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 TAKING AIM: Confederate re-enactors fired black-powder muskets Sunday during a demonstration at Fort Moultrie. Activities continue throughout the area this week for the 150th anniversary on Tuesday of the firing of the opening shots of the Civil War. Photo by Andy Brack. |
TODAY'S FOCUS :: Safe drinking water for 2 million CURRENTS :: More "get" need for tax reform THE
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APRIL 11,
2011 - Water. We drink it. We cook with it. We use it to wash our hands.
We use it to shower. We use it for laundry and dishes. We water our lawns
with it. And we even fill up swimming pools and play in it.
The truth is, water is an integral part of life as we know it. Now imagine this, the impossible -- what would life be like without it? What would life be like if all we had was dark, murky, bacteria-infested water? Would you drink it? Should anyone drink it? For nearly 1 billion people around the world -- one in every eight- - this is their reality. For them, water is not the source of abundant life, health and wellbeing that it is for us. Rather, it is the birthing ground for sickness and disease. Water, as they know it, strips them of opportunities for education and work, and it contributes to an endless cycle of poverty and despair. This is the global water crisis, and it steals the lives of nearly 6,000 people each day, most of them children. The United Nations reports that lack of safe water and adequate sanitation is the world's single biggest cause of illness, and in the experience of Water Missions International, it is often the major cause of death following a natural disaster.
Charleston's own Water Missions International is making a difference worldwide. They are taking a stand against the staggering numbers that reflect the global water crisis. An engineering relief and development Christian nonprofit, Water Missions International has been providing safe water around the world for more than 2 million people since its beginning in 2001. Engineers, staff and volunteers design and provide sustainable, safe water solutions and an opportunity to hear the Living Water message to disaster victims worldwide and people in 49 developing countries. There are currently 9 international offices with full-time staff: Honduras, Haiti, Belize, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi and Uganda. For the fifth year in a row, the organization has received Charity Navigator's top rating.
The life-saving work of Water Missions International is only possible with the faithful support of donors, volunteers, and partners. For more information or to learn how to get involved, visit the organization's Web site.
APRIL 11, 2011 -- Michael W. Fanning has been on the road for the past year and a half spreading the gospel of comprehensive tax reform for South Carolina. Thousands are listening. Some 700 in Summerville heard Tuesday why the state needs to overhaul how it taxes citizens. Just as many are expected Monday in Rock Hill. All totaled, Fanning says he’s spoken to 180 groups since the fall of 2009 when he took his tax education show on the road.
“The only advantage of living in a state with taxes too high is we would have a flood of [government] services. The only reason to live in a state that was broke would be low taxes. So I wanted to figure out who was right and who was wrong.” And what he learned, as has oft-mentioned in this column, is that both views have merit. “In South Carolina, we have some of the highest tax rates in the country and we’ve got no money,” observed Fanning.
Among the statistics that Fanning, executive director of a nonprofit education collaborative in Chester when he’s not volunteering with ROAR, highlights in his presentations: Sales tax exemptions. South Carolina collected $2.5 billion in sales tax revenue three years ago, but bypassed collecting an additional $2.7 billion more because of more than 80 special-interest sales tax exemptions. In other words, we exempt more revenue than we take in.
Service exemptions. Fanning says two-thirds of things that South Carolinians buy are services, but the state exempts 133 out of 168 services, significantly more than other states. If the state were to tax “all feasibly taxable services, we could raise $955 million in revenue,” he notes in a slideshow presentation. In turn, that could be targeted to reduce the overall tax rate.
Income taxes. Some 40 percent of South Carolinians pay no state income tax, in part, due to recent changes. That makes the state sixth highest in the number of taxpayers who pay no tax – and it means that those who do pay income tax pay more than they should. [Note: Part of the reason for the high number is that wages in South Carolina are so low for many South Carolinians that they don’t earn enough to even meet the lowest income tax bracket.]
Fanning said his grassroots organization seeks to educate regular folks so they’ll put pressure on lawmakers to make changes. If legislators have to do it own their own, they’ll fall prey to the special interests who want to keep their tax breaks, he said. “Most of what we are doing is providing them [legislators] with the cover to let them do what they know needs to be done,” Fanning said. “If the political will in communities across South Carolina starts to become the squeaky wheel, something can happen and something can happen quickly.” Amen.
The public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring CharlestonCurrents to you at no cost. This issue's featured nonprofit partner is Rural Mission on John's Island. The organization is many things to man people: a hand up in times of crisis and need … a mission, service and faith volunteer experience for the young and older … a caregiver and advocate for young migrant children and a support system for migrant families … a provider of a warm, comfortable home in winter and … a greatly appreciated giver of desperately needed home repairs to make low income homes safe, healthy and decent. For all, Rural Mission is a source of hope for low- and very low-income residents, the elderly and families living in the rural underserved Sea Islands of Charleston County, from Johns Island to Wadmalaw to Edisto and Yonges Islands. To learn more about this extraordinary organization, visit Rural Mission online. To talk to someone about giving your time or money to help, phone: 843.768-1720.
The Historic Charleston Foundation plans a community forum May 9 to discuss the redevelopment of Union Pier and striking a balance in the quality of life and cruise activities in Charleston.
The community
forum will begin at 7 p.m. May 9 at the College of Charleston's Physicians
Auditorium, 66 George St. The forum will include a panel of local officials
as well as experts in the field of urban planning and design.
"Historic
Charleston Foundation's mission is the driving factor of this study, so
it is important that we take a lead role in this assessment," said
Kitty Robinson, executive director of Historic Charleston Foundation.
Country music agent to share insider experience Tandy Rice, a legend on Nashville's Music Row, will share his experiences as an agent and talent manager for some of country music's legendary performers during an appearance April 12 at The Citadel.
Rice's visit is made possible by The Citadel's Daniel Library Friends. Created in 1996, the Library Friends brings noted authors and lecturers to the Charleston area. All lectures are free and open to the public and begin at 6:30 p.m. in Bond Hall Room 165 at The Citadel. Rice, a 1961 graduate of The Citadel, is president and chief executive officer of Top Billing International, a Nashville-based entertainment sales and marketing company that specializes in worldwide booking and management of some of the most notable names in country music. He has represented such legendary country stars as Tom T. Hall, Porter Waggoner, Waylon Jennings and Jerry Clower. Rice is past president of the Country Music Association and his professional list of awards, honors, and activities include Man of the Year for the Nashville Association of Talent Directors', memberships in the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and the Nashville Association of Talent Directors. For more information about Rice or the Library Friends call 843-953-7691. Free tax help offered at county library branches
Garden tour Thursdays at Heyward-Washington The Charleston Museum's Heyward-Washington House will offer spring garden tours at 4 p.m. on April 14, 21 and 28.
Get ready to party like a "park star" at the second annual Party for the Parks Amusement on Avenue benefiting the Charleston Parks Conservancy. This street-fair style party, which sold out in its inaugural year, is set for 6-10 p.m. Saturday (April 16) on Ashley Avenue overlooking Colonial Lake in downtown Charleston.
Munch on food from local restaurants, including Amen Street Fish and Raw Bar, Caroline's Market & Catering, La Fourchette, Husk and Osteria La Bottiglia. Guests can sip a cappuccino from Royal Cup and savor sweets from the Charleston Cookie Company, Sugar Bakeshop and Cupcake. An open bar will feature 44 North Vodka's huckleberry lemonade and beer from Holy City Brewery, the newest brewery in town. The silent auction will be from 6-8:30 p.m. with the live auction beginning at 8:45 p.m. Silent live auction items include a golf cart from Golf Cars of Charleston, two round-trip tickets on Southwest Airlines, a private lunch for six at The Art Institute of Charleston. During the live auction, bid on items from Croghan's Jewel Box, a week rental in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, or a private movie night with up to 500 of your friends at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. New this year is a VIP ticket for $150. It includes a $100 donation to the Conservancy with member benefits and access to the VIP tent with lounge, private bar and a food from Oak Steakhouse. On the VIP menu: smoked salmon rillette; Kurios Farm caprese; CAB seared tenderloin pinwheel with Mepkin Abbey sprouts; and a sweet surprise. At the bar, sip on Wild Herb Caipiroska or "Herbalicious." Tickets are $55 in advance, $75 at the door. The event is for ages 21 and older. Purchase tickets at www.PartyfortheParks.com.
Overlooking the Cooper River north of Charleston, Magnolia Cemetery was established in 1850. An excellent example of the rural cemeteries then popular in mid-nineteenth-century America, it followed the example of such cemeteries as Mount Auburn near Boston, Laurel Hill near Philadelphia, and Green-Wood near New York City.
Magnolia Cemetery, described at its dedication as a "spot most precious to the musing hour," was designed by the Charleston architect Edward C. Jones. It features family plots surrounded by stone coping or cast-iron fences; winding streets and paths with cast-iron benches; ornamental trees and shrubs such as magnolias, live oaks, cedars, and hollies; a small lake; and a vista of the marsh and the nearby river. Gravestones include marble or granite tablets, ledgers, box-tombs, tomb-tables, obelisks, and pedestal-tombs, as well as several prominent mausoleums. Among the most striking monuments are the Elbert P. Jones Monument (1853), designed by the architect Francis D. Lee; the Vanderhorst Mausoleum (1856), an elaborate Egyptian-revival structure; the Colonel William Washington Monument (1858), designed by the architect Edward Brickell White and sculpted by William T. White and featuring a fluted column with a rattlesnake coiled around it; and the Defenders of Charleston Monument (1882), the focal point of the Confederate section. The cemetery also features many fine examples of work by the White brothers of Charleston - William, Edwin, and Robert - perhaps the most prolific and accomplished stonecutters of nineteenth-century South Carolina. Their stones, often cut from imported Italian marble, are notable for their distinctive lettering and remarkably detailed carving. Some of the prominent South Carolinians buried here include the antebellum industrialist William Gregg, the U.S. senator and secessionist Robert Barnwell Rhett, the author and poet William Gilmore Simms, the merchant and secretary of the Confederate States Treasury George Alfred Trenholm, and Confederate generals James Conner, Micah Jenkins, Arthur M. Manigault, and Roswell S. Ripley. Captain Horace L. Hunley and the second crew of the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley are also interred in Magnolia Cemetery.
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Fermenting a brew revolution 
One thing we enjoy at Charleston Currents is bringing attention to the many new facets of life here in old Charleston. Did you know we're becoming a city of breweries? Here are five we're aware of:
"If fifty million
people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."
Candidates' Forum: 7 p.m., April 11, Mount Pleasant Town Hall, Council Chamber. The Charleston Metro Chamber and League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area will host a candidate forum for Herb Sass and Richard Hricik, candidates for the special election for Charleston County Council. Free to attend. Voices
from the Civil War: 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., April 11, White Point
Garden. A concert featuring Jay Ungar, Molly Mason and The Family Band
with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Sean Newhouse, guest conductor;
CSO Spiritual Ensemble & Mt. Zion AME Spiritual Singers. Admission
is free. Parking will be very limited. Park for $3 at either the 93 Queen
Street Garage (garage is west of King Street); or the 25 Prioleau Street
Garage (East Bay/Prioleau). Park for $2 at the VRTC garage at Mary and
Ann Streets, take the free shuttle to the stop on Broad Street at East
Bay. (NEW) Summerville's Got Talent Auditions: April 14 to June 13. Summerville D.R.E.A.M. invites contestants age 8 and up to privately audition to be a contestant at its "Summerville's Got Talent" live competitions at May, June and July's Third Thursday events. Musicians, bands, singers and dancers as well other forms of entertainment (magicians, ventriloquists) are encouraged to audition. An entry fee of $10 is due for each individual performer. More: (843) 821- 7260, email or Web site. (NEW)
Coppertones
in concert: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., April 15, Freshfields Village,
located on Johns Island between Kiawah and Seabrook islands. Experience
spring in full bloom as one of the premier party bands in the area performs
beach music, oldies, and R&B. Admission is free. Reflections of David Stahl: 8 p.m., April 16, Memminger Auditorium, 56 Beaufain St., Charleston. A tribute to the late maestro David Stahl presented by The Charleston Symphony Chorus, Dr. Robert Taylor, conductor, as well as the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, College of Charleston Concert Choir, members of the Taylor Festival Choir and other invited singers. Tickets: $15 - $35. For more information or to purchase tickets, go online. (NEW) Wish Fundraiser: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., April 17. Johnson Hagood Stadium, 4th floor, 69 Hagood St. The Citadel Rotaract Club is helping make a 4-year-old Mount Pleasant girl's wish come true. Ansley suffers from Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma and wishes to go to Walt Disney World to see her favorite Disney Princess, Ariel. The club will host a silent auction fundraiser through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Features a silent auction and complimentary hors d'oeuvres, beer and wine will be provided. Tickets are $20 at the door and include one raffle ticket. Additional raffle tickets may be purchased for $5 each. CALENDAR: ONGOING AND SOON (NEW) Hat Ladies Easter Promenade: 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., April 23, promenade down Meeting Street below Broad Street. In honor of hat wearing traditions and the holiday spirit, all are invited to watch, wave and receive "HaTpy Easter" greetings. More. Social Media Seminar: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., April 26. Step Ahead, a Charleston company specializing in social media marketing, is offering a first-time seminar on how to successfully use social media for business. The full-day seminar will be at the Charleston Digital Corridor, 475-A East Bay St. Members of the Step Ahead team will guide attendees "step by step" through all the key social media tools and share their experiences working with businesses of all shapes and sizes. Cost is $75. Register online or by email. Resume Webinar: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., April 27. Sponsored by the Center for Women, this live 90-minute interactive webinar will focus on resume preparation best practices. Registration required: $25.
(NEW) Homeland Security Conference: May 4 and 5, Charleston Area Convention Center in North Charleston. ThinkTEC presents its 7th Annual Homeland Security Innovation Conference focusing on homeland security 10 years after 9/11. Keynote speaker is Mike McConnell, executive vice president, Booz Allen Hamilton, former U.S. Director of National Intelligence (2007-2009), former Director of the National Security Agency along with other homeland security specialist. There will also be an exhibition hall. Cost: $250 Chamber member/ government/ military, $375 non-member. More. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
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Water
Missions International designs sustainable, safe water solutions that
are low-maintenance and cost-effective. Their engineers' design of the
innovative Living Water™ Treatment System works like a mini "municipal
water treatment plant" (The Washington Post, 2010) and can
purify more than 10,000 gallons of water per day - enough for 3,000 to
5,000 people. Water Missions International also trains local people to
operate and maintain the water systems, which can provide safe water for
20 years or more. Basic health and hygiene principles are taught to educate
the communities, and the systems are monitored and evaluated for their
sustainability. 
“We
kept hearing the state was broke and from our local businesses that our
taxes were too high,” said Fanning, head of the grassroots group
Reduce Our Awful tax Rates (
Why?
Because of South Carolina’s convoluted way of taxing sales, property
and income. Think about this, he says: Before the Great Recession, the
state’s annual General Fund budget was $7 billion. Now, state legislators
are debating a $5.2 billion budget. That’s a drop of 25 percent.
But does your tax bill feel like it has dropped 25 percent?
Property
taxes. The state, through the maligned Act 388 tax swap, bypasses
$150 million or more each year in property taxes. Furthermore, the legislation
shifted $250 million of the property tax burden onto the backs of the
state’s businesses, leading to a high business tax (and disincentive
to locate new jobs here, he notes.)
“Our
tax code is written such though that we are collecting taxes at approximately
twice the rate needed to run government with half of the money going to
213 special interest exemptions,” Fanning said. If legislators were
able to do comprehensive tax reform, rates could go down and there would
still be enough money for government because of a broader tax base.
Andy Brack, publisher of Charleston Currents, can be reached at: 
The
foundation, a nonprofit organization with a mission to preserve and protect
the integrity of Charleston's architectural, historical, and cultural
heritage, announced it will take a lead role in facilitating transparency,
community engagement and the protection of Charleston's historic environs
in the pier redevelopment. 
The
Charleston County Public Library offers free tax assistance from volunteers
with the American Association of Retired Persons. Senior citizens will
have preference. A current picture ID and Social Security card are required,
along with the Social Security cards of any dependents.
Reservations
are not required. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children 3-12
(free for Charleston Museum members) and includes both the garden and
house tours. The Heyward-Washington House is located at 87 Church St.
For more information, please call 722-2996 ext. 235. The April Garden
Tours time slot is not available to tour groups. 
Organizers
have lined up a full slate of entertainment: The Jammers Skate Crew, The
Mizzing Linkz hip hop dancers, a fire performance by the Homespun Hoops
girls, Brazilian beats from Malandro Soul as well as DJ and video entertainment
by Spaced Invaders.
Peter Pan: 3 p.m. Sundays, 7:30 p.m., April 15-May 1, Dock
Street Theatre. The original full-scale production of J.M. Barrie's classic
Peter Pan, presented by Charleston Stage, takes flight with at the historic
Dock Street Theatre . Peter, Wendy, Michael and John take flight to Neverland,
using the magic of "Flying by Foy", the theatrical magicians
who have been flying Peter Pan since Mary Martin took flight in the 1950's.
For dates, times and to purchase tickets, 
