Charleston Currents

Good news

This photo shows the scaffolding that was put into place to allow artisans to restore the dome of the Gibbes Museum of Art during a two-year renovation. The museum reopens this week capping a full week of arts in the Charleston area, as outlined in our Focus piece in the new issue. (Photo provided.)

FOCUS: It’s the season for the arts

Staff reports | If there ever were a week for the arts in Charleston, it’s this week, which marks the May 28 reopening of the Gibbes Museum of Art after a two-year renovation and the start of the annual 17-day festival season featuring Spoleto Festival USA and the 2016 Piccolo Spoleto Festival.

Four new shows opening May 28 (of course they’re new … the museum has been closed for two years!) include:

* The Things We Carry: Contemporary Art in the South (Gallery 8), which features paintings, sculpture, photos and mixed media by a diverse group of artists who address the South’s troubled history, including responses to the 2015 Emanuel AME Church tragedy.

* Beyond Catfish Row: The Art of Porgy and Bess (Gallery 9) celebrates the George Gershwin opera as interpreted by visual artists. …

by Charleston Currents · 05/23/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

GOOD NEWS: Hands Across the Sand draws 100 on Saturday

Staff reports | Hands Across the Sand: About 100 people joined hands Saturday to “draw a line in the sand” and support efforts to cancel plans for Atlantic offshore drilling and to raise awareness of the dangers of seismic airgun blasting off the East Coast. Also: Online Emanuel tribute, Pinckney portrait, summer reading, shade tree, poll managers.

by Charleston Currents · 05/23/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

FOCUS: Nonprofit grocery store opens in North Charleston food desert

By Todd Chas | After breaking ground on a vacant city owned lot in the fall of 2014, Fresh Future Farm, a nonprofit urban farm, celebrated Lowcountry Giving Day on May 3 by opening its neighborhood store to the public.

On that day, Fresh Future Farm’s founder and CEO Germaine Jenkins (pictured above) started accepting cash, credit and SNAP (food stamp) benefits for an assortment of basic groceries and fresh produce grown onsite at 2008 Success Street.

The Chicora-Cherokee neighborhood in North Charleston, a certified “food desert,” has been without a full-service grocery store since Winn-Dixie closed in 2005. The new store is now open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

by Charleston Currents · 05/16/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

Contributing edition Michael Kaynard is offering 11-inch by 14-inch limited edition prints of the above photographic collage as a way to honor the life of librarian Cynthia Graham Hurd. All of the proceeds will go to a memorial fund. More information is outlined below.

GOOD NEWS: New Hurd Foundation to have month-long children’s’ book drive

Staff reports | A new foundation is honoring the life of a much-loved librarian who was one of the nine people murdered last year by a gunman at Emanuel AME Church. The Cynthia Graham Hurd Foundation for Reading & Civic Engagement has been set up by her family to increase literacy and spread a passion for reading throughout Charleston, where […]

by Andy Brack · 05/16/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

FOCUS: Local group identifies 1/3 of state’s new HIV positive cases

By Bradley Childs | We recently uncovered a startling statistic about our community: Almost one-third of the new HIV positive cases in South Carolina last year occurred in the tri-county area. Of all the new HIV cases recorded last year by South Carolina community-based organizations, 33 percent of those were identified by Lowcountry AIDS Services. As a point of reference, Lowcountry AIDS Services (LAS) is just one of 10 community-based organizations that provide prevention services throughout South Carolina.

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

GOOD NEWS: Trident United Way to make $2.1 million in local grants

Trident United Way announced last week it would make $2.1 million in grants over three years in 33 programs delivered by 22 nonprofits in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties in its three core areas: education, financial stability and health. Also in Good News: P-Nut returns; rain barrels for sale; Community Pride has winners.

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

FOCUS: Heat is summer’s number one danger for pets

By Dan Krosse, guest contributor | As the temperatures heat up, so do the risks of injuries for your pets. Dr. Lucy Fuller, DVM, of Charleston Animal Society says that the risk of heat stroke is the number one issue that pet owners need to be aware of.

“It takes less than five minutes for a car to get well over 100 degrees,” she warns. “There is no safe amount of time for a pet to be left in the car.”

Remember that dogs can’t sweat and the only way they can release heat is by panting. Health experts warn that just being outside can cause danger in the summer months.

by Charleston Currents · 05/02/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

FOCUS: Time for another look at the “new reverse mortgage?”

By David Heilman, guest contributor | Once viewed as a last resort financial option advertised by aging celebrities on late-night television, reverse mortgages have long suffered from a bad reputation. Now thanks to new qualifications and needed program changes by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the “new reverse mortgage” is getting more attention from many and is seen as a viable retirement option.

These changes are beneficial to the industry and will help expand the conversation around how best to use home equity in retirement planning.

by Charleston Currents · 04/25/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

GOOD NEWS: 34th North Charleston Arts Fes starts April 29

Staff reports | The North Charleston Arts Fest, started 34 years ago as a half-day community celebration, kicks off nine days of free and ticketed activities on April 29 with a bevy of activities.

by Charleston Currents · 04/25/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

FOCUS: What the heck is DIG SOUTH?

By Stanfield Gray, guest contributor | When DIG SOUTH launched on July 4, 2012, our goal was simple: plant the flag as the South’s first and foremost event elevating the digital economy.

We invited leading brands and promising startups from across the region – Sparc, Blackbaud, Benefitfocus, PeopleMatter, RedHat, CNN, Coca-Cola – to join reps from global brands like Facebook, Twitter, Google, IBM, Fast Company, Inc and others to discuss innovation in technology, marketing, media, entertainment, business, entrepreneurship and other verticals. And since that auspicious launch, our mantra has been “Succeed in the South.”

by Charleston Currents · 04/18/2016 · 1 comment · Focus, Good news