| Nov 07 2024 at 11:30 AM | Ports & Terminals

SC Ports, the International Longshoreman’s Association, Coalition 18 and the Maritime Association of South Carolina are partnering again this year to fulfill the holiday wish lists of South Carolina foster children.

Charleston’s maritime community is encouraging its partners, businesses and area residents to donate to the Maritime Toy Drive with the goal of filling a 40-foot ONE shipping container with toys by Dec. 13. Donations will be distributed to foster children in South Carolina by the S.C. Department of Social Services.

This is the maritime community’s third annual toy drive in Charleston. These efforts have collected thousands of toys for foster children in South Carolina.

“SC Ports is dedicated year-round to connecting with local communities and giving back to our citizens,” SC Ports President and CEO Barbara Melvin said. “South Carolina’s maritime community is teaming up again to make the holidays brighter for foster children in our state. We encourage people and businesses to join us in supporting such a wonderful cause.”

“The International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1422, Local 1422-A and Local 1771 believe in service and giving back to our community,” said Yvette Flowers, Secretary Treasurer of ILA Local 1422. “We hope others in the Lowcountry will join our maritime community and support South Carolina children this holiday season.”

“The trucking community delivers goods to homes and businesses every day, and we are proud to participate in the Maritime Toy Drive to give back to children who are so deserving of happy holidays,” said Juan Gordon, president of trucking organization Coalition 18. “We want to inspire the community to go even bigger this year. Every little bit counts.”

"Collaboration and community service are at the heart of the maritime industry," said Taylor Jackson, President and CEO of the Maritime Association of South Carolina. "We're honored to support this meaningful initiative and invite others to join us in making a lasting impact on the lives of South Carolina children during this season of generosity."

How to donate:

Please bring unwrapped toys to SC Ports headquarters (200 Ports Authority Drive, Mount Pleasant, SC), or purchase toys online through the wish lists below. When checking out, please make sure to select the gift registry shipping address.

• Amazon Gift Wish List

• Target Gift Wish List

• Walmart Gift Wish List

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November 7, 2024 - ECHL (ECHL)

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. - The South Carolina Stingrays are proud to announce a new partnership with Mercedes-Benz Vans Charleston for the 2024-25 hockey season. Together, they are launching the "Sprinting Forward, Winning for STEM" initiative to support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education in the Lowcountry.

For every Stingrays victory this season, Mercedes-Benz Vans Charleston will pledge $100 towards a scholarship fund that will be awarded to a local teacher or school. This scholarship will help provide essential equipment and materials for STEM education in the classroom, furthering the community's commitment to empowering the next generation of innovators.

The initiative will be celebrated as part of the Stingrays' annual STEM Night, which engages students and families in hands-on learning activities. This year's STEM Night will take place on March 21, 2025. By tying each Stingrays win to a positive impact on education, the "Sprinting Forward, Winning for STEM" program will bring added excitement to every game while making a lasting difference in local classrooms.

"The partnership was a natural integration for our STEM Night," said Kerri White, Stingrays Vice President of Corporate Partnerships. "The initiative provides an opportunity to further connect our fans with Mercedes-Benz Vans Charleston and showcase their impact in the community."

This partnership aligns with Mercedes-Benz Vans Charleston's broader corporate responsibility platform, Sprinting Forward, Giving Back, which focuses on supporting the communities in which they operate.

"At Mercedes-Benz Vans Charleston, we are proud to strengthen our commitment to the communities we serve through this exciting partnership with the South Carolina Stingrays. The 'Sprinting Forward, Winning for STEM' initiative is more than just a sponsorship; it's a tangible investment in the future of our children and the industries that will shape tomorrow. By supporting STEM education in the Lowcountry, we are fostering the next generation of innovators, problem-solvers, and leaders. Together with the Stingrays, we are not only cheering for victories on the ice but also empowering educators and students with the tools they need to succeed in a rapidly evolving world," said Axel Bense, President & CEO of Mercedes-Benz Vans Charleston.

Check out the South Carolina Stingrays Statistics

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After months of ‘Vote Yes’ and ‘Vote No’ throughout Charleston County, residents overwhelmingly voted against passing a third transportation sales tax with about 60% voting no.

As the 2004 half-cent sales tax reaches the end of its timeframe, this tax was proposed to replace it, leaving people paying no more than they were previously. The sales tax would have generated funds for over a dozen infrastructure projects including the long-debated Interstate 526 extension — deemed a priority by the Charleston County Council and Charleston Mayor William Cogswell.

The extension, also known as the Mark Clark extension, has been in planning for nearly 40 years and was planned to receive the most funding from the tax. Other projects the tax was intended to fund included:

Related: Got questions on the half-cent sales tax in Charleston County? Here’s a primer

Related: Groups clash over half-cent sales tax vote in Charleston County

Hesitation for the approval of the sales tax focused primarily on environmental concerns for marine life and various bodies of water, as well as impacts on small businesses along its path. Faith River James, executive director of the Coastal Conservation League, said there are other ways to solve the traffic issues in the area.

“We are so proud of Charleston County voters standing up for the environment in our community,” James said. “One of our opportunities now is to move forward with traffic solutions that will enhance the way of life for folks who are living on Johns and James islands.”

James said that the CCL intends to focus their efforts on more small-scale solutions to better traffic flow as well as safety measures. Additionally, they plan to contribute to completing the 2016 referendum project list such as the Main Road Corridor in Johns Island.

In July, the CCL filed a lawsuit with the Southern Environmental Law Center against the county regarding the language of the options on the ballots about the tax. The lawsuit was dismissed after the election and James said the legal team will look back into it soon.

“It was definitely a team effort, it was a successful grassroots campaign, and I think the people of Charleston spoke very loudly,” James said. “We hope council will hear their concerns and give us an opportunity to come back to the table to work on traffic and safety solutions.”

Charleston County Councilwoman Jenny Honeycutt said that since the tax wasn’t approved, the projects it was intended to fund will not go through at this time. She said Charleston does have a contract with the state to complete the Mark Clark extension so how to do it will be further discussed.

Honeycutt said the state views Charleston as self-sustaining, so it doesn’t typically send as much funding for projects such as these.

“This does not mean that the problems we were trying to solve don’t exist anymore,” Honeycutt said. “We will continue to look for solutions to solving those problems, mainly the impact that rapid growth has had on our region and keeping pace with infrastructure to address those needs.”

This story has been updated.

Some come for the rides. Others, the animals. A few, the sideshows. Almost everyone, the food.

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The Coastal Carolina Fair brings hundreds of thousands to Ladson each year for more than a week of fun and thrills. And each year there are new attractions popping up to entice returnees, from this year's daring Fearless Flores Family to the Taylor Swift tribute concert taking over a local stage.

Among new offerings at this year's fair are some bizarre food experiments. That's part of what keeps it fun, right?

"These vendors are professionals," shared Coastal Carolina Fair Director of Public Relations Jay Wallace. "They do this all over the country, and they are always innovating and trying different things. ... The scorpion pizza was a big one years back, but it didn't seem to have the staying power that pickle pizza has. I'm excited to see what happens with some of this year's new foods."

Well, speaking of pickle pizza, pickles are certainly big on the agenda this year. New to the vinegar-soaked world are a gator and fried pickle mac and cheese, sweet-and-spicy cheese puff fried pickles and pickle funnel cake.

I tried two different pickle offerings, however, which you can see among my fair food tour below. Save some room!

Pickle Dr. Pepper

The Dr. Vegetable stand is making veggies cool at the fair by offering them up in fried and other bad-for-you ways. It wouldn't be the fair if not, am I right? This year, they're also offering pickle Dr. Pepper and pickle lemonade, two options that come with a stack of pickles and a little pickle juice in the bottom of a fillable cup. You take that to the soda fountain and add your choice on top. I went with Dr. Pepper, and this pickle lover approved. It's certainly not as refreshing as your typical bubbly soda, so I'd say follow this up with a big old slushie or a soda sans the pickles.

"It's like one of those things you'll try when you're at the fair, but if they made a 12-pack of pickle Dr. Pepper, I mean that would be wild," said Dr. Vegetable stand employee Cyle Hargrove. "The pickle craze is wild."

I suspected I was going to like The Archer as soon as I peeked at the beverage menu.

There’s at least one unusual element in each of the cocktails (all $14), and often it’s vegetal. There’s roasted bell pepper in the Remember Sarah Marshall, tomato alongside basil and peach in the Talking in Cursive, and charred corn in the See You on the Other Size.

If you’re going to put weird stuff like that in cocktails, they had better be really good cocktails. And The Archer’s are.

That charred corn plus a dose of coconut cream give the bourbon-based Other Side a rich, sweet body and a mild chili bite. The Freezer Door Martini finishes with a pleasant slickness thanks to a dose of olive oil, and brown butter has a similar effect in the Accidental Daiquiri, which is made from tequila instead of the usual rum.

Similar bold twists are found on the nine small plates that open the menu. Tender cubes of steak tartare ($17) are pressed into a baseball-sized mound then blanketed with what appears to be Parmesan but proves to be shaved horseradish. Those wispy shreds impart a strong, spicy zip, and the tender beef underneath is enrobed in creamy peppercorn aioli with a bright citrusy finish.

Food

Cocktails and appetizers converge in the G&T salmon crudo ($16). The G is for gin-cured salmon, and the T is for lemon-pepper tonic from local “sodary” Sweatman’s Garden. I suppose the tonic functions as a sort of dressing, but its flavor lurks subtly in the background. Out front is the clean, soft salmon and the crisp bite of cucumber. Both are diced into precise half-inch cubes and blended in roughly equal proportions, creating an orange and green assemblage that’s as lovely in flavor as it is in color.

The Archer is the second restaurant from Marc and Liz Hudacsko, the couple behind Berkeley’s in Wagner Terrace. It opened in August in the ground-floor space in the Meeting Street Lofts building that formerly housed Gale.

The new décor is striking but a little hard to characterize. The front window is adorned with a white and orange art deco logo that seems straight off a pulp novel cover. Red leather-capped barstools and U-shaped counter seats continue the retro Edward Hopper vibe.

The wallpaper above the bar, though, is adorned with frolicking rabbits and squirrels straight from a woodlands fable. Other walls are packed all the way to the high ceiling with framed paintings, posters and clocks — a throwback vibe of a different sort, more to the Victorian era.

Against all that, aggressive hip-hop thumps down from the speakers. The overall effect is a room that’s detached from any specific time and place but has plenty of mood and energy.

It’s also hard to buttonhole a single culinary style for The Archer. There are upscale comfort dishes — a braised short rib ($32), roasted half chicken ($28), a big burger draped in gooey Parmesan cream ($18). They’re balanced by preparations that seem more in the farm-to-table mode, like crisp fried eggplant with whipped buttermilk ($13) and charred cabbage fried schnitzel style ($24).

A big pizza oven is front and center in the kitchen, inherited from the previous tenant, but there’s no pizza on the menu. It’s used instead for roasting fish and charring florets of broccoli and cauliflower. Classic sauces like bearnaise and au poivre are joined by more contemporary finishes, like Thai chili garlic butter on the baked oysters ($20) and red daubs of cumin-laced harissa supporting the lamb and potato croquettes ($5 each.)

Those croquettes, by the way, are a delight. Inside the thick, golden brown crust, creamy mashed potatoes are dotted with bits of savory lamb. Each is topped with a scoop of pickled mustard and bright yellow turmeric-pickled scallions, which are brilliantly bright in flavor, too.

The larger plates aren’t always so consistently brilliant. Beneath a spray of microgreens, a filet of oven-roasted grouper ($32) hits with a big blast of butter and salt. It gets some much needed support, though, from florets of lightly charred cauliflower and a thick, flavorful celery root puree.

There’s nothing really wrong with the roasted half chicken ($28), which is layered over a mound of mashed potatoes and finished with dark brown jus. The white meat of the breast is a touch dry, but the leg has a pleasant dark flavor. The plate just doesn’t soar, and once the palate is primed by the big wows of the small plates, it wants everything to soar.

The seared duck frites ($31) comes to the rescue. It somehow manages to be simple, elegant, comforting and exciting all at the same time. Eight slices of rosy duck breast are fanned out around one side of the plate then smothered in a dark brown sauce. It’s billed as “citrus jus” but seems more a thick, starchy gravy. Either way, it’s perfect against the tender richness of the duck.

There’s nothing particularly special about the long, skinny fries that come alongside — until you start dipping them into the little ramekin of yellow béarnaise sauce, which has a wonderful surge of tarragon and sparkling kiss of acid.

There’s lots more duck to be had on the duck confit salad ($16), and it really shines there, too. The silky shreds are tucked inside a pile of chopped bitter lettuces that are slick with duck fat vinaigrette. Perched on top is a single poached duck egg, which upon slicing sends a gush of yellow yolk that adds even more richness to the bowl. As if that weren’t enough, there are also Hawaiian roll croutons — crisp but still soft in texture, dark and sweet in flavor — and wonderfully tart pickled shallots. It’s a fantastic salad.