornswoggled their state Senate colleagues for three years: A practical way to raise the state’s gas tax to fix roads.

By Wednesday, an idea by Republican Grooms – allowing state drivers to get rebates of their portion of the 12-cents-per-gallon hike in the gas user fee – blended with tax cut priorities by Sheheen, a Democrat, to cobble together a piece of winning legislation. While Sheheen brought a solid bloc of the minority Democrats to the table, Senate President Pro Tem Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, and Grooms delivered a group of moderate Republicans who stuck together, vote after vote, to thwart filibuster threats and get the bill passed.

by · 04/30/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views
BRACK:  We’ve all got the “Pothole Blues”

BRACK: We’ve all got the “Pothole Blues”

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Sometimes the only way to make a point and make sure it gets through is through humor.

As the state Senate stumbles drunkenly to find a way to figure out a way to fix state roads and bridges, former gubernatorial candidate Tom Ervin of Greenville turned to song to make his point.

He wrote – and had recorded – an aptly-named song, “Pothole Blues,” as first reported Sunday by our sister publication, Statehouse Report.

He says he’s gotten so frustrated by the continued “lack of vision and failed leadership” by state senators and Gov. Henry McMaster in funding the billions of dollars of needs for state road and bridge repairs” that he had to do something.

by · 04/24/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views
MYSTERY:  Iconic silos

MYSTERY: Iconic silos

Longtime reader Cynthia Bledsoe of Charleston sent along these iconic silos as a Mystery Photo.  So where are there and why are they iconic?  Send your best guess to:  editor@charlestoncurrents.com — and make sure to include the name of the town in which you live. Three eagle eyes guessed correctly that last week’s Mystery Photo was of a wall at […]

by · 04/24/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Mystery Photo, Photos
BRACK: New statue of Hollings captures his spirit, leadership, energy

BRACK: New statue of Hollings captures his spirit, leadership, energy

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Sculptor Rick Weaver captured the body language of Fritz Hollings just right in a new statue unveiled Monday as former colleagues heaped praises on the retired senator, now 95.

Three things stand out in the bronze figure – the warm, but determined, look on Hollings’ face; how his left hand is grasping a rolled-up document; and, most notably, an outstretched right hand, a familiar gesture to many of the senator’s former staffers and friends.

“I asked him what he felt was the quality he possessed that allowed him to succeed in his work,” Charlottesville, Va., sculptor Weaver said in the ceremony program. “He said very quickly, ‘My ability to make friends.’ So in subtle ways, I tried to show that – his hand gesture, him turning to face someone. I wanted to convey how actively engaged he was all his life.”

by · 04/18/2017 · 4 comments · Andy Brack, Views
PHOTO:  Honoring a South Carolina statesman

PHOTO: Honoring a South Carolina statesman

After all of the pomp and circumstance of a Monday dedication of a statue of retired U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings, the sculptor and his parents grabbed a quick snapshot for the photo album. Pictured from left are Charlottesville, Va., sculptor Rick Weaver with his mother Deme and father Dick, who live in Florida. You can see more photos by Andy Brack in his commentary about the sculpture and ceremony.

by · 04/18/2017 · 1 comment · Photos