It’s Monday morning after a long holiday weekend. Fifteen minutes before going on live TV for an hourlong show, the team in the ABC News 4 studio is calm and collected as they prepare to tape Lowcountry Live. The thought of live television may sound daunting to most people, but, for these professionals, it’s just another day on the job that they genuinely enjoy. Less than … [Read more...]
The Life of a Local Uber Driver: Paid to Carpool
Driving under the suspension cables of the Ravenel Bridge never loses its magic. There is a certain spell cast by the sky or stars pulsing between those white lines as you race by. As an Uber driver, that bridge is like a moment of truth. I started driving for Uber right after moving to Charleston from across the country. I never would have driven in Portland because of the … [Read more...]
A Country Boy Can Survive: Hank Williams Jr. in Daniel Island
In 1975, Hank Williams Jr. almost met his maker. Rock climbing in Montana, he fell nearly 500 feet onto snow-covered rock and landed in the hospital with skull and facial fractures. But, like the brazen, fire-bellied man he is, he refused to let this incident define him. You see, Williams isn’t one to allow circumstances to derail his journey, creatively or … [Read more...]
Well-Known Faces at the Races: The Cooper River Bridge Run
Every year, the Cooper River Bridge Run attracts tens of thousands of participants, ranging from hot dog-eating speed walkers to the world’s top distance runners. Over the run’s 35-year span, the race has been graced by several famous faces, including actor Bill Murray and TV star Oprah Winfrey. Murray, who owns a home on Sullivan’s Island, chose to be the center of … [Read more...]
TJ Phillips Returns to Radio: Walking on Air
TJ Phillips has been part of area radio listeners’ lives for more than three decades. A beloved radio show host on WEZL from 1990 to 2016, TJ rode with us in our cars on the way to work or school each morning and later moved to the ride home with us in the afternoon. He kept us company at work and at home. He would make us laugh and occasionally bring a tear to our eyes, but he … [Read more...]
Johnnie Dodds: The Man Who Had a Plan
Johnnie Dodds Boulevard is the workhorse of Mount Pleasant’s infrastructure. The roughly three-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 17 from the Ravenel Bridge to the Mark Clark Expressway hosts tens of thousands of cars daily and, after a major improvement project completed in 2013, looks great doing it. But a transportation corridor – or anything, for that matter – bearing the name … [Read more...]
Kevin McNamara Paints Shem Creek: Art Imitating Life
Residents of Mount Pleasant may have recently noticed something other than the typical seagull or pelican camping out on the bridge that overlooks Shem Creek. For six weeks, Irish artist Kevin McNamara has created his very own studio space on the platform, making sure to catch and capture many a sunset. Armed with brushes, paint, weather appropriate attire and plenty of water, … [Read more...]
SEWE Hosts Amanda McLenon: The Origin of Artistic Journey
In the South, we cherish the natural world. From the flawless stature of a coon hound to the tranquil image of an ivory egret midflight, we savor the sights that can be found throughout the Lowcountry. The 2017 Southeastern Wildlife Exposition is once again set to display the very best in outdoor living, art and zoology on Feb. 17, 18 and 19. For Daniel Island artist Amanda … [Read more...]
LowCountry Feminists: Motivated to Take a Stand
Marina Penna woke up the day after the presidential election last November and realized that she needed to do something. Like many women voters who viewed the negative rhetoric during the campaign as unsettling, coming to grips with the election results was challenging. The youth leader at the Unitarian Church of Charleston said, "I woke up that morning, had a cry, composed … [Read more...]
Making a Difference: New School Board Chair Focuses on Student Achievement
Kate Darby wants to give every student in the Charleston County School District the opportunity to excel in the classroom and succeed in life. She would like the nine members of the CCSD School Board to work as a team, to row in the same direction in an effort to prepare the more than 50,000 kids in the system to thrive in the ever-changing world of the 21st century. Most of … [Read more...]