Two big news stories of the day: the memorial for Michael Jackson, and the Tour de France team time trial.  Elsewhere in the Lowcountry:

Kristin has a few things about Charleston that she’d like to see changed

I do think the city has done a great job at attracting visitors to our beautiful town, and certainly these same visitors provide for many people’s livelihoods and I enjoy their energy and awe.   Our Mayor has had a hand in the injection of life and business in Downtown. And our city has been a stalwart for the protection of our historic and natural integrity, all of which make it the amazing place it is today.  But you know, I feel like more could be done to make Charleston a place for locals and tourists alike, a town that shows the rest of the world, there’s no stopping us.

I see bikes

after a full weekend of watching bikers, I ended up back at the airport, waiting for the bus. It struck me as ridiculous that the bus stop at the airport is marked by a tiny sign all the way at the end of the terminal exit with no bench, no cover, and a solid 50 feet from all other ground transportation. The only reason I knew it was there and what time the bus came was because I looked it up ahead of time. When I got on the bus (after being soaked in the rain waiting), I made a comment to the bus driver who proceeded to explained to me that the airport gets a cut of the profit from all of the vans and taxis that do pick ups there, so they are not exactly hanging banners about the $1.50 bus rides into town.

Remember Carrotmob back in the spring?  It seems a short documentary was made about it, which is being released tomorrow.  They’re also looking for input on the next Carrotmob.  Meet at Yo Burrito tomorrow (July 8 ) at 7PM if you’re interested.  Ride your bike and you’ll even get a free drink!

Keeping with the green theme, it’s Charleston Water Week!  Go Green Charleston is helping out by featuring a local water themed business/non-profit.  Today they featured Charleston Waterkeeper.

Charleston Waterkeeper was founded in September 2008 to preserve and protect the integrity of Charleston’s waterways by defending against pollution and contamination. Their focus is on our three major rivers and the tributaries that feed into them. By being an advocate for water, listening to local residents, and working with local officials, Charleston Waterkeeper is making a positive impact on our waterways that will last for generations. I really dig their abandoned boat program.

In a fine example of live news reporting via Twitter, The Digitel guys covered the fire that broke out behind the Old Towne Restaurant on King St.  If you were on Twitter this morning, you got to see photo updates in their twitter stream live as events were happening.

Mike is retiring from the blog scene on his 6th blog-iversary.

Over the last 6 years I’ve written 3274 posts.  This one, #3275, will be my last.  It has been apparent to me, and probably to you, that in the last year or two I’ve lost my enthusiasm for blogging.  Occasionally I have something to say but most of the time I’ve been filling space with pet and backyard wildlife photos.  I recently heard someone say, “If it isn’t fun, why are you doing it?”  That pretty much sums it up.  Why, indeed?

Don’t worry, you can still come to the meetups, Mike .

After last week’s setback, Geoff is back on the road.  His first stop after leaving Charleston was a place called Woodford, SC.

Recently, Patriot’s Point got a big bucketload of cash from the state for repairs to the USS Laffey.  It’s only the beginning though.  First it has to make it to drydock at the Detyens shipyard.

The plan for the LAFFEY includes hauling it out of the harbor and having a tug boat drag it three hours to Detyens Shipyard in North Charleston. Those plans seem simple, but officials are concerned about what could happen to the ship as it is being transported.

The first obstacle, they say, is timing. Officials are waiting on a high tide on August 19 to get the LAFFEY over a ridge that is located behind the ship.

“We cannot afford for that ship to bump on anything going out,” Trammell added. “The hull is so fragile, we can’t do that. We have to make sure there is plenty of water under the ship when we take it out.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 at 4:14 pm by Eugene and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.