By Andy Brack | America is in the throes of the largest internal political war since its first, the American Civil War, began in Charleston 160 years ago. Then, as now, the nation was being pulled apart by injustice, inequity and white supremacy. Now, however, the battlefield is far different.
By Andy Brack, a news analysis | State lawmakers will be in Columbia today to put final touches on new state House, Senate and congressional maps that will be used for the next 10 years for elections. While the state Senate map has been viewed as pretty good, the maps for House and Congress have been widely panned by observers who say incumbents are just protecting incumbents. Here’s an excerpted version of what we learned last week.
Staff reports | Murder convictions of three men last week for the shotgun-killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, is being considered a major victory for justice in America that nearly brought the Rev. Nelson B. Rivers to tears.
Staff reports | Look for another education battle in 2022 as key Republican leaders push a bill that would siphon public education dollars to private schools under the guise of “education freedom.”
According to Statehouse Report, S.C. Rep. Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort, recently sent an email through the Palmetto Promise Institute to push H. 3976, a bill she introduced in February to create “education scholarship accounts” for tens of thousands of early reading program or special needs students. Anyone in the proposed program would get about $5,000 a year in an online savings account to use for a student’s education.
By Herb Frazier, Charleston City Paper | Four years ago, Civil War historian and Mount Pleasant-based attorney Gordon C. Rhea began an exploration into the life and legacy of a little-known black Civil War hero.
Staff reports | South Carolina economists are expected to announce that state lawmakers will have an extra billion dollars to spend in the 2022-23 budget thanks to federal pandemic relief funds and better-than-forecasted tax revenue collections.
Staff reports | The College of Charleston will partner with DIG SOUTH to host the 10-year anniversary of the DIG SOUTH Tech Summit, a premier Southern event to connect global brands with regional startups. The event, which will be May 11-13, will be held at the TD Arena, where DIG SOUTH launched the event in 2013.
Staff reports | Recent investments to add a berth, increase cargo capacity and deepen Charleston harbor provide critical opportunities for the Port of Charleston, said Jim Newsome, the president and CEO of the S.C. Ports Authority who announced his retirement during an annual report card last week about the agency.
By Herb Frazier | A portrait of a Black Reconstruction-era state senator and Civil War hero sat in a Statehouse closet for 13 years before finally being put on display Thursday in the Senate chamber without a public ceremony.
Staff reports | Charleston City Paper cartoonist Robert Ariail is the only weekly newspaper cartoonist to be a finalist in a national contest for excellence in local cartooning.
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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