Charleston Currents

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FOCUS: Two dozen cute dogs adopted at Pup Bowl IV

By Rob Byko, contributing photographer | Pup Bowl IV, billed locally as “the most adorable football game ever, was held for three hours Saturday at Mount Pleasant’s Towne Centre.

Charleston Animal Society suited up 17 rookie free agents and a handful of older veterans – known affectionately as “retired players. They strutted their stuff in front of nearly 250 people gathered at The Oaks to watch part in the action. The crowd was masked-up and tried to remain socially distant as all anxiously awaited kickoff.

The event, a pet adoption and family-fun benefit, also featured live music, balloon animals, food, snacks and fund-raising for the society.

With game-faces on, the four-legged gridders rambled onto the field tussling and taunting each other, hoping to catch the eye of the young scouts who encircled the gated turf. …

by Rob Byko · 02/08/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

NEWS BRIEFS: State changes how it calculates COVID-19 positivity rate

Staff reports | State health officials last week announced a change in the way they will calculate the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests.

Ten months into the pandemic, officials said the reformed calculation brings the state in line with others and is a better measure of spread. But slightly lower positivity rates that result should not be used as indicators that COVID-19 poses any less of a risk in the state.

by Charleston Currents · 02/08/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

Fordham, left, with Campbell, who passed away Saturday. Photo provided.

FOCUS: Remembering Jim Campbell

By Damon Fordham, republished with permission | Mr. James Campbell, who taught adult education with Malcolm X in the Organization of Afro American Unity, has passed at the age of 96.

I learned a lot from this man. Here are some of his gems of wisdom.

“You give a youngster the power of reading and you’ve put the world in his hands. You must read the literature of the world. Then you can sort out what is garbage and what are gems.”

During President [Barack] Obama’s initial campaign, I complained to him about the large numbers of Black people who dismissed his run as folly. He replied, “Damon, you must remember that the experiences of many of our people has left behind a culture of despair that will take much work to overcome.”

by Special to Charleston Currents · 02/01/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Focus

NEWS BRIEFS: Charleston Animal Society celebrates 8-year milestone

Staff reports | Charleston County is the oldest No Kill Community for dogs and cats in the Southeast, as Charleston Animal Society said last week in a release celebrating eight years as a No Kill Community.

by Charleston Currents · 02/01/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News

FOCUS: New Alterman book is joyful look of past and present

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Jack Alterman’s new book of photographs is a smashingly awesome retrospective.

The large-format book of 204 pages includes more than 200 photos, some new, some familiar as a frayed, button-down shirt. It’s filled with portraits of people and buildings where crisp, warm light is as much of a star as the subjects.

You’ll recognize Charleston throughout, particularly in portraits of people from all walks of life. You’ll find Joe Riley, Marcus Amaker, David Rawle, Dorethea Benton Frank, Philip Simmons, Jack Bass and Nathalie Dupree. Then comes Harlan Greene, Layton McCurdy, Robert Dickson, Anthony “Tony the Peanut Man” Wright, Tommy Read and Henry Berlin. You’ll find artists Mary Whyte, Jonathan Green, John Doyle and Adrianne King Comer. These are images of strength and character with a smidge of innocence thrown in by the master photographer.

by Andy Brack · 01/25/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news, Photos

NEWS BRIEFS: State seeks to expedite vaccine rollout

Staff reports | State lawmakers may spend more than $200 million to help with vaccine distribution and build up vaccine distribution capacity in South Carolina, The State newspaper reported Friday. According to a resolution in the House Ways and Means Committee, lawmakers would appropriate $108 million from the state’s Contingency Reserve Fund …

by Charleston Currents · 01/25/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

King during the 1963 March on Washington. Via Unsplash.

FOCUS: Kick addiction of racism with King’s prescription

By John L.S. Simpkins, republished with permission | In what would be his final speech as the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Martin Luther King Jr., spoke of sin, addiction and redemption. After rattling off a litany of the preceding year’s programmatic achievements, including effective economic boycotts led by a young Jesse Jackson and what would come to be known as Rainbow PUSH, King shifted gears.

“And if you will let me be a preacher just a little bit,” King importuned as he shifted from organization man to man of the cloth. He then told the story of Nicodemus, the Pharisee who asks Jesus how he could be saved through a dialogue about the meaning of being “born again” or, as the Greek translation would read, “born from above.”

“Jesus didn’t get bogged down on the kind of isolated approach of what you shouldn’t do,” King explained. “Jesus didn’t say, ‘Now Nicodemus, you must stop lying.’ He didn’t say, ‘Nicodemus, you must stop drinking liquor if you are doing that excessively.’

by Special to Charleston Currents · 01/17/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

NEWS BRIEFS: State shifts to coronavirus mitigation

Staff reports | The state is shifting its efforts from containment of COVID-19 to community mitigation to slow the spread of the disease as case numbers set new records in recent weeks the state announced Thursday. It’s not clear why mitigation efforts weren’t an earlier priority.

by Charleston Currents · 01/17/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

FOCUS: Charleston has some really bad drivers, study says

By Samantha Connors | Charleston may be home to some of America’s most dangerous drivers, according to the insurance shopping service Insurify How bad? Fifth worst in the country.

With more people traveling by car this past holiday due to the pandemic, Insurify sought to identify areas with the country’s worst drivers and encourage greater caution.

By reviewing the 2.9 million driver applications in the company’s database, analysts catalogued cities with the highest proportion of drivers with a record of an at-fault accident, driving under the influence or a speeding ticket — or a combination of the three.

Here’s how the Holy City stacked up against the national average, according to Insurify:

by Charleston Currents · 01/11/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

NEWS BRIEFS: Black Ink Festival set to be online this week

Staff reports | Black Ink: A Charleston African American Book Festival will feature author Kwame Mbalia as keynote speaker during the three-day online event that amplifies voices of black authors.

Mbalia

Mbalia told the Charleston City Paper he is honored to be involved in the festival, where his keynote speech will be titled, “Be a Sapper, Not a Gatekeeper.”

by Charleston Currents · 01/11/2021 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs