Chiropractic Care in Johns Island, SC

A Johns Island brewery is planning to set up a new operation on a 10-acre parcel south of its current operation.

Low Tide Brewing is seeking approval from the city of Charleston to set up a beer-making operation along with a a bar and restaurant next to Trophy Lake off Maybank Highway.

Brewery founder Mike Fielding bought the site on the west side of Maybank Highway through affiliate Beer Baron LLC last January for $600,000, according to Charleston County land records.

Access to the property will be across from Meeks Farm Road, Fielding said.

He said it’s too early to pinpoint when the new operation will open since the city review process is just starting.

“It won’t be before 2025,” he said.

Low Tide Brewing currently operates in a 7,500-square-foot facility at 2863 Maybank Highway. It started serving beer in 2016.

The size of the new project has not been finalized, but Fielding said it will be much bigger than the current operation since the new site will be “a forever place for us.”

He also would like to see the city put in a public greenway path around the nearby water feature.

Fielding said the current operation on leased property is not affected by plans for the new facility.

What’s cooking?

A new dining and drinking venue is in the works for the former Caroline’s Aloha Bar in West Ashley.

Loving Cup Consulting LLC, an affiliate of downtown Charleston’s Proof bar operator Craig Nelson, recently applied for a license to sell beer, wine and liquor at 15 Magnolia Road in Avondale.

Nelson doesn’t have a name or menu for the new operation yet, but he is hoping to open by the end of February or by the spring at the latest.

The windows are papered over in what was once Voodoo Tiki Bar & Lounge for nearly two decades until 2020 when Caroline’s opened. Some cosmetic work is underway inside the roughly 2,700-square-foot site, which sits between restaurants Verde and Mellow Mushroom.

Nelson’s partners in the new venue are Celeste James and Sam Pisasale.

Nelson launched craft cocktail bar Proof on King Street in 2012. He said the new bar will be more casual than the downtown site.

New perk

Bad Bunnies Coffee plans to open soon at 116 Spring St. in the space formerly occupied by Sunrise Bistro Xpress.

Stepping in

A new retail shop that incorporates a clothing item in all of its wares is coming to downtown Charleston.

Respoke plans to open soon at 377 King St. in the former location of Simply J Boutique.

The shop will offer shoes, clothing and other items that are made in part by using different sections of scarves.

On the way

An affiliate of Valvoline bought a 1-acre site on Faison Road in northern Mount Pleasant for $850,000 in December. The wooded parcel is across the street from Costco Wholesale and next to a planned Bubbie’s Cookies and Treats shop, previously known as King Street Cookies.

United Methodists in North Georgia have a new bishop, the first African American woman to preside over the Atlanta-based conference of about 320,000 lay members and 700 churches, including dozens in the northwest portion of the state.

Robin Dease took the office in a ceremony Sunday featuring music and prayer at Oak Grove United Methodist Church in Decatur, Georgia. Attendees read the Apostles' Creed, and pastors talked Scripture.

Dease is highly intelligent and values brevity and justice, said conference official Terry Walton, by way of introduction, adding that the new bishop will seek to move the denomination from an "us and them" mentality to a "we" mentality.

Walton said Dease has an array of interests -- motorcycling, playing pool, jazz and basketball -- and a background in fashion and the culinary arts. Conference cabinet members, he said to the laughter of the assembled, "will be well dressed and well fed."

Bishops appoint clergy, apply church rules and regulations and preside over each conference's annual meeting. Dease will oversee a conference whose ranks have somewhat slimmed in the past year amid a denominationwide schism, fanned by debates over church sanction of homosexuality. Many generally theologically conservative churches are leaving, or trying to leave, the denomination.

Just days before Dease became bishop, her predecessor, Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, announced the conference would no longer accept disaffiliation requests from churches. Critics say the conference is the only one in the nation to have applied such a policy.

It is unclear if Dease, who was not available for an interview, was consulted about that before she took over.

In her speech, Dease remembered familial infighting when she grew up in Brooklyn as one of 13 siblings. Nonetheless, she said, every day, before church and chores and cartoons and school, her parents woke the children and made them kneel at their bed and pray.

She invoked the unifying message of Martin Luther King and proclaimed her own dream of a church being a light that calls people together.

A church publication featured Dease in a December article, saying her family -- originally Southerners -- went to New York for work. Dease said she got involved with the United Methodist Church when she moved to Atlanta to attend Bauder Fashion College and lived with her sister, who attended Kelley Chapel United Methodist Church in Decatur.

She studied elementary education at Claflin University in South Carolina, and at the recommendation of an adviser, she took a course on the philosophy of religion.

Soon she was teaching Bible study. She attended Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C, where she also worked as a cook, according to her resume. She went on to attend the Culinary Institute of America.

Her part-time seminary and cooking period lasted about seven years, according to the conference.

In 1998, Dease returned to the South for her first pastoral appointment, at Wesley United Methodist Church in Johns Island, South Carolina. She went on to work as district superintendent and as the senior pastor at St. Andrew by-the-Sea United Methodist Church in Hilton Head.

A write-in candidate, she was elected to become a bishop on Nov. 3, 2022, by the Southeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church, which encompasses 14 conferences in the region. She officially began her tenure as bishop in the North Georgia Conference on Jan. 1.

In her speech Sunday, Dease emphasized the idea of unity in diversity, a concept which she said reflects the nature of creation.

"God didn't create just one flower, or one type of animal," she said. "Don't you know that there are a thousand ways to cook a chicken?"

On Wednesday, we will submit the fourth and what we hope will be our final request for approval of our 295 Calhoun St. mixed-use development to the Charleston Board of Architectural Review.

More than four years ago, we made a commitment to the Medical University of South Carolina and the city of Charleston that we would construct a mixed-use community of the highest quality to serve the citizens of Charleston as well as the staff and student population of the university. Since that time, we have made more than 40 significant changes to our plans based on the feedback we sought and received from the BAR, a Charleston-based architectural firm, the city’s architectural division, MUSC, nearby neighborhood associations and the greater Charleston community. These changes include, but are not limited to, reducing the height by one story and reducing the mass by more than 30,000 square feet.

Due to their insightful commentary and willingness to provide constructive input during the development of our plans, we were able to produce plans that are fully compliant with all zoning requirements and received recommendations for approval from the city’s architectural department, MUSC and the two neighborhood associations most impacted by our project and Mason Preparatory School. Now, with the incorporation of additional changes requested by the BAR, we believe we have designed a community that is not only aesthetically pleasing and a great architectural fit within the skyline in the Calhoun Street area, but one that will be very inviting to pedestrians, thereby activating this area of Charleston and making a significant positive impact in the community.

Recent columns denouncing our development have suggested that it doesn’t warrant BAR approval because, among other reasons, Southeastern does not have sufficient connections to or investment in the Charleston community. Contrary to these assertions, our company has been actively building and developing in the Charleston area for almost 40 years, and our family has maintained a home in Charleston for more than 45 years. In fact, our family’s love and respect for Charleston extends back more than 230 years to our ancestor, the Rev. George Buist, who was minister of the 1st (Scots) Presbyterian Church and president of the College of Charleston.

Southeastern continues to actively develop in the Charleston area and has played an active role in some of Charleston‘s largest and most successful developments. More than 20 years ago we acquired almost 6,000 acres in West Ashley known as Poplar Grove. This development now has more than 300 homes and is recognized as one of the area’s most successful and attractive communities. In addition to developing this high-quality conservation-focused community, we worked with Ducks Unlimited, Dorchester County and various nonprofit organizations to place more than 3,200 acres under a perpetual conservation easement, thereby reducing the maximum allowable homes from more than 3,500 to only 50.

More than 15 years ago we had the pleasure of working with MeadWestvaco in conceptualizing the Nexton community. We developed the two initial hotel properties, the Marriott Courtyard and the Marriott Residence Inn. The Courtyard was named the No. 1 Marriott Courtyard worldwide in 2016. More recently on the peninsula, we developed and continue to own and operate the Hilton Garden Inn hotel on Lockwood Drive located mere blocks away from 295 Calhoun St.

We have also developed various retail and restaurant properties throughout the area, including the Royal Tern on Johns Island in 2018, and have plans for at least two more affiliated restaurants in the near future.

As demonstrated by these projects, we are a company that takes pride in all the properties we develop, especially irreplaceable properties we plan to own forever such as the one located at 295 Calhoun St.

We have now worked for more than four years trying to develop our property. Our zoning was unanimously approved by the planning and zoning committee as well as Charleston City Council.

Recent articles stating that we have filed suit against the city of Charleston are misleading. We merely appealed our most recent BAR denial as required by city ordinances. In our history of more than 40 years we have never filed a significant lawsuit.

We are hopeful that the recent significant changes to our plans address the concerns of the BAR and the larger Charleston community. We are excited and grateful to be able to bring another great development to the Charleston community and hope the BAR will allow us to move forward with this development.

Victor J. Mills is CEO of Southeastern Real Estate Group, LLC.

Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings.

After a decade of booming population growth, Johns Island may get its own representative on Charleston City Council.

But making that change could cost a sitting council member their seat.

The island is now in District 5, which also spans much of outer West Ashley. It is represented by Councilman Karl Brady, who lives in West Ashley.

Two newly proposed City Council district maps make Johns Island its own district without any extension into West Ashley. That means the City Council member to represent it would have to live on Johns Island.

“There is no one on council right now that drives our roads every day, sends their kids to school here, works here or lives here,” said John Zlogar, chairman of the Johns Island Task Force.

The group was established in 2013 to bring together residents and local officials to address Johns Island-specific issues.

While Zlogar said he has no issue with Brady, he said he would like to have a council member who can put their sole focus on the island.

“We will feel like we have someone that has our voice,” he said.

The island, which is partially within the city of Charleston and partially within unincorporated Charleston County, has deep roots in agriculture and the city’s Black history. Several Black family farms have run their businesses on the island since Reconstruction, when formerly enslaved laborers took over former plantations.

An “urban growth boundary,” established across the island limits where agricultural land must be protected and where development is allowed. Most of the city’s side of the island is located within the urban growth boundary and as a result has seen a massive influx of residents looking for a lower cost of living than the city’s core. Between 2010 and 2020, District 5, the district with Johns Island and West Ashley, grew a staggering 154 percent.

The redistricting process

Charleston Chief Innovation Officer Tracy McKee has led the city through the redistricting process three times in her career. Factoring in population growth between 2010 and 2020, McKee and city staff have been in the process of redrawing the council district boundaries for months.

“Four council members live on the peninsula, but we’ve had more growth in Berkeley County on Daniel Island and on Johns Island,” McKee said.

Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau releases new population and demographic data that governments use to redraw voting districts. In 2020, it was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

City Council voted last summer to delay redistricting until after the fall 2021 election.

Officials try to balance the population size of each district as well as their geographic spread. In Charleston, for example, it would be impractical to include Daniel Island and outer West Ashley in the same district.

Initially, city staff put out one proposal in July. That plan kept all sitting council members within their current districts. None of them were at risk of losing their seat or having to run against each other to keep their seat. But the proposal split Johns island into three districts that included other areas of the city as well.

The map was met with some criticism for the wide span of geography each district covered. Districts were stretched from the peninsula far into West Ashley and District 11, covered parts of West Ashley, James Island and Johns Island.

The League of Women Voters published a commentary in The Post and Courier calling for more compact districts.

“Drawing districts to protect incumbents means the maps defy logic in many places. James Island remains divided into three different districts, one with very dubious contiguity as it crosses briefly over West Ashley and onto the peninsula. Johns Island, now all in District 5, will be divided into three different districts, diluting the voices of those residents,” the league wrote.

The league now supports the new proposals, mainly because the districts don’t stretch as far across the city.

“They keep communities together. These really prioritize citizen interests,” said Leslie Skardon, the director of advocacy for the League of Women Voters.

Impact to incumbents

On Aug. 28, city staff unveiled two alternative maps that took some of that feedback into consideration. The two new maps, referred to as 1A and 1B, are almost identical except for their effects on two current peninsula districts.

Both maps make Johns Island its own district.

To create the Johns Island district, city staff proposed two options. They can move District 3 or District 6 off of the West Side of the peninsula to only cover West Ashley. If District 3 moves off, District 6 will absorb the portion of the West Side that is currently in District 3.

Because District 3 Councilman Jason Sakran lives on the peninsula, he would be drawn out of his district. He would have to run for District 6 against fellow Councilman William Dudley Gregorie. But that seat is not up for election until 2025. In the meantime, depending on when council decides to make the maps effective, a special election would determine who represents the new West Ashley-only version of District 3.

The other scenario would be that District 6 would move off of its portion of the West Side of the peninsula. In that case, Gregorie, who lives also in the West Side, would be drawn into Councilman Sakran’s District 3. Because District 3 is up for election in 2023, the two would face off sooner.

Sakran said he would be OK with running against Gregorie in 2023, but he is most favorable of the original map that keeps all council members in their respective districts.

“You are overhauling peoples’ elected representatives to the tune of 40 percent of the city’s population,” Sakran said of the new proposals.

According to the city, if the original proposal is accepted, about 30 percent of the city’s population will end up in new council districts. If either of the alternatives are chosen, that number will move up to 39 percent.

Another factor in the process is the establishment of minority-majority districts. Districts 4 and 7 on the all three map proposals are majority-minority districts. They cover the upper peninsula and part of West Ashley, respectively. When the maps were last redrawn in 2010, the city went from having five majority-minority districts to three. Now the city is guaranteed to have two. As demographics shift, it’s difficult to group minority voters together and ensure their voice is in the majority in any part of the city, McKee said.

City Council will review the map proposals at its Sept. 13 meeting. No action will be taken. A public hearing will be held in the fall. Residents can view the maps and leave comments online the city’s redistricting “Open Town Hall” webpage at www.charleston-sc.gov/Redistricting2020. Email comments are accepted at redistricting@charleston-sc.gov.

Reach Emma Whalen at 843-708-5837. Follow her on Twitter @_emma_whalen.

Charleston, S.C. (WCIV) — 24 C-17 flew across the Lowcountry on Thursday morning for a mission generation exercise.

The 437th wing has 41 C-17. Altogether, those planes value at around 9.2 billion dollars or 212 million per aircraft. Each C-17 can cruise 500 miles per hour at 28,000 feet.

"Our airmen live out in the community they live in Mount Pleasant, James Island, all over the Lowcountry. So, for them to go a simple 24 aircraft and fly over the Ravenel bridge so their neighbors can see what they bring to the United States of America each and every day means a lot. When you generate 24 aircraft at one time taking off in a 15-minute period, it flexes and forces us to use every airman on base to make that happen," said Col. David Taylor, 437th airwing Vice Commander.

The mission? Training for rapid global mobility. Once they get the call at Joint Base Charleston, they are up in the air heading anywhere in the world.

The exercise put every aspect of what the air force does at Joint Base Charleston to the test.

"Some of them are going out to do air-refueling, some are going to do airdrop, which means people will jump out of the back of them. Some of them are going to go and land in a semi-prepared airfield. Which means we don’t need pavement. We can land in the dirt," said Col. Taylor.

Having 24 C-17s in the air simultaneously, so close, doesn't happen very often.

Col. Taylor said the exercise shows the world the air force base in Charleston is ready to fly, fight, and win.

"For them to go a simple 24 aircraft and fly over the Ravenel bridge so their neighbors can see what they bring to the United States of America each and every day, it means a lot," said Col. Taylor.

Kyle Bickel drove 12 hours from Columbus, Ohio, with his two sons, Hunter and Bentley, to see the flyover.

"I was like yeah, why not take an impromptu trip down," said Kyle Bickel, who drove 12 hours from Columbus, Ohio. "The little ones love the airplanes as well. They are just all about them. I want to show them a good time and let them experience something that they may never get to experience," added Bickel.

There was no better place to view the military planes than Patriot's point.

The Bickel family mission was achieved by watching the flyover from the aircraft carrier.

"Airplane! Airplane!" said Bentley.

Kyle took a video of his kids watching the planes so they never forget.

"It will be a memory with the boys forever. So, whenever they get older, they can see it anytime they want," said Bickel.