Charleston, S.C.: There were 350 dolphins off the coast of South Carolina in 2008, and it’s unclear how many remain in the face of increasing human activity, crab pot entanglement and other dangers.
The executive director of conservation group The
Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network, Lauren Rust, tells The Post and
Courier that the dolphin population is smaller than people realize.
Since the 2008 count, crab pot
entanglement deaths have steadily increased and dozens of sick and
malnourished dolphins have washed ashore dead. A virus broke out along
the East Coast from 2013 to 2015, killing more than 1,500 dolphins,
about 178 of which washed ashore in South Carolina.
And while the dolphins seemingly dwindle, funding is being cut at agencies such as the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In April, Major General David Hunter prepared his land forces on Folly, Cole’s, and North Edisto Islands to cooperate with a naval bombardment of Fort Sumter.
On April 7, 1863, the South Atlantic Squadron under Rear Admiral S.F. Du Pont bombarded Fort Sumter, having little impact on the Confederate defenses of Charleston Harbor. Although several of Hunter’s units had embarked on transports, the infantry were not landed, and the joint operation was abandoned.
The ironclad warships Keokuk, Weehawken, Passaic, Montauk, Patapsco, New Ironsides, Catskill, Nantucket, and Nahant participated in the bombardment. Keokuk, struck more than 90 times by the accurate Confederate fire, sunk the next day.
One of the ironclads was commanded by Percival Drayton, a Charleston native, who fought for the Union. (Drayton’s brother, a Confederate general, had commanded the Southern forces that were defeated at the Battle of Port Royal by a Union fleet and soldiers that included Percival Drayton.
Casualties were slight: 1 killed and 21 wounded for the Union and 5 killed and 8 wounded for the Confederates. Dupont and his captains decided not to renew the attack the next day. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles was appalled, and Dupont was relieved from command on July 5, 1863.
Press Release By Martine Wolfe-Miller, Communications Manager
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (April 5, 2019) –
Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie and Dr. Carole Swiecicki, executive
director and CEO of Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center, yesterday met on
the front lawn of Mount Pleasant Town Hall among dozens of blue and
silver pinwheels to designate Mount Pleasant a Pinwheel City. Mount
Pleasant partnered with Dee Norton and the Children’s Trust of SC in
support of their efforts to raise awareness for child abuse prevention
across South Carolina.
“By proclaiming Mount Pleasant a Pinwheel
City through the month of April, we seek to empower adults to prevent
abuse from happening to the children in their lives,” said Mayor Haynie.
“The pinwheel is the national symbol of child abuse prevention. It is a
whimsical reminder of the happy childhoods we want for all children.”
Throughout
April, pinwheel gardens will serve as a reminder of child abuse and how
everyone can help prevent abuse from happening.
Dee Norton Child
Advocacy Center, the region’s leading resource to prevent abuse, protect
children and heal families, will raise awareness in honor of National
Child Abuse Prevention Month and hold events all month long to spread
awareness and share tips to prevent child abuse from happening.
When writing a piece about culture and residency, a common question
posed, “Is this place for everyone?”.
The answer, quite simply, is no, nor does Charleston pretend to be, but
what it does offer is one of the most unique living experiences you will find
in the United States. Let us paint a vivid
picture and explain why.
There are many common stereotypes that create perceptions of
Southern life. Many are not fond or
positive, yet they exist. With most
stereotypes, they are rooted in some level of truth, but you need to remove
yourself from that thinking when it comes to Charleston, South Carolina.
Charleston stands alone in many respects. It is a democratic area in a largely
Republican State. It is a health
conscious region in an otherwise unhealthy region of the country. It is rich in theatrical and music culture,
evolving into a technological mecca and bringing a new wave of international
influence. It has raised the standards on
dining, education, health and wellness, economic prosperity, healthcare and
quality of life.
Yesterday, the first direct transcontinental flight from
London to Charleston landed at the Charleston International Airport marking a
new milestone in the re-birth of this vastly historic coastal region.
Elegance in our history
We have all seen ‘Gone with the Wind’. Often, we have dreamed to be in the middle of that life. In the mayhem of war, there was elegance, intrigue, love and prominence. This was a film that defined a period in American history like no other. That tradition lives on in our historic homes, plantations, and graceful beauty that surrounds. It is this remarkable esthetic of nature and history that continues to make Charleston one of the top destination wedding locations in the nation.
Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/wildcottonphoto
A little bit of
country
What are you typically doing on a Sunday morning? Reading the paper over a hot cup of coffee
and watching CBS Sunday morning? In Charleston,
this weekend, we may start at Low Tide Brewing with Yoga with Goats, head over
to the Charleston Pour House for the Sunday Brunch Farmer’s Market highlighted
by the most amazing Acai from our local food trucks and live Funk and Motown
music on the outdoor patio over a cold PBR.
If it is nice, we will head over to Folly Beach to watch a beautiful
sunset and perhaps run into a pet pot belly pig, bird or hedgehog.
When you decide to get a bite to eat and spend time with
some of our local pit masters, you may see a few roaming chickens or roosters
along the side of the road. Keep your
eyes open.
Girls Night Out in
Style
Don’t let the header fool you, the guys dress to the nines
as well in downtown Charleston.
From Jazz at the Vendue Bar and Art Gallery, to a rooftop
glass of wine at Stars, Charleston has become a center of sophistication in the
South. Its fine dining sets the stage reminiscent
of the days of Gershwin and elegant boutique hotels intertwining fine art,
wine, customer service and a lifestyle worthy of aristocracy showered
throughout the city.
The Spectator, one of Charleston’s most decorated boutiques,
provides guests with a butler on each floor, its own romantic horse drawn carriage,
a bar themed after Fitzgerald’s ‘Gatsby’ and a spectacular view of the famous
St. Philips Church.
A culture all its own
Spoleto Festival, Charleston Wine and Food Festival, Charleston Fashion Week, Film Festivals (Horror to International), Southeast Wildlife Expo (SEWE) are just a few of the national and international events that draw hundreds of thousands each year.
Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/kellyvcalaway
A romp in the sand; a
beach in hand
Many communities are fortunate to have a beach and ocean
front experience to relieve stress, get a tan, surf or play in the sand. The Charleston area is blessed with 3 beaches
within a 20 mile radius and several more further South or North along the Carolina
coast.
Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island and Folly Beach are not
only within a few minutes driving of downtown Charleston, but each offers its
own culture and flavor depending on your personal and family needs.
Whether you are seeking a day trip, a magical sunset, a
sunrise jog, walking the dog or just a refreshing relaxing beverage to the
sound of the waves, Charleston has you covered.
Still, don’t forget your sunblock.
What to do? Perhaps a festival or a fund raiser…or both
To say Charleston is festival mad is an understatement. We love festivals. In the park, in the street, at the beach, in
a church or on a plantation. Charleston
is ready year round to offer up entertainment in the form of themed
festivals. Come thirty; come hungry and
expect a good time. What you will see
are plenty of food trucks, craft beer, fine wine, live music and so much more. We love to partner and help local
organizations. You can leave with a
smile knowing you are also helping a good cause.
Career Opportunity
If you measure career opportunity by social chatter or
Facebook jobs in this area, you may find we offer nothing more than hospitality,
retail and manufacturing jobs. Dig
deeper. Charleston has been deemed the “East
Coast Silicon Valley” and there is merit to that phrase.
Organizations like CharlestonWorks
and Dig South have been working tirelessly to promote opportunity, growth and
innovation in the Lowcountry and the rest of the nation and world are starting
to notice.
CharlestonWorks currently has 454 technology companies in
its database for the Charleston area and this area has an extremely high demand
for tech talent.
Cheers to Craft Beer
There are 27 craft breweries in Charleston County and that accounts for over half of the craft beer in the entire state of South Carolina. If you want great and often experimental craft beer surrounded by amazing people and knowledgeable beer masters, this is the city that never sleeps when it comes to beer.
Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/brysstephens
Tradition
Today marks the 42nd Annual Cooper River Bridge
Run, marked as one of the top five 10K competitive races in the nation. For the 36,000 that participated, this is an
event they look forward to every year.
Yet, our traditions date back much further.
The first opera house in the United States is in
Charleston. The firsts shots of the
American Civil War were fired in Charleston. This year will mark the 42nd year
of the Spoleto Festival and we just completed the 37th SEWE in
February. In 1842, the Citidel opened
its academic doors for the first time. The
list goes on and on and on. One thing we
can say in Charleston, we remember the past and honor it well.
This just tips the iceberg of the rich and unique life that
is Charleston. This is a region that lets
you get swept away in fancy elegance, escape to the country for a hike, make a
friend over a good pint of beer, listen to live music, catch great theatre or
dares the ocean to challenge our limits.
It is a city rich in history with traditions dating back to
our early settlers, honored with the courage of the fine women and men that
graduate from the Citadel and serve our nation, playful on our beaches,
celebratory and filled with opportunity.
Welcome to Charleston, a unique and lively place to be.
Summerville, S.C. – The ARK, Alzheimer’s Family Support Services, is offering its free “Powerful Tools for Caregivers” series starting in May. “Powerful Tools for Caregivers” is an educational program designed to help family caregivers take care of themselves while caring for a relative or friend with a chronic illness. The class is 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. each Wednesday from May 8 to June 12 at the Goose Creek Library, 325 Old Moncks Corner Road in Goose Creek and will be taught by certified leaders. Registration is required and class size is limited. For more information and to register, call 843-471-1360 or visit www.thearkofsc.org
This
program helps family caregivers reduce stress, improve self-confidence,
communicate feelings better,
balance their lives, increase their ability to make tough decisions,
and locate helpful resources. Attendees will benefit from this class
whether they are helping a parent, spouse, or friend who lives at home,
in a nursing home, or across the country.
In South Carolina, there are 81,000 people age 65 and older living with
Alzheimer’s disease. Nearly 8,000 families in the Charleston area care
for loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease or a related memory disorder.
South Carolina has the 8th highest Alzheimer’s
death rate in America. Since 1996, families have been turning to The
ARK for support, resources, education, and respite.
ABOUT THE ARK, ALZHEIMER’S FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES The
ARK is a local nonsectarian nonprofit outreach program providing
comprehensive support services to families dealing with Alzheimer’s or
related dementia. For more information, call
843-471-1360, or visit thearkofsc.org.
Mount
Pleasant, SC —
Jon Smith Subs, specialists in high quality and freshly-prepared sub
sandwiches, is celebrating the grand opening of its newest location in Mount
Pleasant, SC on Thursday, April 11, 2019. The sub shop is located at the Mount
Pleasant Town Center, 1748 Town Center Way, #101. Festivities will kick off at
10 a.m. and include a ribbon cutting. The first 50 guests will receive Free
Subs For a Year.
“We are incredibly honored and delighted
to bring the great tastes of Jon Smith Subs to Mount Pleasant. This is a
community, where my wife, Jennifer, and our business partner Roger Goode have
resided for more than 30 years combined,” said Greg Goode, Franchisee, Jon
Smith Subs Mount Pleasant. “This marks the first location for South Carolina
and we are excited to be part of this historic moment and contributing to the
growing culinary scene in our state. Jon Smith Subs offer high quality and
fresh ingredients paired with superior customer service that we are proud to
offer to our neighbors.”
The April 11 grand opening celebration is open to the public. The first 50 guests will receive Free Subs For a Year (one sub per month). An official ribbon cutting will commemorate the day. The event will be hosted in partnership with the Town Of Mount Pleasant and the Chamber Of Commerce. A donation will also be presented to one of the Goode’s favorite charities, Going Places.
Jon Smith Subs prepares its sandwiches to
order. Subs feature generous portions of grilled meats, freshly cut veggies and
buns that are baked daily. Fan favorites include the Authentic Italian Cold
Cuts, Steak Bomb, Bacon Steak, and Maple Chicken. Grilled specialties include
the Cuban Sandwich, Meatball with Marinara, Pastrami Bomb and more. They also
offer vegetarian options. Jon’s Famous French Fries are also cooked to order
and are a perfect complement to the subs.
The Mount Pleasant Jon Smith Subs will be
open Monday–Saturday from 10:30 a.m.–9 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. For
more information about the Mount Pleasant location, visit their Facebook page
at www.facebook.com/JonSmithSubsMountPleasantSC
or follow them on Instagram @JonSmithSubs.mtp.
America is the fattest country in the world with almost 40% of the U.S. population aged 15 and older identified as obese. This has resulted in increased costs of medical treatment. In fact, the costs of obesity-related medical treatment to between $147 billion and $210 billion a year and annual productivity losses due to work absenteeism to around $4.3 billion.
WalletHub compared 100 of the most populated U.S. metro areas across 19 key indicators of weight-related problems. The data set ranges from share of physically inactive adults to projected obesity rates by 2030 to healthy-food access.
For cities in our area and surrounding South Carolina, here is where we ranked:
5 South Carolina regions made the Top 30 Fattest
Augusta – Richmond County GA-SC was the worst ranking #10
Columbia, SC was the 14th worst city
Myrtle Beach, Conway and North Myrtle ranked #20 worst
COLUMBIA,
SC (WIS) – For those who take the Uber ride-sharing service often, this
new feature could be vital for people in South Carolina.
Uber
announced that they have added a new 911 emergency button feature which
will allow emergency responders to access information about your ride
and the car you are in. Though an emergency feature already exists in
the app, this one adds an extra level of safety according to Uber’s
press release, “when a rider or driver uses the in-app emergency button
to call 911, the car’s make and model, license plate, and GPS location
are made available to 911 dispatchers.”
To
access this feature, riders simply need to tap the shield icon on their
app’s map screen. The release goes on to say, “after tapping the 911
Assistance feature, you will see your GPS location, car make and model,
and license plate. If you tap the “Call 911” button and connect to an
emergency dispatcher, those trip details become available to them
digitally and can be used to respond to an emergency.” Personnel from
Uber customer service will then follow up with you.
In
South Carolina the new feature is available in Richland County,
Cherokee County and Charleston for widespread access to many commuters.
The feature is also available in Raleigh, North Carolina and Athens,
Georgia.
Uber
also has their “Check Your Ride” campaign which promotes their rider
security features like: location sharing with friends and family, secure
contact information on Uber drivers, and the 911 and panic button
features. “We remind riders to double check two important details before
starting a trip – the driver and the car. When requesting a trip
through the Uber app, you receive the driver’s photo, name, the car
make/model and license plate number.”
Everyone in their lives has been struck with a brilliant idea: an app that would make them millions (if they ever got around to patenting it), some food combination they’d be slinging in trendy restaurant for years (if they ever got around to making it), or by golly, the next great American Novel (if they ever got around to writing it.)
Ideas are plentiful; what is not is the courage, ambition, and drive to act on them. Jeff Fitzharris, Charleston local, has displayed those less common traits in his t-shirt company, There’s No Place Like Charleston, and his silk screening company, In Gratitude Always. The two work well together, as one would imagine, but how and why they came together are the beautiful thing.
The idea for There’s No Place Like Charleston came three years ago while Jeff was painting a mural for Prohibition, a trendy bar on King. The owner asked him to, “write something nice about the city,” in the mural. Jeff was immediately struck with an idea, but, in his words “There was something that stopped me and said, hey that’s for you, that’s not for the mural.” So, like any good businessman, he went to social media platforms, different businesses and began advertising for t-shirts.
The idea for silk screening came a little later, though an interesting avenue. Jeff has a niece and goddaughter named Victoria with autism living in Pittsburgh, and he was just talking to his brother about different jobs she could do to gain some independence. Silk screening would be great for those with autism due to the repetitive nature of the work, something that drives those who are not autistic up the wall. Most people need variety, but for those with autism, it is a great comfort and necessity to count on doing the same routine day in and day out.
Realizing that this idea could be applicable beyond his own family–there are people with autism everywhere–he decided pursue silk screening in Charleston. After getting the ball rolling with getting his brand set up and ready to roll out at the much loved King Dusko in 2014, Jeff reached out to Charleston Autism Academy with the intention of giving them 10% of the profits from the brand. He spoke with Laura Misenhelter of Charleston Autism Academy, who realized how brilliant his idea was because her 17 year old son, Aaron, has autism–and needed a job.
As it turns out, Laura also had a space Jeff could use for his silk screening shop–now it was just time to get the equipment. Miraculously, five thousand dollars-worth of equipment was donated by a man that neither spoke to directly; he was an owner of a national screen printing equipment company. To top it all off, Laura also became his business partner.
That is how Jeff sees his business: a series of fortunate events, miracles and something that is affirming what he calls his “conscious vocational project.” It is quite a project and wonderful business model helping his cause in several ways that all feed into each other: hire those with autism, donate profits from merchandise to Charleston Autism Academy and all while raising awareness.
However, awareness is a tricky business, as it comes in stages. There are people who become aware of circumstances, and consider themselves informed, and that’s that. They never move on to the next stage; action. Though Jeff was already acting, he had a moving experience that really made him truly aware.
Like many schools, Charleston Autism Academy has a Christmas pageant, and Laura invited Jeff to come along last year. “I got there, and there are these beautiful children. They were beautiful, and I looked onstage, and to me, things were not normal at all. I don’t mean any disrespect to anyone, but I looked around the room, and everybody else in the room were of course loved ones and parents. So here are all these beautiful smiles of people who are proud of these children, and I guess I was the only one in the room going ‘Wow. This is too much.’ And I had to get up and leave and I told Laura, and she’s like ‘Are you alright?’ and I said ‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ And then she said ‘Now you’re aware.’’
This experience cultivated the kind of awareness that has to lead to a much deeper commitment to Jeff’s own actions–and to keep his business going. As of right now, his brand is carried in three different stores in Charleston: Sheila’s Shamrock on Market Street, King Street Cookies on King Street, and Boone Hall Plantation’s gift shop in Mount Pleasant.
Though Jeff would like nothing more than all of his profits to come from There’s No Place Like Charleston t-shirts, he knows opening up his screen printing shop means more money for his cause, which means that In Gratitude Always is open for outside businesses, bands, restaurants, or any group that wants to get t-shirts silk screened. If you are interested in having t-shirts made, simply contact Jeff at jeff@theresnoplacelikecharleston.com with the details–but because he’s a laid back kind of guy, he says good ol’ texting is a fine way to make first contact: (843)-301-1187.
In using the brand name, Jeff often points out other local businesses to highlight how unique Charleston is–and it’s true. One of the reasons There’s No Place Like Charleston has been successful is because there isn’t another place like it. The Dorothy image is fitting: it’s a magical place, where people are kind, supportive of the city, and of course, where everyone is home. Jeff Fitzharris and his business are a prime example There’s No Place Like Charleston. It’s a city positive brand, with amazing altruistic goals, and really attractive merchandise: what’s not to love?
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