IN THIS ISSUE
FOCUS: New Alterman book is joyful look of past and present
COMMENTARY, Brack: DHEC has trouble walking, chewing gum in pandemic
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: S.C. Ports Authority
NEWS BRIEFS: Expediting vaccine rollout
FEEDBACK: Charleston really does have bad drivers
MYSTERY PHOTO: Close-up mystery
CALENDAR: Perfect time of year to see birds at Caw Caw
Unfortunately, our state’s leader, Gov. Henry McMaster, has taken a course in denial about the threats from coronavirus from his crony, President Trump. The GOP-run legislature is no better at protecting life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Instead, it twiddles as more people die and get the virus.
“We really don’t have any leadership,” said state Sen. Brad Hutto, an Orangeburg Democrat who is the new Senate minority leader. “The governor is in line with Trump. There’s no leadership at DHEC [the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control] and the legislature has abandoned the field.
Staff reports | Just under a quarter of the state’s new coronavirus cases have been reported in the last seven days, according to figures released by state health officials, who are strongly urging residents to wear face masks to stop the spread of the disease.
As of Sunday, 4,520 new positive cases have been reported since June 8. All totaled, the state has reported 18,795 cases and 600 deaths from the virus since early March.
Meanwhile, the state has not taken steps to require the wearing of masks in public. Several organizations, however, issued a joint statement last week to “strongly urge” people to use social distancing and wear masks to stop the spread of the virus.
“There is rapidly growing medical evidence that the use of face masks along with social distancing can greatly reduce the transmission of the COVID-19 virus in public spaces and places where people at higher risk of severe illness and death from this virus are likely to be present,” according to the statement by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, the S.C. Hospital Association, the S.C. Medical Association and the S.C. Office of Rural Health.
Staff reports | North Charleston Democratic Rep. Wendell Gilliard described the state Department of Health and Environmental Control as chronically short-staffed and underfunded in a Friday story in sister publication Statehouse Report. He said while testing supplies were a nationwide issue, the state agency struggled with responding to public needs.
IN THIS EDITION
TODAY’S FOCUS: County parks resume operations, more openings ahead
COMMENTARY, Brack: State needs to promote more absentee voting
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Titan Termite & Pest Control
NEWS BRIEFS: State’s public health agency overwhelmed, underfunded
FEEDBACK: On getting back to work and school
MYSTERY PHOTO: Maybe our most difficult mystery yet
CALENDAR: Charleston #MuseumWeek: 7 days, 7 themes, 7 hashtags
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: Havilah Babcock
P.C. Coker, Charleston: It is things like this [Photo: Good neighbors?] that have completely eroded the quality of life in downtown Charleston and particularly south of Broad and east of Lenwood and the French Quarter. Elected officials don’t care either, yet we elected a new mayor last year to supposedly bring some of this under control. Instead we see city council overriding him at every turn because only one of them lives downtown so the others are only looking at how much money comes in.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | To say that recent actions by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control on proposed changes to abortion regulations are “troublesome” may be the understatement of the year.
What should happen, based on its errors at best or bureaucratic incompetence at worst, is the massive agency should be split into two — health and environment — to reduce its power and make sure it is responsive to South Carolina’s citizens. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
By Katie Zimmerman, S.C. Coastal Conservation League | Captain Sams Spit is in the crosshairs of development again.
The Spit is a 150-acre pristine sandy land mass at the southern end of Kiawah Island, relied upon by the piping plover, diamondback terrapin, bottlenose dolphin, and other rare and threatened species for nesting and feeding.
For eight years, the Coastal Conservation League, represented by the South Carolina Environmental Law Project (SCELP), has challenged numerous permits issued to Kiawah Development Partners (KDP) and its affiliates. The first round of permits would have allowed construction of a half-mile long concrete wall in connection with KDP’s proposal to build a high-end residential development on the undeveloped, highly dynamic Spit.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Years back when my father was a boy, he knew his father could fix just about anything. He marveled at his father’s skills, not understanding how he would ever be able to build shelves, craft furniture, fix electrical outlets or repair motors.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina! (2019) by editor and publisher Andy Brack offers incisive commentaries on the American South, politics, the common good and interesting South Carolina leaders. Available exclusively for Kindle for $7.99. A paperback version will be ready soon. Learn more.
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