Wedding & Event Venue near Charleston, SC

Vessels at Wando Welch Terminal 7 (Photo credit - SC Ports - Walter Lagarenne)

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — For the first time in at least decades, the South Carolina Ports Authority Board of Directors may be without a Charleston-based member.

Some state lawmakers in the Lowcountry on both sides of the aisle are concerned with the lack of representation.

“It’s unacceptable,” said state Sen. Ed Sutton (D, Charleston County).

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Gov. Henry McMaster appoints people to the nine-member board, which largely governs the ports’ nearly $87 billion economic impact. The state Senate Transportation Committee recommended approval for the governor’s four new candidates and three returning members in an April 30 hearing.

“During his tenure, Governor McMaster has appointed and re-appointed talented men and women from across the state, including Charleston, to serve on the Ports Authority Board of Directors,” Brandon Charochak, a spokesperson for the governor, said in a statement.

S.C. Ports owns and operates the Port of Charleston, home to four maritime terminals in the Lowcountry, Inland Port Greer and Inland Port Dillon.

Sutton said Charleston deserves a seat at the table and wants to know if this move was an oversight or intentional.

“Government closest to the people is best for the people. And if you don't geographically live here, it's a lot harder to have those conversations or attend those lunchtime meetings with all our different partners that touch the port here,” he said.

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Port operations in the Lowcountry generate about $11 billion annually and create 32,000 jobs tied directly or indirectly to the ports, according to a 2023 economic impact study by Dr. Joseph Von Nessen.

“More businesses, more warehousing and distribution-based businesses are locating in and around Charleston so that they can receive goods and then ship them to customers, not just in South Carolina, but throughout the southeast as a whole,” he said.

Von Nessen is a research economist at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina.

Other manufacturing jobs can be found throughout South Carolina, primarily in the Upstate, which generates a $44 billion economic impact each year.

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But Dr. Von Nessen says port activity is mostly seen in Charleston.

“The majority of those jobs that can be traced back to the port, though, are jobs at businesses throughout the state that disproportionately rely on the port for their ongoing operations,” he said.

Overall, S.C. Ports report an economic footprint of $87 billion a year, but many argue there are also downsides, like port traffic and pollution.

“Every county in the state benefits from the positives of the port. But some counties, like Charleston County, we also have negative impacts there,” Sutton said.

Sutton said his constituents see these impacts every day, and he fears they could worsen without Charleston-based representation.

He thinks the board's appointment system may even need to change to prioritize local voices.

“Does the Mayor of Charleston, the Mayor of Mount Pleasant, the Mayor of North Charleston, all get an appointment going forward? I'm open to looking at legislation that does that,” Sutton said.

Charochak went on to say that the ports benefit every single county and community across the state: “Its board, executives, and employees work on behalf of every South Carolina citizen and business.”

This message was echoed by many of McMaster’s appointments in the April 30 hearing, including J. Barnwell Fishbourne from Walterboro, who told state Sen. Chip Campsen he would happily be his “Charleston guy.”

Sutton believes the governor's appointments will likely go before the state Senate this week for a final vote.

S.C. Ports declined to comment.

The proposed board would include the following:

CHARLESTON — Fencing and yellow caution tape already surround part of a West Ashley shopping center, where construction on the long-awaited redevelopment project along Sam Rittenberg Boulevard will finally begin after a ceremony planned by city officials and developers on May 7.

The overall proposal covers 35 acres that combines the larger Ashley Landing shopping center and a vacant lot across Sumar Street where a Piggly Wiggly once stood. Plans call for more than 6 acres of green space, a four- to five-story apartment complex with 285 units, 100 townhomes and 240,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

"We're addressing what people have been wanting there," said Councilman William Tinkler, who represents the district where the site is located. He called the investment completely unprecedented for West Ashley, home to more than 40 percent of the city's population.

Demolition of part of the existing shopping center will kick off the construction. This will make way for a new Publix. The grocery chain is currently located across the parking lot in the middle of the planned development.

Publix will remain open during construction, as will many retail and commercial spaces along the periphery of the shopping center.

The same can't be said for the Crunch Fitness or Charleston Stage's West Ashley Theatre Center, which are also slated for demolition.

The theater production company preforms at the city-owned Dock Street Theatre downtown, but rehearses and holds classes and programs at the West Ashley location.

The developer behind the shopping center's upgrade is renovating a vacant 10,000-square-foot space for Charleston Stage in the same development, according to Marybeth Clark, the company's artistic director.

"We're not going away," Clark said. But there will be a pause in their fall classes as they wait for the new location to be complete, she said. The new space will feature more studios, office space and theater seating than they have currently.

"Ultimately, we will have a beautiful new space in a beautiful new center," said Clark, who hopes to be in the new location by the start of next year. "Between now and then, it will be inconvenient."

West Ashley project a longtime coming

People visiting the shopping center should expect to be "inconvenienced for the next few years," Tinkler said. But once the dust of construction settles, he believes the "vibrant community" left behind will be worth the wait.

The city and county are both planning improvements to traffic around the site, which Tinkler said is one of the biggest complaints for residents who live nearby. He hopes the investment will encourage additional traffic mitigation from state authorities.

"This is revitalization," Tinkler said. "We're finally realizing plans that were envisioned 20 years ago."

Back then, his father sat on City Council, and every councilman since has pushed for redevelopment of the area, he said.

Past proposals ground to a halt as council failed to come to a consensus last year about what to do with the smaller former Piggly Wiggly site the city bought in 2017. When Mayor William Cogswell took office, he began courting developers with deeper pockets to tackle the larger redevelopment effort.

The overall plan will cost taxpayers an estimated $48 million, with another $300 million investment from Edens, a Columbia-based real estate company that owns properties in Mount Pleasant, Kiawah, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and California.

Edens purchased the Ashley Landing shopping center in October for more than $38 million, and in December paid the city $1.1 million for the 3-acre Piggly Wiggly parcel, according to county property records. That's nearly $2 million less than the city paid for the property in 2017.

The city also changed how it approves development along the busy commercial corridor in order to fast track the project. The property sits in a tax-increment financing district, or TIF district, which the city is relying on to fund its portion of the site's public infrastructure. That will include $10 million for affordable housing; $9.6 million for public streets and right of ways; $4.7 million for parks and green space; $1 million for a 3,000-square-foot community space; and $13 million for stormwater infrastructure.

A TIF essentially allows municipalities to borrow against future tax revenue generated from improvements to blighted properties and reinvest it back into the district. The West Ashley TIF was created eight years ago, and according to county tax records, still hasn't accrued any revenue. If the city doesn't issue any bonds within the next two years, then the TIF expires.

If all goes to plan, construction is slated to complete in 2028.

Reach Ali Rockett at 843-901-1708. Follow her on Twitter @AliRockettPC.

CHARLESTON, S.C. – ESPN Events has officially announced the field and format for the 2025 Shriners Children's Charleston Classic, set to return for its 17^th year at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C.. This year's tournament will be held on November 21 and 23 and will feature two independent brackets.

The first bracket will feature Clemson, Georgia, West Virginia, and Xavier, while the second bracket will include Boston College, Davidson, Tulane, and Utah State.

Matchups, tip-off times, and ESPN network designations for all games will be announced in the coming months.

Field 1 Highlights

Field 2 Highlights

Owned and operated by ESPN Events, the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic is in its 17th year. Past Classic champions include Drake (2024), Houston (2023), College of Charleston (2022), St. Bonaventure (2021), and Florida (2020).

The family-friendly event offers teams a week of practice, play, and experiences in and around historic Charleston. The Charleston Classic website offers information on travel packages, tickets, and more. Tickets will be available for purchase after the complete tournament schedule is announced later this summer.

Pre-Sale Signup For first access to premium seats and the lowest prices, sign up today:

Event Ticket Information - ESPN Events

About Shriners Children's Shriners Children's improves the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, conducting innovative research, and offering outstanding education programs for medical professionals. Children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care, regardless of the families' ability to pay, and receive all care and services in a compassionate, family-centered environment. For more information, please visit shrinerschildrens.org.

ESPN Events ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In the 2024-25 academic year, the 34-event schedule includes four early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, the premiere regular season college softball and gymnastics events, as well as the Band of the Year National Championship. Collectively, these events account for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, reaching 60 million viewers and attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

Threat Intelligence, Ransomware, Critical Infrastructure Security

(Adobe Stock)

A recent investigation by Charleston County School District has confirmed that a July 2024 data breach affecting over 20,000 individuals was carried out by the cybercriminal group RansomHub, WCSC reports.

Occurring between July 16 and 19, the breach compromised personal information of both students and staff dating as far back as 2005. While the district did not reveal how the attackers gained access, it assured the public that the exploited vulnerability has been addressed and its systems have since undergone major security upgrades. Importantly, the district stated it did not pay or negotiate with the threat actors. Officials conducted a thorough review to determine who was impacted and have begun outreach to affected individuals. In response, the district is offering support services including free credit monitoring, identity theft recovery, and up to $1 million in insurance reimbursement. Significant security upgrades have been implemented to prevent recurrence, the district emphasized in its public statement.

Get essential knowledge and practical strategies to protect your organization from ransomware attacks.

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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The state’s Department of Natural Resources says five counties across South Carolina, including three in the Lowcountry are in the second level of drought severity of four.

Charleston, Berkeley and Georgetown Counties are in the moderate drought stage, along with Marion and Horry Counties, the agency said.

The rest of the state’s 41 counties are in an “incipient” drought, the second phase on the five-point scale that ranges from “normal” to “extreme.”

Most of the state has recorded below normal rainfall since late last fall, with some stations in the Coastal Plain and Pee Dee regions receiving less than 60% of normal rainfall throughout winter and spring.

Those stations include North Charleston, which recorded only 5.52 inches, 42% of normal rainfall totals expected from Jan. 1 through April 30; Hilton Head Island, which reported 6.07 inches of rain, 47% below normal; and Moncks Corner, which recorded 7.38 inches, only 55% of normal.

North Charleston’s rainfall station had the lowest percentage of normal precipitation recorded, according to the state’s Drought Response Committee.

The S.C. Department of Environmental Services provided an update on streamflow, groundwater and lake levels.

Persistent, below-normal streamflow conditions in the counties of the upstate provided support for maintaining an Incipient drought status for this area.

Counties in the central Santee River Basin are also experiencing declining streamflow and groundwater levels, which supported an upgrade to Incipient status for these counties, while below normal groundwater levels in Berkeley and Charleston counties supported an upgrade to Moderate status for these two counties.

In the Northeast, below-normal streamflow levels in the Pee Dee region supported maintaining Incipient drought status in most counties and an upgrade to Moderate status for Marion and Horry counties, with 14-day average flows in the Waccamaw River near Longs reaching a two-percentile flow.

For the month of March, the South Carolina Forestry Commission responded to 301 fires that burned 7,264 acres. On March 1 alone, they responded to 104 wildfires. Since the beginning of the year there has been 21.4% more fires compared with the 10-year normal, or 1,418 fires this year compared with the 10-year average of 1,168.

South Carolina has seen 176.5% greater-than-normal acreage burned this year compared with the 10-year average, with the total acreage burned this year standing at 30,965.

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