AltWeeklies Wire
S.C.'s poorest residents support the education lottery to their collective detrimentnew
What if the S.C. General Assembly announced a new tax that would be paid primarily by the state's poor and minority citizens? And that the majority of the money raised would not be used to help failing schools or aid students from impoverished backgrounds, but instead be used to provide scholarships to college-bound high school seniors, regardless of their financial needs? To lessen the sting of such a seemingly unfair system of revenue collection, the payment of the tax would be 100 percent voluntary. How enthusiastic would the average South Carolina citizen be for such a plan? If you could rate that enthusiasm on scale of one to zero, I'd say zero, unless the plan also promised participants a one in a 100 million chance of becoming a millionaire.
Charleston City Paper |
Dwayne Green |
03-31-2012 |
Commentary
Democratic challenger sets her sights on Tim Scott's seatnew
Assuming Tea Party favorite Tim Scott runs for re-election as Charleston’s U.S. representative in November, he will face a new challenger in the political arena: Bobbie Rose, a Democratic candidate and political novice who filed to run for the position on Tuesday.
Charleston City Paper |
Paul Bowers |
03-31-2012 |
Policy Issues
Colin Quashie's pointed response to the world around himnew
It may be difficult to spot Colin Quashie's second-story studio if you aren't explicitly looking for it. An indistinct C and Q pasted to a glass door are the only clues that something else goes on in this standalone brick-and-concrete building on Upper King Street besides the haircuts that take place in the first-floor barber shop. It doesn't help that the logo gives a better impression of a cloud than a formal set of initials, the puffy and bulbous letters joined together in a cartoonish fashion. So instead, a better sign of what happens on the second story may be in the downstairs shop, where one of Quashie's works hangs on a wall near the wide windows.
Charleston City Paper |
Susan Cohen |
03-31-2012 |
Profiles & Interviews
Nigerian rental scammers hit Charlestonnew
“You can only pass by and see how my house looks like from outside,” the man wrote in response to my inquiry about a downtown apartment, “but you must be careful with the way you patrol, in order to avoid been [sic] harassed by the neighborhood security.” Wait — neighborhood security in the hospital district? And then I came to this sentence, which I read a dozen times and could never quite decipher: “As for me, I think it will be perfect to have the keys/paperwork in hand before going to check our house.”
Charleston City Paper |
Paul Bowers |
03-31-2012 |
Policy Issues
What 'Stand Your Ground' means in South Carolinanew
Gregory Kirk Duncan didn’t take too kindly to the way Christopher Spicer, a guest in his Greenville County home, was talking about a picture of his daughter wearing a cheerleading outfit. Duncan asked Spicer to leave, and he did—but not for long.
Charleston City Paper |
Paul Bowers |
03-31-2012 |
Policy Issues
Borgore flexes his party musclesnew
Musician, DJ, and producer Borgore is a driven young man. A few years ago, he switched from playing in a death metal band to a solo career in electronic music.
Charleston City Paper |
T. Ballard Lesemann |
03-31-2012 |
Profiles & Interviews
A city-style development makes strides on Maybank Highwaynew
Not to spoil anyone’s secret spots, but there are only a few places left on James Island where you can really slip into the woods and get away from it all. Apart from an undeveloped peninsula or two off Fort Johnson Road and the still-rural stretches of Grimball Road, the island that Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. fights so dearly to rein into the City of Charleston has largely been stripped of its forests and farms, replaced with one suburban street after another.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
03-31-2012 |
Policy Issues
Donna the Buffalo gears up for a wagon trainnew
Tara Nevins sounds exhausted over the phone. She and her Donna the Buffalo bandmates are burning the midnight oil, firing up their ninth studio album. They put in 12 hours a day for almost two weeks straight before kicking off their current spring tour.
Charleston City Paper |
Chris Parker |
03-31-2012 |
Profiles & Interviews
Southern Culture on the Skids keeps leaving their marknew
Southern Culture on the Skids guitarist Rick Miller is on his front porch, relaxing in the unseasonably warm weather when we reach him. It's tempting to ask if he's got his straw cap on and a cold can of Bud between his legs.
Charleston City Paper |
Chris Parker |
03-31-2012 |
Profiles & Interviews
To Catch a Scammernew
Con Warner exacts his revenge on the internet's worst con artists.
Charleston City Paper |
Paul Bowers |
03-30-2012 |
Crime & Justice
Obama budget would eliminate IT jobs at National Weather Servicenew
One small part of the president's plan to achieve $1.1 trillion in deficit reductions over the coming decade is a $39 million cut to the NWS, from $911 million in Fiscal Year 2012 to $872 million in Fiscal Year 2013.
Charleston City Paper |
Paul Bowers |
03-28-2012 |
Policy Issues
Why do we keep voting for the same old hucksters?new
Standing before the cameras at North Charleston City Hall two weeks ago, Sen. Glenn McConnell looked like he was the one pleading guilty to ethics violations and resigning his office. Instead, the grim-faced politician was stepping up from the post of Senate president pro tempore to the office of lieutenant governor.
Charleston City Paper |
Will Moredock |
03-27-2012 |
Commentary
Why get involved in politics when nothing ever seems to change?new
My sanest friends are usually those who spend their time far away from the world of politics. Their main concerns are their wives or husbands, girlfriends or boyfriends, kids, family, and everything but the ongoing mischief in Washington. I think this is quite normal. Some talk radio hosts and conservative pundits constantly criticize Americans who aren't politically engaged. Not me. In fact, I often feel like joining them.
Charleston City Paper |
Jack Hunter |
03-27-2012 |
Commentary
The Hunger Games is a toned-down version of the dystopic booknew
At its best, this successful, though not overwhelming film adaptation of The Hunger Games lampoons the tawdry neon shades, effusive razzle dazzle, and spectacles of debasement and triumph in contemporary American entertainment.
Charleston City Paper |
Felicia Feaster |
03-26-2012 |
Reviews
Hilarity Does Not Ensue in Friends with Kidsnew
No matter where you fall on the reproductive continuum -- married, unmarried, childless, or with child -- you'll likely find something to relate to in the egg-meets-sperm romantic comedy Friends with Kids.
Charleston City Paper |
Felicia Feaster |
03-26-2012 |
Reviews
