Charleston Currents

Good news

We love just about everything about the Lowcountry's marshes.
What do you love about the area? (Copyrighted photo by Andy Brack.)

FOCUS: Take a walk on the wild side with SCELP

By Amy Armstrong, special to Charleston Currents | Almost 30 years ago, Jimmy Chandler set off for what he imagined to be a temporary phase of his legal career: the South Carolina Environmental Law Project (SCELP). A proposed oil refinery in Georgetown and impoundment of tidal marshes spurred him to focus his legal effort on protecting our natural environment.

He was joined and supported by the leadership at the Energy Research Foundation in Columbia, which “hosted” the organization for about nine years and until the Project became a public charity on its own. By then, the idea of moving back to private practice had already faded into the background as new challenges and emergencies kept cropping up after each new victory inside and outside the courts.

by Charleston Currents · 09/19/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

GOOD NEWS: Jenkins send-off ceremony to be Thursday

Staff reports | There will be a big community send-off at 10 a.m. Thursday to honor a Charleston legend who will be part of the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture that opens this week in Washington, D.C.

The Thursday event at Gadsden Wharf at the Charleston Maritime Center will honor the life work of the Esau and Janie B. Jenkins family, the surviving members of whom will make a special private visit to the museum prior to its grand opening. Other family members, friends and Sea island residents also will travel to the nation’s capital for the museum’s grand opening celebration.

by Charleston Currents · 09/19/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

FOCUS: Two dozen authors to be at Saturday’s Black Ink book festival

By Stephen Hoffius, special to Charleston Currents | More than 25 African-American authors will gather at Burke High School on Sept. 17 to take part in Black Ink: A Charleston African-American Book Festival. The event will take place from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Marcus Amaker, recently named the first poet laureate of the City of Charleston, is the keynote speaker. He’s excited about the festival: “Charleston could use more events that celebrate the literary arts.” He is the author of seven books, the most recent of which, Mantra, is also an app, featuring audio, video, and new poems. Marcus’s poems have been featured on the PBS Newshour, the Huffington Post, several journals, and poetry collections.

by Charleston Currents · 09/12/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

GOOD NEWS: From a show on banned books to a great season and more

Local models are featured in a new show called “Banned Books,” which opened Sept. 8 at PULP Gallery and Bookstore, 535 King St., Charleston. The show, which runs through Oct. 30, is by Kimberly Butler and features “stunning black and white photography featuring books that have been targets of censorship. Also featured: Kurt Vonnegut’s works on paper. Also in Good News: Charleston RiverDogs end great season; start of West Ashley Farmers Market; Trident Tech’s grants; and the Living Green Fest.

by Charleston Currents · 09/12/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

Depression-era photographer Marion Post Wolcott snapped this image in 1939 of tomato pickers on their lunch break in a field near Homestead, Fla. Charleston County once was home to a huge truck farming industry, which included tomatoes that were shipped to northern markets. Photo from the Library of Congress.

FOCUS: Toward a more truthful — and useful — Charleston history

By Charlie Smith, Special to Charleston Currents | When the Charleston County Planning Commission’s subcommittee on historic preservation announced last year that consultants had been hired to conduct the 2016 update of the Historic Resources Survey, I was initially very excited that we would finally be addressing some of our past failures to protect important historic sites and buildings throughout Charleston County.

Realizing that we did not have endless funds with which to work, we began to narrow the scope to a task that was feasible given our limited resources. I was initially not happy at all with the 1940-1975 time frame chosen for the limited study.

Charleston has a deeply-rooted complicity at every level in the atrocious politics of skin color …

by Andy Brack · 09/05/2016 · 1 comment · Focus, Good news

GOOD NEWS: Mash it up Friday with Holly Herrick

Staff reports | Food writer Holly Herrick’s new book, “Mashed: Beyond the Potato,” will get royal treatment at a three-course luncheon at noon Sept. 9, the date of the book’s launch.

As part of the Blue Bicycle Books Charleston Author Series at High Cotton (199 East Bay Street, Charleston), Herrick will discuss the book over a meal with costs $31. If you add a cost of the new book, you’ll pay $56.

by Charleston Currents · 09/05/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

FOCUS: Cherny asks what would make your life better

By Dimitri Cherny, special to Charleston Currents | What one or two things could the federal government do to make your life better?

That’s the question I’ve been asking everyone I meet on my www.BIKINGtheLowcountry.us adventure. I’ve now traveled, by bike or canoe, more than 550 miles over 47 days and asked hundreds of people that question. We’re a very diverse group here in the Lowcountry — racially, ethnically, religiously, politically, ideologically, economically, educationally, and of all ages. But after asking this question of hundreds of people, we ALL seem to agree on five things.

1. Universal single-payer healthcare.
2. Quality debt-free public education.
3. Strengthening Social security.
4. Improving the veteran’s support system,
5. Getting money out of politics.

by Charleston Currents · 08/29/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

Gumby and North Charleston Firefighter Adam Craft

GOOD NEWS: Homeless hound on new firefighter calendar

Staff reports | Gumby the Hound is a one-of-a-kind dog who has won the hearts of Charleston Animal Society staff – and will soon appear in its 2017 Firefighter Calendar! On 11 occasions, families tried to adopt this sweet, loving hound, but 11 times, he would hop a fence, open a latch, and, somehow, run back to Charleston Animal Society.

by Charleston Currents · 08/29/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

FOCUS: Bridging the justice gap in Charleston County

By Alissa C. Lietzow, Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services | Most people know that when you are charged with a crime, you are guaranteed legal representation if you do not have the financial means to pay for it yourself.

In fact, many of you can probably recite the Miranda rights from having watched Law & Order:

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.”

by Charleston Currents · 08/22/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

GOOD NEWS: City launches online platform for boards, commissions

Staff reports | With more than 40 boards and commissions, the city of Charleston has long encouraged independent citizen oversight and participation in local government—at least in theory, according to a press release last week.

But with the debut of Boards+, a new city website that allows citizens to view the members, duties and actions of city boards, committees and commissions and to apply for open positions as they become available, that theory is now becoming a reality for residents throughout the Charleston area.

by Charleston Currents · 08/22/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs