By Fred Palm, contributing editor | The ongoing raging COVID-19 community transmission that is expanding, like this year’s wildfires and tropical storms, will continue to impact children beyond this season. It is not over yet for them. Nor will it end for them. Children’s lives, like the lives of adults, are being damaged in many ways. But children have much less experience to return to. Adults have memory and lived perspectives.
By State Treasurer Curts Loftis | It’s no secret that money has a significant influence on our lives. While this is frequently made obvious in our daily routines, nothing underscores that sentiment quite like the current crisis.
Loftis
The emergence of COVID-19 has resulted in a societal spike of anxiety and fear, with many Americans rightfully concerned about their health during this time. Weighing just as heavily on our minds, though, are the economic consequences we are being confronted with.
By Fred Palm, special to Charleston Currents | The Union of Concerned Scientists study headlined in in the July 12, 2017, edition of The Post and Courier points to a need to act on factoring sea level rise into the county’s long-range capital plan and beyond its present horizon.
Palm
The foundation of Charleston’s present and future economy and the elements identified in the Charleston County Comprehensive Plan rests on water as many of the county’s other challenges — traffic, housing affordability, balancing a thriving tourism industry with a high quality of life, economic development etc. — is directly and indirectly affected by flooding, storm surge and in our future, varying estimates of sea level rise.
By Kyra Morris, contributing editor | Transportation in the Charleston area is an issue that needs to be dealt with by the community as a whole. The region needs to provide a lot of the necessary infrastructure, businesses need to get involved with incentives, and individuals need to coordinate travel to either share the ride or consider alternatives. Our transportation issues are serious today. Unless we address them, they are only going to get worse over time. The future is ours to plan for now.
Studies have been done to evaluate potential solutions. Avenues from light rail and water ferries to improved bus systems have been explored. These ideas all have a certain appeal, but when you get into the logistics of implementation there are cavea
By Ben Fanning, contributing editor | The most important moment of your day is your first minute at your desk. Choose wisely how you spend it. It can mean the difference between a huge infusion of positive momentum or getting sucked down the rabbit hole into a day of non-stop fire drills and chaos.
By Ben Fanning, contributing editor | Ever struggle to get your most important work done? Maybe even find it rolling from one to-do list to the next without ever making much progress?
When I tackled the “gotta do” work of writing my #1 bestselling book, The Quit Alternative, there were lots of days I didn’t want to write. This important work could have dragged on for years because there was always plenty of other work to distract me.
By Kyra Morris, contributing editor | The nature of Charleston’s hidden jewel qualities is like a cell tower sending out signals to the world – “Come visit. Come visit. I have preserved history, world-class restaurants, renowned golf courses, beaches, shopping, burgeoning theater and a thriving arts community.” The world is receiving the signals and responding. The tourists are here.
This is not a new phenomenon for Charleston. The first “Tourism Impact and Management Study” I found was done in 1977. It noted:
“The dramatic increase in tourist-related activity in Charleston over the past few years has provoked expressions of alarm by residents concerned with maintaining the amenities and quality for which the City is known. Moreover, there is general recognition that the City is not equipped adequately to serve and manage growing numbers of visitors.”
If you haven’t yet learned, South Carolina’s culture places more emphasis in reacting to problems instead of planning to deal with issues before they become problems. That’s just the way we’ve rolled. We should be called the Squeaky Wheel State.
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