|
Is your
business ready for health care reform?
By
TOM SWAYNE
President, David M. Gilston Insurance Agency
Special to Charleston Currents
DEC.
2, 2010 -- We have passed the first significant date for the implementation
of health care reform: Sept. 23. That means employers need be sure
they understand the major provisions of the law before they renew
their group health plan. Dependents now can stay on your health
plan through age 26, children under the age of 19 can no longer
have pre-existing limitations placed on their coverage, and health
plans can no longer have lifetime limits, just to mention a few.
Swayne |
Three
topics that are important to discuss in greater detail are grandfathered
plans, tax credits and additional reporting and notification requirements.
Grandfathered
Plans
All plans in existence prior to March 23, 2010, have "grandfathered
status." The advantage of grandfathered plans is they do not
have to implement certain new provisions, which may keep premiums
down. But any significant plan changes could result in the loss
of grandfathered status.
In
November, an amendment was released that allows employers to change
insurers and still maintain grandfathered status. Group health plans
could switch insurance companies and shop for the same coverage
at a lower cost while maintaining their grandfathered status, so
long as the change does not result in significant cost increases,
a reduction in benefits or other changes in the original rule. The
amendment applies only to changes that are effective on or after
Nov. 17, 2010.
Grandfathered
groups will be required to maintain all documents necessary to support
their grandfathered position. Also, employers will be required to
notify all employees the plan is in fact a grandfathered plan.
Tax
Credits
Beginning with the 2010 tax year, if you employ fewer than 25 people
with an average annual wage of less than $50,000 and you contribute
at least 50 percent of the single premium on the health plan, you
may be entitled to the new small group tax credit.
The
actual amount of the credit will vary but could be as much as 35
percent. Most businesses currently take a tax write-off for the
premiums paid, so tax advice is essential in determining which method
is more advantageous to the bottom line.
Additional
Reporting and Notification Requirements
Employers are burdened with several reporting and notification requirements,
including creditable drug coverage, Children's Health Insurance
Program Reauthorization Act, Women's Health and Cancer Rights as
well as reporting benefits on Form W-2.
Employers
are required to provide their employees written notification by
Nov. 15 every year as to whether their prescription drug coverage
is creditable. Also, within 60 days of the plan anniversary, employers
are required to register on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services website if their prescription drug plan is creditable or
non-creditable.
Employees
are also required to receive written notification from their employer
of their rights under the Children's Health Act, as well as the
Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act. This notification needs to
be provided to employees the first day of each plan anniversary
date.
A
provision of the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act requires
employers to report the cost of coverage under an employer-sponsored
group health plan on W-2 Forms beginning with the 2011 tax year.
The IRS announced they will defer the new requirement to the 2012
tax year, making reporting by employers optional in 2011. Essentially,
2011 will serve as a grace period for employers to prepare for compliance
of reporting the cost of coverage. Employers should use this time
wisely to adjust their payroll systems.
Employers
will continue to be burdened with additional reporting and disclosure
requirements. Your agent serves as the best resource to keep you
up to date as clarification on the new regulations continues to
be released.
Tom
Swayne is the president of David
M. Gilston Insurance Agency, which supports insurance agents
and brokers across South Carolina.
Why
give a gift when you can give an experience?
By ANN THRASH, contributing editor
|
permalink
DEC.
2, 2010 -- Now that the leftover turkey has been consumed (and if
it hasn't been, you should toss it out), thoughts are turning to
holiday gift lists. Some of the best gifts I've given, and gotten,
were gifts of experiences -- tickets to performances or concerts
or special events that creating lasting memories and closer bonds
with the people I shared the experience with. These are gifts with
staying power -- the kind of pleasures you'll still be talking about
years down the road.
Thrash |
I
took a few minutes this week to look ahead, sometimes way ahead,
to upcoming local shows and events that haven't been in the news
very much yet, but might make great gift experiences for someone
on your shopping list. These events occur as soon as this month
and as far ahead as May, and there's something for all ages and
tastes.
These
are one-time shows, but of course there are plenty of other locally
based repeat events that offer gift-giving opportunities. Probably
all of us know someone who'd like tickets to an event that's part
of the Southeastern
Wildlife Expo, BB&T
Charleston Wine + Food Festival, Charleston
International Antiques Show, or Charleston
Fashion Week. Who knows, your gift recipient might like this
so much that he or she takes you along for the occasion.
- Moscow
Ballet's "Great Russian Nutcracker":- 8 p.m. Dec.
23, North Charleston Performing Arts Center (PAC). This would
be a great, albeit early gift - a classic holiday story for all
ages, performed by a legendary dance company. Tickets
are $88.50, $68.50, $48.50, $38.50 and $28.50.
- The
Aluminum Show: 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Jan. 22, PAC. "Israel's
hottest dance theater creation, reminiscent of Mummenschanz, Blue
Man Group and Cirque du Soleil." Now THAT sounds interesting.
The PAC's Web site says "silver industrial materials create
a luminous and reflective world" in this offbeat show. "The
curtain rises on a spectacle of aluminum pipes that slowly unravel
and transform into a wriggling nest of silver snakes. Intertwined
coils transform into centipedes, silkworms courting each other,
a huge waterfall, dinosaurs and even a massive opera singer."
Tickets
are $60, $50 and $30.
- Robert
Plant: 8 p.m. Feb. 4, PAC. Surely the former lead singer of
Led Zeppelin certainly needs no introduction. Tickets
are $65 and $45.
- Thomas
and Friends Live on Stage in "Thomas Saves the Day":
3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Feb. 10, PAC. If you know a tot who's a Thomas
the Tank Engine fan, you could be his or her hero if you snag
some tickets to this show. Tickets
are $38, $28 and $17.
- Ron
White: 7:30 Feb. 26, PAC. White is the cigar-smoking "They
call me Tater Salad" comedian of "Blue Collar Tour"
fame. My husband and I saw his show the last time he was in Charleston,
and while he's certainly not for the easily offended, I have to
say I've never laughed so hard. Tickets
are $65.75 & $45.75.
- Cirque
du Soleil, "Alegria": multiple shows March 17-March
20, North Charleston Coliseum. Cirque du Soleil's dramatic mix
of circus arts, street entertainment, aerobatics and acrobatics
are well-known, and they're local favorites. Their current show,
"Alegria," is described as "a baroque ode to the
energy, grace and power of youth." Tickets
go on sale this coming Monday, Dec. 6, at 10 a.m. and range in
price from $28 to $90.
- "Wait
Wait … Don't Tell Me": 7:30 p.m. May 26, PAC. The
long-running hit quiz show from NPR comes to the Lowcountry in
May with its always-entertaining mix of personalities and commentary.
Tickets
are $61, $51 and $41.
Ann
Thrash is a contributing editor to Charleston Currents. She can
be reached at ann@charlestoncurrents.com.
Have
a comment?
- Send
us your letters. We
love getting input from you. If you have an opinion you'd like
to share (150 words or less), send your letters to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com.
We look forward to hearing from you!
West
Of
The
public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring CharlestonCurrents
to you at no cost. In this issue, we turn the spotlight on West
Of newspaper, the West Ashley's community newspaper that highlights
community news, opinions, schools, dining, arts and more for the
62,000+ people who live west of Charleston's Ashley River. West
Of also publishes the James
Island Messenger for people who live on James Island. Visit
West Of online
or via Twitter
You
talkin' to me?' workshop on communication in a crisis
By
PETER LUCASH, contributing editor
 DEC.
2, 2010- - The second of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce
series on business continuity and disaster planning is Dec. 7. Speakers
include Laura Varn (Santee Cooper) on developing a crisis communications
plan, Andy Brack (Statehouse Report and Charleston Currents)
on working with the media, and Chuck Kramer on his firsthand experiences.
Info and registration at www.thinktec.org.
Tech
After 5 - Charleston
The December Tech After 5 gathering will be early due to the holidays
- Tuesday, Dec. 21 at Southend Brewery. The gathering begins at
5:30 p.m. Join us and a hundred or so members of the knowledge community
for a free beer and an interesting crowd doing interesting things.
Lucash |
Report
from BarCamp
The second BarCamp Charleston was quite a sold-out success. I had
a good session on "Launching and Growing a Business in Charleston."
This is a project that is under development, and I greatly appreciated
my "test" audience. This will be the subject of a continuing
ed course I will be teaching at Trident Tech in February, and a
publication (online and print- - ads will be sold) to be issued
at about the same time.
Charleston
Wordpress group in formation
There are several tech-specific groups in Charleston, and go
online here for the best list I've seen. A new group for Wordpress
is in formation: follow it on Twitter: @chswordpress
Compilation
of Startup Resources
These will keep you going for a long time: View
Web site.
Peter Lucash is a Charleston-based businessman who runs Digital
CPE, a training, consulting and information media company that
works to improve the business management of organizations. You can
read and subscribe to the full edition of the Business
Indigo blog here.
Civil
War Sesquicentennial begins this weekend in Lowcountry
The
official Lowcountry Civil War Sesquicentennial Commemoration will
commence this weekend, Dec. 3 and 4, in recognition of South Carolina's
Secession from the Union on Dec. 20, 1860. The
Fort Sumter-Fort Moultrie Historical Trust announced the weekend
will include a cocktail party, lectures from nationally recognized,
prize-winning historians and authors, and a play.
 Tickets
are available for the opening night cocktail reception with the
lecturers from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at The Club Level Lounge at Johnson
Hagood Stadium, 69 Hagood Drive. Tickets are $50. Email Allison@fortsumtertrust.org
or call 843-224-0331.
The
lecture series, "A House Divided: Secession and Its Legacy,"
which is free and open to the public, will follow Friday at 7:05
p.m., at the Holliday Alumni Center, 69 Hagood Ave. Friday night's
topic is "Felt History: Remembrances of The American Civil
War" featuring:
- James
I. ("Bud") Robertson Jr. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University) Robertson was the Executive Director of
the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission and worked with Presidents
Truman, Kennedy and Johnson in marking the war's 100th anniversary.
He is the author or editor of more than 20 books, including "Stonewall
Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend," which won eight
national awards.
-
David Blight (Yale University) Author or editor of 10 books,
including "Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory,"
which received eight book awards, including the Bancroft Prize,
the Abraham Lincoln Prize, and the Frederick Douglass Prize as
well as four awards from the Organization of American Historians,
including the Merle Curti prizes for both intellectual and social
history. He is director of the Gilder Lehrman Center at Yale and
a member of the Board of Advisers of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial
Commission.
- Emory
M. Thomas (University of Georgia) is the Regents Professor
of History Emeritus at the University of Georgia. He is the author
of numerous books including "Robert E. Lee: A Biography,"
which was named a Notable Book by the New York Times.
Saturday's
lectures, which begin at 10 a.m. at the Holliday Alumni Center,
feature:
- William
C. (Jack) Davis (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University) Author of more than 40 books including "Jefferson
Davis: The Man and His Hour," and "A Government of Our
Own: The Making of the Confederacy." His latest book is "Breckinridge,
Statesman, Soldier, Symbol."
-
William K. Scarborough
(University of Southern Mississippi) His publications include
a three-volume edition of "The Diary of Edmund Ruffin,"
and "Masters of the Big House: Elite Slaveholders of the
Mid-Nineteenth Century South," both of which won the Jules
and Frances Landry Award from the Louisiana State University Press.
- Faye
L. Jensen
(South Carolina Historical Society) is the author of "These
are Precious Years, The Papers of Rosalynn Carter," in "Modern
First Ladies: Their Documentary Legacy" and a contributor
to "Making a New South: Race, Leadership, and Community After
the Civil War." She is executive director of the South Carolina
Historical Society.
- Mark
Neely
(Pennsylvania State University) Author of several books, including
"The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties,"
which won both the Pulitzer Prize and the Bell I. Wiley Prize.
- William
W. Freehling (University of Kentucky) His book, "Prelude
to Civil War: The Nullification Crisis in South Carolina,"
was a recipient of a Bancroft Prize.
- Kyle
S. Sinisi
(The Citadel) is the author of "Sacred Debts: State Civil
War Claims and American Federalism, 1861-1880" and a co-editor
of "Warm Ashes: Issues in Southern History at the Dawn of
the Twenty-First Century."
The
weekend will culminate with the play, "In the Name of Liberty,"
presented by the Historical Trust and PURE Theatre. The play brings
to life the turbulent times surrounding Abraham Lincoln's election
in 1860 in a dramatic evening inside historic Fort Moultrie. Actors
and musicians, along with audience participation, will illuminate
the struggles, the hardships and the galvanizing principles that
led to this tumultuous time in our history. Step back 150 years
and answer the question of what you would have done.
The
one-show-only performance will be Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets
are $25 general admission or $55 VIP including a cocktail party
sponsored by Home Team BBQ at Mugdock Castle (a few steps from the
Fort) following the show. For tickets,
see this site or on sight the night of the show. The evening
is presented in cooperation with the National Park Service at Fort
Moultrie. For more information about the weekend and other events,
see http://www.fortsumtertrust.org.
Special
Christmas market to benefit Learning Center
The
Outreach Learning Center at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church will host
The Christmas Giving Market on Dec. 4 and 5 at 403 King St. (off
Marion Square).
Proceeds
from The Christmas Giving Market will support the programs of the
Outreach Learning Center. Shop for gifts and delectable edibles
from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and from 12:30 to 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Holiday
items, small gifts and other beautiful things including food items
will be on sale. Go
online for more information about the Outreach Learning Center.
Quarterback
in 'Turkey Bowl' hails from Charleston
By
SGT. 1st CLASS RHONDA LAWSON
JOINT
BASE BALAD, Iraq -- It wasn't quite the Super Bowl, but for the
officers and noncommissioned officers with the 3rd Sustainment Brigade,
103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), the Turkey Bowl on Nov.
20 was the biggest game of the year.
The
officers, known as the "Enforcers," would try to claim
the title of Turkey Bowl champions from the NCOs at Joint Base Balad's
Killeen Field. They came out of the gate swinging, quickly scoring
the first touchdown of the game.
However,
the NCOs, known as the "Backbone," refused to give the
Enforcers an easy win. In an epic battle, the Backbone defended
their title, winning 24-12 and earning bragging rights as two-time
Turkey Bowl champs. Despite the score, both teams gave a physical
show of strength and speed throughout the game.
Capt.
Lonnie Williams, a soldier with the 3rd Sustainment Brigade,
103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), the Enforcers quarterback
and a Charleston, S.C., native, prepares to launch the ball
during the 3rd Sust. Bde. annual Turkey Bowl, held at Killeen
Field Nov. 20 at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. Photo by Sgt. 1st
Class Rhonda Lawson. |
"It
was an awesome game," said team coordinator and Enforcers quarterback
Capt. Lonnie Williams, the assistant operations officer with the
3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Sust. Bde., and a Charleston,
S.C., native. "Everyone put in maximum effort all the way until
the last buzzer."
He
added that many of the officers were older than the NCOs, so he
felt his team was taken lightly.
"We
had some underrated players who showed up and played really, really
well," he said. "There was no one player; it was a collective
effort, and we did better than many expected."
The
Turkey Bowl is a flag football competition that began in 2009 with
the 3rd Sust. Bde., back at Fort Stewart, Ga., and is traditionally
played the week of Thanksgiving. Each team is allowed up to 15 players,
all of whom must be assigned or attached to the brigade headquarters
or its special troops battalion. Additionally, each team must have
a female player on the field at all times.
Williams
said the event promoted cohesion among all participants.
"I
had some officers say after the game that they wished they were
out there," he said. "This is something that should be
continued year after year. There was a little bragging after the
game and at the barbecue after, but we were back on mission; it
didn't separate us."
Eaten any place good lately?
HAVE
A REVIEW?
If you have a review or recommendation of a book, movie, restaurant
or local arts endeavor, please send no more than 150 words to
editor Marsha Guerard.
Make sure to include your name and full contact information.
Charleston man
father of modern dredging
Nathaniel
H. Lebby, an inventor, was born in Charleston on Aug.22, 1816. He
conceived of the mechanism for the world's first hydraulic suction
dredge, which became the standard method of modern dredging. The
device was first employed in the dredge boat General Moultrie in
the late 1850s to deepen a new channel through the Charleston harbor
bar.
Although
it provided the city with an active and prosperous port for almost
two centuries, Charleston's harbor had a serious drawback at its
mouth - a shifting barrier of sand and debris that lay between one
and three miles offshore. As ships got larger, they drew increasingly
deeper drafts, which made the problem of the bar more acute with
each passing decade. By
1852 the U.S. Coast Survey found that shoaling in the main channel
through the bar had reduced its depth to less than eleven feet at
low tide, down from an estimated thirteen feet in 1780. As a result
federal, state, and local officials began looking for ways to deepen
the channel.
By
this time Lebby was employed by the South Carolina Railroad. In
1852 he had been awarded a patent for a "water raising apparatus,"
a steam-driven pump that found frequent employment on rice plantations
to flood and drain fields. When in operation, his pumps discharged
sizable amounts of mud, sand, and even rocks. Lebby believed that
a similar pump would pass through dredged material as well. His
working model for a dredge that used a pump to suck up materials
through a pipe impressed Captain George Cullum of the U.S. Corps
of Engineers, who had assumed charge of public works in the harbor
in 1855. Lebby's machine was housed in a New York-built dredge boat,
which, christened the General Moultrie, went into service in early
1857. The results were spectacular. By June 1858 Lebby's suction
pump had been used to remove some 145,000 cubic yards of material,
an unprecedented dredging achievement.
Patent
and mechanical drawings for the dredging apparatus do not survive,
but Captain Cullum recorded a description of Lebby's apparatus in
1857: "a large centrifugal pump six feet in diameter, revolving
on a vertical axis, to which an iron 19-inch (diameter) suction
hose is attached, its lower, or bell-shaped, end resting on the
bottom of the channel. The pump is placed in the center of a powerful
propeller under the deck in the hold of the vessel and is powered
by a steam engine, which is supplied by steam from the propeller
boiler."
Lebby
received three additional patents after the Civil War: one in 1867
and one in 1869, each for a "Centrifugal Pump"; and a
third in 1870 for an "ore washing machine." He never married.
Lebby died of consumption in Charleston on February 11, 1880, and
was buried at Magnolia Cemetery there.
--
Excerpted from the entry by Mary S. Miller. To
read more about this or 2,000 other entries about South Carolina,
check out The
South Carolina Encyclopedia by USC Press. (Information used
by permission.)
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Five
tips to drive people to your site
 Whether
you're a mom-and-pop shop looking to expand business or an entrepreneur
looking to reach a new audience, driving people to your Web site
is key. Laura Carson from Charleston's Geeks
In a Box suggests five ways you can drive people to your Web
site:
Word of mouth: Sometimes, there is nothing like good old-fashioned
word of mouth to attract traffic to your site. I have lost count
of the number of times I have had friends tell me about a cool new
site that I need to check out. Remember, if you give people a reason
to talk about your site, they usually will.
Search engine
optimization: I wasn't even going to mention search engine optimization
because it's such an obvious requirement. Even if a site has already
been optimized, it may be worth reviewing it from time to time.
Search engines change their rules all the time - and when that happens,
a site that is highly optimized today might not receive favorable
rankings tomorrow.
Social networking:
Social networking sites can be a great mechanism for driving traffic
to your website. This might seem an obvious choice, but the number
of clients we have not utilizing this FREE form of marketing is
astounding. Take advantage of it.
Provide
a reason to visit: The Internet is filled with so many sites,
you have to give people a reason to visit your site. One way to
do that is to give them something useful that they can't get anywhere
else.
Solicit
reviews: If your Web site is set up to sell a product or service,
I highly recommend trying to get it in front of someone who writes
reviews on whatever it is you're selling.
For more on
Geeks In a Box, visit www.geeksinabox.com
or call 843-608-4335.
Hold
onto that Christmas spirit
"Next
to a circus there ain't nothing that packs up and tears out faster
than the Christmas spirit."
-- Kin
Hubbard (1868-1930), an American cartoonist, humorist and journalist
THIS
WEEK |
permalink
(NEW)
Threads
of War: 10:30 a.m., Dec. 2, Jan. 6, at the Charleston
Museum. This is a curator-led tour of an original exhibit featuring
women's, men's and children's clothing, uniforms and accessories,
quilts, coverlets and flags, along with magazines, newspapers, daguerreotypes
and diaries which provide tangible images of mid-nineteenth century
Charleston and a lifestyle torn apart by war. Free for Museum members
and free with admission ($10/adults, $5/children, under 3 free)
(NEW)
Holiday
Wining & Dining Tours: 4 p.m., Dec. 2, 9, 16, at
the Heyward-Washington House, 87 Church Street. Special 18th Century
Wining & Dining focus tours will be held Thursdays during December.
See elaborate table settings and period-appropriate faux food throughout
the various entertaining spaces within the house. Tour the c. 1740
kitchen building and learn about open hearth cooking. Visit the
laundry area, servants' quarters, and auxiliary kitchen herb garden.
Free for Charleston Museum members and free with admission ($10/adults,
$5/children, under 3 free)
Metanoia's
Christmas Jubilee: 6 p.m. Dec. 2,
Charleston Area Convention Center, North Charleston.
Tickets are $30 per person; $15 for children; $240 for a table.
Advance purchase is required by Nov. 19. For information
on the Jubilee or to purchase tickets, call 843-529-3014.
(NEW)
Holiday
Decorations at the Joseph Manigault House: Dec. 4 to 31,
350 Meeting St. Each year, the Garden Club of Charleston uses this
magnificent house as a backdrop for their creative arrangements,
using only live plant materials that would have been available in
the Lowcountry during the first quarter of the 19th century. Free
for Charleston Museum members and free with admission ($10/adults,
$5/children, under 3 free)
That
Holiday Book Sale: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Dec. 3, and 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m., Dec. 4, at the Mount Pleasant Regional Library,
1133 Mathis Ferry Road. Books, CDs, DVDs, and rare collectibles
will be on sale. Books have been picked for quality with gift-giving
in mind, and prices start at just $1.The Charleston Friends of the
Library, a non-profit volunteer organization, raises money through
book sales to help fund Library services, equipment, training, materials
and public programming. Admission is free.
(NEW)
Annual
Lowcountry Women Authors Holiday Book Signing: 2 to 5 p.m.,
Dec. 4, South Carolina Thrift & Resale, 1670 U.S. Highway
17, Mount Pleasant (next to new CVS). Sponsored by the Center for
Women. Come meet your favorite local writers and get your purchases
signed. Nationally known authors include: Mary Alice Monroe, Nathalie
Dupree, Dr. Ann Kulze, Maryann Reid, Charlotte Jenkins, Margot Raven,
Marjory Wentworth and more. Several authors will read from their
latest works and a 'high tea' will be served. Free gift wrapping.
$10 at the door.
24th
Annual Charleston Tree Lighting Ceremony: 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.,
Dec. 4. Join the cast of holiday characters, including Santa
Claus himself, in lighting the magnificent 60-foot Holiday Tree
of Lights, the official City of Charleston Christmas tree in Marion
Square.
30th
Annual Holiday Parade of Boats: Dec. 4. Parade begins
along Mount Pleasant waterfront at 5 p.m.; viewing from the peninsula
begins at 6:30 p.m. Get on board with a Lowcountry holiday tradition
as this display of lighted and festive boats proceeds through the
Charleston Harbor. View the procession along Charleston's waterfront
or decorate your own boat and join the parade.
PURE
Theatre: In the Name of Liberty: 7:30 p.m., Dec. 4, 1214
Middle St., Sullivan's Island. The Fort Sumter-Fort Moultrie Historical
Trust in cooperation with PURE Theatre brings to life the turbulent
times of 1860, when Abraham Lincoln was elected president with less
than 40 percent of the popular vote and South Carolina soon after
voted to leave the Union. Actors and musicians, along with audience
participation, will illuminate the struggles, the hardships and
the galvanizing principles of this tumultuous time. Tickets are
$25 general admission or $55 VIP including a cocktail party sponsored
by Home Team BBQ at Mugdock Castle (a few steps from the Fort) following
the show. For tickets, see www.puretheatre.org
or on sight the night of the show.
30th Annual Charleston Christmas Parade: 2 to 5 p.m., Dec.
5, downtown Charleston. Bands, floats, marchers and performers
parade through downtown Charleston. The parade begins at the intersection
of Calhoun and Meeting Streets, proceeds down King Street to Broad
Street to Lockwood Boulevard.
Chanukah
in the Square: 4 to 6 p.m., Dec. 5, Marion Square.
A festive party for everyone, featuring music, dancing, lighting
of the nine-foot Menorah by Charleston's Holocaust survivors, crafts
and many treats, including latkes and other traditional Chanukah
foods.
CALENDAR:
ONGOING AND SOON
Holiday
Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Dec. 4 to Dec. 19,
Marion Square.
Saturdays: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sundays: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Find everything
you need to deck the halls for the holidays and fill the pantry
with baked goodies, all from local farmers and artisans, including
natural wreaths, fresh greenery, special breads, cookies and fresh
vegetables, as well as the best assortment of art, crafts and holiday
gift items.
Holiday Entertainment and Visits with Santa: Dec. 5 to
Dec. 19, Marion Square. Fridays: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays
and Sundays: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Sunday, Dec. 5: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
Children's choirs, bands and other entertainment. Bring your Christmas
wish lists to the North Pole mailbox and bring your camera for pictures
with Santa in the decorated park. (Drop-off location for Debi's
Kids and the Salvation Army Angel Tree.)
Festival
of Wreaths: 6 to 9 p.m., Dec. 9, Palmetto Café,
The Shops at Charleston Place. An auction of wreaths created by
local interior designers to benefit the Medical University of South
Carolina Children's Hospital. The wreaths will hang in The Shops
at Charleston Place beginning on Nov. 26 and will be auctioned at
the Dec. 9 event. Tickets in advance are $15 and are available at
the Orient Express Boutique at Charleston
Place. Tickets at the event will be $20.
(NEW)
Waffle
Haus Christmas: 7:30 p.m., Dec. 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 477
King St.
PURE Theatre offers a world premiere family affair for this holiday
season. Come get scattered, smothered, and covered with "Waffle
Haus Christmas," written by PURE's in-house playwright Rodney
Lee Rogers and directed by Artistic Director Sharon Graci &
Rondey Lee Rogers. Stuck working on Christmas Eve, a diner waitress
burnout, her ex-husband line cook and their "special"
teenage daughter are visited by the ghosts of Waffle Haus Christmas
past, present and future in this irreverent comedy which lampoons
our most precious Holiday traditions. For tickets go to puretheatre.org
or call 866-811-4111.
Polar
Express 4D: Through Dec. 31, South Carolina Aquarium.
The South Carolina Aquarium invites children and parents alike to
be transported into the magical world of "The Polar Express,"
being shown through the end of the year in the 4-D Immersion Theater
next to the Aquarium. The 4-D Theater combines 3-D imagery, interactive
seating and waves of special effects such as gusts of wind, smells
of hot chocolate, flurries of snow and movement under your feet,
all synchronized to your favorite family holiday film. For information
on the several show times per day and tickets, go
online.
FOLLOW
US ON TWITTER
We encourage you to follow us through Twitter
@chascurrents.
FOCUS
ARCHIVES
12/30:
Kiser:
Yoga champ
12/27: Guerard:
Hunger, homeless
12/20: Emerson:
Ordinance
12/16: Meals
on Wheels
12/13: Joye:
Court system vital
12/9: Barnette:
The Nutcracker
12/6: Kaynard:
Recycling ideas
12/2: Swayne:
Health reform
11/29: Boisseau:
Idea harvested
11/22: Hamilton:
Operation Home
11/18: Humphreys:
Being healthier
11/15: Dittloff:
Saltmarsh
11/11: Guerard:
Veterans Day
11/8: Stanfield:
Metanoia invests
11/4: Hannah:
Immunologix
11/1: Clements:
Red Cross
10/28: Roberts:
Road myths
10/25: Jones,
Patrick: Schools
10/21: Spencer:
Fine Art Annual
10/18: Duncan:
220 years of service
10/14: Colbert:
Smartphones
10/11: Barnette:
Ballet season
10/7: Bailey:
YESCarolina book
10/4: Crosland:
HeadsUp on injuries
9/30: Starland:
Visual arts
9/27: Vural:
Art, essay contest
9/23: Blanchard:
House in order
9/20: Barry:
Going "social"
9/16: Hutchisson:
Being green
9/13: Schleissman:
Wood workshop
9/9: Kirby:
Sobering success
9/6: Brooks:
Great volunteers
9/2: Graul:
Lowcountry Loc 1st
ANN
THRASH ARCHIVES
12/30:
Spiked
Ambrosia
12/16: Retooling
sports gear
12/9: Looking
for perspective
12/2: Experience
a gift
11/18: Ticket
for downtown
11 /11: Early
for Christmas?
11/4: On
sharpening knives
10/28: On
voting decisions
10/21: Fall
color, parties
10/14: Squirrel
away some pecans
10/7: New
film on Jews, baseball
9/30: Making
It Grow
9/23: Diving
into the Lowcountry
9/16: Curbing
domestic violence
9/9: Shrimp-baiting
time
9/2: Tail-wagging
and -gating
8/26: Urban
gardening
8/19: Nirvana,
Class of '14
8/12: History
is interesting
8/5: Robert,
Variety Store
7/29: Lazy?
Boiled peanuts
7/22: Purple
Toes book
7/14: Art
opens doors
7/1: Lots
to do on 4th
6/24: Ways
to nab skeeters
6/17: Dump
the Pump, more
6/10: Lots
to do locally
6/3: Dancin'
for dollars
ANDY
BRACK ARCHIVES
12/27:
Planning
Kansas trip
12/20: Remembering
Owen
12/13: Inspiring
entrepreneurs
12/6: Be
careful what you ask for
11/29: Our
linguistic heritage
11/22: Shared
sacrifice
11/15: Media
responsibility
11/8: No
"new era" for SC
11/1: "Invest"
isn't dirty word
10/25: Challenges
ahead
10/11: Highway
problem
10/4: Dupree
and Senate
9/27: Haley-Sheheen
race
9/20: Political,
energy efficiency
9/13: British
invasion
9/6: Meet
Dave the Potter
8/30: Gulf
pix make impact
8/23: Thank
a teacher
8/16: Pharmacy,
juice
8/2: Cherry
juice, Gardner
7/26: Biden
on Hollings
7/19: About
Turkey
7/7: Campaign
trash
6/28: Impatient
electorate
6/21: Haley's
thin record
6/14: Daddy-daughter
trip
6/7: Gulf
spill report
MARSHA
GUERARD ARCHIVES
11/11:
Guerard:
Veterans Day
10/21:
Charleston:
good performer
8/19: How
many med schools for SC?
PETER
LUCASH: BUSINESS INDIGO
12/2:
You
said what?
11/11: 787
problems for awhile?
10/28: Eggers
joins Blackbaud
10/14: Restorative
Physiology, ArborGen
9/30: Finance,
accounting class
9/9: Busy
with meetings
8/26: On
biz interruptions
8/12: Pecha
Kucha 7 coming
7/29: TwelveSouth
again
7/14: Tech
After 5 hits Chas
7/1: TwelveSouth
scores praise
5/27: Facebook
on privacy
5/13: Spark
Charleston, more
4/22: Green
Wizard, more
4/1: Encouraging
biz signs
3/18: Biz
fair, CED venture
3/4: Lowcountry
tech hub
2/4: Advice
on working with Boeing
1/21: Co-working
group
1/7: Free
library text questions
GREG
GARVAN: CHARLESTON GREEN
11/18:
Geothermal
home
11/4: Dry
cleaners' set-aside
10/21: Googling
on superhighway
9/23: Shredding
together
9/16: Saving
money
9/2: Energy
standards needed
8/19: Investing
can be tied to ideals
8/5: Trident
Tech green grant
LIST
ARCHIVES
12/30:
Top
lists from 2010
12/27: 5
tech trends for 2011
12/20: 5
holiday party tips
12/16: Holiday
recycling
12/13: 5
offbeat SC places
12/9: 5
financial sites
12/6: 12
uses of WD-40
12/2: 5
for Web traffic
11/29: 5
on dehydration
11/22: 5
for going back to school
11/18: 5
on foreclosure
11/15: 5
for exercising
11/11: 5
to rid roadblocks
11/8: 5
for keeping warm
11/4: 5
favorite ballets
11/1: 5
for your face
10/28: 5
parenting tips
10/25: 5
on long-term care
10/21: 5
on childhood obesity
10/18: 5
homeless myths
10/14: 5
on breast cancer
10/11: 5
beef cuts
10/7: 5
back helpers
10/4: 5
for recruiting
9/30: 5
kids' books
9/27: 5
for kayaks
9/23: 5
for pets
9/20: 5
at the Gibbes
9/16: 5
date nights
9/13: 5
fall plants
9/9: 5
wine resources
9/6: 5
magical moments
9/2: 5
great preachers
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