Charleston Currents – Andy Brack

Articles by: Andy Brack

CALENDAR, Aug 1+: Stomping of the feet and the beat

Events for the week of Aug. 1, 2016, and beyond, including A Chorus Line, Godspell and reggae artists Mystic Vibrations.

by Andy Brack · 08/01/2016 · Comments are Disabled · calendar

MYSTERY: Nice lantern

This one may be pretty hard, but a hint: It’s in Charleston. And you’ve probably seen it before if you’d done any walking around downtown. Send your best guess to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com — and make sure to include the name of the town in which you live. Photo by Leigh Sabine.

by Andy Brack · 08/01/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Mystery Photo, Photos

HISTORY: Barbados and South Carolina

S.C. Encyclopedia | South Carolina’s origins are so closely tied to the British West Indian colony of Barbados that it has been called a “Colony of a Colony.” The historian Jack Greene has called Barbados the “culture hearth” of the southeastern, slavery-dominated plantation economy. Surprisingly little is yet known of the origins of South Carolina’s early leaders. Although the Barbadian influence has probably been overstated and South Carolina’s plantation owners never became absentee landlords to the degree of the West Indian sugar planters, South Carolina did come to more closely resemble the West Indies than did any of the other English mainland colonies.

by Andy Brack · 08/01/2016 · 2 comments · Features, S.C. Encyclopedia

BRACK: Sales tax holiday gimmick is here again

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Pens, pencils and paper. Blankets, bed spreads and shower curtains. Adult diapers, bonnets, bridal gowns, corsets, costumes, earmuffs, ice skates, ski boots and tuxedos.

All are among the 100-plus exempt items that can be purchased Aug. 5-7 without paying the 6 percent state sales tax during South Carolina’s 17th sales tax holiday. Consumers will save an estimated $2.25 million in the state tax plus any local sales tax that may apply.

by Andy Brack · 08/01/2016 · 2 comments · Andy Brack, Views

PHOTO: A dark and stormy afternoon

Beach weekends around this time of year seem to have a rolling theme — great morning weather followed by rolling, black thunderclouds in the afternoon as heat and steam build up to generate rain. Photo by Andy Brack.

by Andy Brack · 08/01/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Photos

BRACK: Trump’s rise rooted in S.C. politics

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Turn the pages of South Carolina history to about 50 years ago if you want to better understand the rise of Donald Trump, the current GOP presidential candidate who is fueling rage across America.

Back in 1968, America was changing. African Americans, long disenfranchised across the South, had won major civil rights victories. They were voting, going to integrated schools and starting to move into “white” neighborhoods. It was a big change for the white South.

A key Republican Party strategist at the time, Harry S. Dent Sr. from South Carolina, recognized how the political playing field was shifting and translated it for impact. He became a major architect of Republican Richard Nixon’s so-called “Southern strategy,” which successfully sought to win white votes in the solid Democratic South by appealing to fears and prejudices of white Southern voters upset by changes caused by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

by Andy Brack · 07/25/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

Hollings speaks to media in this 2008 photo.

GOOD NEWS: Statue to be erected of Hollings

Staff reports | Our sister publication, Statehouse Report, exclusively reported Friday that supporters and friends of retired U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings are planning to unveil a full-sized bronze statue in his honor in the spring. Also in this issue: Charleston County Public Library hires Nicolle Davies to be its new director; Stats on the number of people who arrive daily in the area; Daniel Island’s new performing arts center; and a Greenway pledge.

by Andy Brack · 07/25/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

PHOTO: Summertime lemonade stand

These girls had a blast on a hot Saturday selling cold limeade and lemonade to folks in West Ashley. After paying for costs and supplies, they earned $10 each for three hours of work. Photo by Andy Brack.

by Andy Brack · 07/25/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Photos

Davies picked to be library’s new executive director

Nicolle Davies, a nationally-recognized library leader who was named Library Journal magazine’s 2016 Librarian of the Year, will be Charleston County Public Library’s new executive director, the library’s Board of Trustees announced today.

“Charleston is blessed to have a library leader of Nicolle’s stature to steer our system in the transformational years ahead of us,” said Andy Brack, chair of the library’s Board of Trustees. “A world-class city attracts world-class talent. With energy, drive and vision, Nicolle will help guide our professional staff through exciting changes with new buildings and programs that will truly make our libraries become lifelong learning centers.”

by Andy Brack · 07/19/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

PHOTO ESSAY: Views from Newfoundland

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Our family took a cool vacation — literally — last week to Newfoundland, where temperatures were downright chilly at times. During the early part of the week, weather was drizzly and cool, with day and night temperatures bouncing between 46 degrees and 55 degrees. As the week wore on, it got sunnier and bright with daytime temps reaching a comfortable 72 degrees.

We thought you’d enjoy these photos of the St. John’s area, which is marked by kind people, great food, good hikes and houses with more colors than on Rainbow Row. The city is slightly smaller than Charleston — 106,000 people — but has a long maritime history like that in the Holy City.

by Andy Brack · 07/17/2016 · 4 comments · Good news, Photo Essay, Photos