AC Repair in West Ashley, SC

Customers say service restored one day after Live 5 News reached out to carrier

A woman and her son say more should have been done after she was without a landline for over one month.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A woman and her son say more should have been done after she was without a landline for over one month.

Queen Little has lived in the North Forest Acres neighborhood in West Ashley for over 40 years.

Her phone line has been out since June 5. Queen suspects it was cut during construction work on Playground Road.

For the last six weeks, Queen’s son, Darrin Little, has been persistently calling their phone carrier, AT&T.

“They gave me a date for when it would be on, that day came and went and it wasn’t on,” Darrin said. “Called again, called again, called again, kept getting dates and dates and dates.”

Queen has underlying health issues, and Darrin said not having a working landline in her house is dangerous.

“She needs a means of communicating with me, with my brothers, in an emergency she needs that phone,” Darrin said.

Queen said she keeps minutes on her cell phone but rarely uses it. She said she feels more comfortable with a permanent, dependable option, like her landline.

“I’m a senior citizen, I’m 78 next month. I need things like that,” Queen said. “And especially having COPD, I could have a flare-up any time.”

One day after Live 5 News reached out to AT&T, phone access was restored to Queen’s household.

The phone rang for the first time in Queen’s household in over a month during a Live 5 News interview with Darrin and Queen. It was AT&T calling to let them know phone access was restored.

“We’ve been calling for weeks, and nothing has happened until Live 5 reached out to them, and now ironically, the phone’s on,” Darrin said. “Our conversation didn’t matter, but when you guys reached out to them, it mattered.”

Queen said she has had a lonely month without a phone, describing her home as a “ghost house.”

“They fixed it today because y’all came here and I appreciate y’all doing it, but it should never have been that way because I’m a paying customer,” Queen said.

It wasn’t only Queen that went without a landline.

Betty Poaches lives a couple of streets over from Queen, and also went without landline access for six weeks.

Poaches has lived in the North Forest Acres neighborhood since 1959. She is not able to use a cell phone because of her hearing aids.

Her daughter said over the last six weeks she’s worried about her mother’s safety.

“Without her having a phone I came here every day, because she had no protection,” her daughter, Regina Gamble, said.

A spokesperson from AT&T provided the following statement:

We’ve restored home phone service to this customer following repairs to a section of our cable that experienced water damage during recent heavy rains. We apologize for the delay.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

The wins keep coming for Carolina Forest.

The Panthers extended their winning streak to eight games on Friday night, notching a second-round playoff win over West Ashley 28-21 to advance into next week’s third round.

Led by a strong rushing attack and dominant play up front on both sides of the ball, the Panthers were able to score four first-half touchdowns and fend off a late push from West Ashley to move on through the Class 5A postseason bracket.

“This was the whole goal, to come out here and give our kids a chance to compete in a game like this,” Carolina Forest head coach Marc Morris said after the win. “In 5A football, there are a whole bunch of good teams out there, and West Ashley is one of them… I give them the credit for competing until the end, and I give our guys credit for competing and getting the win in the end.”

All year, it hasn’t been a secret that Carolina Forest likes to run the football. When you have an offensive line like the one Morris has, it’s generally a good idea to lean on it. The unit has been leading the way for the Panthers throughout the year, anchored by senior tackle Phillip McLean.

Friday was no different, as the dominance up front was felt from the opening whistle.

On the second play from scrimmage, Carolina Forest quarterback Ethan Hamilton ran up the left side and broke through the first layer of the West Ashley defense. From there, a footrace ensued that the senior signal-caller won. Hamilton raced up the field for 79 yards, helping Carolina Forest jump out to an early lead.

West Ashley went on to score on quarterback David Dounian’s two-yard touchdown rush two drives later, but the Carolina Forest offense was not interested in slowing down in the first half.

On the next three drives after a punt, the Panthers scored three touchdowns to take the air out of the West Ashley sideline.

First, running back Kalil Johnson got the highlight-reel second quarter started with a three-yard touchdown. Then, Hamilton got it done through the air with a 79-yard touchdown pass on a pitch-and-catch to Finn Mahood. Johnson added another three-yard score with 18 seconds left in the second quarter, giving Carolina Forest a 28-7 halftime lead.

Hamilton says being able to play behind the Carolina Forest offensive line is a luxury as a quarterback.

“The offensive line has been so good this entire year,” Hamilton said. “I am so happy I get to play behind them. They give me so much time in the pocket and there are always huge holes up the middle. It’s just awesome.”

Even with a standout first half from Carolina Forest, the Wildcats did not go down without a fight.

West Ashley put together multiple lengthy drives in the second half and overcame an early fourth quarter fumble to put themselves within two scores with under five minutes to play. Dounian led the Wildcats downfield to score on a one-yard Terry Grant touchdown to cut the Panthers lead to 28-21, setting West Ashley up to be able to attempt and successfully recover an onside kick with less than a minute to play.

The Wildcats converted a heave to the end zone with three seconds left on the clock and looked as though they had scored a game-tying (or potentially game-winning) touchdown, but the referees conferred after the catch and determined there was offensive pass interference, wiping out the score.

The Panthers fended off the next attempt at a last-second pass as time expired to clinch the win.

“Our kids work really hard. They lift a lot of weights and they do a lot of things to prepare themselves for this time of the year,” Morris said, referencing his team’s ability to play with physicality. “They just keep plugging along and they did a great job tonight.”

Carolina Forest’s 2023 performance continues to impress. The Panthers’ eight-game winning streak dates back to September 15, when they kicked things off with a 38-21 win on the road at Stratford.

Since then, it’s been nothing but victories.

Round three presents a difficult test, but not one that Carolina Forest is unfamiliar with. Morris’ team will stay at home to take on Summerville, the top-ranked team in Class 5A. The Green Wave knocked off Berkeley in the second round on Friday to advance through the bracket.

Summerville, now 12-0 on the season, visited the Panthers on August 25 and took home a 33-26 victory. Carolina Forest was just one of two teams to keep a game within one score this season, the only other being Ashley Ridge on October 20 (a 42-38 Summerville victory).

In that Week 1 game, Carolina Forest was leading entering the fourth quarter.

For Morris, the matchup against Summerville is a familiar one. Due to the way the bracket shakes out, the Panthers will host Summerville next week.

“We know they are one of the better teams in the state. They have been all year,” Morris said. “They have a well-rounded team with a great defense and a really good offensive line and running game.

“But, there are only eight teams left in 5A football. Everyone is pretty good right now. At least we have [Summerville] here. We’re going to be up for the challenge and see what happens."

Bearcat was supposed to open last spring, but owner George Kovach isn’t lamenting the past. Rather, the former Chicago fine dining chef is looking forward to the future when the new restaurant’s dining room opens Nov. 14 at 25 Magnolia Road in West Ashley.

Avondale diners can already get a taste of what Kovach and head chef John Coleman are cooking at Bearcat’s bar, now open at the same address with smoked chicken yakitori, grilled Steamboat Creek oysters with creamed leeks and more. It’s hours of operation are 5 p.m.-midnight Tuesday through Saturday.

“Now’s where the work begins,” Kovach said. “It’s all about getting everything refined and making sure that the guest experience is the best we can provide.”

An alumnus of Michelin-starred Chicago restaurants Elizabeth Restaurant, Ever, Acadia and Band of Bohemia, Kovach moved from Chicago to Charleston at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic with the goal of turning an elevated pop-up he hosted in a friend’s apartment and local dining establishments into a full-service restaurant.

After months of delays, that goal finally became a reality Oct. 27, when the 30-seat bar area next to Bearcat’s dining room held a soft opening. Similar to the lounges inside high-end tasting menu restaurants — like three-Michelin star restaurant Jean Georges’ adjoining Nougatine bar in New York City — Bearcat’s bar is serving its own small menu of shareable plates and cocktails, including a boozy Vietnamese iced coffee and frozen strawberry daiquiri with white rum and green chartreuse.

Coleman, Bearcat’s head chef, has worked in multiple well known local kitchens, including Chubby Fish and Parcel 32, where he served as executive chef before the restaurant announced it would not return to service after the state’s dine-in ban was lifted amid the pandemic. Coleman, who met Kovach through a mutual friend, has lived in the Avondale neighborhood for five years.

My wife and I are raising our two boys in West Ashley. They play baseball and soccer at West Ashley and Ackerman Parks, First Tee at Shawdowmoss Golf & Country Club, and basketball at the Bees Landing Recreation Center. We ride our bikes and go for walks in our neighborhood of Carolina Bay. It’s where we shop, go out to eat and meet with friends. West Ashley is also where the current mayor has failed to lead time and time again over nearly eight years.

The reality is that planned and consistent improvements, shared-use paths, beautification, and integration of service and amenities in West Ashley has been slow, nonexistent in some areas and outright ignored in others. Put simply, the city has not consistently invested in improving the quality of life and capturing the vibrant spirit of the largest part of our beloved city.

This long overdue work is not right, fair nor equitable.

The Sumar Street redevelopment is a prime example. For that development, only one developer responded to the city’s request for a proposal. Going with one developer is not a good practice when dealing with public dollars for such a project.

That developer is seeking $100 for a 99-year lease and millions of dollars for the development’s parking needs, but putting $23 million toward an underground garage does not make that area prime for private sector investment.

Rather than complement the next door Ashley Landing redevelopment, the city chose to compete with it. The limited vision, planning and implementations continue because the mayor created a tie rather than vote in the majority in order to take meaningful action at the July City Council meeting.

The incumbent has moved too slowly to implement any of the recommendations from the Plan West Ashley document that the city spent $500,000 to produce. The West Ashley Project Coordinator has no budget, staff and authority to provide the needed services, engagement, and progress the largest part of our city has lacked.

A plan without the right level of personnel and budget to implement its findings creates illusions, false hope and frustrations. We can change this. The largest part of the city can’t be without the staff and resources to service residents and businesses.

Imagine what we can do for West Ashley and other parts of our city that have been left behind if we apply for more of the millions of available federal funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. We have an opportunity to secure such funds, and I will make it a top priority to pursue this funding and bring such resources to our city.

My experience and current work at the local, state, and federal levels of government uniquely puts us in the best position to accomplish this.

We can stop imagining better gateways to West Ashley, better drainage, better roads and streets, sidewalks, safe bike lanes, connectivity, façade improvements, gathering spots and so much more — and start living it. We need a workhorse to get this done.

If you are happy with the level of leadership and service you have received over the past eight years, I’m not your person. However, if you want more and expect more from your mayor and city, I have something tangible to offer.

Clay Middleton is a native Charlestonian who is running for mayor. A Citadel graduate, he serves as a lieutenant colonel in the S.C. Army National Guard. He previously served as director of Business Services for the city of Charleston, where he led the Business & Neighborhood Services division. He also has served in the Obama administration and as a longtime aide to U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn.

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

Several hundred new homes are in the works on the edge of Charleston.

In two recent submittals to the city, Mungo Homes plans to build more than 800 homes in the 3,000-acre Long Savannah development in West Ashley.

The Irmo-based builder recently submitted plans for 568 houses on 156 acres on Bear Swamp Road off Bees Ferry Road.

The proposal comes after the builder submitted plans earlier this year to build 237 homes on about 56 acres at the end of Barons Drive.

A representative of Mungo Homes did not immediately respond for comment.

Developers have rights to build 4,500 homes in total on the property on the edge of Charleston and Dorchester counties.

In 2021, builders and environmental groups settled a challenge to the development to avoid some wetlands destruction and allow for natural water flow by removing older roadbeds used years ago for logging and phosphate mining.

The project also includes conserved green space, and a $250,000 donation by developers to a trust to fund water-management projects in the three drainage basins that the development covers.

More multifamily

A new apartment development is in the works for Johns Island.

Ninety affordable multifamily housing units are slated for 9.35 acres at 1725 River Road next to the entrance to Fenwick Hall Plantation, according to plans presented to the city of Charleston.

Get the best of the Post and Courier’s Real Estate news, handpicked and delivered to your inbox each Saturday.

Email

The property is owned by the city, which paid $3.3 million for it in 2020.

Storing stuff

A Mount Pleasant-based real estate investment company recently acquired two self-storage properties in the Southeast.

Ziff Real Estate Partners bought a 44,875-square-foot climate-controlled facility in Anderson. The site, previously called Pearman Dairy Self Storage, will be called StoreEase.

Real Estate

The company also purchased a ground-up development tract in Summerfield, Fla., near The Villages master-planned community. When completed, the storage site will be 77,625 square feet with both climate- and non-climate-controlled units. It, too, will be a StoreEase facility.

Finding a home

The Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce now has a physical office for the first time.

The pro-business group has partnered with Pinnacle Financial Partners to lease a 2,000-square-foot space that’s designed to grow staff, hold meetings and have some events at 534 Johnnie Dodds Blvd.

Boom & Balance

Chamber president Jennifer Maxwell said the organization has aspired to have a physical presence in the town for several years.

“This is crucial as part of our plan to continue to grow and support the businesses and community East of the Cooper,” she said.

As timeshare pitches go, it was a blockbuster of a presentation that concluded with a $1.5 billion commitment from the purchaser.

In cash.

And without a lick of buyer’s remorse.

A pair of Florida-based companies that control nearly 1,800 weekly “interval ownership” units up and down the South Carolina coast agreed to combine their operations early last week.

Under the terms, Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. will acquire rival Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corp. for $75-a-share in a deal that’s expected to close by the middle of next year. The $1.5 billion transaction value includes existing debt the buyer will take on.

The deal is poised to deliver a big payday for investors of Boca Raton-based Bluegreen. The stock, which had been trading in the $35 range, more than doubled after Monday’s announcement.

The timeshare tie-up will combine two hospitality industry veterans that operate leisure getaways in popular tourist destinations ranging from downtown Charleston to the Las Vegas Strip.

“This acquisition gives us the unique opportunity to create the industry leader in vacation ownership and experiential travel,” Hilton Grand CEO Mark Wang told investors and financial analysts during a conference call last week.

He said the purchase is “one more critical piece of the strategic journey of expansion and diversification” that the Orlando-based company began two years ago, when it bought luxury timeshare operator Diamond Resorts International for $1.4 billion.

Wang said Bluegreen “has a strong track record of demonstrated organic growth” and a loyal customer base of more than 200,000 members. It also has developed “key lead-generating strategic partnerships that will broaden our reach and diversify our tour flow,” he added.

Once the sale is finalized, Hilton Grand’s membership base will swell to more than 740,000 owners, and its real estate portfolio will expand by 48 properties to almost 200. Eleven of the resorts are near and in some cases on the Palmetto State coastline, with seven concentrated along the Grand Strand. The four others are in Charleston and on Hilton Head Island.