Charleston Currents

Good news

GOOD NEWS: Airport experiences 6.2 percent passenger growth

Staff reports | Charleston International Airport had 7 percent more people heading to one of 18 non-stop destinations in the first four months of the year, compared to last year in what is a traditionally slower traveling season. In the same period, 5.6 percent more people flew into the airport.

Also in Good News: Charleston County Public Library’s new reusable bags; Charleston School of Law President Ed Bell’s accolade; and Sea Island cotton again being grown here at McLeod Plantation.

by Charleston Currents · 06/04/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

FOCUS: Dee Norton center launches $5 million campaign to help area children

By Beverly Hutchison, special to Charleston Currents | Nearly 6,000 children in Charleston and Berkeley counties are abused each year, a number that is expected to double over the next 20 years as our population grows.

For the last 26 years, the Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center has been the region’s leading resource to help prevent child abuse, protect abused children and help heal children and their families. However, the Center is at capacity and cannot meet the need without expanding. This month, the center launched Above and Beyond: The Campaign to Help Children Soar, a $5 million campaign that will enable the center to open a second full-service center in Mount Pleasant and renovate the center’s existing location on King Street.

by Charleston Currents · 05/29/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

GOOD NEWS: Summer reading programs start Thursday at local libraries

Staff reports | Charleston County Public Library this week will kick off its 2017 Summer Reading Programs, which run from June 1 through July 31 and feature hundreds of free events and fun prizes for participants of all ages.

Pre-registration is already underway, and the library offers programs designed for the following age groups:

by Charleston Currents · 05/29/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

FOCUS: It’s festival season again

Staff reports | The Charleston festival season opens for 17 days Friday as Spoleto Festival USA offers more than 160 ticketed events in 12 venues throughout Charleston while the city’s Piccolo Spoleto Festival for 2017 has more than 500 events through June 11.

Perhaps the easiest way to get the full flavor of all of the offerings is to scroll through each festival’s websites, but we offer some highlights and links below.

by Charleston Currents · 05/22/2017 · 3 comments · Focus, Good news

GOOD NEWS: Author of Potlikker Papers to be in Charleston June 2

Staff reports | Longtime Charleston Currents friend John T. Edge, director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, will be in the Holy City 5 p.m. June 2 for a discussion of his new book, Potlikker Papers: A Food History of the Modern South. Also inside: Commission on Women meetings; Trident Tech honorees.

by Charleston Currents · 05/22/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

"Mother" Emanuel AME Church, Charleston, S.C.

FOCUS: Rivers, Sanders to launch Living Your Truth series tonight

Staff reports | The Social Justice, Racial Equity Collaborative will launch its two-hour Living Your Truth series at 6:30 p.m. today at Emanuel AME Church on Calhoun Street in Charleston.

The event will be hosted by two longtime friends, Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III and former College of Charleston President Alex Sanders.

According to a press release, the series beings together diverse voices to inspire, challenge and foster understanding in Charleston, which the effort’s leaders believe is ready to reflect on the truth and perspectives necessary for racial healing and transformation.

by Charleston Currents · 05/16/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

GOOD NEWS: Mayor, group to announce freedom school for literacy today

Staff reports | Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg and fellow members of the Charleston Freedom School Advisory Committee will hold a press conference today announcing the successful fundraising campaign and latest plans for a Charleston Freedom School, a six-week literacy program this summer for 50 at-risk peninsula students.

by Charleston Currents · 05/16/2017 · 1 comment · Good news, News briefs

FOCUS: Charleston Forum to discuss racial issues June 16

Staff reports | The Charleston Forum will host a public discussion June 16 to address racial issues in the context of economics and education; policing and criminal justice; the future of the past; and the Charleston experience.

“I am looking forward to participating in the Charleston Forum this summer. We must embrace these opportunities to come together and listen to one another,” Charleston Mayor John J. Tecklenburg said in a statement. “It is only by gaining an understanding of our different perspectives, backgrounds and experiences that we can create a united vision for a brighter future.”

Tickets are $10 and available online. The event will be from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St.

by Charleston Currents · 05/08/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

GOOD NEWS: Congratulations to area graduates

Staff reports | Graduates of area colleges tossed their hats into the air over the weekend as they celebrated hard work hitting the books. Pictured above is Sarah Anne Dumont, one of 657 graduates of Charleston Southern University. That was the school’s largest graduation since its founding in 1964.

by Charleston Currents · 05/08/2017 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

FOCUS: Assessing an almost-invisible population in Charleston

By Becca Hopkins, special to Charleston Currents | People flock to Charleston. They come in droves for the weather, the culture, the food, the slower pace of life. For most people, Charleston is an eminently livable city and both the tourist industry and the pace of residential growth reflect that.

However, there is one almost-invisible population in Charleston that is not enjoying the advantages that Charleston has to offer. Charleston is home to hundreds of individuals under the age of 25 who are either experiencing homelessness or some variety of housing insecurity. An even greater number are experiencing food insecurity, meaning that they don’t get an adequate amount of nutritious food regularly. This population is mixed in with our K-12 students and college students, though there are many who are not in school and are living off the grid and outside of any systems.

by Special to Charleston Currents · 04/30/2017 · 1 comment · Focus, Good news