Charleston Currents

Good news

GOOD NEWS: On poverty, Gibbes’ prize, Conservancy

Staff reports | The South isn’t as mired in poverty as it once was, according to a new report, and South Carolina is no exception. But in many places in the Palmetto State, things still aren’t that great.

Before President Lyndon Johnson launched his War on Poverty campaign, the South was home to 49 percent of the nation’s poor, according to Pew Research. Today, the region is home to 41 percent of the nation’s poor. But what’s striking is how poverty overall is far different throughout the South.

by Charleston Currents · 09/21/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

FOCUS: In race to move Charleston forward, keep it together

By Leon Stavrinakis, candidate for mayor of Charleston | Forty years ago, Joe Riley left the legislature to become mayor of Charleston. We have all been witness to the kind of difference proven leadership can make as we watched him lead Charleston’s transformation into a diverse, economic powerhouse led by thriving hospitality, booming manufacturing, growing knowledge based, high-tech industries and the most unique quality of life anywhere.

As Mayor Riley steps away from the stage, it’s time to ask ourselves what we need for our city to continue to be the special place we all love.

by Charleston Currents · 09/14/2015 · Comments are Disabled · 2015 Mayor, Focus

GOOD NEWS: Aquarium’s Holland lectures oceans, wildlife and Lowcountry

Four lectures offered by the Holland Lifelong Learning initiative at the S.C. Aquarium between now and February will focus on issues that directly impact the oceans and Lowcountry. Lectures will include talks on sharks, the saltmarsh, seafood, and why zoos and aquariums matter. Also: No offshore drilling, natural history at Charleston Museum, MUSC patents, BAR report.

by Charleston Currents · 09/14/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

FOCUS: In race to be a voice for the voiceless

By Toby Smith, candidate for Charleston mayor | I’m 315 pages into Isabel Wilkerson’s masterpiece, The Warmth of Other Suns. This saga of the Great Migration should be required reading across the board. I see my great grandparents, grandparents and parents, and better understand the economic challenges that continue to be vexing, why the pursuit of education is so very critical for minority populations, and the suffocating impact of bias, discrimination and racism. Frankly, I see myself, my life and the challenges I’ve overcome.

by Charleston Currents · 09/07/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

GOOD NEWS: Library meetings, Artisans Series, Riley fellows

The Charleston County Public Library wants you to share your thoughts on what new and renovated libraries, approved overwhelmingly in November in a bond referendum, should be.

by Charleston Currents · 09/07/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

MORRIS: Don’t panic about market’s fluctuations

By Kyra Morris | Ten days ago on Augst 21, the DOW fell more than 500 points. Then on Monday, August 24, the DOW fell again another 500 points. By Tuesday, August 25, it looked like the DOW was on an upswing, but then in the last hour of the day it fell and closed again down more than 200 points. Whoa! Then … here comes Wednesday and Thursday with a rebound that was one of the best two-day percentage gains in more than six years. What’s happening and what will be next?

Most financial professionals doubt that this will be a repeat of the 53 percent drop experienced from October 2007 until March 2009. Why – what’s the big difference? The lack of a real negative economic event like we had back then makes this different.

by Kyra Morris · 08/31/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

GOOD NEWS: Avery Center to present camp meeting exhibition

A new exhibition of black and white photography of the history and traditions of camp meetings will open with a 7 p.m. reception on Sept. 3 at the College of Charleston’s Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture Center.

by Charleston Currents · 08/31/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

Characters Atticus Finch and Bob Ewell have words in the movie adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

HAMILTON: Blacks not only victims of racial discrimination

By Kendra Hamilton | I enjoyed the Statehouse Report’s discussion of “the elephant in the room” on July 31. But I think a missing element is South Carolina’s legacy of violence against and coercion of … other whites. Two “integration stories” told by friends my age come to mind — stories that helped to shape my thinking, as an African American with deep South Carolina roots, on the dimensions of the problem facing us.

The first, I heard 20 years ago. A bosom friend from Gonzales, La., confided the terror and confusion that descended upon her childhood when she learned that her best friend’s father, a known Klan leader, was believed “by everyone” to have murdered another classmate’s father, a Jew who was active in civil rights.

by Charleston Currents · 08/17/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

GOOD NEWS: SCRA deploys $100 million since 2006

SCRA has made more than $100 million available in funding and infrastructure to help develop the state’s knowledge economy since 2006, according to an Aug. 10 press release touting the accomplishment.

by Charleston Currents · 08/17/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

County offers redesigned GIS site

Charleston County’s Technology Service’s Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Division has launched an updated version of its webpage, the first redesign in 10 years.

by Charleston Currents · 08/10/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs