This stone angel is at peace in a peaceful place, Magnolia Cemetery, in Charleston. Draped in Spanish moss, the angel seems to be responding in reverence to the calm of the historic resting ground to many of Charleston’s early leaders. In the background, you can see marshes that lead to the Cooper River. Photo by Andy Brack.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | It was uncomfortable to feel the piercing gaze of a stone Confederate soldier in the town square in Tuskegee, Ala., as African American residents set up tents to sell T-shirts, bracelets, food, candles, shea butter, books and bric-a-brac at an annual festival celebrating inventor George Washington Carver.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The amount of money spent in politics these days is obscene.
But even we were flabbergasted — and kind of sickened — when one New Jersey man gave $250,000 on March 31 to Gov. Nikki Haley’s new political advocacy organization known as A Great Day SC. But he wasn’t alone. The new group collected only six donations, five from out of state, for a grand total of $515,000.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | After a fantastic couple of months away from yard signs and blaring television advertising, campaigning is upon us again. Just look out your car windows as you are driving on any major thoroughfare.
Two months from now, voters — mostly those who vote in Republican primaries — will head to the polls to pick candidates for state and federal offices. In many cases, thanks to gerrymandering of political districts, the primary will be the real election as those who win will face little or token opposition in the fall.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Legislators shouldn’t get sidetracked by a narrow, right-wing effort to push new anti-gay legislation through the General Assembly. There’s too much vital work that needs to be done — from a real fix for potholes in roads and substantive reform for ethics laws to improving education, providing better health care and reducing poverty.
Staff reports | The Charleston RiverDogs embraced their hometown’s “Holy City” moniker Sunday night with new specialty uniforms that display the “Holy City” namesake across pinstriped tops and a new HC emblem on baseball caps in the latest of the team’s innovative weekly promotions.
Calendar for week of April 4+: Wine Down Wednesday, RiverDogs baseball is back, Charleston Farmers Market resumes, Lowcountry Voices, Charleston Outdoor Festival.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | We’re surrounded by rules. They’re what make the world go round without everybody stepping all over everybody else.
Some rules are overt: Speed limits, no murdering others, pay taxes, don’t hit your little sister. Some of them are more covert: You don’t tell the lady next to you at church that her dress or hairstyle is horrible. You don’t laugh out loud when some guy says something monumentally stupid.
YOU DON’T EXPECT to see azaleas bloom with the deep, rich color of a South Carolina peach, but you can find them at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens along the Ashley River west of Charleston. The attraction, which is attracting more visitors than ever, has more than a half million azaleas on its grounds, according to director Tom Johnson.
This fellow at a recent spring training baseball game in Sarasota, Fla, wore the most interesting hat we’ve seen in a long time — a kind of large pickle with orange ear flaps. It certainly got a lot of recognition as he sold cold beer during a high-scoring Red Sox-Orioles’ game on Saturday. More photos from spring training are found in a photo essay by Andy Brack in Today’s Focus.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina! (2019) by editor and publisher Andy Brack offers incisive commentaries on the American South, politics, the common good and interesting South Carolina leaders. Available exclusively for Kindle for $7.99. A paperback version will be ready soon. Learn more.
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