Charleston Chronicle Exclusives
SCDOT Vows More Fairness, Inclusion In I-526 Widening Project
By Barney Blakeney In the past, highway construction usually meant devastation to minority communities. Local examples tell a sad story of displaced residents, disconnected families, divided communities and lost generational homes. As the I-526 WEST widening project commences managers vow that won’t be the case with the $1 billion, approximately 10-year undertaking. An Environmental Impact…
Read MoreSantee Cooper Sale Should Be a 2020 Legislative Priority, Says Gullah Geechee Chamber
By Barney Blakeney As the 2020 South Carolina legislative session gets underway, advocates for the sale of Santee Cooper electric cooperative hope this year legislators will approve its sale. They make a strong argument for that. Marilyn Hemingway and the Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce are among those proponents. In a recent interview Hemingway, the…
Read MoreKing Day At The Dome To Feature Democratic Presidential Hopefuls
By Barney Blakeney The 20th annual King Day at the Dome will be held January 20 at the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia. This year’s theme is “We Vote, We Count, Our Voices Matter”. The event hosted by the S.C. NAACP Conference of Branches that began in 2000 to protest the Confederate Flag flying over…
Read MoreRe-Election May Be The Primary Focus Of The 2020 Legislative Session
By Barney Blakeney The 2020 S.C. Legislative session is slated to begin January 14 and continue through the first week of June. Local legislators predict this session likely will be lackluster. Because 2020 is an election year, local legislators say their colleagues likely will be focused on re-election. Legislative matters will be a secondary priority.…
Read MoreNational Action Network Commits To Solidarity With Jews Amidst Anti-Semitic Crimes Uptick
By Barney Blakeney In response to the recent rash of hate crimes perpetrated against Jews, the National Action Network last week asked its local chapters to conduct press conferences to emphasize the organization’s support of and solidarity with the Jewish community. January 2, South Carolina NAN President James Johnson, along with Charleston attorney Larry Kobrovsky…
Read MoreCharleston Police Department Deputy Police Chief Taylor Retires
By Barney Blakeney Like the sand in an hourglass, so too are the days of our lives. Retiring Charleston Deputy Police Chief Jerome Taylor thinks of the new phase of his life in much the same way as the sand in an hourglass passing from one vessel into another. He considers his January 3 retirement…
Read MoreA Few Top Stories From 2019
By Barney Blakeney 2019 was an eventful year. Here are some of its top stories: In November, the Charleston Police Department received the final report of the Racial Bias Audit conducted by CNA. The audit looked at use of force by the department’s officers over the past five years and found that from 2014-2018 there were about…
Read MoreCarolina Group’s Old School Party at ILA Hall Brought Friends and Schoolmates Together Again
By Barney Blakeney In 2016, Ronald ‘Pike’ Goodwin and Robert ‘Bobby’ Smalls sat at Smalls’ home catching up on their friendship. During their conversation, they reminisced about previous years when various local organizations held holiday galas that brought together old friends and schoolmates. The pair realized that few of those affairs are held these days.…
Read MoreOmegas Spread Christmas Cheer in The Port City
Many children will have a reason to smile as the Mu Alpha Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. made their way to Mitchell Elementary and the campus of the College of Charleston. The 11th Annual Mitchell Holiday Market was held on Thursday, December 19th, and it was another success for Mitchell staff and students. Reginald Terry,…
Read MoreLiberty Hill – One of North Charleston’s Oldest Communities Being Polished For A Bright Future
By Barney Blakeney Last month, Metanoia CDC announced a partnership with the Lecque family of the Liberty Hill community in North Charleston that will help to reshape it. Metanoia is working with The Lecque family and Golden Dream LLC to develop an eight-unit townhouse complex. The Lecques have agreed to a 50-year lease where the…
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