Leaves are falling. Temperatures are falling. POINT is
falling further into debt. Hate to lead with a whine, but the nasty
truth is that POINT is struggling just to cover printing costs
each month, much less pay for the rest of the expensive process of
putting out a newspaper. We are asking those of you who can afford it to
consider joining the Natural Guard Fund (POINT's parent
non-profit organization) and helping support alternative journalism in
South Carolina. It's easy -- just call the Natural Guard at 803-254-9398 or POINT at 803-254-1803 or 800-849-1803 or . As a
membership-supported newspaper, POINT depends on readers like you
to stay alive.
In an effort to save money, we have cut back to 16 pages this month.
The offering is as sincere just skinnier. Hope you like what you read.
On the facing page is a rant against the Republican effort to dismantle
the environmental protections painstakingly won over the last decades.
It ends with a call to fight back in 1996.
The next two pages are about the first nudist colony in North
America, right here in South Carolina. The Sea Island Sanctuary on Cat
Island, near Beaufort, was started by a bunch of Yankee naturalists who
came South in the 1930s to establish a self-sustaining community. It
worked for a while. Some say they were driven away by the straightlaced
neighbors whose sensibilities were offended by the thought of the
Carolina skies shining on all those naked bodies. Others say it was the
mosquitoes that drove them out.
Inside we bring you a case study in how the system fails us in
South Carolina when it comes to controlling industry's biggest
polluters. The incinerator in Rock Hill, ThermalKEM, has been able to
repeatedly violate safety standards while maintaining a cozy
relationship with DHEC, the agency that regulates it. What stinks, it
seems, is not just the smokestacks.
Finally, an update: the progressive network is taking shape, with a
growing list of members and a momentum building toward a conference in
January. An initial meeting was held last month to draft a mission
statement and to begin organizing. For information or a list of network
members, call the Natural Guard at 254-9398 or POINT at 254-1803
or 1-800-849-1803.
