Opinion pieces, commentary, editorials, and columns that reflect community perspectives from Beaufort’s writers, thought leaders, and residents. This category provides a platform for voices shaping local discussion on issues, values, culture, civic life, and public debate in Beaufort and the broader Lowcountry.
By Douglas Pugh Times are changing, pecking orders evolving, but the chickens aren’t pleased. After all, they take pride in being the inspiration for this universally applicable ranking measure. Ranked positions in all species have existed since their evolution, but it was chickens who gave it its name, recognizing that it provided stability and sustainability […]
Evolution of the pecking order Read More »
By Mark A. Schmidtke I suspect most of us have experienced meaningful coincidences in our lives — those events that seem preceded by, and linked to, some thought or dream, and feel far from accidental. If you have, you understand how they might evoke wonder, awe, and a sense of destiny in your life. While
The manufacturing of meaningful coincidences Read More »
By Graham B. Trask This is the annotated public comment given by me on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026 to Beaufort City Council at its annual strategic planning retreat. 1. Focus on the three primary core functions The City Of Beaufort government should focus on the three primary core functions of any city government: • Public
A way forward for the City of Beaufort — four focus domains Read More »
Barb Nash hit the nail on the head. Trump and his sycophants are causing so much chaos with Venezuela, ICE, etc., that we are forgetting about the terrible long-lasting actions the administration has taken against our healthcare system, the environment, and our allies around the world. Don’t get me wrong, almost everything they are doing
“Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”
The worst of the worst? Not by a long shot Read More »
By Scott Graber It is Tuesday, early, and my laptop says it’s 29 degrees in Port Royal. This morning I have a fire in the hearth — a much needed fire that is in no way decorative—and a cup of whole bean coffee. The frigid weather was predicted for a solid week before its arrival
‘You need to think about a family’ Read More »
By Lolita Huckaby BEAUFORT An interesting headline recently in The Island Packet/Beaufort Gazette summarized a not-so-unfamiliar feeling being experienced in the Lowcountry. “700 homes being planned on two Beaufort County Islands. Is Anybody Listening?” read the headline about the ongoing development on Upper and Lower Cane Island but again, the question as to “anybody listening” seems almost
Lowcountry Lowdown – You’ve got to pay attention and not just complain Read More »
By Bill Rauch The 859-acre data center complex proposed by developers to be built east of I-95 at the headwaters of the Ashepoo River outside Walterboro, if it goes forward, will be the gravest threat to the ACE Basin in its relatively short history.The proposed complex would be built off Cooks Hill Road on a
ACE Basin data center fight takes shape Read More »
It is Thursday, Sept. 18, and I’m sitting in a wood-paneled room in Ridgeland, S.C. It is 8 p.m., and most of the 35 other people in this small, jammed-packed room are jubilant; happy because the Ridgeland Town Council has just voted, 4-1, to reject the proposed annexation, proposed rezoning and proposed development agreement presented by Tickton Hall Investments, LLC; Euhaw Holdings, LLC; Tickton Hall Holdings LLC; and Pepper Hall LLC.
Ridgeland rejects Tickton Hall annexation Read More »
As everything else in his life fell into place around him in the past nine months, Bryson Nimmer’s professional golf career seemed to be slipping away.
Win ‘changes everything’ for Nimmer Read More »
