Staff reports | More than 180,000 people in South Carolina have applied for unemployment benefits since mid-March than filed in all of 2019. It’s a stark reminder, Charleston City Paper editor Sam Spence writes, of the crushing economic impact of physical distancing measures in South Carolina to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 infection.
By Charlie Smith, special to Charleston Currents | When the coronavirus quarantine is over, let’s be sure to remember one of the most important lessons that we have learned: Let’s remember what it was like living in Charleston without traffic.
The lesson we should learn from this experience is that it’s time to stop building bigger and bigger roads that only invite more and more cars and trucks that divide our community and diminish the health and well-being of our citizens.
Smith
It’s time to tell our General Assembly and our county and city governments that equitable mobility is what the public is entitled to, not just more asphalt. Tell them that it’s time to break up the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) and create an agency that can focus on mass transit, inter-city rail, “Complete Streets” and multi-modal transit for all citizens, not just on more wasteful inefficient projects for the benefit of road contractors.
Staff reports | The folks at Lowcountry Local First have a good idea in having a virtual local social — a happy hour online. It’s set for 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday.
By Janet Segal, special to Charleston Currents | Here’s an idea: Local governments and the state — the county, its libraries, technical colleges and the like — should put idle 3-D printers to use now to print masks to keep our medical workers safe.
I am self-quarantining at home with two sewing machines, fabric, a pattern from the internet and I have been sewing facemasks.
According to my nursing friends, these will be helpful for elderly patients and their caregivers and for people outside the home who must go shopping. But they will fall apart after multiple washings. They are well-made but not designed for long-term use.
There are, however, masks that can stand up to repeated sterilizing — those made of plastic on 3-D printers.
Staff reports | Julian Wiles, founder and producing artistic director of Charleston Stage, shared a message with friends of the organization to reassure friends that the latest unpleasantness of people sheltering in place wouldn’t last forever. And he offered an interesting insight highlighting how Charleston has survived scourges in the past:
Staff reports | City and county leaders strongly urged Charleston County residents to “stay home, stay distanced and stay safe” in the weeks ahead as the nation grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.
As of Sunday, 13 people in Charleston County tested positive for coronavirus, as well as two in Berkeley County and one in Dorchester County, according to state data. Across the state, 195 people tested positive for the virus, including 44 in Kershaw County.
“Doctors tell us that the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 would be nothing less than a death sentence for thousands of our friends and family members right here in the Lowcountry,” Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said at a Sunday press conference. “And the only way to avoid that tragedy is for all of us to start following those three simple rules right now.”
Stay home: “If you don’t have an essential reason to go out, don’t go out. The life you save by avoiding that unnecessary trip could turn out to be yours or one of your loved ones.” the mayor said.
Staff reports | The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced last week that small businesses suffering substantial economic injury because of the coronavirus pandemic can apply for working capital through low-interest federal disaster loans. Also inside: Links to 200+ area restaurants that are delivering or offering take-out.
By Fred Palm, contributing editor | Our South Carolina emergency plan is an all-event skeleton. Depending upon the particular threat, customization to the plan is made. Even in the overall skeleton plan, any epidemic event is a second thought found in an appendix (14-1) to the general model for action. In these plans, there is no pandemic appendix, so with COVID-19, we presumptively start as if the virus is an infection.
An epidemic requires a swift model that leaps ahead of the presenting of requests for medical services. State-level authorizations and equipment requests passed up the line will not be delivered in time. In fact, little time exists if an infection doubles every five days.
Social science surveys estimate the size of something, the incidence in the population. In this election season, for example, we are bombarded with polling data about what percentage of voters, likely Republicans or Democrats, are expected to behave in a particular way.
Staff reports | Gov. Henry McMaster announced Sunday that all of the state’s public schools, colleges and technical colleges will close starting today as a health response to growing concerns about the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. The institutions will remain closed through March 31.
“I urge that public gatherings both indoor and outdoor be limited to 100 people or less,” he said, adding that local elections scheduled for March and April also would be postponed.
By Dave Echols | What we are excited about is when we look into the future and see the opportunities for us to continue to grow with our community. Alongside our partners with the city, we have some exciting facility upgrades to share for 2020, including new group areas, such as the “Dugout” themed group area you see here, and an overhaul of the ballpark’s telecom capabilities.
Chief among the updates is the city’s upgrading of the ballpark light structures and converting those lights to LED bulbs around the ballpark. Not only is this solution a significant improvement in energy efficiency, it also provides us with the opportunity to liven up the game day presentation.
As we look even further into the future, there’s no shortage of ideas we can continue to work on to keep the ballpark one of the best in the country, even 25-plus years after its construction. Projects like the completion of a 360-degree boardwalk-style concourse behind the outfield wall make us all excited about the possibilities of how this ballpark can serve this community.
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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