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Issue
3.31 | Monday, Feb. 21, 2011 | What
a weekend! |
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TODAY'S FOCUS :: Living well with heart failure CURRENTS :: The past thrives in SC THE
LIST GOOD
NEWS HISTORY
BROADUS ALSO INSIDE ___::
CALENDAR: This week ... and next |
UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS
ABOUT US CharlestonCurrents.com offers insightful community comment and good news on events twice each week. It cuts through the information clutter to offer insight and news on the best of what's happening locally. What readers say |
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FEB. 21, 2011- - Heart disease is the leading killer of men and women in South Carolina. February is designated by the American Heart Association as American Heart Month and is a great reminder for us to take steps to ensure our hearts, and the hearts of our family members, are healthy. Living with heart disease and heart failure can be challenging; however, it is important to know that with minor changes and proper medication usage individuals with heart failure can improve their quality of life.
In 2009, Select Health of South Carolina introduced Living Well, a program designed for its First Choice health plan members dealing with the complexities of managing heart failure. Living Well gives First Choice members a way to get the support they need to effectively control the effects of heart failure. Living Well begins when members with heart failure are contacted by one of Select Health's nurse case managers for an initial health assessment. They are sent a packet of information that includes educational literature about heart failure. Heart failure can be an incredible stress on the heart. It is often very difficult for the heart to pump blood through the lungs and other vital organs. As a result, many individuals retain excess fluid and experience weight gain. Because of these side effects, members enrolled in the Living Well program receive a blood pressure monitor and scale to check for changes in weight. These tools allow our nurse case managers to teach the members how to identify normal fluctuations from serious warning signs that signal a call to their primary care physician.
Since Living Well was first introduced, Select Health's case management nurses have witnessed an increase in member knowledge regarding appropriate heart failure treatment and self-management skills including regular visits to primary care physicians and proper medication usage. Living Well is an example of the positive impact specialized programs that focus on disease education and management can have on the overall health of a community. At Select Health we focus on teaching our members how to make positive lifestyle changes while at the same time providing a compassionate environment that supports their efforts, answers their questions and celebrates their success. Living Well is one of the many ways we help people get care, stay well and build healthy communities.
FEB. 21, 2011 - Below are two sentences. Please pick a choice that accurately completes the quotes by an elected official. Quote One: "The propagandists and the agitators applied every pressure of which they were capable to bring about ________ doctrine."
Quote Two: "The people and the states must find ways and means of preserving _________. Each attempt to break down _______ must be fought with every legal weapon at our disposal."
In both cases, Choice B is the correct answer. Both quotes were made March 12, 1956, by U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond when praising the so-called Southern Manifesto that sought to prevent school integration. Interestingly, however, you could have chosen Choice A in either case, too. Why? Because the language in both A choices is an extension of the stale race-based rhetoric of 55 years ago that is still being used by South Carolina leaders today. Instead of trying to kill integration, they want to kill or thwart federal health care reform, despite the fact that it would curb costs and expand access to the health care system to millions of Americans. Legislation proposed this month by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who took Thurmond's place in the Senate, would let states opt out of requirements at the heart of the still-controversial health care reform law. Graham's bill calls for states to be able to opt out of coverage mandates, minimum coverage requirements and expansion of state Medicaid programs. Evoking language that could have come 150 years ago, Gov. Nikki Haley said Graham's proposal was "a surefire way of opting out in the way that we want to and not the way the president wants us to."
In essence, South Carolinians have travelled 200 years in time, but are still spitting, steaming and bellyaching about the role of the federal government with states. "We [in South Carolina] have this resentment of the federal government but we suck at the teat of the federal government all of the time," observed Frank Knapp, president of the S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce. What's interesting, he added, is that many in the GOP seem to like federal money "when they like the issue and it's evil money when they, for partisan reasons, don't like it." Columbia health economist Lynn Bailey said South Carolinians who are trying to build a better future for the state often encounter leaders saddled by the past. "I'm always astounded in South Carolina with how we are willing to balance the budget or balance our political accounts on the backs of the poor -- disabled children, frail elderly and poor sick people -- because we've got so many of them. And they will vote against their own self-interest. "We are people who are trapped in a time perspective in the past and a negative perspective on that past." If you don't think we're sometimes enslaved by the past, take a look at a bill introduced last week by Sen. Lee Bright, R-Spartanburg, that smacks of secession. He's calling for the state to have the ability to start minting its own currency. Woo-hoo. More fodder for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: The nation of South Carolina. [Which would have to do without billions of federal dollars for roads, bridges, prisons, health care, education and more. How bright would that be?]
To Charleston
Currents:
SC
Launch, an SCRA affiliate, presented a "big check" representing
a $200,000 investment to its most recent Portfolio Company,
GreenWizard Inc., during a networking reception on Thursday.
GreenWizard
is a technology company offering a Web-based software solution for architects,
engineers and contractors to search, compare, buy and document green building
materials from thousands of manufacturers. SCRA has provided funding and support, through its SC Launch program, for 188 qualified entities since its inception in 2006. The SC Launch program has attracted more than $104 million in add-on, private equity investment funding in South Carolina knowledge-based, startup companies. Main library closed Feb. 26-28 for maintenance The Charleston County Public Library will close its Main Library location at 68 Calhoun St. from Feb. 26 to Feb. 28 for maintenance. The 13-year-old
building's cooling towers will be replaced during the closure, which requires
using a crane to remove and replace the towers on the Library's roof.
The building will reopen Tuesday, March 1 at 9 a.m.
In the period between 1880 and 1920, opera houses flourished in communities across South Carolina. Beginning in the 1880s, as the state recovered from the Civil War, opera houses provided live entertainment for citizens who were able to afford leisure activities. By 1915 there were opera houses in Columbia, Sumter, Greenville, Florence, Newberry, Darlington, Laurens, Marion, Abbeville, and Bishopville, among other communities.
Especially in the larger towns, opera houses were imposing, architecturally distinctive buildings with elaborate interiors. Newberry's three-story brick opera house, featuring a bell tower, was constructed in 1882. Sumter's 1893 opera house was a three-story, Richardson Romanesque stone structure with a 100-foot clock tower. Columbia's second opera house, built in 1900, was three stories with two towers. It had a large stage, concealed overhead machinery for curtains and scenery, an orchestra pit, spectator boxes, and two galleries. In smaller communities, opera houses were more modest and often located on the second floor of multi-purpose buildings. For example, the opera house in Laurens was situated above the city hall, and Marion's opera house was on the second floor of a building that housed the courtroom, jail, and fire department on the first floor. "Road shows" that traveled the country provided dramatic productions, musical comedies, operas, minstrel shows, and other live entertainment. Columbia's opera house booked Broadway hits and stars such as Sarah Bernhardt, Ethel Barrymore, Lillian Russell, and Nat Goodwin. Even in a smaller community such as Abbeville, special trains brought theater patrons from nearby towns to see traveling shows such as the Klansman, Yankee Drummer, the Ziegfeld Follies, or an escape artist. The Marion Opera House featured traveling theatrical companies as well as local talent. By the 1930s the new sound movies had eclipsed live entertainment, and some of the opera houses converted to motion picture theaters. By 1941 "South Carolina: A Guide to the Palmetto State" reported, "Most of the old opera houses in the State have now been pre-empted for movie theatres." In the decades after 1930 most of the opera houses in the state were demolished. A few survived, however, and in the last decades of the twentieth century several of them were restored, including the Abbeville Opera House, the Sumter Opera House, the Marion Opera House, and the Newberry Opera House.
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Address: P.O. Box. 22261 | Charleston, SC 29413 UNSUBSCRIBE We hope you'll keep receiving the great news and information from CharlestonCurrents.com, but if you need to unsubscribe, click here. © 2008-2011, Statehouse Report LLC. All rights reserved. Charleston Currents is published every Monday and Thursday by Statehouse Report LLC, PO Box 22261, Charleston, SC 29413. |
Duo's favorite five
With a name like the Cobblestone Duo, it's a sure bet that these David Archer and George Kenny, who appeared at Freshfields Village this past weekend, are Lowcountry artists. We asked them to name their top five all-time favorite artists or albums. Here's their list:
"People want
economy and they will pay any price to get it."
Black History Celebration: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Feb. 23. Trident Technical College's Berkeley Campus in Moncks Corner will hold its celebration of Black History Month in the library.
Window Exhibit: Through Feb 28, 2011, The Meeting Place, 1077 East Montague Ave. North Charleston. In his exhibit, "Sea and Shore," local artist David Springer will present metal sculpture depictions of Lowcountry birds, plants, and wildlife. Window viewing, free parking. CALENDAR: ONGOING AND SOON College financial aid workshop: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., March 5, at Trident Technical College Main Campus (7000 Rivers Ave., North Charleston) in the Complex for Economic Development (Bldg. 920, Room 791). Trident Technical College is a local site for College Goal South Carolina, part of a nationwide effort to help students and parents learn more about college financial aid. This workshop will help students and their families learn about available financial aid options and how to qualify and apply for college financial aid such as grants, loans, scholarships, work-study and other forms of assistance. For more information about the event, call Josephine Brown at 843-574-6777. For information about College Goal South Carolina or to pre-register for a chance to win an iPod Touch, visit this site.
Cuban Exhibit: Through March 28, City Gallery at Waterfront Park. An opening reception for Polaridad Complementaria: Recent Works from Cuba, an exhibition that introduces North America to the new generation of influential artists from Cuba, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 4. The exhibit offers more than 40 works of painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, video and installation art to provide a sense of the serious aesthetic and conceptual concerns that characterizes Cuban art today. The City Gallery, at 34 Prioleau St., is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
FOCUS ARCHIVES 4/21:
Gilbert:
Uganda trip DOUG BOSTIC: CIVIL WAR HISTORY 2/10: War prep offsets horseracingANDY BRACK 4/18:
Better
redistricting MARSHA GUERARD 2/17: Law student's brief2/10: Simple act of beauty 1/3: Spoleto plans 12/27: Hunger, homeless 11/11: Veterans Day 10/21: Charleston: good performer 8/19: How many med schools for SC? PETER LUCASH: BUSINESS INDIGO 2/10:
Companies
at conferences GREG GARVAN: CHARLESTON GREEN 2/17:
Veggies
profitable ANN THRASH: FOOD & DRINK 2/7:
Frozen
Frogmore stew LIST ARCHIVES 4/21:
5
on SC Path |
As
part of the Living Well program, members also receive an individually
tailored Living Well Care Plan. All Living Well Care Plans are based on
heart failure treatment guidelines established by the American Heart Association
and the American College of Cardiology. Nurse case managers further develop
Living Well Care Plans by using information gained in the initial health
assessment conducted at the beginning of the program with the member.
Each Living Well Care Plan includes specific goals and measures related
to the importance of daily weight monitoring, salt restriction, medication
use, cholesterol and a reminder of the triggers that indicate it's time
to visit their physician.
The
way today's GOP leaders in South Carolina are talking about health care
is straight out of the "induce fear" playbook that naysayers
have been using here for years. In the 1820s, John C. Calhoun developed
the theory of nullification to promote the rights of states to nullify
federal laws. Southerners used charged language based on nullification
in the days leading to the Civil War. And they invoked the same kind of
divisive rhetoric for decades to prop up segregation and Jim Crow laws.
Andy
Brack, publisher of Charleston Currents, can be reached at: 
The
public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring Charleston
Currents to you at no cost. In this issue, we shine the spotlight on a
featured nonprofit partner, the Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy. The
organization provides pastoral care and counseling for employees and families
of law enforcement, emergency service agencies and the general public.
The Judeo-Christian organization also helps law enforcement and emergency
officials in notifications about unexpected deaths, hostage negotiations
and other emergency situations. It provides follow-up visitations in the
home or hospital for crime victims and their families. The Coastal Crisis
Chaplaincy: Providing pastoral care and counseling throughout the Charleston
area 24 hours a day. More: 
The
Palmetto Pump & USA Climbing Competition takes place on the park's
50-foot tall climbing wall, which features more than 4,500 square feet
of climbing space. 
(NEW)
The Golden Oscar: 7:30 p.m., Feb. 25 and 26, and
March 4 and 5; and 3 p.m. Feb. 27, Charleston Ballet
Theatre's Black Box Theatre, 477 King St. Featured are dances inspired
by the greatest Oscar-nominated films of the past decade choreographed
by veteran dancers Jonathan Tabbert and Stephen Gabriel along with Resident
Choreographer Jill Eathorne Bahr. The Golden Oscar, not to be confused
with the fundraiser Oscar Gala 2011, which occurs the night before, is
the perfect night of entertainment for movie buffs gearing up for Oscar's
big night on Feb. 27. Tickets: $32 & $30 and students $15. Box Office:
723-7334, 477 King St. and online at 
(NEW)
Scrabble
Tournament:
2 p.m., March 20, Taco Boy restaurant. New local publishing company
Surcee Press will host a Scrabble Tournament on the outdoor patio at Taco
Boy. Official Scrabble competition rules and dictionary will be enforced
by timers, scorekeepers and judges. The three-round tournament will consist
of 64 competitors. The winner will receive a cash prize, and there will
be rewards for all who participate. Proceeds will go towards the June
2011 publication of "A New Guide to Charleston" by Surcee Press.
To purchase $12 competition and/or $24 board donation tickets, or to learn
more,