Refrigerated Trailer for Rent in Charleston, SC

MORNING NEWSBREAK | South Carolinians set a new voting record on what was the state’s first day of the two-week early voting stretch in the 2024 election.

The State Election Commission said 125,913 voters cast a ballot Monday, beating the previous one-day record for early voting during the 2022 midterms at 70,10o.

On top of early voting ballots, more than 47,000 absentee ballots had been returned as of Tuesday, according to the commission.

“We are thrilled to see voters embracing the convenience of early voting, and we are anticipating a significant turnout for this election,” said Howie Knapp, the agency’s executive director.

Here’s the breakdown of ballots cast in the Lowcountry:

Voting centers are open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Saturday Nov. 2. The early voting centers, which can be found through scvotes.gov, are closed Sunday, Oct. 27.

Meanwhile, the state American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Tuesday alleging the state Department of Motor Vehicles’ system made it impossible for some 17,000 eligible teenagers to register to vote while obtaining a driver’s license or other identification. The lawsuit also names the State Election Commission.

In other headlines:

CP NEWS: Cogswell throws wrench in Ashley River pedestrian bridge plan. Charleston Mayor William Cogswell presented a revamped new design Tuesday for a pedestrian-bike bridge across the Ashley River, which has already been designed, vetted, approved and funded for about $80 million after years of work. But now the new plan unveiled at a city council meeting represents a possible wrench in the works. The freshman mayor’s proposed changes could delay the construction — and likely cause a hike in costs, observers say.

Charleston chosen as one of the friendliest places in the U.S. Among two recent studies, Charleston was dubbed a top location for varying accolades. Among them: home to some of America’s kindest and most helpful locals, and a favorite city in which to celebrate Halloween.

Charleston Waterkeeper kicks off shellfish harvesting with oyster recycling. Charleston Waterkeeper hosted its first weekly oyster recycling event Tuesday where volunteers picked through debris to sort oyster shells. Volunteers were looking for items such as saltine cracker wrappers, forks, and even hot sauce containers.

Patriots Point powers Charleston economy with $205M impact. Patriots Point is estimated to have a $205 million economic impact on the Charleston Tri-county region, according to a study by the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business.

Charleston residents request non-lethal coyote control. The Wagener Terrace community in downtown Charleston is suggesting a formal coyote mitigation plan that focuses on education, deterrence and avoidance over lethal action.

Charleston Co. leaders look to improve Dorchester Road. Charleston County leaders are seeking public feedback regarding a project that will look at Dorchester Road from the county line on the road down to Michaux Parkway. A study conducted in this area showed that almost 1,500 car accidents were reported just from 2018 to 2022, causing nine deaths and over 500 injuries.

Coastal Carolina Fair returns to Ladson in time for Halloween. The return of the Coastal Carolina Fair is a true sign that fall is here! This year’s event opens on Halloween and runs through November 10.

Radio Shack returns to S.C. Electronics lovers can head to Northwoods Mall in North Charleston to shop at the state’s only official Radio Shack store.

Lowcountry count reveals snapshot of homeless population. The numbers from the 2024 Point in Time Count were released Tuesday by the Lowcountry Continuum of Care, which counted the number of people experiencing homelessness in a single night.

$1.7M of Johns Island land considered for new county park. Charleston County Parks is looking at $1.7 million worth of land around Simmons Creek on Johns Island to bring greater water access to parts of the area that are seeing some of the largest growth as a new county park.

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Published: Oct. 21, 2024 at 7:49 PM PDT|

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The future of the Citadel Mall is on its way to becoming a new and improved development.

The City of Charleston had its Design Review Board meeting earlier this afternoon and approved the design guidelines presented.

This is a 75-page-long document, outlining some of the design elements that will be considered when that process begins including mixed-use outdoor and indoor properties.

Kim Simmons is the assistant manager at Edwin Watts, right across the street from the Citadel Mall.

“The Citadel Mall needs a facelift,” Simmons says. “You know I just think it would be great for this area and West Ashley in general, to have more things to do too.”

She says the potential ideas for the redesigns could improve their business, among other local stores in the area.

The applicants presented their final draft of the Design Guidelines for future development, where they want to incorporate a Charleston aesthetic while considering West Ashley families.

“Oh, the beautiful pastel colors, the columns, and the Spanish moss…if they could get that somehow designed in, I’d spend as much time as I could there,” Community member Mick Levitz says.

While presenting their ideas to the board, the applicants suggest a traditional, timeless environment while modernizing what needs to be done.

Design Review Board member Ashley Jackrel says the outdoor space, landscaping and greenery in the design guidelines could improve the location’s sustainability while attracting more people.

“This is kind of a sea of asphalt right? Like who wants to hang out in the Citadel Mall parking lot in the middle of summer… I know I don’t. And so there have been some really creative strategies employed there at the mall but in terms of really making it a healthy environment it really takes a full overhaul, right?” Jackrel says.

Following the meeting board members were excited for future plans.

“So it is incredibly difficult to come up with a design guideline document outlining what the expectations are, without really being kind of somewhat restrictive with what that creativity could look like in that final product,” Jackrel says.

As for the next steps, these are the expectations set for the future designers and architects which have not yet been confirmed.

The applicants did say they expected to start development in 2025, but Jackrel said it may take longer depending on their creative process.

The 88-plus acre existing site includes over 1.1 million square feet of retail uses, and the document stated that Belk, Dillard’s, Target and the Medical University of South Carolina are staying put.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Thousands of Charleston County voters made their way to the polls on Monday for the first day of early voting in South Carolina.

The Executive Director of the Charleston County Board of Elections, Issac Cramer, said as of 1 p.m. on Monday they had over 6,000 voters cast their ballots saying that during the 2020 election year, they only had 5,500 voters for the entire first day.

Cramer said that by the end of the first day, they expect the number of early voters to be over 10,000, which is double from 2020.

“It’s very clear that people are showing up to vote. Everyone is excited. Obviously there has been a lot of anticipation, but we’re mirroring what other parts of the country have already done during the early voting period. We’re seeing that engagement, the enthusiasm, and the turnout number is going up every minute,” Cramer said.

The early voting period will go until Nov 2. Voters can visit the polling locations Monday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Polling locations will be closed on Oct 27.

Cramer said each day throughout the early voting period they expect their voter turnout to continue to grow.

“We do not expect numbers to drop significantly at all. It tends to continually go up. The last week is definitely the biggest week of turnout, so we just encourage people if they’re ready to vote, go ahead and cast your ballot now. Skip those election day lines,” Cramer said.

Cramer said it was crucial that voters check out their sample ballot which can be found here. He said that this year the ballot is longer which takes people more time to vote in person. He encouraged people to read through the sample ballot online and do their research ahead of time so voters would be prepared when they come in to vote.

Curbside voting is offered during the early voting period for those unable to go inside to vote.

As far as wait times, Cramer said that it depends on the time of day. He said lunchtime tends to be busier, but that the amount of voters tends to drop around 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. He said for those who don’t want to wait in line that the least busy time to come is at the end of the day.

Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority has extended its Route 103 taking voters to the Charleston County Board of Voter Registration and Election headquarters in North Charleston. You can find that route here.

Charleston County early voters can vote at any of the seven following locations:

Registered voters need a valid photo ID to check in. Acceptable forms of photo ID include a South Carolina driver’s license, a South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles ID Card, a South Carolina Concealed Weapons Permit, a South Carolina voter registration card with photo, a United States military ID and a United States passport.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Published: Oct. 21, 2024 at 1:50 AM PDT|

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Monday marks the first day of early voting in South Carolina, so Charleston County voters can now cast their ballots at any of the seven different early voting locations.

Over 100,000 early voters are expected in Charleston County alone, which would be record-high numbers amid a recent law change, according to the Executive Director of the Charleston County Board of Elections, Issac Cramer.

“We do anticipate early voting to break records for Charleston County because of the excitement in the voters. They want to cast their ballots, it’s a presidential election, and also [for] the convenience,” Cramer says.

In 2022, the Early Voters Bill passed allowing early voters to cast their ballots without a reason, making this the first major election that the law will be in effect. Only a valid photo ID is required to check in.

“The Early Voters Bill that passed in 2022 gives all voters in Charleston County the ability to cast their ballot without an excuse, in person, early… We are trying to get the message out that they don’t need a reason anymore. If they just want to vote early, they can,” Cramer says.

Acceptable forms of photo ID include a South Carolina driver’s license, a South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles ID Card, a South Carolina Concealed Weapons Permit, a South Carolina voter registration card with photo, a United States military ID and a United States passport.

Cramer encourages people to vote early because it’s the easier option since voters get to choose the location, time and date that they would like to vote, rather than being constricted to 12 hours on election day and only going to an assigned polling place.

“We’ve got a lot of great feedback about our vote centers across the county, and we want our voters to know that they can vote at an accessible location, we offer curbside at every one,” Cramer says.

Early voting is open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and will last until Nov. 2. CARTA will not be offering free rides to the polls during early voting, but they will be on election day.

Early voters can vote at any of the seven following locations:

To find early voting locations anywhere in the state, click here.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

It’s kind of scary watching the left, Mount Pleasant and all those Exchange Club guys join forces.

They're battling elected officials, West Ashley residents and the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce over the proposed half-cent transportation sales tax.

Who do you root for there?

Well, depends on how much you enjoy gridlock.

These disparate factions have their reasons to oppose the county's third sales tax on the Nov. 5 ballot, few of which have anything to do with our actual problems.

The Exchange Club wants to hurt CARTA because the public transportation agency wouldn’t let it renege on a land deal. Don’t ask; it’s complicated.

Mount Pleasant doesn't see enough in this for the town … probably because the county already tackled its biggest traffic problems.

Remember the nine-figure improvements to Johnnie Dodds? Or the Ravenel Bridge, which the county’s still paying for? Or Highway 41, funded by the previous sales tax but unbuilt because locals can't agree on its route?

The left (actually, an assortment of environmentalists and non-commuting Johns Islanders) wants to save the island from developers.

Since the last time they derailed 526 — when it would've cost a quarter as much — Johns Island’s population and number of homes has gone up 150%.

Turns out, developers don’t really care about adequate infrastructure. They’ll build anyway. Because, demand.

By decade's end, Johns Island's population will have doubled in 20 years ... with the same two ways on and off the island.

So, great job guys.

Now, we're all entitled to our own opinion … and these days too many think that includes their own facts. And these anti-tax campaigns are rife with facts that sound damning — when extenuating circumstances and pertinent details are omitted.

Let’s look at those.

The county hasn’t finished most projects from the last transportation sales tax.

True — it just broke ground on that Main Road flyover promised in 2016. But that argument only works if voters don't understand how the tax works, or how long road construction takes.

The county has completed two-thirds of the projects from its first two transportation sales taxes. The rest are underway.

Know why they aren’t done? Because the county finances projects as the money's collected. It’s called pay-as-you-go, and the county started this with the second round of sales tax projects to avoid overloading its bonding capacity ... and paying more interest with our money. So far, it's saved taxpayers about $200 million.

And, frankly, you can only do so much at once. One reason the flyover's behind is the county had trouble attracting bidders. Too much work out there.

The transportation sales tax will cost a family $1,200 per year.

Absolutely true … if your family spends $240,000 annually on local taxable items. The average family, however, will pay just shy of $10 a month.

Which they're already paying, since this referendum extends an existing tax.

Greenbelt projects will be shortchanged.

Also true, if nearly a half-billion dollars is shortchanging anyone. That's just funning with statistics.

This referendum dedicates $432 million to greenbelt projects, slightly more than the first two referendums combined. But it's a smaller percentage because this referendum is twice the size of the last one.

And it's only that big because 526 delays drove up the road's cost so much. Which brings us to …

This is all about extending 526 to Johns Island.

Actually, it's one-third about 526. A few points about that.

• Not building the road when it would've cost $500 million to $700 million absolutely did not stop growth on Johns Island (see above statistics). It has simply driven 20% of West Ashley roads over-capacity, because all the new Johns Island residents drive through it to get to their jobs downtown or in North Charleston.

• Despite misleading studies, 526 would save up to 40 minutes on a commute between Johns Island and downtown, and nearly an hour between the island and North Charleston. That 20-second malarkey includes trips between Citadel Mall and, say, Outback.

• No bike lane or public transportation is going to make a meaningful difference to congestion. Sorry, it just isn’t — even the S.C. Department of Transportation says so. You try commuting from Maybank and River Road to MUSC on a 10-speed in this climate.

• The populations of West Ashley, James Island and Johns Island are projected to grow by 63% in the next 25 years, highway or no. That's your reality check.

Remember, a lot of these same folks opposed the James Island connector. How would life around here be without that now?

So, vote against the sales tax if you want. Just understand you'll continue to sit in traffic that's gonna get worse.

Because, as we’ve established, lack of supporting infrastructure got us into this mess, yet it doesn’t stop development in South Carolina.

But half-truths can stop road improvements dead in their tracks.

Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings.

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