We Buy Estate Jewelry in Myrtle Beach, SC

It is projected to rain in Columbia on Saturday and no one cares. Short of a tsunami ripping through Five Points, nothing will dampen the energy in the morning.

“College GameDay” will be set up in Gamecock Park. Students will be up before dawn, scarfing down bacon, egg and cheese biscuits as they touch up their signs. For three hours, the eyes of the college football world will be on Columbia, South Carolina. On Shane Beamer’s program. And on Dawn Staley, who seems made to be a guest picker.

Then 2-0 South Carolina will kick off against No. 16 LSU. The night will either be filled with pandemonium or early bedtimes. The Gamecocks will determine that.

Here are some thoughts:

At some point, coaches have to make a jump. Leap from bad to decent. Decent to average. Average to good. Good to really good. Really good to competing for titles.

Making jumps, though, is hard.

Steve Spurrier had South Carolina incredibly consistent over his first five seasons at South Carolina. The Gamecocks won seven games three times, six games once and eight games once. It wasn’t until 2010 that he elevated the program to really good.

With “College GameDay” in town, the Gamecocks knocked off Alabama on a magical October afternoon in Columbia. That game spring-boarded South Carolina’s program. It won 11 games for the first time ever — then did it two more times.

Obviously, beating No. 1 Alabama is a bigger deal than knocking off No. 16 LSU. But the point remains: To raise your program, you have to start winning games you’re not supposed to.

The Gamecocks seemingly elevated with the back-to-back wins over Tennessee and Clemson in 2022, but then quickly dropped back down with a 5-7 season last year.

Perhaps Saturday is the day Beamer’s program takes a leap. Maybe it’ll be in October against Ole Miss. Or, maybe, it doesn’t come.

A few months ago, The Athletic NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler ranked his top offensive tackles for the 2025 Draft.

No. 1 was Will Campbell ... from LSU.

No. 2 was Emery Jones Jr. ... from LSU.

South Carolina demolished Kentucky last week because of its pass rush, a bunch that outmaneuvered, overpowered and out-willed the Wildcats’ offensive line. The two guys getting the most praise — for good reason — are Kyle Kennard — who leads South Carolina with 3.5 sacks — and Dylan Stewart, who might be the best true freshman in America. They’re freaks.

If there is any reason to still be skeptical of the Gamecocks’ pass rushers, though, it’s the competition. They’ve faced Old Dominion — which allowed more sacks than any other FBS team last year — and a Kentucky squad that had a banged-up offensive line.

If South Carolina’s front dominates Saturday, the only question will be how much money does Stewart need to stay in Columbia?

How good is LSU’s offensive line?

“Arguably the best offensive line in the country,” said Beamer. “The two tackles are unbelievable.”

Especially Campbell. In over 1,700 career snaps, Beamer noted, he’s given up just three sacks — and two were by NFL draft picks Will Anderson Jr. and Jared Verse.

Perhaps Kennard or Stewart will add their names to that list Saturday.

It is hard to watch Stewart wreak havoc in SEC games or left tackle Josiah Thompson hold his own for two weeks and think that it’s a bad thing.

But this week, offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains was talking about the solid play of true freshman wide receiver Mazeo Bennett and offered unique perspective.

“I wish we weren’t playing this many freshmen,” Loggains said.

And it makes sense. It’s nice that Bennett and true freshman tight end Michael Smith have earned their way into playing time, but relying on that much youth raises questions.

Why did recruiting take a sudden uptick?

Are veterans not developing?

Is it actually a good thing, a sign that South Carolina will be even better in four years?

Time will tell.

We know that South Carolina and quarterback LaNorris Sellers have struggled to get the Gamecocks’ passing offense going. This week, with LSU and junior QB Garrett Nussmeier coming to town, you see how bad it’s really been.

The Gamecocks have thrown for just 280 yards this season (12th-worst mark in the country). Nussmeier threw for more than that in each game this season, already with 610 passing yards on the year.

Now that is not the end-all be-all — LSU is 1-1 while South Carolina is 2-0 — but it seems tough to conceive that the Gamecocks could win Saturday if the Tigers throw for twice as many yards.

During his Tuesday news conference, Beamer was trying to explain the hype around his program following the Kentucky win and the “College GameDay” announcement.

“We’re having to turn people away,” he said. “We’ve got so many recruits who wanna come to this game.”

Beamer wasn’t lying. There’s going to be a boatload of prospects in the stands at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday.

Some of the notable names who will be at the game:

PREDICTION: LSU 31, South Carolina 27

All over the United States, towns, cities and counties take out bonds in order to pay for large expenses.

As a result, some municipalities operate in debt.

And it’s no different here.

All 46 counties in South Carolina submit their debt and expenses to the state treasurer’s office annually. Those findings are then published in the South Carolina Office of the Treasurer’s Local Government Debt Report at the end of each fiscal year.

According to that report, Horry County had the fifth-highest total county debt of all 46 counties in the state.

Counties that had higher debt included Charleston County, Dorchester County, Greenville County and Richland County.

For the 2023 fiscal year, Horry County’s debt to assessed value was 2.6%, which is less than a third of the state’s 8% cap, South Carolina’s Treasurer’s Office Communications Director Karen Ingram said.

The eight percent value is important because it’s the limit for all local governments to follow in South Carolina, according to the state’s constitution.

South Carolina’s state constitution said no municipality is allowed to have debt that is greater than eight percent of the assessed value of all taxable property.

The exception to that law is if voters approve a referendum for the government to go above the outlined eight percent limit, according to state law.

In total, Horry County reported $177,454,379 in their total debt outstanding, the report showed. Within that grand total, $79,434,000 was general obligation debt and $98,020,379 was revenue debt.

Within Horry County, the City of Myrtle Beach has the highest total municipal debt at $209,221,369, according to the state treasurer’s report.

Ingram said she did not have the information required to run the same calculations for the City of Myrtle Beach’s debt ceiling.

At Tuesday’s Myrtle Beach City Council meeting, council members were presented with another opportunity to add to the city’s debt.

The proposed ordinance would have allowed for the city to provide the issuance and sale of $81,000,000 of “aggregate principal amount limited obligation bonds,” according to meeting’s agenda.

That money would be used to defray the costs of renovations to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center and improvements to the downtown Arts and Innovation District, as well as refinance other debts the city owes, Ordinance 57-2024 said.

After council member Gregg Smith made a motion to approve the ordinance on first reading at Tuesday’s meeting, no other council member seconded his motion so the ordinance failed to move forward.

“I guess we need to bring this up in another workshop so that it’s better understood,” Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune said after the first reading failed.

For other municipalities in Horry County, the report said The City of Conway came in at $878,758 for their total debt, while North Myrtle Beach had $595,794 for theirs and the Town of Surfside Beach had $3,753,000.

The Town of Aynor and the Town of Briarcliffe Acres had the lowest total municipal debts in Horry County, with both towns reporting zero dollars in debt, the report said.

According to research compiled by the site Statista, state debt and local government debt in South Carolina has increased from 2000.

Every year, the data showed that there is more local government debt versus overall state debt.

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Elizabeth covers local government and politics in Myrtle Beach and holds truth to power as the accountability reporter. She’s lived in five states and holds a masters degree in Journalism.

The latest restaurant inspections by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture found dirty utensils, raw fish stored in contact with ready-to-eat foods, black buildup in an ice machine and more in restaurants around Myrtle Beach. The department is responsible for regularly inspecting the health and safety of retail food establishments in the state.

These were the lowest scores reported in Horry and Georgetown County from Aug. 31 to Sept. 6, the date with the most recently available inspection reports.

Angus Steak House

2011 S. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

Score: 74

A Sept. 4 routine inspection of Angus Steak House found several violations, including soiled surfaces in the ice machine, dirty knives and cutting boards stored as clean utensils and a fly strip installed over a food preparation table.

The inspection report also notes that foods like creme brulee, prime rib and mashed potatoes were stored at unsafe temperatures, ready-to-eat foods weren’t marked with dates, ingredients were being scooped with utensils without handles and boxes of food were stored on the floor of a walk-in freezer. A follow-up inspection is scheduled for Sept. 14.

El Buen Sabor Mexican & Centro

4765 Highway 17 Bypass S., Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

Score: 78

At a routine inspection of El Buen Sabor Mexican & Centro on Sept. 6, raw fish was stored in contact with ready-to-eat food, beef and chicken were stored at unsafe temperatures and ice was stored in a cooler with no drain. The restaurant also had unapproved outdoor cooking equipment and didn’t have a probe thermometer. A follow-up inspection will be conducted on Sept. 16.

China Garden

3570 Northgate Drive, Myrtle Beach, SC 29588

Score: 79

A routine inspection of China Garden on Sept. 5 found foods like dumplings, tempura chicken and chicken wings stored at unsafe temperatures, ready-to-eat foods without marked dates and unclean shelves in a walk-in cooler. Other violations included storing foods like raw pork in containers on the floor, improperly thawing pork and storing prepared onions in re-used drink crates. A follow-up inspection is scheduled for Sept. 15.

Island Bar

2272 Glenns Bay Road, Myrtle Beach, SC 29575

Score: 79

A routine inspection of Island Bar on Sept. 3 found black buildup in the ice machine and foods like tuna, roast beef and pasta salad stored at unsafe temperatures. Inspectors also observed an employee handling raw chicken with gloves on wipe their gloved hands on a towel and change tasks without removing the gloves or washing their hands.

The inspection report notes unclean conditions in the kitchen, including buildup of dust, grime and food splash in preparation areas, on cooking equipment and on shelves. A follow-up inspection will be conducted on Sept. 13.

El Chepo Taqueria

4979 Socastee Blvd., Myrtle Beach, SC 29588

Score: 82

A routine inspection of El Chepo Taqueria on Sept. 5 found foods like beef, pork and chicken stored at unsafe temperatures, improperly thawed raw beef and fish, and ice served from a cooler that doesn’t properly drain.

Other violations included using wash water that wasn’t hot enough, not stocking soap or paper towels at a kitchen sink and not storing oysters with the required information. A follow-up inspection is scheduled for Sept. 15.

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Maria Elena Scott writes about trending topics and what you need to know in the Grand Strand. She studied journalism at the University of Houston and covered Cleveland news before coming to the Palmetto State.

Two new S.C. teams join the Carolinas Top 25 rankings of the best high school football teams in North and South Carolina.

The poll ranks the best high school football teams in North and South Carolina, and appears in McClatchy newspapers and websites in both states weekly during the regular season.

What happened under the Friday night lights? Get exclusive insights into Charlotte and North Carolina high school sports with our free Talking Preps newsletter. Every week on Thursday. Sign-up here.

Joining the poll this week are Simponsville’s Hillcrest High School and Lexington’s White Knoll High.

Hillcrest is 3-0 and has outscored opponents 99-41, including last week’s 28-21 win against 0-3 Greer.

White Knoll is 2-1 after beating 0-2 Brookland-Cayce 49-19 last week.