Staff reports | The American Red Cross has mobilized thousands of trained disaster relief workers, truckloads of supplies and thousands of meals to support the response effort following the hurricane that hit Texas over the weekend.
Hansel and Gretel might have gone to church here, but where is it? For bonus points, tell us what the building is. Send your best guess to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com — and make sure to include the name of the town in which you live. Please also write “Mystery Photo” in the subject line.
S.C. Encyclopedia | Born in Blackwood, Spartanburg County, on November 21, 1878, Ibra Blackwood was the son of Charles Blackwood and Louvina Burns. After graduating from Wofford College in 1898, Blackwood read law and was admitted to the bar in 1902. That same year he was elected to the General Assembly, where he represented Spartanburg County for a single term in the House.
Staff reports | As part of NASA’s historic coverage of the total solar eclipse at the College of Charleston, the agency will have its Hyperwall, which displays multiple high-definition data and images simultaneously across several screens, at the Marlene and Nathan Addlestone Library through Wednesday, Aug. 23.
In the meantime, you can watch a live webcast via Nasa.gov starting at 11:45 a.m. Eastern to enjoy the “experience of a lifetime!” Some other area eclipse events:
Gibbes Museum. “Total Eclipse of the Art” is an Aug. 21 eclipse viewing opportunity at the museum to allow visitors to watch from the Lenhardt Garden. Two-for-one-admission for adults and kids under 17 are free. Protective eclipse glasses will be provided. More.
![By Detroit Publishing Company [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://charlestoncurrents.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/17.0821.calhoun_top-200x150.jpg)
By Robert S. Carr, special to Charleston Currents | George Santayana, a Spanish philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist, is probably best known for his often proclaimed and lampooned quote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” If that thought is accurate, what does it say about the future of those who tear down monuments to the past?
Mayor John Tecklenburg of Charleston has the right idea. Instead of tearing down monuments that may offend some, he is quoted as saying in The Post and Courier: “The whole story of our history needs to be told. I intend to be complete and truthful about our history and add context and add to the story instead of taking away.”
This guy is really prepared for Monday’s total solar eclipse. He’s wearing the largest pair of solar glasses we’ve ever seen! Wow. Seriously, it’s part of a promotion that on display at Riley Park, which will open early at 1 p.m. today for an eclipse party and viewing before the 4:05 p.m. game scheduled with the Augusta GreenJackets.
Frank Scalise, Powdersville, S.C.: I believe the State of South Carolina has to consider a bottle bill and an increased tax on fast food. All proceeds of unreturned bottles and fast food tax should go to road clean-up with county and local roads as the main focus of clean-up. Just as not everyone has children in school but still is taxed to provide an educated society for our future, not everyone litters but we need to do something to provide a clean planet for our future.
Public Transit meeting: 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Aug. 15 @ ConNECKted, City Gallery at Waterfront Park, 34 Prioleau St., Charleston. Best Friends of the Lowcountry is hosting a town hall to talk about transportation issues in the gallery, which offers the ConNECKted art exhibition on the same date. More.
Week of baseball. The Charleston RiverDogs are in town for a week starting Aug. 15 with a three-day series against Greenville’s Drive and a four-day series versus the Augusta GreenJackets. More.
Pop-up exhibit: Aug. 20, McLeod Plantation Historic Site, James Island. This one-day photo exhibit will feature photos from award-winning photographer Pete Marovich from his exhibit entitled Shadows of the Gullah Geechee. More info: Charleston County Parks.
By Sarah Lyles and Mallory Biering, special to Statehouse Report | Litter is a passionate subject. Either one is vehemently against it or one is decidedly apathetic.
Whichever side you lean on, it can’t be denied. Litter affects all of us. While our Main Streets and interstates get cleaned regularly, our side streets and rural roads are continually treated as a travelers’ trash can. Whether litter is intentionally dumped or accidentally flies out of an unsecured or improperly covered load, it needs to be addressed in a number of ways. Ideally that timeline would involve enforcement of state or local litter laws, a citation to the guilty party, fine levied by the judge and finally pick up.
What seems to happen more often is nothing. Law enforcement is stretched thin or an agency does not consider litter a real crime.
Staff reports | About three dozen tri-county locations are on the new Great Carolina Fried Chicken Map, which highlights 319 places in the Carolinas that specialize in everything from traditional fried chicken take-out joints to great chicken found in gas stations and church dining rooms.
“There’s a lot of mystery over fried chicken and how favorite restaurants get that perfect crispy bird,” said Amanda Fisher, a co-creator of the map, which is being shipped to customers and retail outlets across North and South Carolina.
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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