10-year-old Pokemon Master in SC + Charleston’s solution to a rising sea might lie in The Netherlands
Happy Friday! It’s Chase Karacostas.
Next week, Rock Hill native Max Lentz will be living the dream of every person who has played Pokemon — getting to compete in the Pokemon Card Game World Championships in London. And he’s 10 years old, the same age that the Pokemon protagonist, Ash Ketchum, first set out on his journey in the animated Pokemon series that launched in 1997.
I, a 24-year-old who has been playing the Pokemon video games with my brother for my entire life, will be living vicariously through Max. I never competed in a tournament, but I knew people who did. The skill required is out of this world.
Good luck, kid.
Here’s what else happened this week in South Carolina.
1. Rising seas are trouble for Charleston’s booming community. This method may prevent disaster
Charleston is facing huge and intricate undertakings as it tries to figure out how to combat rising sea levels that threaten to flood the city. On the table are a $1.1 billion sea wall to protect 8 miles of the city’s peninsula and millions of dollars to create drainage tunnels that would pump out water to a nearby river, The Island Packet’s Sarah Haselhorst reports.
To do this requires pulling together city, state and federal leaders and agencies and getting them to work in unison.
The person trying to pull all of this together? Dale Morris, a man who is neither a developer nor an engineer. He’s an economist and strategist who first got his feet wet in the field of flood mitigation thanks to a country 4,000 miles away from Charleston — The Netherlands.
The Netherlands is possibly the world’s leader when it comes to living with flooding, rather than trying to prevent it. Morris thinks their approach to water could save Charleston. But is anyone listening?
2. Racist, offensive images painted on a popular trail through this SC city
Racist and sexual images were painted along Greenville’s famed Swamp Rabbit Trail sometime overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, The State’s Lyn Riddle reports.
A report by Greenville Police Officer Eric Center said, “The graffiti was racist and sexual explicit in nature with images of racist symbols, male penises and words ... painted on the trails.”
Cleveland Park is Greenville’s original city park along the Reedy River and, besides the Swamp Rabbit Trail, includes the Greenville Zoo, tennis courts and playground equipment.
City spokesperson Beth Brotherton said, “Not only is the graffiti offensive, it is a drain on city resources.” She said the city intends to investigate fully and hold the perpetrators accountable.
3. Like clockwork, hordes of these birds flock to Lake Murray each summer. What draws them?
Odds are, if you’ve been to Lake Murray in the summertime, you’ve seen thousands of indigo birds dotting the Carolina sky.
Purple Martins are a local phenomenon that visit Bomb Island every summer in July and August. First discovered on the island in 1988, the birds visit North America in the summer but travel back down to Brazil during the colder months.
Why they choose this particular island year after year is a mystery that has fascinated lake-goers and birdwatchers for decades.
The warm climate, a natural barrier of protection from predators and a bountiful population of insects entices the Purple Martins each year to reunite at Lake Murray.
The State’s Holly Poag dove into what draws these beautiful creatures to The Midlands. Read his story to find out more.
4. ‘Bored’ teenage tourists tie up alligator during vacation on Hilton Head, police say
South Carolina’s laws are clear — and so are the news reports that surface again and again each year — don’t mess with alligators.
Yet last week, three teenagers captured an alligator, wrapping a nylon rope around its neck and arm, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said. The other end of the rope was tied to a nearby fence.
Their reason? The Connecticut tourists told the police they were “bored.”
The teenagers were ticketed for alligator harassment and will have to pay hundreds of dollars for violating the law. Their actions follow a disturbing and growing trend of people harassing alligators. In some cases, the alligators have to be euthanized after the fact. Lawmakers responded by proposing a law to increase the penalities for alligator harassment. The bill passed through the state House this spring but hasn’t made it through the Senate.
What I’m Reading
The Asian longhorned beetle has been destroying South Carolina’s trees in recent years. The State’s Patrick McCreless reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture says now is the time to fight back. Here’s how.
Former Lt. Gov. James Tillman infamously slayed the found of The State newspaper in 1903. Now, the story comes to stage at Columbia’s Trustus Theatre, The State’s Chris Trainor reports.
Last month, a dog named Goofus ran away after a car accident in Chester County. Now, thanks to local help, he’s been reunited with his family in Florida, The Herald’s Andrew Dys reports.
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