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Issue
4.14 | Monday, Feb. 6, 2012 TODAY'S
FOCUS CURRENTS THE
LIST CHARLESTON
GREEN GOOD
NEWS HISTORY
ALSO INSIDE :: FEEDBACK: Send us your thoughts :: SPOTLIGHT: Maybank Industries :: CALENDAR: This week ... and next :: QUOTE: Thanks, Mr. King :: BROADUS: Reading for clean water |
ABOUT US CharlestonCurrents.com offers insightful community comment and good news on events each week. It cuts through the information clutter to offer the best of what's happening locally. What readers say |
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FEB. 6, 2012 -- We are the two large neighborhoods (South of Broad and Ansonborough) located at the center of the Charleston historic district, whose privately restored and maintained neighborhoods are the draw of our heritage based tourism.
We join our state leaders in requesting a merit-based study of all potential sites for federal dredging in the Southeast and share their concerns that the aeration system proposed by Georgia will not adequately protect marine life in the Savannah River. Such a merit-based study is both fiscally conservative and environmentally prudent. By the same token, we also ask our state leaders to conduct a merit-based study of all potential sites in Charleston for the new cruise terminal and to require an environmental mitigation plan for the negative impacts of cruise operations, also a conservative and prudent path to follow. We are the neighborhoods most impacted by the traffic congestion, soot, noise and skyline impairment from cruise operations next to us. These impacts damage our rights to move freely on our streets, to enjoy quiet in our homes, to breathe clean air and to be free from soot damage to our houses. The entire state benefits from the jobs and tax revenues from tourism generated from Charleston being the best-preserved colonial city in this country. That economic engine and our private property rights to the peaceful and healthy enjoyment of our residences are being damaged by the imprudent location of a new cruise terminal immediately adjacent to our neighborhoods and residences.
The South Carolina Port, a government enterprise, is also an economic engine, but its new cruise operations in the historic district are unnecessarily damaging private enterprise and private property rights. There are alternative sites for the new cruise terminal that were never studied by the State Ports Authority (SPA) that would not cause this damage and would preserve all economic benefits of cruise activity, without impacting core cargo operations. Remember, cruise operations account for only about 5 percent of SPA operations and less than 1 percent of tourism dollars. The economic damage caused by cruise operations in the historic district, including that to our health, has never been studied and may exceed their economic benefit. Instead of conducting a merit-based study based on economic and environmental findings to determine the best location for a new cruise facility from among its six (6) Charleston area terminals comprising 1,500 acres, the SPA instead directed its site-selection consultants to only consider the 65-acre Union Pier Terminal for the 20-acre cruise terminal, effectively disregarding the other potential sites. As a result, it has chosen a site at Union Pier adjacent to our neighborhoods that defies common sense and goes against the normal practice of building modern cruise terminals away from residential areas. The SPA also has publicly challenged a dredging permit issued to Georgia on the grounds that fish are not sufficiently protected by Georgia's $50 million mitigation plan centered on large, unproven aeration pumps. But the SPA has refused to protect humans and their property in Charleston from the air pollution of docked cruise ship burning dirty fuel. Plug-in shore power works in other ports and costs only a few million dollars. A merit-based study with environmental mitigation is right for the selection of a dredging site. And it is right for the new Charleston cruise terminal site.
 Carrier is a "shining city upon the sea" By ANDY BRACK, publisher FEB. 6,
2012 -- You can feel America's promise and power aboard a nuclear-powered
aircraft carrier. It's where foreign policy meets reality.
A carrier
is "100,000 tons of diplomacy that doesn't need a permission slip,"
one officer explained over a weekend tour in the Atlantic Ocean off the
Florida coast. "We'll go where we want and stay as long as we need." With about
5,000 sailors and Marines on the USS Enterprise ramping up for a March
deployment to the Persian Gulf, the integrated dance of the ship and its
complement of destroyers, frigates and other vessels is a testament to
the outstanding training, retraining and more training offered in the
most powerful Navy in the world. What makes
the 1,123-foot carrier hum is its young trusted crew that shoulders and
thrives on enormous responsibilities and 12-hour to 16-hour days every
day that the ship is at sea. "What
makes it go are the 18-year-old kids," said Capt. Doug Cochrane,
a Navy helicopter pilot who now commands Naval Station Mayport near Jacksonville,
Fla. "Our competitive advantage is these kids who can do anything
and choose to serve their country."
For Cpl.
Terry Wilson, a Queens, N.Y., native who now is an avionics technician
at Marine Corps Station Beaufort, the military offered a new beginning.
Three years ago when he was 22, Wilson quit his job delivering packages
and made what he called a "radical change" by joining the Marines.
"I've
been nothing but content in the Marines," he said Sunday over breakfast
on the Enterprise. In his three years in the Corps, he said he has gotten
a special kind of confidence that replaced a cockiness he had in New York.
"You feel you can do anything. Life on
board a carrier isn't easy. Wilson, attached to the ship as part of a
Beaufort jet squadron, and his peers sleep in crowded rooms with bunks
stacked three high. They work long hours and multi-task with various duties.
But they're committed to get the job done, day in and day out. It's an
inspiring show of will that more Americans would do well to emulate. Just about
everything that happens on a carrier focuses on supporting her 190 pilots
and 60+ jets, including four F-18 squadrons and planes that do electronic
jamming and offer in-the-sky radar. About 3,000 people make the ship run
-- from a 20-year-old enlisted man in Air Traffic Control who guides jets
in for night landings to cooks who prepare and serve thousands of meals
daily. Another 1,500 people, including Wilson, focus on keeping the airplanes
ready for flight.
During
a Ready Room briefing for guests, Marine Lt. Col. Nate "Corky"
Miller explained how every flight of F/A-18 Hornets took pilots about
14 hours from preparation and flying to debriefing. Miller, part of Marine
Fighter Attack Squadron 251 (the "Thunderbolts," based in Beaufort),
said jets also took about 12 hours of maintenance for every hour of flight
to be able to "deploy its diplomacy." Visiting
a carrier is an awesome experience. When jets take off from the black,
rubber-coated flight deck, you can feel the blasts of heat from engines
that rumble your body's core. When they drop a tailhook to grab one of
four two-inch cables across the deck, the scream of the landing is loud
enough to make you wince, despite two layers of ear protection. It is this
raw power, as well as the dedication of a new generation of Americans
to the fundamentals of service to the country, that sticks with visitors
to the ship. The image
has been used for generations as a way to describe American exceptionalism
-- the notion that the United States is different from other countries
because it was the first new nation and a democracy "of the people."
No better example of that exceptionalism is the strength and dedication exhibited by sailors and Marines like Wilson and Miller on the USS Enterprise, truly a shining city upon the sea
The public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring Charleston Currents to you at no cost. This issue's featured underwriter is Maybank Industries, LLC of Charleston, S.C. With broad experience in commercial and government operations, Maybank Industries applies deep-rooted commitment to teamwork, reliability and personal service to provide innovative business solutions for project development, information technology, logistics, vessel design, vessel construction, shipping agency services and marine terminal operations, both locally and internationally. Maybank Industries applies a powerful blend of professional expertise to research, analyze and develop tailored solutions with thorough plans of action, combining a heavy dose of common sense to solve today's needs that can adapt to changing or evolving requirements. More: Maybank Industries and Maybank Systems.
Under an agreement, Santee Cooper will get the first 25 megawatts of energy -- enough to power 12,500 homes -- from the farm waste -- and look for more farms to come on in over the next 5 years. More. Also of
note:
CHARLESTON,
S.C., Feb. 5, 2012 - - A two-person team from the Charleston
School of Law won the National Tax Moot Court competition in Florida
Saturday by besting 15 other teams from around the country.
In Florida,
second-year Charleston School of Law students Britni McCarson and Mary
Abraham beat the defending champions from the University of Florida school
of law in the National Tax Moot Court Competition. Abraham, a native of
Clemson, S.C., who is a graduate of the College of Charleston, also received
the Best Oralist Award, which means she had the best oral presentation
before a panel of judges. McCarson is from Greenville, S.C., and is a
graduate of USC-Upstate. Over the
three-day competition sponsored by the Tax Section of the Florida Bar,
the Charleston team argued against schools that had won the last seven
national championships at the tax moot court competition. "This
is the Super Bowl of tax competitions for law students," said Assistant
Professor of Law Kristin Balding Gutting, the team's faculty advisor.
"You've got the top schools from the country here and the finals
are actually judged by three members of the U.S. Tax Court from Washington,
D.C. Our team was amazing. I am so proud of them." SCRA CEO
Bill Mahoney and SCRA Executive Vice President and SC Launch Executive
Director Dave McNamara were honored this month in the Greater Columbia
Business Monthly as being on its "50 Most Influential 2011"
list. Dave McNamara was also noted in Greenville Business Magazine's
"50 Most Influential" list.
"This
is most certainly an honor," said McNamara. "It is a pleasure
to work with developing technology companies and to support South Carolina
entrepreneurs, but to also receive this recognition along with so many
great leaders in South Carolina is truly humbling." "SCRA is working to strengthen our Knowledge Economy and deliver technology solutions to our clients, both Federal and commercial," said SCRA CEO Bill Mahoney. "This recognition signifies all of the great work and commitment that our people bring to SCRA. I offer congratulations to the other honorees for the great work and leadership that they are bringing to strengthen South Carolina." Roper
St. Francis wins national recognitions Roper St.
Francis Healthcare (RSFH) has won national recognition recently from three
organizations: The Commission on Cancer, Thomson Reuters and Becker's
Health.
Becker's
Health also identified RSFH as one of the "61 Integrated Health
Systems to Know" based on the organization's access to care, physician
alignment and inclusion of numerous and varied services along the continuum
of care. The health systems included in the list were evaluated by healthcare
analytics company SDI, peer institutions via nominations and through careful
research by the Becker's Hospital Review editorial team. Also recently
released was the fourth annual Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals: 15 Top
Health Systems list. Roper St. Francis Healthcare was included in the
21 small health systems portion and the only Lowcountry health system
to be recognized on the list. Ratings for this list are based on core
measures and publicly reported HCAHPS data, a survey of patients' perspectives
on received healthcare. Early this
year, The Commission on Cancer released the 2011 Accredited Cancer Program
Performance Report. Roper St. Francis Healthcare's Cancer Center received
top scores in these categories and was awarded with a Three Year w/Commendation
accreditation. The Commission evaluates cancer programs around the country
and ranks them in a number of categories including: Research, Community
Outreach, Leadership and Quality Improvements. "We
have made a commitment to transform healthcare so that the patient is
always first and the highest quality and safety is achieved for our patients,"
said Todd Shuman, MD, chief quality officer, Roper St. Francis Healthcare.
"This commitment is part of the foundation of our culture and these
accolades recognize this commitment to improved patient quality and safety.
I congratulate our staff and physicians on these well deserved accolades."
School
partners to expand kayak club Charleston
Collegiate School and The
Preserve at Fenwick Plantation have partnered to establish a history
and science-based, after-school kayak club to expand upon the school's
existing Outdoor Education Program.
The Preserve on Johns Island has granted the school access to the property and its community docks on deep water Penny Creek to serve as a launch point for the ultimate outdoor classroom, according to a news release.The curriculum will focus on educating students on South Carolina's history and its marsh, river and harbor ecology, all from the front row seat of a kayak. Once the
site of colonial settlements and battles of The Revolutionary War and
The Civil War, The Preserve at Fenwick has a centuries-old story to tell.
The opportunity for students to learn on the actual site where much of
our local history took place is an incredible tool. The goal of the program
is to engage and inspire students through hands-on learning. Charleston Collegiate students are involved in the entire implementation of this program by seeking corporate sponsorships to acquire kayaks. In less than a month's time, students have acquired a fleet of 15 kayaks.
(Continued from Jan. 23 issue) Apart from the development of this unique language, numerous unique African cultural survivals also developed among the Gullah people. The rice culture that developed in the Lowcountry was similar to that of the Grain/Rice Coast of West Africa.
Gullah/Geechee people developed other unique cultural attributes that still connect them to their ancestral homeland, such as the folk art of sewing coiled grass into baskets and fans, which were generally used in rice harvest, rice storage, and for separating the rice seeds from the husks. Some of the finer baskets (such as suuku blaie, a Krio term for a specific kind of basket) were used for storing expensive jewelry. Gullah people are generally Christians, but the Geechee people of Sapelo Island, Georgia, have adopted some Islamic practices in their Baptist teachings, including the belief that God resides in the East, requiring believers to face the east during prayer. The Gullah/Geechee people also added many African rituals of worship, such as the ring shout and the offering of sacrifice. The belief in magic, conjuring, and mysticism played a significant role in Gullah religious practices. The Gullah/Geechee people of the Lowcountry have also developed a rich tradition in folklore. African and slave culture is mainly based on oral tradition. The history of the Gullah people is primarily derived from oral retellings by ancestors, elders, and oral historians. Stories and folklore using animals, such as Brer Rabbit or animal tricksters, representing human characters and behavior play significant roles in Gullah culture. Ron and Natalie Daise, Cornelia Bailey, Queen Quet, Jonathan Green, Philip Simmons, and others contributed to the rich tradition of Gullah/Geechee people especially in the areas of folklore, storytelling, literature, and visual arts. Many Gullahs in the past adopted or continued to use African names and naming systems such as Monday, Tamba, Kadiatu, Samba, and Gallah. Unfortunately the Gullah people, land, culture, and existence are under threat from modern developers. Motivated by profits derived from tourism, real estate developers have built resorts and are eagerly expanding beaches in the Sea Islands. A critical problem facing the Gullah/Geechee people will be mapping out a plan for the coexistence of their culture and coastal development. Federal legislation introduced by U.S. Congressman James Clyburn in 2004 called for the preservation of the Gullah/Geechee culture. The act also called for the creation of a Gullah/Gechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission to assist governments in managing the land and waters. Such developments can help protect this important aspect of South Carolina's cultural landscape.
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Valentine's Day activities
Love Under the Sea. You can take part in a unique date night Feb. 14 by heading to the S.C. Aquarium for a stroll through the facility, followed by a three-course meal at a private table in front of its captivating exhibits. Cost: $165 per couple for a meal prepared by Hamby Catering. Spaced is limited. More: 843.579.3474. Kid's Night Out, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Feb. 14, Children's Museum of the Lowcountry, Charleston. Parents can take their kids to the museum for Valentine's day and then grab a romantic dinner while children (ages 3 to 10) enjoy crafts, activities, games, dinner and more. Cost: $15 per hour for members, with a sibling discount of 25 percent. More: Contact Robin Berlinsky at 843.853.8962 x208. Baseball and Valentine's:
Just what you wanted. With spring training around the corner, the Charleston
RiverDogs don't want you to forget baseball on Valentine's Day. So they're
offering three packages to be delivered on the big day for your sweetie.
The Valentine's Package ($45) includes four upper reserve vouchers for
2012, a rose and a RiverDogs cap. The Sweetheart Package ($75) is similar,
but with a dozen roses. And then there's the Lonely Heart's Package ($18):
one ticket, one frozen dinner and one pint of ice cream. Order by Feb.
10. More. "French is the language that turns dirt into romance."
LOLT meeting: 5:30 p.m., Feb. 6, Founders Hall, Charles Towne Landing. The Lowcountry Open Land Trust will discuss the future of Lowcountry conservation at its annual meeting, which will feature a presentation by nationally-recognized land conservation planner Marc Smiley. It's free. More. (NEW)
Charleston
County Council: 7
p.m., Feb. 7, Lonnie Hamilton building, North Charleston. On the
agenda: Tea Plantation development, energy element of comprehensive plan
and more. Agenda. (NEW) Avenue Q: Feb. 10-26, Dock Street Theatre. This Charleston Stage Show, a Tony Award-winner that is recommended for mature audiences, is said to be "one of the funniest shows you're ever likely to see." Tickets are $38 to $62. Learn more about the show and how to buy tickets. Oyster roast and chili cook-off: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Feb. 12, Goldbug Island. Charleston Bay Gourmet will sponsor an oyster roast and chili cook-off benefiting Florence Crittenton Programs of South Carolina. A $250 prize will be offered for best chili. Tickets are $25 until Jan. 29 and $35 after that. More info. CALENDAR: ONGOING AND SOON (NEW)
Homage to
Elvis: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Feb. 16, downtown Summerville. February's
Third Thursday is going to have a whole lotta shaking going on as we pay
homage to Elvis. He'll be all over town with entertainers singing Elvis
songs and Elvis giving free rides around downtown in the Charleston Stingrays'
FanZam! More info by email
or phone, (843) 821-7260 Homegrown Shakespeare: 7:30 p.m., Feb. 17 and Feb. 18, College of Charleston Sotille Theatre, 44 George St., Charleston. Holy City Shakespeare will present William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing." The company sets this crowd-pleasing comedy in a small American town at the end of World War II. Authentic Southern folk music and a barn dance round out this production of a play about soldiers coming home to family, neighbors, potential mates-and a rumor mill that can bring them together or pull them apart. Tickets are $30 for adults, $20 for students (25 and under) and seniors (60+). Get half off a second ticket if purchased online or by phone (866-811-4111) until Feb. 10. Bird walks:
8:30 a.m. to noon, every Wednesday and Saturday. This is the time
of year that a great variety of migrating birds fly through the Lowcountry
so what better time to take part in one of the regular early morning bird
walks at Caw Caw Interpretive Center in Ravenel. Pre-registration is suggested.
Cost is $5. Learn
more online. Charleston Film Festival: March 1-4, Terrace Theatre, James Island. Partnering with Columbia's Indie Grits Festival, the Charleston festival will offer a $2,500 first-place prize and a week of exhibition at the Terrace. Both festivals will release their line-ups and schedules soon. Click here for more.
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Local
leaders in our hospitality and real estate industry are opposed to this
location. The National Trust for Historic Preservation and World Monument
Fund have both placed Charleston on a special watch list of endangered
historic sites because of the impact of cruise activity on the historic
district. 
FEB.
6, 2012 -- Green Energy Solutions of Alabama is hoping to sign up to 50
South Carolina farms to help to provide renewable energy from farm waste.
The source of the energy will be biogas made through anaerobic digestion
of animal and organic waste. 
Greg
Garvan of James Island is president of Money with a Mission, an 18-year-old,
fee-only financial planning firm that specializes in socially responsible/
'green' asset management. On the Web: 
On
the same weekend in Charleston, a team of two students from the Florida
State University College of Law won the fifth annual Charleston School
of Law National Moot Court Competition.
The
RSFH Neuro-Spine Center was named to Becker's Health 101 Hospitals
with Great Neuro-Spine Programs list. The RSFH Neuro-Spine Center is the
highest ranked neurosurgical and spinal treatment in the Lowcountry area
and is also a Blue Distinction Center for Spine Surgery. Rankings for
this recognition are based on several reputable healthcare rating resources
including Blue Cross Blue Shield and CareChex. Carechex also rated the
RSFH Neuro-Spine Center number three in the country in 2012 for quality
in both spinal surgery and spinal fusion procedures.
Many
African ethnic groups from the Grain Coast were known for their expertise
in rice cultivation long before the initial European contact, and South
Carolina's wealth and fame in the eighteenth century owed much to the
rice plantations of the Lowcountry using African technological know-how
and slave labor. Among these experts in rice cultivation were the Baga,
Susu, Mende, Kissi, Vai, and their neighbors. Both West Africans from
the Grain Coast and Gullah/Geechee people show a common dependency on
rice as a dietary staple. Gullah foodways are similar to those of many
West Africans, whose diet includes rice, greens, different kinds of beans,
corn bread, sweet potatoes, banana cake, and ginger drinks. Gullah people
and their African ancestors used rice in most of their ceremonies and
rituals.
Here
are a few things to consider if you can't think about what to do for the
big day next week:
(NEW)
Beautiful
bulldog contest: 12:30 p.m., March 17, Johnson Hagood Stadium.
The Citadel Football Association is holding its second annual Beautiful
Bulldog Contest before the school's spring football game. They're looking
for English bulldogs to participate (last year they had 54 dogs). You
can visit with dogs and owners starting at 11 a.m. Cost: $5, with proceeds
to provide support for The Citadel's bulldog mascots and the school's
athletic scholarships. More: 