Best Jewelry Store near Johns Island, SC

Storm surge from Tropical Storm Idalia flooded parts of Charleston, South Carolina Wednesday, breaching the town's seawall.

Powerful onshore winds of about 40 mph pushed water from the Atlantic onto the city streets of the historic city, according to FOX Weather meteorologist Steve Bender.

Idalia and king tides drown Charleston

A resident in a high rise had a unique perspective of the flooding across Charleston Wednesday night. Drivers wade through parking lots to get to their cars. Police cars leave a wake. Tropical Storm Idalia's storm surge and winds combined with the King Tides were no match for the seawall.

Images from Charleston show just how much the water had risen as the storm approached.

(Danica Goff / X / FOX Weather)

The National Weather Service in Charleston stated on Wednesday evening that water has breached the Charleston Battery, the seawall in Charleston. Major coastal flooding is being reported in downtown Charleston and Edisto Beach.

They added that tide levels in the Charleston Harbor reached over 9 feet. At Edisto, the dunes were breached with water flowing under homes and onto roadways.

(Katie Byrne / FOX Weather)

"This is a dangerous situation!" NWS Charleston posted Wednesday afternoon.

The following image taken in downtown Charleston, showing how much roads were covered by storm surge.

(@RoddyKnowles / X / FOX Weather)

WATCH: TORNADO SPAWNED BY HURRICANE IDALIA FLIPS CAR IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Further inland, roads were turned into impromptu rivers.

(@toastofcoast88 / X / FOX Weather)

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

In addition to flooding, the powerful winds reaching gusts of 50-65 mph knocked over trees.

(@CharlestonPD / X / FOX Weather)

The water levels in Charleston are the 5th highest water levels ever reported in the city, according NWS Charleston. They added that the records date back to 1921.

The high water levels are the result of a number of factors. The FOX Forecast Center said that the combination of Idalia, swells from Franklin and the influences from the stage of the moon are creating the perfect event for flooding around Charleston and other low-lying communities in the Carolinas.

HURRICANE IDALIA'S LANDFALL IN FLORIDA DURING FULL MOON STILL INCREASE STORM SURGE THREAT

"Tides are higher than normal right now due to the full moon," noted Greg Diamond, FOX Forecast Center senior meteorologist. "That is the main differentiator here. It's why weaker Tropical Storm Idalia is producing water levels up there with the stronger and larger Matthew and Irma."

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) — It started as an island paradise, but residents at a Johns Island apartment complex say their home now resembles the woods.

The residents of Sea Island Apartments, which houses about 48 people off Maybank Highway, are speaking out against what they describe as "deplorable" conditions.

Read more: One80 Place launches eviction prevention line to support Charleston renters

"We have seen grass grow almost knee and chest high," said Farley, a disabled military veteran who has been living in the complex for six years. "You see fallen trees in the area, people not receiving maintenance, and overloaded trash bin."

In addition to the overgrown vegetation, the residents are concerned about random visits from wildlife. They say it seems management has slacked off and there's been little to no communication.

"You're forced to pay rent on time, but still, your issues are going unaddressed," Farley said. "We'll reach out to management and they haven't meet with us. Every time, they change management or owners. Nobody has contact to it."

It started as an island paradise, but residents at a Johns Island apartment complex say their home now resembles the woods. (WCIV)

There is also only one trashcan in the entire community and a small number of parking spaces.

"You have disabled people having to walk all the way down to one trash bin," Farley said. "There are not enough handicap parking spots. (Management) told us we'd have to park on the side of the road if there are no parking spaces."

"It's time we be up to date, as we were before," said Charlotte Turner, who has been living in the complex for 10 years. "Management needs to show a serious concern about resident complaints, at least be willing to meet or communicate."

Read more: Mayor Tecklenburg to host ribbon cutting for six new affordable housing properties in Charleston

A councilman was reached for comment on this area, but he was unable to conduct an interview due to prior commitments. A representative from the Charleston Development Group was also reached for comment.

JAMES ISLAND — A new dry bar is now open on James Island. Instead of using alcohol, the bar utilizes CBD, Delta-8 and Delta-9 seltzers produced by High Rise Beverage Co.

The bar, the first of its kind in the state, is at the back of the new storefront space of Charleston Hemp Collective at 1989 Maybank Highway Unit 103. It’s right next to a cycling studio and across the street a little ways down from The Terrace Theater.

The store, dry bar and seltzer company are all owned by Lowcountry duo Matt and Libiss Skinner, who met in Columbia when they were kids.

“There’s actually a picture of the two of us at age 10 and 8 kissing on my grandmother’s front porch,” said Matt, with a chuckle.

Now married, they’ve made it their mission to spread awareness of the healing qualities of hemp and hemp-derived products.

It all started with Libiss’ ulcerative colitis diagnosis. She was prescribed 11 pills a day at one point and was on a steroid that came with a bunch of side effects.

“I knew I couldn’t sustain that, and I was really scared,” she said.

After doing her own research, Libiss turned to CBD as part of a daily anti-inflammatory and pain control regimen, as well as a way to decrease anxiety and stress surrounding her health condition. She hasn’t had a flare up in almost two years.

It was around a year ago when the couple started High Rise Beverage Co. and began selling their real fruit- and hemp product-infused seltzers. The drinks are canned in North Carolina and come in flavors such as pineapple, blackberry, grapefruit, blood orange, raspberry, black cherry and lime. They’re also infused with CBD, Delta-8 or Delta-9, at a percentage of .3 or less of THC to adhere to the federal government’s legal requirements as outlined in the Farm Bill Act.

At the bar on James Island, these seltzers are used to make a variety of mocktails, many of which come in tiki glasses and fit the tropical theme. Bird wallpaper and a plant wall are complimented by a neon pink sign that explains the concept: “cannabis dry bar.”

The Skinners say education is at the forefront of their mission to share their knowledge about hemp products with those who might benefit. The wellness aspect is the focus; the drinks are made with real fruit, mountain spring water, organic cane sugar and hemp extract.

“We’re in the space of a world right now where people really care what they’re putting in their body,” said Matt.

And among the list of mocktails is the Harmony, made with salted watermelon, rosemary aperitif, elderberry bitters and a choice of strawberry Delta-8 or blood orange Delta-9; the Invigorate, made with turmeric, carrot, mango, coconut shrub and a choice of lime CBD or blood orange Delta-9; and the Tranquility, made with matcha, hemp honey and white chocolate.

There are also Delta-8 and Delta-9 gummy add-ons available.

The dry bar is also an ideal place for non-alcohol drinkers to go and fit within the bar setting without temptation.

“Our goal with opening this dry bar was to create a more elevated experience for those seeking nonalcoholic alternatives,” said Matt.

Right now, High Rise Beverage Co. seltzers are in around 200 Lowcountry restaurants, bars and bottle shops, including Halls Chophouse, Husk and Herd Provisions.

“No one has really jumped into this space like the Charleston market has, because we’re a Charleston brand and people really want to get behind this,” he said. “It’s been really humbling to see the love that’s been thrown toward this brand.”

The High Rise Cannabis Dry Bar is open within the Charleston Hemp Collective shop from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

There are several powerful reasons why Seabrook Island Town Council should reject a proposed annexation that would pave the way for a new boat dock, private clubhouse, boathouse, pool house and 10 rental cottages near the town’s northern limits.

The additional boat and car traffic would create more congestion on Betsy Kerrison Parkway in particular and Johns Island in general, as well as more pollution to the otherwise pristine Bohicket Creek. But the biggest reason Town Council should reject the 18-acre annexation is the dangerous precedent it would set, a precedent that would erode the rural character of southern Johns Island.

Decades ago, local governments, led by the city of Charleston and Charleston County, agreed on an urban growth boundary across Johns Island and other areas. The big idea was to ensure their zoning and other policies were synchronized to allow suburban development to continue to spread, but only up to a point, beyond which the existing rural nature would be preserved. The boundary has generally worked well, but as with so much other conservation work, it needs to be embraced and reaffirmed by each new generation.

Seabrook Island’s potential move would mark one of the first and most dramatic annexations by a municipality into the rural portion of the island; if it succeeds, it almost assuredly wouldn’t be the last, and it could hasten the unraveling of the boundary line — and increase development pressures on the shrinking amount of land on the rural side of the boundary.

Robby Maynor of the Coastal Conservation League agrees that annexing and rezoning this property on the rural side of the urban growth boundary would set a disastrous precedent on the county’s Sea Islands and could lead to annexation battles such as those that are playing out along the most rural stretches of the upper Ashley River, whose rural historic district remains in jeopardy from encroaching homes, stores and the traffic they bring. Approving the marina project would be “like kicking an anthill and hoping you don’t get bit,” he says.

The case that the property’s owner and other supporters have made for the annexation is that it would give Seabrook Island future control of the site and limit future development there, according to reporter Warren Wise. But the proposal appears to us as designed to facilitate development, not to curb it. Annexing the site, which is next to Bohicket Marina, would allow it to tie into the town’s sewer system.

Unfortunately, Seabrook Island’s Planning Commission has recommended annexing the site and rezoning it for a mixed-used development. We urge Town Council members to reject that move when they consider the matter Aug. 22.

As Mr. Wise noted, the project is a scaled-down version of a 30-year-old Andell Harbor project that state environmental regulators rightly and mercifully rejected. While this is smaller, with only about 4 acres of development near the creek and the rest set aside for open space, it still would represent an unwelcome and disturbing encroachment into the rural area between the barrier islands of Kiawah and Seabrook and the suburban growth from the city of Charleston.

Last year, we urged elected officials, neighborhood leaders and planners with Charleston County and the two beach towns to come up with a mutually agreed-upon overlay for their shared area at the southern tip of Johns Island. That overlay should guide future development toward the kinds of uses — and the sizes and scale — residents of all three jurisdictions would most like to see, and help address growing real estate pressures in a way residents prefer. We repeat the call for regional cooperation, and Seabrook Island’s rejection of this annexation would be an important first step.

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The full scope of the $3 million project would have brought updates to the school’s stadium and baseball fields.

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - A project to bring much-needed renovations to athletic fields used by St. John’s High School’s baseball and softball teams has been pushed back and funds for the project have been diverted to other, more “priority” projects.

The full scope of the $3 million project would have brought updates to the school’s stadium and baseball fields. It’s part of a $54 million program the board approved back in February that covered nearly two dozen projects across the district. The district says $2 million from those projects has been reallocated to other priorities.

Millicent Traeye Middleton is the parent of a former student-athlete and sits on the school improvement council. She says they’ve been waiting years to have baseball fields that rival the facilities at other major high schools.

“The people moving here are taking their students off the island to go support other schools because they are already built up, they’re already developed,” Middleton said. “They have great education programs. They have great facilities.”

Many of the other renovations at the field will go ahead this year, but the baseball fields will not.

Currently, St. John’s students use the fields at John’s Island Park, which is owned by the City of Charleston. District staff said during a board meeting that the project has to be delayed while they work out a stormwater issue with the city. They say the project is getting pushed back about a year.

Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson is the school board representative in the area where the high school sits. She says she’s extremely disappointed that the project is being put on hold.

“Inequities continue to shape how students experience school differently in rural areas. We do not always receive the same attention or resources as other district schools. Whether it’s experienced educators, corporate partnerships, or comparable athletic facilities to showcase our talents, the underlying factor remains the same,” Dunmeyer-Roberson wrote in a statement. “Students and families in rural areas of the District deserve the same level of support, opportunities, and educational outcomes as those in any other zip code. It is my expectation that the District Office will revisit St. John’s High School baseball/softball field project and make it a priority.”

Phase One of the project was supposed to start this year and would have included upgraded lighting, dugouts, new batting cages, improvements to the press box and bathrooms as well as new scoreboards. The fields themselves would have seen irrigation improvements. About half of the project would have been completed in Phase One. District staff say they will allocate more money to phase two and complete the whole project at one time next year.

The project was always planned for two fiscal years and would not have been upgraded/completed before the Spring 2024 season.

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