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Issue
4.37 | Monday, July 16, 2012 TODAY'S
FOCUS CURRENTS FOOD
+ DRINK GOOD
NEWS HISTORY
ALSO INSIDE :: FEEDBACK: On students, not schools :: SPOTLIGHT: SCRA :: CALENDAR: This week ... and next :: THE LIST: Seven notable hotels :: QUOTE: On common sense |
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 WHERE IS IT?
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JULY 16,
2012 -- You are on Johns Island or rural Edisto, not quite sure what to
expect. You walk up some shaky old steps to a sagging porch and are greeted
by older resident who is welcoming and very appreciative - - but also
a little hesitant. You have come to try to help and the differences in
these two lives quickly disappear. You are two people who will quickly
form a bond and both will be changed - - probably more so with the giver
than the recipient. What strikes you most is the humble and faith-filled
nature of this older resident, seen clearly in the character of his or
her face . You see quickly this deserving person has waited far too long
for help. Sadly a great many are waiting and hoping for far too long.
We hear a lot about the disappearing safety net that has been there to sustain those in need and crisis. The recession is clearly falling disproportionately upon those who already have little and are near the bottom. With the loss of the safety net goes hope. Rural Mission sees the hardships and poverty every day from the human suffering -- a large hole in a roof, collapsed floors and ceilings, bathrooms that don't work and broken old air conditioners in 100 degree heat. You have to ask -- how does our community let this happen ? Rural Mission on Johns Island has survived for 43 years with knowledge gained from the ups and downs and from the generosity of those who can give. Rural Mission's safety net has thankfully been there for rural Sea Island families, elderly residents and migrants who most do not see - or take time to see. They depend upon Rural Mission when no other assistance is offered -- for emergency home repairs, broken appliances, unpaid utility bills, and lack of heat or air conditioning. All of this is made possible by donors -- but one of our greatest struggles is creating awareness and reaching the right ears of those who can help to meet a need.
You can make a difference. Be a volunteer and/or gather your friends for a day of service which will be more rewarding than you can imagine … as well as very eye-opening. You won't expect to see such third world conditions right here in Charleston County. Most come back again because their compassion is stirred- coming from James Island or West Ashley or from Indiana, Tennessee or Massachusetts. Volunteers are needed and appreciated every week of the year, skilled or unskilled. Donated items needed now Rural Mission has many forms of giving where you and your family, business, civic group or church can make an immediate difference. Volunteers have completed extensive renovations this summer on three family homes -- the Boykins, Mungins and Blakes -- and all new furnishings, appliances and household items are needed. Very little could be saved from the old demolished Mungin and Blake homes. The very overcrowded Boykin home was expanded provide an adequate home for a grandmother and six young grandchildren. You can find out more about these needs and many more at www.ruralmission.org or onFacebook. Donated building materials and good used or new furnishings are always needed. A comfortable, safe home is a blessing that many do not have. Thank you Piggly Wiggly and other generous donors for finding meaningful and easy ways to support community needs and nonprofits! Rural Mission will gratefully use your donated points to meet a hardship need, provide food, or purchase necessities that these families need.
JULY 16,
2012 -- Now that Gov. Nikki Haley has all but completed two of the four
legislative sessions of her first term as governor, maybe it's time to
take a look at how she's doing.
On more
jobs for the state: Check. Her administration seems to have an announcement
every day or two about a new industry coming to the state or an existing
one expanding to create more jobs. While all of new jobs haven't been
realized yet because of construction of infrastructure, Haley "gets
it" that creating more jobs in a recovering economy is job number
one. In her two years at the top, South Carolina has dropped from double-digit
unemployment to 9.1 percent in May, which is the 8th highest rate in the
country. The S.C.
Chamber of Commerce, which endorsed Haley's Democratic opponent in 2010,
has done a turnaround because of her support for business. "I
cannot find fault with what she's doing," said Chamber head Otis
Rawl. "Politically if she's stepped on any toes, that happens." On raising
her profile: Check. Haley has been on a dozen out-of-state fund-raising
trips to buttress a campaign account with about $1 million in it. Additionally,
she's been a darling of conservative and out-of-state media in an obvious
effort to curry national attention. With just a year in office, she released
a memoir that got a lot of play, but seemed light on substance. She remains
a second-tier possibility to be the GOP vice presidential candidate, but
seasoned observers say the focus on public relations is related to her
re-election effort or zeal for a higher-profile future job. On keeping
the GOP and tea party base happy: Check. Haley seems to thrive in
finding punching bags, whether it's the federal government (battles over
unions, Medicaid money, federal education money) or the state legislature
(skirmishes over trying to zero out some agencies, recast how state government
is run, get more executive power). All of these public displays of disaffection
appear to boil down to one thing: do whatever is necessary to keep the
base happy. On irritating
lots of other voters: Check. Over two years, Haley has had a lot of
public battles that have made differing groups of voters angry. Most recently,
she's irked artists in a veto that has closed the state Arts Commission
for now, although legislators are expected to override it. She's irritated
teachers and union workers, many of whom weren't with her anyway. She's
angered conservationists with positions to dredge the Savannah River,
which would help a competing port, and to push for offshore oil and gas
drilling. Many state employees are dismayed still about pension reform.
Natural allies at hospitals and the medical community are upset about
opposition to Medicaid expansion, which would generate more needed revenues.
Bottom line: Haley has angered a bunch of discrete groups, but whether
they're mad enough to do something about it by 2014 is up in the air.
Among registered
voters, Haley has a split job approval rating. Some 37 percent of respondents
in the April
Winthrop Poll said they approved of Haley's performance. A similar
number reacted negatively. Among Republicans and independents who lean
Republican, Haley had a 60 percent approval rating, with 20 percent disapproving. So what
does this mean for the 2014 election? Basically, Haley is in the driver's
seat, but she should look over her shoulder a lot. Remember, she didn't
get a "mandate" in 2010 when she beat Democratic Sen. Vincent
Sheheen of Camden by about 60,000 votes out of more than 1.2 million cast.
Haley might
be more vulnerable than she thinks, particularly if the seemingly hapless
Democrats can mount an offensive that will take advantage of her bluster
and build a coalition of the diverse groups of people who don't like the
way she leads or her politics.
To the editor:
Not much has changed on education To the editor: I am glad I saw your post on Facebook so I went to read your education stuff. It reminds me a lot – uncannily – of my work on education in S.C. in 1999-2000 – more than 10 years ago, and the themes I followed (hyper-segregation, school funding, early reading) and the solutions I recommended. Now you are repeating them. So much time has passed, yet nothing has changed. Does it not make you tired?!!! Keep up the good work!
JULY 16, 2012 -- My husband recently came home from visiting his folks in Summerville with an envelope stuffed with treasure: a handful of his mom's recipes that he had loved as a kid. Bill's mother is a great cook, so I was thrilled to see those well-worn index cards with the recipes typed or printed in her handwriting. I wasted no time asking him which one he wanted me to make first, and he wasted no time answering: lasagna. I grabbed my grocery list and started jotting down what I needed: 2 pounds of ground beef, a box of lasagna noodles, half a pound of mozzarella and -- wait, what's this? A "No. 303 can of tomatoes"?
If you're intrigued by old recipes like I am, you might be interested in the story behind the can numbers. According to various websites, the can industry uses the numbers to describe the dimensions of cylindrical cans. Two numbers, three digits each, are assigned. The first number corresponds to the can's diameter, and the second to its height. I guess the old habit in recipes was just to use the first number, because I can't remember ever seeing a second number used. In each number, the first digit is the number of whole inches, and the second two digits are the number of sixteenths of an inch. Thus, my No. 303 can of tomatoes would be 3-3/16 inches in diameter. Online recipe sites noted that prior to the 1980s, No. 303 was the popular size for most fruits and vegetables. The lasagna recipe was from the 1970s, so that fits. I'm still trying to figure out why some cans, like the No. 2 can, are known by only one number, not three. Further Googling may be required on that score. Here are a few common can numbers that you might see in older recipes (including some in the Junior League's "Charleston Receipts"), along with the approximate weight of food you'd find in a can with that number.
Cooking
class spotlight
The family of a 17-year-old tragically shot to death in West Ashley in June has started an endowment that will make grants to save and restore lives. A special charity benefit concert is planned for July 29 at James Island County Park.
In an email last week to friends thanking them for support, the family outlined the new Heart of Lion Endowment of the Coastal Community Foundation. "Individual and business donations will be used to make grants to non-profit organizations that save and restore lives, such as organ donation and water mission programs," the email said. George Stevens, CEO and president of the foundation, noted, "Remembering a loved one through acts of kindness can comfort those left behind. The act of giving through a memorial fund, like the one created for Marley Kanoelani Lion, can serve that purpose forever. It is a solemn gesture to create a legacy for someone whose life embodied that spirit." To honor
Lion's memory, the family will hold a benefit concert on July 29. Gates
open at 3 p.m. with four hours of live music starting an hour later. To
learn more, visit
this Facebook page. Tax deductible donations to support the Heart of a Lion Endowment of Coastal Community Foundation can be made online or by mailing checks to Coastal Community Foundation 635 Rutledge Avenue, Suite 201 Charleston, SC 29403. Porgy and Bess to start Footlight Players' 81st season The Footlight Players, Charleston's longest producing theatre company, will open its 81st season on August 3 with a production of Porgy and Bess. "Not only will the troupe be honoring one of its earliest board members, DuBose Heyward, and his wife and collaborator Dorothy Heyward, but the performance also marks this as the premiere production of this great American work at the historic Dock Street Theatre on Church Street," a news release said.
The production is local. Born out of Charleston's waterfront community in the early 1920's and set in Catfish Row and on Kiawah Island, the work calls out to be populated by residents of the area, steeped in coastal culture and traditions. Each individual involved in the production is a local resident of Charleston and all are volunteers. Adding to this regional flavor, Porgy and Bess is sponsored by Charleston's "Local Since Forever" grocery store chain, Piggly Wiggly. "The
Pig has proudly supported The Footlight Players for many years,"
said Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company President and CEO, David Schools,
"Piggly Wiggly is excited to partner again with Footlight to bring
this landmark, local production of Porgy and Bess to life for eager
Lowcountry audiences." Holy City Brewing to celebrate one year in business
The brewer, which offers its libations at more than 100 bars and restaurants across the area, will celebrate its first anniversary Saturday with beer tastings, food and live music at its Dorchester Road location. You will be able to get $3 pints of the brewer's India Pale Ale, dark ale, porter and root beer. Live music will be from the Bluestone Ramblers and Rustic Remedy. You can have fun with lots of games, such as ring toss, keg toss and grain sack races. Admission to the carnival celebration is $5. Two
Charleston couples among Magnolia semi-finalists
The winning couple will get an array of services, such as a limo, clothing, wedding planner, DJ and more, during a Feb. 9 ceremony at the plantation and gardens. Then they'll get to spend their honeymoon in Charleston. "Here at America's oldest public garden and last romantic-style garden we want to share Charleston, one of America's most picturesque cities, with a lucky couple and their wedding party," said Tom Johnson, Magnolia's executive director.
The South
Carolina Education Improvement Act (EIA) in 1984 and the 1989 Target 2000:
School Reform for the Next Decade were comprehensive public school reform
packages that brought South Carolina into the mainstream of educational
reform. Funds were allocated for half-day child-development programs,
kindergarten for all 5-year-olds, special programs for gifted and talented
students, and remedial programs for those children who did not pass the
basic skills exam. Higher-order thinking skills were required to be included
in the school curricula, as well as discipline-based art, music, dance,
and drama. During
the 1990s a series of laws addressed specific school issues. The primary
purpose of the Early Childhood Development and Academic Assistance Act
of 1993 was to place emphasis on early childhood education and remediation
in the elementary grades. It promoted developmentally appropriate curricula
and parenting/family literacy. The 1994 School-to-Work Transition Act
clarified the connection between school and the workplace by abolishing
the "general track," which did not prepare students for either
technical vocations or college, and requiring that all students be placed
in either a "tech prep" or "college prep" curriculum.
These curricula were to provide rigorous preparation in marketable occupational
and academic skills.
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Seven top SC accommodations The new issue of Travel + Leisure magazine features the 2012 World's Best Awards, which are replete with South Carolina resorts and hotels. Just take a look at all of the cool, top-notch places we've got compared to, say, North Dakota (or even Georgia.): Best Small City Hotels, fewer than 100 rooms
Best Resorts, 40 rooms or more
Best Large City Hotels, 100 rooms or more
Best Inns and Small Lodges
Not so plentiful "Common sense is not so common."
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"Remembering 'Her' Time:" Through Aug. 17, Avery Research Center, 125 Bull Street, College of Charleston. This three-month exhibit of the art of Bernice Mitchell Tate is a material culture, historic, fine craft, and art installation exhibition honoring the collective spirit of female identity and African-American womanhood. The exhibit serves as a personal tribute, a "herstory", recognizing the life and times of Tate's mother, the late Veronica Robinson-Mitchell of Sheldon, South Carolina. Furthermore, it is a celebration of Lowcountry culture and authentic African-American Gullah-Geechee heritage. More info: 843-953-7609. (NEW) Third Thursday: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., July 19, downtown Summerville. Music and entertainment will be found all over town led by the Lowcountry Classics on Hutchinson Square playing oldies and beach music. Jerry Galloway will croon some tunes for the Art Walk on Short Central. Or you can catch the Homespun Hoops for a hula hoop expedition. More info. (NEW)
Taxes, smoking: 5 p.m., July 19, Lonnie Hamilton
III Public Services Building, 4045 Bridge View Drive, North Charleston.
County Council will take up two big issues in a Finance Committee meeting,
which will start after three other committees discuss their agenda. First,
they'll discuss whether to issue a smoking ban in public places for unincorporated
parts of Charleston County. Then they'll take on whether to increase sales
taxes by a half-cent for major transportation projects. Over 25 years,
the extra tax would fund an extra $1.35 million in public works. For more,
see
this agenda and meeting packet. CALENDAR: ONGOING AND SOON Book sale: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., July 20; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., July 21, John's Island Branch of the Charleston County Library, 3531 Maybank Highway. Charleston Friends of the Library will offer great bargains on good books at the branch's book sale. More info. (NEW)
Legislative reception: 5 p.m., July 24, Club Level,
Johnson Hagood Stadium, The Citadel. The Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce
will hold its annual Legislative Appreciation Reception, which will include
a special tribute to former state senator and current Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell
of Charleston. Parks for Tomorrow: Meetings are scheduled from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at these times and locations: July 24, Charleston (Burke High School media center); July 25, Yonges Island (Baptist Hill High School cafeteria); July 26, McClellanville (St. James Santee Elementary School). These three meetings are left to give public inputon topics including parks, recreation and trails to incorporate into the master plan for the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission. More info. Global trade luncheon: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., July 25, Montague Terrace, 5001 Coliseum Drive. The World Trade Center Charleston, an initiative of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, will offer a luncheon to allow leaders to connect on global trade growth and discuss international trade. The speaker will be Phillip Poland, director of export control and trade integrity for International Trade and Compliance at DHL Express USA. Also schedule to talk is Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the S.C. Ports Authority. More. (NEW) The Loving Story: 6 p.m., July 26, Avery Research Center, 125 Bull Street, Charleston. The Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at the College of Charleston will present a free screening of the highly-acclaimed HBO documentary "The Loving Story" which details the lives of the high-profile interracial couple Mildred and Richard Loving. The story of their marriage, which became the subject of a landmark Supreme Court case, was produced and edited by Elisabeth Haviland James, who will be attending the show and a reception, which starts a half hour before the screening. Free. Book signing: July 30, Barnes and Noble, West Ashley. Norb Vonnegut, a Charleston native and cousin to novelist Kurt Vonnegut, is scheduled to sign his new thriller, “The Trust.” The new book takes place near the corner of Broad and East Bay streets. It is the “story of a wealthy Charleston family – nobody we know – whose philanthropic interests fall prey to a real sicko skilled in international finance.” Softball challenge: 7:05 p.m. Aug. 4, Joe Riley Park, Charleston. Louie's Kids will host its second annual Slim Down the South Celebrity Softball Challenge as two teams of local and national celebrities take the field to raise awareness about and funding for childhood obesity efforts. To meet confirmed celebrities and learn more, go here online. Homegrown Concert: Aug. 17-18, Family Circle Magazine Stadium, Daniel Island. Hootie & The Blowfish will host the 10th annual HomeGrown Concert to raise back-to-school supplies for the Charleston County School District. Tickets ($31) are on sale at Ticketmaster outlets. More online. 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. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
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"Instead
of sailing toward reelection by catching the most favorable wind and moving
forward, you have to have a deft hand on the tiller to maneuver around
the mines you have thrown in front of yourself by angering this little
group or that group," noted Scott Huffmon, who directs the Winthrop
Poll. 
[In
response to 
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 SCRA, a global leader in applied research and commercialization
services with its headquarters in North Charleston. SCRA collaborates
to advance technology, providing technology-based solutions with assured
outcomes to industry and government, with the help of research universities
in South Carolina, the U.S. and around the world. Managing more than 100
national and international programs worth over $1.3B in applied R&D
contract value, SCRA has a results-based management approach that assures
delivery of technology solutions to complex client challenges. 
Yes,
that's what you see every now and then in older recipes -- cans referred
to not by ounces, as most modern recipes do, but by numbers. A No. 2 can
is a commonly seen size; so is No. 303. I see these sizes just often enough
that I can't remember what they are without Googling them, so that's what
I did. Turns out a No. 303 can is 16 to 17 ounces by weight. Of course,
when I got to the store, I saw absolutely no canned tomatoes in that size
range. The closest size was 14.5 ounces (more evidence that food companies
and packagers are subtly downsizing products without charging any less,
but I digress). Because I'd always rather have too much than not enough
when cooking, I bought a 28-ounce can and used the extra for another recipe.
Mount
Pleasant writer and editor Ann Thrash can be reached at: 
Marley
Kanoelani Lion, who graduated from Academic Magnet High School this year,
was shot early in the morning of June 16 in a West Ashley parking lot
after stopping to sleep. Hundreds attended his funeral the following week.
Henry
Clay Middleton will direct the 1935 classic alongside musical director,
Richard Show. Performances of Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin,
DuBose and Dorothy Heyward and Ira Gershwin are August 3, 4, 9-11, and
16-18 at 7:30 p.m., and August 5, 12, and 19 at 3 p.m.
If
you're looking for local fun with local flavor, check out what Holy City
Brewing is doing Saturday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m..
Two
Charleston-area couples are among four chosen as semi-finalists in the
contest:
