Granite Countertops in Isle of Palms, SC

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCBD) – Residents on the Isle of Palms spoke concerned about a possible threat to the island’s golf courses, green spaces, and recreation spaces.

Some of the green spaces in the Wild Dunes Resort could be bulldozed if action isn’t taken to prevent development. Neighbors say they’re concerned Wild Dunes Resort owners are looking to build hotels and homes over the spaces.

The overwhelming message from residents during a special called city council meeting Monday was working to protect the green spaces. City council approved the first reading for five ordinances they say will do just that. Some council members warn it could be a lengthy process.

“Who wins when we give away accommodations tax money,” says Randy Bell, a former Isle of Palms City Councilman and concerned resident. “The entities that don’t benefit the community, that is not a benefit to this community.”

Dozens of residents voiced concerns about potential plans to build over Wild Dunes golf courses and recreational spaces saying the development could bring severe consequences.

“Not only to preserve the greenspaces and open spaces that are critical for stormwater management but also to limit the density in Wild Dunes to mitigate the impact on the city’s resources,” says Bev Miller, a concerned resident.

Plans for development within the resort could bring hundreds of homes, hotels, or condos in place of the current green spaces. Residents at the meeting say it would also bring traffic, noise, and parking issues with it.

“And it’s for the purpose of allowing this audience and this community a voice in the affairs of the community,” says Bell.

Council took up five ordinances meant to protect green space and prevent the building. All five ordinances passed with 8 to 1 votes.

“We need to make sure we protect all the interests, protect as much greenspace as we can,” says Councilman Rusty Streetman. “Conservation and all of that is top of mind.”

Councilman Kevin Popson was the only no vote on the ordinances. The ordinances will likely move to second reading in the coming weeks. Council warns the process could be a lengthy one with potential negotiations with Wild Dunes or legal action looming.

“I fully support what we are doing,” says Councilman Blair Hahn. “But this is the beginning of what could be a six-month process.”

During the special called meeting, residents say it’s important to keep fighting to protect the land and recreational spaces.

“We can not back down from these people,” says Tony Santiago, a concerned resident. “They will just keep coming and coming and coming.”

Isle of Palms City Council will hold a public hearing on the topic and five ordinances Tuesday, October 18th at City Hall to allow people to give feedback before they get a second reading. The hearing will start at 5 pm.

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCIV) — As Hurricane Nicole makes its way to the Lowcountry, officials along the coast are concerned about possible beach erosion.

In September, Hurricane Ian left its mark on the Isle of Palms.

“Lot of debris, for sure. Beach erosion was not so bad with Ian, and we’ll keep our fingers crossed for Nicole coming up. But a lot of debris, trees down, flooding in our hotspots," says Philip Pounds, the mayor of Isle of Palms.

In preparation for Nicole, IOP's Public Safety team surveyed the beaches.

“Our public safety folks did some drone footage earlier this week just to kind of have a base line for a pre-storm view, and then they’ll do a post probably Saturday when the storm clears out just to see if we have any erosion," continued Mayor Pounds.

The direction of the storm is also causing some concern.

“Didn’t have any issues with Ian. This one, again, since we’re on the other side of the storm, there’s certainly heightened concerns. But hopefully by the time it gets here, we’re talking 30 to 40 mile per hour winds mostly and storm surge of a couple of feet. Hopefully that won’t do too much, but we’ll probably have some issues," said Mayor Pounds.

Nicole is expected to bring heavy winds, rain, and possible isolated tornadoes, which is why Mayor Pounds is assuring the public he's preparing for the worst.

"We’ve pulled off all the trash cans that sit out on the beach for beachgoers. We’ll have some public safety personnel this week," Mayor Pounds says.

His main message is to be cautious.

“As we saw with Ian, the past changes pretty regularly and a few miles makes a big difference. This one seems pretty certain as far as the cone as where it’s going so, but certainly for residents just stay plugged in wherever you get your news from," said Mayor Pounds.

We also checked in with Sullivan's Island town officials. They say they will continue to keep an eye on the beaches, but no emergency evacuation order has been issued.

By Brian Sherman for The Island Eye News

The South Carolina Department of Transportation stopped working on a study that will provide options to restripe the Isle of Palms Connector in late October, apparently in response to a lawsuit filed by an organization founded by a former IOP mayor and a current Council member.

According to IOP City Administrator Desiree Fragoso, she was informed by the SCDOT the evening of Oct. 31 “that they may be pausing the study.” Four days later, on Nov. 4, Fragoso got the word that SCDOT was moving forward with plans to present its findings to the IOP Council, either on Nov. 15 or Dec. 6, Fragoso said.

“We paused our work in order to let the attorneys review the situation,” Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall said in a Nov. 7 email. “Following their review, we resumed work a few days later. The pause had no significant impact. We are still on track to meet with IOP city officials prior to the end of the calendar year.” Mayor Phillip Pounds said the city did not negotiate with the state agency during the week the study was paused but instead “leveraged our relationships SCDOT and State Sen. (Chip) Campsen to get this thing back on track.” Pounds said SCDOT probably would present eight to 10 options for the Connector bridge at the city Council’s Dec. 6 meeting. The next step is “still to be determined.” Pounds noted that the Council, the Public Safety Committee – headed by Jan Anderson – and the general public might all play a role in paring the options down to a workable number. Without any input from the city of Isle of Palms, SCDOT re-striped the bridge in March 2021, adding two bike lanes and two pedestrian lanes and shrinking the center emergency lane from 10 feet to 4 feet. A year later, former Mayor Jimmy Carroll and sitting Council Member Blair Hahn formed The Palm Republic, a privately funded organization that has questioned the constitutionality of S.40, a law passed in 2021 which grants SCDOT the authority to determine where visitors to IOP, Sullivan’s Island, Edisto and Folly Beach can park on state roads and how much, if anything, these municipalities can charge them. The Palm Republic recently filed a petition and complaint with the South Carolina Supreme Court in an effort to force SCDOT to treat these four communities as it treats the state’s other municipalities. The lawsuit also claims that SCDOT violated the Constitution by restriping the bridge without input from the city. Hahn was not happy with what appeared to be SCDOT’s reaction to The Palm Republic’s lawsuit. “Every citizen has a right to challenge the constitutionality of any statute,” Hahn said. “If a government entity threatens to withhold government services because a citizen is challenging the constitutionality of a statute, that government entity should be held accountable because that’s illegal.” “SCDOT didn’t do a single engineering study or engineering report when they re-striped the bridge. They did nothing except follow the direction of those on high,” Hahn added. Fragoso, meanwhile, said the city would work with SCDOT to find ways to make the configuration of the Connector bridge more palatable to the Council and the community.

“We continue to work collaboratively with DOT in solving issues in our community that need addressing, and we’re eager to see the final report on the IOP Connector, evaluate the options presented and discuss the best path for that project,” Fragoso said.

STARTING the holidays off together are newlyweds John Robinson Block, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Blade and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Mary Fackler Schiavo, an attorney and the former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The pair tied the wedding knot at the stately Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh on Nov. 19. The Duquesne Club, founded in 1873, has counted in its membership such high-profile figures as Andrew Carnegie, Andrew Mellon, H.J. Heinz, and George Westinghouse.

The bride and groom grew up in northwest Ohio only 62 miles apart, Mr. Block in Toledo and the new Mrs. Block in Pioneer, Ohio, on a farm that she still owns and that has been in her family since its first settlement in the 1840s. Their paths never crossed until December, 1990, when Mr. Block interviewed Mrs. Block on The Editors, a current affairs program that aired on WNWO-TV, Channel 24, in Toledo.

Mr. Block, a Yale graduate, and Mrs. Block, a Harvard graduate, reconnected in 2017, and the rest is history.

Their late parents are Paul Block Jr., and Marjorie McNab Block and stepmother Mary Block, and Harland and Nina Essex Fackler.

The festivities started with a cocktail reception, while musicians played softly in the background. Passed hors d'oeuvres included the club's signature crab canapes.

The bride, resplendent in a beautiful white gown adorned with the McNab family’s Scottish tartan, strolled down the aisle escorted by her children, Larissa Fackler Schiavo and Alex Fackler Schiavo. Her groom was “given away” by Cynthia McNab, his first cousin and a former Toledoan. He waited for his bride in black tails adorned with his late mother's family crest and crest of The Blade.

The bridal party included Mr. Block's brother Allan Block, chairman of Block Communications Inc., and his wife Susan. There were also Alex Petok, stepbrother of the groom; John Kulesza, a college friend of the groom, and Amy Brauchle, a friend of the bride.

Cyrus Block, the brother of the groom who could not be there in person, was an honorary groomsman.

The exchange of vows was heartwarming. Then the pair exchanged gimmel rings, consisting of two interlocking hoops that fit together to form a single ring. Gimmel rings are an English and German tradition dating back to at least 1350; Mr. Block’s grandmother and great-grandmother also wed with gimmel rings.

Live music again played softly during the elegant dinner reception with white-glove service. The menu featured butternut squash soup, tournedo of beef tenderloin, and filet of Virginia spot, English style for which the club is known. It was all paired with wines and champagnes to toast the newlyweds.

Dessert was, of course, wedding cake: vanilla cake with vanilla bean chantilly, fresh berries, and vanilla bean creme anglaise. Guests also enjoyed the club's famous macaroons.

The night still young, many guests enjoyed nightcaps, while others ventured into the brisk weather to enjoy the 61st annual Light Up the Night, Pittsburgh's official kickoff of the holiday season that included extraordinary fireworks.

Family and friends came from all over the country to witness the wedding. Those from or with ties to the northwest Ohio area included Dr. S. Amjad Hussain, a long-time friend of Mr. Block’s and a Blade columnist, who read a touching ancient poem during the ceremony; Ohio Rep. Bob Latta and wife Marcia Latta, and former Toledo mayor Carty Finkbeiner and wife Amy; Dave and Judy Murray; Richard and Shelley Walinski; Richard and Cindy Nensel; Merrill and Nancy Frame; Tasha Hussain Black; Rex and Rhonda Damschroder, and Keith and Amy Burris.

Other locals attending were Kurt Franck, president and executive editor of The Blade, and his wife Lynn; Jodi Miehls, president and chief operating officer for Block Communications Inc.; John Straub, a former Toledo attorney and BCI board member, and former Toledoan Michael Sallah, deputy managing editor of investigations at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The newlyweds will call Mr. Block's Pittsburgh home, Mrs. Block's Isle of Palms, S.C. home, and northwest Ohio, their homes.

By Frank Strait for Island Eye News

As feared back on Friday, we have a new named Atlantic storm that threatens South Carolina later this week. Allow me to introduce you to Subtropical Storm Nicole.

centered on Subtropical Storm Nicole.Source: University of Wisconsin RealEarth

Some of you may be wondering what is a subtropical storm. In simple terms, it is a hybrid storm that has characteristics of both a tropical storm and an extratropical storm. An extratropical storm is an ordinary low-pressure area that we see typically move from west to east across North America with attached warm and cold fronts. Nicole formed out of a strong tropical wave joining forces with an upper-level low that was spinning east of The Bahamas.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast indicates a wandering track in the general direction of Florida, then a northward turn toward us.

The NHC forecast track for Nicole, uncertainty cone,and current watches and warnings as of 11 a.m. Monday.

Remember that the track forecast indicates where NHC predicts where storm’s center will go and that the uncertainty cone refers to the range of possible center tracks, and not where actual impacts will occur. Significant effects from Nicole will occur outside of the cone. A full description of the cone is on NHC’s website.

The forecast track will take Nicole over water that is still around 82°F.

The 11 a.m. Monday NHC forecast track superimposed overa plot of sea surface temperatures.Source: NOAA PhOD Observations Viewer.

The forecast calls for Nicole to become a tropical storm by tomorrow evening, then a Category 1 hurricane by Wednesday morning. Interaction with land as it passes over Florida and perhaps Georgia will weaken Nicole as it turns northward, but it is still forecast to be a tropical storm with 50 mph winds when it passes over or near South Carolina on Friday night and early Saturday.

The current forecast track keeps the impacts from the storm mainly over the Coastal Plain, with limited rain and wind risks into the Midlands and Central Savannah River Area. Unless Nicole goes farther west than currently forecast, the parched Upstate will welcome the inch or so of rainfall Nicole will bring.

However, significant impacts will be felt in South Carolina well ahead of Nicole’s passage. Like we saw with Hurricane Ian, a strong high pressure area will be moving into the northeastern part of the country as Nicole approaches Florida. The resulting steep pressure gradient (the change in pressure over a distance) between these two weather features will cause gusty winds as air flows rapidly from high pressure toward low pressure.

These gusty winds will be out of the northeast on Wednesday, then becoming more easterly on Thursday, pushing water ashore along our coastal areas. If this wasn’t enough of a problem, we also have a full moon tomorrow (I incorrectly said a new moon in Friday’s alert … sorry for having my head in the clouds), and high astronomical tides from that will last all week. The onshore flow and high astronomical tides will cause another round of tidal flooding. This becomes a problem with tomorrow’s high tides and flooding will occur with each high tide the rest of this week. There is potential for major coastal flooding on Thursday morning along the Lowcountry coast.

Major tidal flooding is in the forecast for Thursday.

Coastal flooding will also be a concern along the Grand Strand, but the Lowcountry coast tends to be more vulnerable. Another round of coastal flooding appears likely Friday and Friday night as Nicole passes along our coastline and generates a storm surge. If this happens at high tide, major flooding will occur again.

With the current forecast track, the heaviest rain will occur over our Coastal Plain. The storm should be moving fast enough to prevent extreme rainfall totals, but there is potential for 3-6 inches in the Lowcountry and Pee Dee regions. That’s still a lot, so there will be a flash flooding risk. Of course, heavy rainfall at high tide will exacerbate coastal flooding, especially if there’s a storm surge ongoing. However, aside from the soaking that we saw from Ian, it’s been dry across the state for months, and river flooding will not be a big concern.

If Nicole passes along our coast as forecast, the risk for isolated tornadoes will remain confined to our coastal areas. Should Nicole track farther west while passing through South Carolina, the tornado risk will be higher and affect more of the state. A track more to the east will mean little or no tornado risk in the state but might result in more wind and surge along our coast.

It’s still early in the game with Nicole and some adjustments to the forecast are likely to happen. Still, it’s time to batten those hatches again if you live along our coast. Visit hurricane.sc for storm preparation tips. Meetings may keep me from issuing an alert tomorrow, but you can expect regular updates on Nicole Wednesday until the storm passes.

There is another possible developing storm well to the east of Bermuda today. However, it won’t pass anywhere near South Carolina and isn’t a concern for us. It will wander around east of Bermuda for the next day or so, then move away to the northeast.

developing about 700 miles east of Bermuda.Source: University of Wisconsin RealEarth.

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