S.C. Arts Commission sees major shakeup after controversy

MORNING HEADLINES | The South Carolina Arts Commission announced its third leadership change of the month at its Oct. 15 board meeting as Ashley Brown, the commission’s interim executive director since July, will transfer to a deputy director role.

The change in leadership comes after two members of the commission’s board stepped down from their positions. Board member Russell “Rip” Parks and Board Chairwoman Flavia Harton will both resign effective Friday, Oct. 16. Thursday’s meeting was the pair’s last, according to media reports.

Parks and Harton resigned following an Oct. 1 board decision to deny two LGBTQ+ groups state grant money. Parks cast one of the five votes that denied the funding, while Harton as the chair only votes in the event of a tie and did not participate in the vote.

Although the positions will soon be vacant, neither will be promptly filled. Board members voted against selecting a new board chair at Thursday’s meeting. S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster said the public scrutiny that can come with the role and unpaid nature of the position deter people from serving.

“When something like this comes along, where they’re using their best judgement, and there’s always in these things the threat of getting sued, adverse publicity at your business and all that,” he said in a S.C. Public Radio report. “A lot of people just — that’s one thing that holds people back from accepting these positions.”

Brown’s vacated spot will be filled by Ce Scott-Fitts, whom the commission’s board unanimously selected as the new interim director. Scott-Fitts is the agency’s current interim senior deputy director.

The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 18, 2027.

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Listening Across America

Don’t forget to follow Editor Andy Brack on ListeningAcrossAmerica.com as he talks with people across the country about what’s happening as it heads toward the midterm elections. Today, he’s in Utah. You can also find out what’s happening via YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

In Friday’s issue of the Charleston City Paper

CP OPINION: Vote for Charleston County school leaders who will do business in public. “For the last four years — especially in 2023 and 2024 — the Charleston County School District Board of Trustees has been a pure mess.”

CP CARTOON: Stegelin: Nordone Q+A
CP CARTOON: Ariail: So it’s a clear choice

CP COVER STORY: Compare and contrast: City Paper squares up against AI generator. We wanted to find out how accurate and efficient artificial intelligence (AI) really is — and how likely it could be to replace us in the future. So we sat down with a local software expert, Mike Astle, who works with tech group CharlestonHacks, to talk about it.

CP NEWS: S.C. man surveyed Central America for ex-Confederates. Following the Confederates’ defeat in the American Civil War, a few hundred immigrated to Belize to establish agricultural colonies with their formerly enslaved workers. Before most arrived, Charles Stevens Dwight, an ex-Confederate Army captain and engineer from Berkeley County, surveyed the land.

CP FOOD: Avondale’s Nirlep reopens after 3-year closure. Nirlep, one of longest running Indian restaurants in Charleston, has reopened at 908 Savannah Highway after a three-year hiatus. Balvinder Banga and her husband, Dilawar Banga, opened the restaurant in 2002, bringing the food of their native Punjab, India, to the Lowcountry.

CP MUSIC: Michael Martin Band waiting for ‘Karma’ on new single. Some of the best songs of all time sound like they were recorded in a parking lot, not a studio. Think of the distortion-soaked raveup that is Little Richard’s “Rip It Up,” Willie Nelson’s guitar-pull version of “If You’ve Got The Money Honey,” or the Black Crowes’ staggering rocker “Remedy.”

CP ARTS: Downtown church’s artful altarpiece speaks volumes. On the blustery October Saturday morning, a historic church in Cannonborough-Elliottborough shone forth with joyful vibrancy.

In other recent headlines

S.C.-1: Sparks fly in final debate for Charleston’s seat in Congress over 2nd Amendment, data centers. A second and chippier debate between Republican Jenny Honeycutt and Democratic nominee Nancy Lacore saw the candidates for S.C.’s 1st Congressional District disagree over gun control in the wake of an Oregon school shooting that left three children and a teacher dead.

Charleston to phase out parking meters. Parking meters on the Charleston peninsula will soon become a thing of the past as the city transitions to a new digital payment system, with significant completion expected by the second quarter of 2027.

STATEWIDE: A look at who could be S.C.’s next agriculture chief. The race to be South Carolina’s next agriculture commissioner features a Republican with a background in state government who’s backed by President Donald Trump and a Democrat with federal government experience who touts a willingness to buck the administration.

Murdagh due in court for status hearing ahead of 2027 murder retrial

CALENDAR: How to find cool things to do around town

Our online events calendar has scores of events around the Lowcountry every day, making it the most detailed calendar of what’s happening in the area. Just click on “Events” above at right under the black toolbar. You’ll be amazed at what you find.