By Bill Rauch The Beaufort County Economic Development Corporation (BCEDC) is on track to meet its goal of attracting $50M in business investment into Beaufort County this fiscal year. The fiscal year will conclude on June 31, and the BCEDC’s executive director, John A. O’Toole, says 14 projects that represent more than $40 million in… Keep Reading
By Bill Rauch As the tributes roll in for South Carolina’s late U.S. Senator, Ernest F. (Fritz) Hollings, I am reminded of the steady, businesslike manner with which the Senator helped Beaufort 20 years ago. Those were different times. In 1998 as Beaufort’s Mayor pro tem I could talk to the offices of both Hollings’… Keep Reading
By Bill Rauch The first step of what is sure to be a long and controversial series of showdowns that will finally lead to the replacement of Beaufort’s Woods Memorial Bridge will be taken next week when Rep. Shannon Erickson introduces into the South Carolina House of Representatives a resolution commemorating the iconic bridge’s 60th… Keep Reading
Bill Rauch Regular readers of this column will recall a study that appeared here in September 2016 that showed that of the three-quarters of a billion dollars that had been raised over the previous 20 years in Beaufort County using the mechanisms of the transportation bond referendum, the school bond referendum and the penny sales… Keep Reading
By Bill Rauch Permit me to begin by thanking the tipster who led me to this story, one of Beaufort’s great ladies and a great mom, too — Pat Von Harten. Here’s the story. There’s a kind and lovely woman on St. Helena Island who for many years was the guidance counselor at St. Helena… Keep Reading
By Bill Rauch With four new members, they may look like a new Beaufort County Council, but the long and divisive shadow of former interim administrator Josh Gruber still darkens their deliberations. Last week, glimpses of the familiar divide were apparent again. This time the venue was the meeting of the Council’s Community Facilities Committee.… Keep Reading