Charleston Currents

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BRACK: Remembering Leo

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | A friend died last week and I’ll miss his wise counsel and long, engaging conversations.

Leo Fishman, a Massachusetts-born Washington lawyer who retired to the Lowcountry, believed in something many Americans seem to have forgotten – the vital need to protect and promote the common good to keep our democracy strong.

Leo knew the country gets in trouble when private, often selfish agendas impede that which is best for all. Investing in the common good got America out of the Great Depression and won World War II because Americans worked together to meet common goals. Investing in interstate highways, education for veterans through the G.I. Bill and even the space program moved our democracy forward.

by Andy Brack · 01/18/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

Gov. Nikki Haley gives the 2015 State of the State address, 2015.

BRACK: Haley joins the establishment

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Removal of the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds is the gift that keeps on giving for Gov. Nikki Haley.

Not only will she receive a major leadership award Jan. 12 from Furman’s Riley Institute for her role in taking down the flag, she’s been tapped to give the national GOP response to President Obama’s final State of the Union address.

Cynics easily spin the speech as little more than an attempt to illustrate that Republicans can be brown and female, not just white and male. Others may take it a step further and say the nationally-televised response is political payback.

by Andy Brack · 01/11/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

HOLMES: Charleston is now a real seller’s market

By Doug Holmes | The real estate market in Charleston in 2015 was awesome and record-setting. It was the third busiest year ever in sales. We sold 15,486 residential units with a record median sales price of $235,000.

by Doug Holmes · 01/11/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Real estate, Views

BRACK: New year brings new look at how we’re doing as community

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Just as individuals review how they’re doing at the beginning of a new year, a practice that fuels resolutions that seek to transform lives, maybe now is a good time to take a reading of how our county as a whole is doing based on an array of statistics.

For this, we turn to CountyHealthRankings.org, a collaborative tool by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute that offers accessibility to data to seek to build awareness of factors that influence health across the United States and engage leaders to create change to make places healthier.

by Andy Brack · 01/04/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

FOCUS: Advice on financial resolutions for the new year

By Kyra Morris, contributing editor | It’s almost January, a time for new beginnings. The holidays are just about over. Now it’s time to pay for the festivities. We often say to ourselves, “I’m going to do it differently this year.” Then we ask ourselves, “Is it worth the effort?” So many resolutions go unresolved and undone. So – can the New Year truly find you a better person.

Prior years’ studies show that around 51 percent of those who make resolutions regarding their finances feel they are better off financially after just one year. That’s over half. The percentages are in your favor. With a little forethought and some self-motivation, you can do it. Identify your goals and desires, and then develop your plan. Your financial resolutions may improve your overall financial health.

by Kyra Morris · 12/28/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Money, Views

BRACK: Too many dying in South Carolina traffic wrecks

By Andy Brack | Too many South Carolinians are dying in traffic wrecks as more state residents take to the road due, in part, to less expensive fuel.
As reported Friday by Statehouse Report, some 930 people died as of Christmas Eve on South Carolina roads in 2015. That’s 133 more people than died in wrecks in 2014 and it’s more than any year since 2007 when 1,077 people died on the state’s highways.

by Andy Brack · 12/28/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: Make smart investments with robust economy

By Andy Brack

DEC. 21, 2015 | The good thing about budgeting on the conservative side is that when things go well, there’s a little extra money left over.
On a national level, the stock market is relatively robust. Overall growth is pretty steady. The dollar is strong. And the federal deficit is the lowest since 2007. Things seem to be going so well that the Federal Reserve this week finally lifted its benchmark interest rate from zero to 0.25 percent, a long-expected minor rise intended to rein in the economy a little bit.

by Andy Brack · 12/21/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: Let’s have some real gun sense in S.C.

By Andy Brack | Somewhere recently on Facebook, I came across a cartoon that showed a guy sitting on a beach enjoying a drink. The caption read something like, “Another sunny day on the beach in Australia without an outbreak of gun violence.”

The same can’t be said for America. An average of 90 people a day die somehow in the United States because of a guns. In the 35 years since musician John Lennon was shot five times in the back by a man with a revolver, more than 1.1 million Americans have died because of guns.

by Andy Brack · 12/14/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: Legislature needs more strategic, long-term thinking

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Parents routinely tell their children to be smart about how they act. The state needs to take the same advice.

Case in point: South Carolina’s energy policy. Since the early 1990s, the state of South Carolina has actually had a policy to set a comprehensive state energy plan. But it’s been pretty toothless — a plan in name only, with all sorts of nice-sounding 00_icon_brackgoals that don’t hold policymakers or anybody accountable.

by Andy Brack · 12/07/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: Pandering to fear isn’t the American way

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Recall Thanksgiving afternoon as you watched football and digested turkey after giving much thanks for your freedom, blessings and family.

Imagine hearing the doorbell as you’re dozing. At the door is a young brown woman, heavy with child. She’s wearing a scarf on her head. On the street, you see a beat-up car with a man inside.

by Andy Brack · 11/30/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views