Tree Trimming in Charleston

We are pleased to see local leaders more committed than ever to establishing a safe way to walk and bike across the Ashley River in the vicinity of the North Bridge. It’s long overdue, as lives have been lost by people trying to navigate the dangerous span that has six lanes for cars and trucks but no sidewalk space.

But as officials continue to study the best solution, the complexity and cost of the challenge is becoming more clear: We need more than a safe way across the Ashley River for cyclists and pedestrians. We also need a safe crossing of Interstate 26, which hugs the North Charleston shoreline at the eastern terminus of the bridge.

A bike-ped bridge likely would pass under I-26 well south of its Cosgrove Avenue intersection along Baker Hospital Boulevard, though it also could be built north of the bridge and cross I-26 on Azalea Drive. The idea of widening the offramps from I-26 onto Cosgrove — and adding stoplights there that would allow a safe crossing for those on foot or on bike — would need to take traffic volume and safety into account but should not be ruled out at this point.

For the past year, Charleston County has worked on a conceptual design for a 14-foot-wide pedestrian bridge near the North Bridge — formally the World War II Memorial Bridge on S.C. Highway 7. The project team working on the “Better North Bridge” study intends to provide a website presenting at least one concept and cost estimate later this year, and then the public can provide feedback. We urge the county to ensure that work remains on track.

Because even if elected leaders and the public quickly agree on the best plan, the next, even more challenging step will be finding the money to build it. Its ultimate cost could be northward of $30 million, or 50% more than the standalone bike-ped bridge being designed across the Ashley River just south of the U.S. Highway 17 drawbridges.

Some people will blanch at such a large sum to provide safe accommodations for bicyclists and pedestrians, but it’s important to realize that our local bike-ped investments remain a tiny fraction of our overall spending on roads and bridges.

There’s clearly a chicken-and-egg issue, too. Few people consider walking or biking in some places because it’s unsafe to do so. If better sidewalks, bridges and other spaces are provided, that will change, especially because many of us realize the benefits to our health, our environment and our quality of life. It’s also a chance to take some cars off our roads.

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It’s important to note other options have been ruled out: The S.C. Department of Transportation confirmed last year it has no plans to replace the North Bridge anytime soon, and it’s unlikely that the bridge’s structure could handle a bike-ped path attached to one edge.

A safe crossing here also is key to giving West Ashley residents bike-ped access to the new Lowcountry Rapid Transit project, a fast bus link being built between Ladson and downtown Charleston.

While the county is taking the lead on the study, the cities of Charleston and North Charleston have been supportive, too. “Everybody is coming to the table, which I think is the most important part of this,” said Katie Zimmerman of the cycling-advocacy group Charleston Moves.

Local leaders likely will seek federal help to pay for the bulk of the project, as they did successfully with the Ashley River bike-ped bridge in the works near downtown Charleston.

Specifically, the region could apply for a U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE grant (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, formerly known as a BUILD or TIGER grant).

Those grants are highly competitive; only about 680 projects have been funded out of almost 10,000 applications. They are awarded based on safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, economic competitiveness, partnerships and other criteria, as well as projects’ ability to improve racial equity, reduce climate change impacts and create good-paying jobs.

The North Bridge project could compete well on those terms. And while we won’t be in a position to meet this year’s July 12 grant deadline, local leaders should ensure they’re fully prepared to apply next year.

Catches of large dolphin earned teams competing in the 2021 South Carolina Mahi Series some big paydays for the event that ended June 5.

Participants in the event that began May 10 were allowed to choose two fish days and weigh two dolphin (also known as mahi mahi) each day with their two heaviest fish counting toward the top prize.

She Agreed, captained by Mike Szucs out of Beaufort, won the tournament with a two-fish aggregate of 84.1 pounds, including the tournament’s heaviest dolphin, a 61.7-pound catch. She Agreed earned $18,000 plus another $9,700 for winning the Mahi Big Fish TWT (tournament within a tournament).

Bush Hook, captained by Jeffrey Sawyer of Summerville, took second place with 73.2 pounds, a 48.5 fish and a 24.7-pound catch. Bush Hook earned $8,500 from the main tournament and another $5,700 for finishing second in the Mahi High Roller TWT.

Third place went to Yates Sea, captained by David Yates of Mount Pleasant, with a two-fish aggregate of 72.2 pounds. Yates Sea won $4,000 from the main tournament plus $9,500 from the High Roller TWT.

Rounding out the top 10 finishers were: Fish Tanked, Johnston McCurry, Johns Island, 72.2; The Drum, Burton Harbin, Traveler’s Rest, 63.9; Reel Pipes, Timothy Redd, Aiken, 62.8; Sandman, Mike Holmes, Walterboro, 62.6; No Limit, Marvin Benford, Summerville, 59.1; Water We Doin’, Shevlin Howe, Isle of Palms, 57.9; and Sea Spur, Elliott Koonce, Georgetown, 55.5.

Sandman, which finished seventh overall, actually enjoyed the tournament’s biggest payday. Sandman took the winner-take-all S.C. Big Mahi TWT with a 41.5-pound catch that was worth $24,000. Sandman also won $850 for finishing seventh and $3,800 for finishing third in the Mahi High Roller TWT, a total of $28,650.

The tournament’s three heaviest fish — She Agreed’s 61.7-pound catch, Yates Sea’s 53.2-pound fish and Bush Hook’s 48.5-pound catch — were all caught on May 17. Sandman’s 41.5-pound catch, the fourth heaviest, was caught June 2.

Stocks and Bonds, captained by Michael Schiess of Pawleys Island, won the Tuna TWT with a 31.9-pound yellowfin worth $8,200.

Neal Koonce, fishing aboard Sea Spur, was the top youth angler with a 30.8-pound dolphin. Lauren Sawyer, aboard Bush Hooked, was the top lady angler with the team’s 48.5-pound dolphin.

“I’m extremely happy with the way this tournament is going,” said tournament director and founder Capt. Marc Pincus of Hilton Head. “We had 105 boats last year, which I thought was miraculous. I was trying to get 50 and ended up with 105. To get 128 boats this year, I was really excited.

“Even though you have to go far out, the mahi fishery is something a lot of people can go out and enjoy. It’s a fun fishery that gets a lot of people involved.”

Pincus said he chose the April-June timeframe for the event because that’s when it seems the dolphin fishery is at its peak. Pincus also runs the S.C. Wahoo Series (scwahooseries.com), which ended April 24, and he said it seems every year that a big dolphin shows up the final week of that event. He said a 50-pounder caught the final week of the S.C. Wahoo Series won the dolphin TWT.

“May is our red-hot time for dolphin. It’s not unusual to go out and catch 10, 15 fish. And that’s what we want,” Pincus said. “If people go out and catch fish then they have a good time. If they go out and get skunked, it’s hard to get those folks back.

“I thought this year was a super bite. Everybody I talked to was catching fish and that’s what you want.”

The S.C. Mahi Series is the middle event of the three-tournament HUK South Carolina Saltwater Series. Pincus said this year 52 boats are participating in the overall series, a good number, he said, when he was hoping for at least 15 to 20. The top points earner will win $2,500 cash and a $2,500 HUK gift certificate. Second place will win a $2,500 HUK gift certificate.

The final event is the S.C. Fall Classic (scfallclassic) king mackerel tournament, which runs Sept. 21-Nov. 7. Participants in the S.C. Fall Classic can choose two fish days, weigh two fish each day, and have their three heaviest count toward the aggregate total. The top prize is $20,000.

“We had 100 boats last year and 80 the year before,” Pincus said. “I thought 100 was exceptional and my goal is to get back to 100 boats.

“Fishing in last year’s tournament was outstanding. The fall kingfish bite is unbelievable here, off the chain. Boats were catching 20, 30 fish a day and most were over 30 pounds. It’s an incredible fishery we have here in the fall. People will catch 15, 20 kings and they may not win the tournament but they’ll remember that day and there’s a good chance they will come back and fish again next year.”

Hooked on Miracles king mackerel tournament

The Hooked on Miracles King Mackerel Tournament will return following a one-year absence because of the coronavirus with competition scheduled July 17 out of Ripley Light Yacht Club. Proceeds from the tournament benefit the MUSC Children’s Hospital.

The captain’s meeting for the tournament (hookedonmiracles.com) presented by Key West Boats will be held from 5-9 p.m. July 15, with an MUSC children’s outing aboard the Billistic on July 16. Fishing hours on July 17 are from 6:30 a.m.-5 p.m. with check-in from 2-5 p.m. First prize, based on 125 paid entrants, is $25,000. The entry fee is $400 per boat.

The Swamp Fox chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will hold its annual fundraising banquet and auction on June 26 at the Exchange Building at the Exchange Park on Highway 78 in Ladson. Doors open at 5 p.m. for the sportsman exhibits with dinner at 6:15 p.m. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Contact Wayne Grace Jr. at 843-834-7779 or Karen Whaley at 843-870-3480 or email swampfoxnwtf@gmail.com.

America’s Boating Club Charleston will hold a boating safety class June 26 at 1376 Orange Grove Road, Charleston. The class begins at 9 a.m. and ends around 4 p.m. Successful participants earn the S.C. Department of Natural Resources Boater Education Card. The cost is $25 for adults and youth 12-18 are free. Call 843-312-2876 or email lynest@tds.net.

Teddy Gilbreth’s Thursday column on the Monaco Grand Prix, which ended with a reference to the number of cars exceeding the speed limit on Interstate 526, got me thinking about speeding.

It is my observation that about 93% of the cars on S.C. highways are speeding. On interstates such as I-26 and I-526, the number is 98%. (The remaining 2% are coasting because they’re running out of gas.)

In downtown Charleston, it’s generally not possible to speed because of potholes, submerged drainage grates and red-green colorblind tourists. Despite that, some drivers still make the effort, especially on East Bay between Calhoun and the Harris Teeter — our own version of the Monaco straightaway, except with palm trees and pedestrians on the sidewalk, narrower travel lanes and two-way traffic.

It is my sense that the drivers who are the most assertive about their rights to speed have few good reasons to reach their destinations 69 seconds earlier than they would if they obeyed the speed limit. Instead, I believe this behavior has three causes:

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Amid the multitude of Dutch Dialogues, listening sessions, flood abatement/detention/retention seminars, et al., there is one stunningly simple thing Americans can do to slow global warming and sea level rise: slow down. The 55-mph speed limit, enacted after the Arab oil embargo of 1973-74, reduced oil consumption by 167,000 barrels a day, saving more than 1 billion barrels of oil over the life of the embargo. This means the 55-mph speed limit prevented about 500 million metric tons of greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere and further warming the planet.

As a side benefit, the 55-mph speed limit improved gas mileage, reduced wear and tear on cars and roads, lowered annual expenses to car owners and taxpayers and substantially cut down on automobile accidents. One study concluded the lower speed limit saved more than 10,000 lives.

I served on then-Gov. Mark Sanford’s climate, energy and commerce committee in 2007. After more than a year of meetings, the committee approved 51 climate-mitigation measures the state could adopt. (Sadly, none was adopted.)

When a MeadWestvaco executive explained the climate, energy and commerce benefits of reducing the speed limit, the committee, which worked by consensus, chose not to consider it as a possible mitigation measure. I’ll never forget the executive’s response: “Well, I guess it comes down to how committed we really are to dealing with climate change.”

Perhaps now, with dry-weather flooding increasing almost daily, and with the city of Charleston and the Lowcountry facing the prospect of tens of billions of dollars in flood-related damage to private houses, stores and offices and to public infrastructure ... perhaps now we’ll give this modest proposal another look. I’m not overly optimistic, but it’s worth a try.

Dana Beach is a conservationist and Charleston resident.

Allstate

The world isn’t standing still, and neither is Allstate. We’re moving quickly, looking across our businesses and brands and taking bold steps to better serve customers’ evolving needs. That’s why now is an exciting time to join our team. You’ll have opportunities to take risks, challenge the status quo and shape the future for the greater good.

You’ll do all this in an environment of excellence and the highest ethical standards – a place where values such as integrity, inclusive diversity and accountability are paramount. We empower every employee to lead, drive change and give back where they work and live. Our people are our greatest strength, and we work as one team in service of our customers and communities.

Everything we do at Allstate is driven by a shared purpose: to protect people from life’s uncertainties so they can realize their hopes and dreams. For more than 89 years we’ve thrived by staying a step ahead of whatever’s coming next – to give customers peace of mind no matter what changes they face. We acted with conviction to advocate for seat belts, air bags and graduated driving laws. We help give survivors of domestic violence a voice through financial empowerment. We’ve been an industry leader in pricing sophistication, telematics, digital photo claims and, more recently, device and identity protection. We are the Good Hands. We don’t follow the trends. We set them.

Job Description

Unexpected events are often unnerving. So, it takes someone special to put the pieces back together for our customers.
This is the opportunity you’ve been looking for to truly impact someone’s life! Start your claims professional career today as a Field Property Adjuster -Charleston, SC and be part of our dynamic team!

Compensation range: 51,000-74,100

A Day in the Life:
• Spend part of your day traveling to loss sites that have been damaged by fire, water, weather or other unexpected events.
• Conduct a detailed inspection of the property and write an estimate to capture the extent of the damages
• When you are not in the field, use advanced video technology to collaborate with onsite vendors to identify damages and write a damage estimate from a virtual setting
• Review the policy and decide how coverage applies and provide the customer with a detailed explanation of both the estimate and the policy
• Communicate empathetically with customers and help them through their claim process in a fast, fair and easy manner
• Negotiate claim settlements with customers in accordance with business unit standard methodologies
• Use data and analytics to tell a story and influence decision making
• Flexibility to work in a variety of environments - independently, within a team, face-to-face, and virtually

Job Qualifications

You’re a great match for this role if you:
• Have previous experience in construction, restoration, or real estate appraisals
• Have prior experience using estimating software like Xactimate
• Value providing an effortless customer service experience
• You enjoy the ability to work independently starting your day from home, and traveling to various locations to restore peoples’ lives through outstanding customer service
• View problems and setbacks as opportunities for improvement and look forward to coming up with creative solutions
• Are organized and able to multi-task in a fast-paced environment
• Are known for clear and professional communication – both written and verbal
• Have a bachelor’s degree and/or prior customer service experience
• Being bilingual and/or having prior military experience is a plus

We Offer:

A culture of learning where you can expect to develop foundational skills for the future
Leadership teams that are communicative and compassionate
Impactful work by serving customers and the community in times of need

Potential for flexible work arrangements
A culture in which you dress for your day
Recognition and advancement opportunities
Paid Time Off, 401(k) and pension
Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage
You can view all Allstate benefits @ https://allstategoodlife.com

Long Description

Unexpected events are often unnerving. So, it takes someone special to put the pieces back together for our customers.

This is the opportunity you’ve been looking for to truly impact someone’s life! Start your claims professional career today as a Field Property Adjuster in Charleston, SC and be part of our dynamic team!

A Day in the Life:

As a condition of employment, your office/area may require you to obtain an adjuster and/or an appraiser license.

Since this is a field role, you will also need a driver’s license and reliable vehicle. This is a demanding field position that will require you to travel within the territory as much as 75% of your working time. As a result, you must be willing to work some weekend and extended hours if necessary.

If offered the role, your training will be virtual. You will work with other Allstate employees to learn standard processes, answer any questions you have and make career connections.

Job Qualifications

You’re a great match for this role if you:

We Offer:

The candidate(s) offered this position will be required to submit to a background investigation, which includes a drug screen.

As a Fortune 100 company and industry leader, we provide a competitive salary – but that’s just the beginning. Our Total Rewards package also offers benefits like tuition assistance, medical and dental insurance, as well as a robust pension and 401(k). Plus, you’ll have access to a wide variety of programs to help you balance your work and personal life -- including a generous paid time off policy. For a full description of Allstate’s benefits, visit allstate.jobs/benefits/

Learn more about life at Allstate. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn or watch a video.

Effective July 1, 2014, under Indiana House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1242, it is against public policy of the State of Indiana and a discriminatory practice for an employer to discriminate against a prospective employee on the basis of status as a veteran by refusing to employ an applicant on the basis that they are a veteran of the armed forces of the United States, a member of the Indiana National Guard or a member of a reserve component.

For jobs in San Francisco, please click “here” for information regarding the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.
For jobs in Los Angeles, please click “here” for information regarding the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

To view the “EEO is the Law” poster click “here”. This poster provides information concerning the laws and procedures for filing complaints of violations of the laws with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

To view the FMLA poster, click “here”. This poster summarizing the major provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and telling employees how to file a complaint.

It is the Company’s policy to employ the best qualified individuals available for all jobs. Therefore, any discriminatory action taken on account of an employee’s ancestry, age, color, disability, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual and reproductive health decision, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, race (include traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles), religion (including religious dress), sex, or sexual orientation that adversely affects an employee's terms or conditions of employment is prohibited. This policy applies to all aspects of the employment relationship, including, but not limited to, hiring, training, salary administration, promotion, job assignment, benefits, discipline, and separation of employment.

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DOWNTOWN CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – This week you voted for your go-to Lowcountry brewery and Edmund’s Oast received the most votes.

The brewery makes a wide variety of beers from fruit and sours to seltzers and IPA’s. You can even find Strawberry Rhubarb on the drink menu.

“The beer program and the restaurant was doing well, so we decided that we wanted to make more beer,” said Brewing Director Cameron Read.

Edmund’s Oast Restaurant decided to expand it’s business into a brewery.

“It’s a very casual easy-going environment, obviously during COVID it’s a lot different than it normally is and, knock on wood, we’re slowly progressing through,” said Read.

To the company’s surprise business still poured in during the pandemic.

“We started to do a lot of to-go business which picked up pretty aggressively right out of the gate of COVID which was a big shock to all of us,” said Read.

But back to beers… “Oh boy, we have all kinds of stuff, so we’ve done since we’ve opened we’ve done probably 100 plus different beers, so there’s always something new coming out,” said Read.

Lindsey Forbes visiting from Pennsylvania said it was the taste of the beers that drew her in while visiting the Lowcountry.

“We got their beers before at North Carolina at one of their beer stores and really liked it and wanted to come down here and check out the brewery,” said Forbes.

It’s also the locals who keep the place busy. People like Roscoe Bolton who is a regular from Charleston and was enjoying a Sorbet sour when we caught up with him.

“We’ve been coming here for a long time. We’ve got kids, so the field outside is great for letting them run around in and just be able to relax, enjoy a couple of beers, and the time outside,” said Roscoe

“Our regulars are amazing, they’re what keep us going and the local Charleston crew that comes and hangouts and drinks and buys our beer we wouldn’t be without them either,” Read said.