New clue in old mystery

Amelia Earhart mystery has new clue as SC ocean exploration company searches for wreckage

A new South Carolina ocean exploration company said it recently discovered an object in the South Pacific with a shape and size similar to Amelia Earhart’s plane. Read moreAmelia Earhart mystery has new clue as SC ocean exploration company searches for wreckage

Starting in late January, crews will repair dozens of railroad crossings heading northwest from Richland through Lexington and Newberry counties, detouring drivers for five weeks.

Georgetown officials want to allow short-term vacation rentals in the city, but they can’t agree on how many there should be.

Beaufort County

A record number of forecast zones across the U.S. posted dense fog advisories starting Jan. 23. A new record was set Jan. 24, and yet another on Jan. 25. Sea fog is generating dense fog advisories along the South Carolina coast, with conditions expected to remain in place for the next few days.

Business

Historic Charleston Foundation to shutter longtime gift shop

The nonprofit group launched the gift shop in a former gas station on Meeting Street nearly four decades ago. It soon will go dark as part of a new strategic plan that included the now-scuttled decision to sell one of its museum houses. Read moreHistoric Charleston Foundation to shutter longtime gift shop

Greenville

Georgetown leaders look to limit number of short-term vacation rentals in city

SPARTANBURG

SC Medal of Honor group sets new opening goal for Mount Pleasant leadership center

Wrapping up Dry January in Charleston with The Cocktail Bandits’ mocktail crawl

Politics

Black Voters Matter kicks off Charleston tour with voter education training

Arts & Entertainment

Thought-provoking art in 2024: Spoleto Festival USA schedule, tickets out now

Environment

Massive cold virus outbreak at SC university has lessons for schools, public health

OPINION

Editorial: Merge siloed SC health agencies to provide better care to most vulnerable

MURDAUGH

Alex Murdaugh jury-tampering hearing expected to go on after witness’s lawyer hospitalized

Lawmakers ask governor to order investigation of Hampton County’s missing money

Related Properties

Contact Information

148 Williman Street Charleston, SC 29403

Phone: 843-577-7111

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The South Carolina Ports Authority announced Tuesday it plans to purchase the former WestRock paper mill site in North Charleston to “further expand port capacity.”

WestRock announced in May 2023 that it would close the mill in late August, citing high operating costs and the need for significant capital investment as the driving factors behind the closure.

The SC Ports Board of Directors voted on Tuesday morning to move forward with a purchase sales agreement with WestRock. While the SC Ports did not provide a timeline, they said the transaction is expected to close “as soon as practical.”

Port officials said they also received support from the state for the project.

“South Carolina Ports is widely known as a top driver of our state’s booming economy, but that success doesn’t come by accident — it takes timely, strategic investments like this one. Every time we invest in port infrastructure, we see significant success at port-dependent businesses and new, good-paying jobs for our people. Our state’s investment in the expansion of North Charleston Terminal will yield dividends and create opportunities for future generations,” said Governor Henry McMaster.

“The tremendous backing from our state and an excellent partnership with WestRock allows us to make investments today that will support our state’s economy and create opportunities for future generations of South Carolinians,” said SC Ports President and CEO Barbara Melvin. “We are adding significant port capacity to support growth in South Carolina and throughout the Southeast.”

The approximately 280-acre property sits adjacent to the North Charleston Terminal. SC Ports leaders say the former paper mill site will offer a natural extension of the container terminal allowing them to handle more cargo for port-dependent businesses.

It could expand the terminal’s capacity to handle five million containers in the future and create 5,000 feet of linear berth space for container shops, and around 400 acres of terminal space for cargo.

Port officials said the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) is playing a key role in the project. They are planning to expand I-526 and will replace the Don Holt Bridge, which would remove height constraints for larger vessels.

“Plans are also underway to achieve a 52-foot depth up to North Charleston Terminal. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, is undertaking a feasibility study — a critical first step toward deepening this stretch of the Cooper River an additional five feet,” the SC Ports said in its release.

Leaders say the deepening and new bridge height will allow bigger ships calling the Port of Charleston to seamlessly access the North Charleston Terminal.

1

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — The South Carolina Department of Transportation confirmed Tuesday plans to replace the Don Holt Bridge, which carries Interstate 526 over the Cooper River between Charleston and North Charleston.

Initially, South Carolina Ports Authority officials hinted that the Department of Transportation was planning on replacing the Don Holt Bridge to remove height constraints for larger shipping vessels in a March 19 announcement of S.C. Ports' purchase of the North Charleston WestRock paper mill site. Department of Transportation officials confirmed plans to replace the bridge as South Carolina addressed a disaster in Baltimore, Maryland, where a container ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge, sending several vehicles into the water.

“Right now our focus is on offering our support to our fellow Department of Transportation as they work to recover," said Christy A. Hall, the secretary of transportation. "We would ask the people of South Carolina to join us in lifting up the people in Maryland and beyond that have been impacted by this terrible tragedy.”

READ MORE: "South Carolina Ports Authority advances purchase of WestRock site in North Charleston."

Amid the confirmation of the Don Holt Bridge replacement, Department of Transportation officials stressed the new bridge will have larger, higher structures that will have similar safety measures as the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge connecting downtown Charleston to Mount Pleasant.

Department of Transportation officials did not provide immediate details regarding a timeline for the new bridge's construction.

“We have a very strong working relationship with the South Carolina Ports Authority and the larger maritime community," said Justin P. Powell, the chief operating officer of the state Department of Transportation. "We have full confidence in the measures they have in place to ensure the safe transfer of cargo into our harbor. We will continue to work closely with them in the aftermath of this event to ensure we have the highest possible standards in place to protect the bridges.”

Replacing the Don Holt Bridge is one step of an elaborate plan by S.C. Ports to increase port capacity at the Port of Charleston. It is also part of a much larger state plan for the Department of Transportation to widen Interstate 526 to eight lanes. The Don Holt Bridge was originally built by the Department of Transportation in 1992.

READ MORE: "Major updates to one of the largest infrastructure projects in South Carolina."

In addition to the bridge work, S.C. Ports and partners are also working to increase the depth of the North Charleston Terminal up to 52, matching the depth of the Wando Welch Terminal in Mount Pleasant and the Hugh Leatherman Terminal in North Charleston.

S.C. Port officials believe the deepening effort coupled with the new bridge height will allow bigger container ships in the Port of Charleston to access the North Charleston Terminal.

“Modernizing the terminal, raising the Don Holt Bridge, deepening the Cooper River and purchasing the former WestRock property are all critical components that will yield a state-of-the-art North Charleston Terminal,” said Barbara Melvin, S.C. Ports' president and chief executive officer, in a March 19 announcement.

When the North Charleston Terminal is fully expanded, S.C. Ports officials expect it to be able to handle 5 million containers.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION (1)

The state Department of Transportation has yet to provide the full details for the new bridge.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Big changes could be coming to liquor sales in South Carolina, and several Lowcountry distilleries say those changes could mean a big boost in business.

Bill H. 4231 would allow counties and municipalities to let voters decide via referendum whether to allow Sunday liquor sales at stores in South Carolina.

It would also allow micro-distilleries, which are defined in the bill as manufacturers that ferment and distill on-site, to sell liquor on Sundays without needing to pass a referendum.

“We’re dark here on Sundays, there’s really nothing going on,” North Charleston’s Beyond Distillery co-owner Ryan Sadis says.

Another North Charleston business, Striped Pig Distillery, is closed on Sunday as well.

“So many people don’t come to do their events with us on Sundays because they can’t buy bottles,” Striped Pig Distillery CEO Pixie Paula Dezzutti says.

Firefly Distillery is closed, too, according to its owner, Scott Newitt.

“Sixty-five percent of the people that come here are tourists, and they show up Sunday and they can’t buy spirits,” Newitt says.

Sadis agrees that distilleries are a tourism-driven business.

“Without having Sundays, those are the days people are off, those are the days people travel,” Sadis says.

And if the Lowcountry prides itself on being a tourist destination, Dezzutti says, it needs to “pony up,” to be able to serve them.

“They come here, and they find out that they can’t even purchase a bottle, they’re so disappointed. I see their faces drop,” she says.

Rep. Marvin “Mark” Smith (R-Berkeley), a sponsor of the bill, says distillers are different from retail stores because they can only sell their products, and are capped at six bottles per day per customer.

When it comes to liquor stores, he says it’s time for South Carolina voters to decide what they want for their county.

“This bill would not force Sunday liquor sales across the state. This bill, if it advances, simply allows each county to put the referendum on the ballot,” he says.

The bill passed favorably in a subcommittee last week and is now moving on to the full committee, scheduled for this week, Smith says. After the full committee, he says it will be debated on the House floor before repeating the entire process in the State Senate.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Listen to this article

SHL Medical, a Switzerland-based provider of advanced drug delivery solutions, which is building a $150 million facility in North Charleston, has acquired Superior Tooling Inc., a Wake Forest, North Carolina-based manufacturer of plastic injection molds.

With two new manufacturing sites underway in North Charleston, and Zug, Switzerland, complementing the existing facilities in Taiwan, SHL addresses the growing demand in the autoinjector market, according to a news release.

Superior Tooling will support SHL’s strategic manufacturing operations across the Southeast, especially strengthening its vertical capabilities for the new site in North Charleston, while solidifying its local presence, the release stated.

This expansion of strengths underlines SHL’s global strategy, emphasizing one of its distinctive features — full in-house manufacturing — and positions tooling as one of SHL’s core competencies just a few hours from the new manufacturing site in South Carolina, where SHL plans to invest over $150 million and employ around 165 Charleston-area residents, the release stated.

Related content: SHL Medical establishing operations in Charleston County

“The demand for our autoinjectors, including treatment areas such as diabetes and weight management, is growing rapidly,” Ulrich Faessler, chairman and CEO of SHL Medical, said in the release. “Through continuous advancements and dedication, we deliver on our strategic vision to uphold our position as market leaders. This acquisition marks a significant milestone in our journey towards globalizing our operations to better serve our customer base. We are happy to welcome Superior Tooling into the SHL family.”

Expanding tooling capabilities globally

The acquisition of Superior Tooling not only supports the tooling needs of SHL’s in-house manufacturing but also its strategy to deliver the highest quality tools to customers across industries, according to the release. The company will work closely with SHL’s existing tooling departments to develop new solutions for its global customer base.

“This marks a significant step forward for our potential and growth trajectory. We take great pride in having our capabilities recognized by a global player, and eagerly look forward to maximizing them as integral members of SHL Medical,” said Robbie Earnhardt, president of Superior Tooling. “I am confident that the synergies between our capabilities and SHL’s established tooling expertise will prove highly advantageous for both our existing and new customers”, expresses Robbie Earnhardt, President of Superior Tooling.