Sports Bar in Downtown Charleston, SC

CHARLESTON, S.C. – A Flash Flood Watch was issued for downtown Charleston in South Carolina due to heavy rain and high tide.

The National Weather Service office in Charleston said a Flash Flood Watch was needed after radar showed heavy rain and thunderstorms moving across the region.

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"The primary concern is the combination of heavy rainfall, up to 1 to 2 inches, and the concurrent high tide," the NWS said. "Watch out for flooded roads."

The Charleston County Emergency Medical Services said it was moving to modified operations due to flooded roadways in the downtown Charleston area.

"Our ambulances and supervisors are responding to calls for service as safely as conditions allow," Charleston County EMS said on Facebook.

Officials said modified operations meant any patients requiring transport would be taken to the closest appropriate hospital.

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"We encourage everyone to stay off the roads until floodwater recedes, unless travel is necessary," officials said. "If you encounter flooded roads, please don’t drive or wade through them."

According to reports, flooding in Charleston has forced officials to close several roads in the area, and travel is being discouraged. There are also reports of vehicles that have become stranded in floodwaters.

The NWS said up to an inch of rain has already fallen, and additional rainfall amounts up to 3 inches are possible.

According to the FOX Forecast Center, a trough will drift northeast along the mid-Atlantic coast, supporting more organized thunderstorms.

Slow-moving and repeating storms could dump two or more inches of rain per hour.

(FOX Weather)

Flash flooding remains likely along the Carolina coast through early Tuesday morning before shifting to the southern Appalachians by Tuesday and Wednesday.

The storm threat will continue across much of the South by Tuesday, but coastal locations should finally get a break from the heaviest rain.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Owners of townhomes in downtown Charleston who were given 24 hours to evacuate their homes will have to wait a while longer for their lawsuit against the city to proceed.

A federal court hearing scheduled for Tuesday morning for residents of Dockside Townhomes was postponed at the last minute Monday, according to court documents.

Federal District Judge Richard Gergel, who was to preside over the hearing, recused himself Monday. In a court order, Gergel said he learned on Monday that the attorney representing the city of Charleston is also representing Gergel’s wife in an unrelated case involving the Charleston County Library Board.

Gergel said he would step aside from the case because “a reasonable person observing this situation could conclude that the court’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned in the matter.”

That order means the court clerk must reassign the case to a different district court judge. There is no word on when the hearing might take place.

Back in June, 11 townhome owners filed a lawsuit against the city of Charleston over their forced evacuation in February. They were ordered out of their homes because of structural concerns with the neighboring Dockside Condominium building that turned up during a contractor’s inspection of the building in 2022.

The building was not deemed unsafe at that time, but officials said an inspection led to a more in-depth investigation, which led city leaders to deem the building unsafe.

The townhome owners’ lawsuit claims the city never cited any authority when it required them to leave, when there was little direct evidence that their homes were in danger. Also, they argue that a letter stating the condominium tower was unsafe never mentioned the townhomes.

The lawsuit further claims that while townhome owners were forced to evacuate, other buildings in the area, including the International African American Museum and the city’s pump station, were not.

The lawsuit requests a jury trial on the matter.

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CHARLESTON — A highway marker commemorating Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee will once again be displayed downtown, ending a year-long legal battle over its removal.

"Lee will rise again in Charleston," read a July 29 statement from Brett Barry, president of the American Heritage Association — the same group that also recently settled an even longer lawsuit against the Charleston City Council over its removal of the statue of John C. Calhoun from Marion Square.

Rumors have swirled since that the Lee marker may end up in Marion Square, but no one has confirmed its final resting place or that of Calhoun, although terms of the Calhoun settlement explicitly bar that statue from being displayed, publicly or privately, anywhere within the city’s limits.

The monument to Lee was previously located on King Street in front of Charleston Charter School for Math and Science. It was removed in July 2021 at the request of the Charleston County School District and placed in storage at a city warehouse on Milford Street until late May. That's when the local chapter of the United Daughter of the Confederacy, who originally erected the monument in 1947 and filed the suit against the district, took possession of the marker.

Dale Theiling, chairman of the Board of Field Officers of the Fourth Brigade, the historic militia that owns Marion Square, said the board has been in discussions with the women’s group.

"The UDC is considering Marion Square," Theiling said Aug. 8.

Representatives from the state chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy did not respond immediately for comment.

Barry, whose heritage group provided financial backing for the suits against the school district and the city, told The Post and Courier that Lee will be re-erected in downtown Charleston, but that "the new location for Lee is not being disclosed at this time."

The lawsuit argued that the school district violated the South Carolina Heritage Act, which provides that monuments and memorials on public grounds commemorating American wars or Native or African American history cannot be "relocated, removed, disturbed, or altered" without approval from the state legislature.

The city has argued that the removal did not violate the Heritage Act, as the marker itself was not explicitly a "war memorial."

In January, S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office wrote an amicus brief supporting the claim that the district had violated the state act. He previously threatened to sue the city of Charleston and the school district over the marker's removal.

"The lawsuit was simply withdrawn since we achieved a better outcome," Barry told the paper in an email July 31.

In the July 29 statement declaring victory, Barry referred to the Confederate general as "fabled."

Following his defeat in April 1865, Lee argued against creating monuments to the former Confederacy, saying it would "keep open the sores of war."

CHARLESTON — A restaurant that opened on Coming Street eight years ago has moved into a building less than a half-mile away from the original.

But the second iteration of Sorghum & Salt is situated closer to Upper King Street's nightlife district, potentially welcoming more customers who happen to walk by, its owner said.

"The neighborhood where we moved is much more friendly for that," owner Tres Jackson said of Cannonborough-Elliottborough on the peninsula. "It's been nice for us I think."

Jackson, who in 2017 opened Sorghum & Salt with a focus on local ingredients and small plates, debuted its new location at 186 St. Philip St. in June. It features more than 60 seats, compared to the 38 back on Coming Street. Patrons can also expect a 12-seat bar, providing a place to wait that didn't exist at the original address, which had previously been occupied by the popular Two Boroughs Larder.

The menu nearly a decade later still leans into a farm-to-table ethos, but with more vegetables, Jackson said. And he added that now the atmosphere finally replicates the ingredient-driven food he's creating.

Sorghum & Salt is open from 5-10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, visit sorghumandsalt.com.

CHARLESTON — A developer of luxury apartments and townhomes is seeking a permit to build a private dock into the Ashley River.

City officials and preservation groups were caught off guard by the request, which could impact the city’s billion-dollar sea wall project meant to protect the Charleston peninsula from rising seas and storm surges, as well as other planned flood protection.

“The City of Charleston has not had any discussions with The Beach Company regarding the proposed private dock, as this is a matter for the S.C. Department of Environmental Services,” city spokeswoman Deja Knight McMillan told The Post and Courier. “While details are limited, we have concerns about the project and remain committed to ensuring public access is maintained along the knee wall and Battery Extension for the entirety of those projects.”

Dan Doyle, president and COO of The Beach Company, said in a statement that the company was coordinating with the city, but a spokeswoman could not say who they had discussed the project with ahead of press deadlines.

The developer is nearing completion on The Charles, an enclave of three-story townhomes and flats, next to the existing Jasper high-rise that overlooks the Ashley River.

The proposed dock, which would be accessible only by homeowners and their guests, will extend about 240 feet into the river where Lockwood Drive meets Broad Street.

That section of river is already busy. A U.S. Coast Guard station is just east of the proposed site, and the city’s marina is to the west.

The construction of the proposed dock requires a permit from the S.C. Department of Environmental Services because it would cross coastal wetlands. Consideration will be given to its size, environment impacts, navigability and the substantial public comment the agency has already received about the proposal.

Brooke Blosser, the land, water and wildlife project manager for the Coastal Conservation League, said there are several concerns when a permit for a new dock is considered. Its construction will disturb the marshland and could cause pollutants trapped in the pluff mud to rise.

She added that once the pier is built, its shadow could kill off marsh grass that needs light for nourishment, and run off could add even more pollutants into the water.

“The marsh is already vulnerable there,” Blosser said. “It can’t migrate naturally because the sidewalk and peninsula’s hard edge is right there.”

Water quality is already a concern in the Charleston Harbor, Blosser said. Another dock will likely exasperate those issues.

“The Beach Company will follow all of the state agencies' requirements regarding design, length, environmental policies, and approvals for the proposed dock,” Doyle said.

Part of the permitting process requires a comment period, which ends Aug. 8.

Local preservation groups are urging residents to oppose the permit and request a public hearing.

“Not only would this disturb the fragile ecosystems that protect the character-defining neighborhoods that make up Charleston’s downtown historic districts, it runs afoul of longstanding city policy goals that discourage construction along our coastal edges and limit privatization of the water’s edge,” the Preservation Society of Charleston posted on Instagram Aug. 6.

“This is NOT a subtle structure and does not fit in the context of Charleston's historic district that is primarily composed of public and civic waterfront,” the Historic Charleston Foundation wrote in an email to its members Aug. 6. “Without a public hearing, we may lose the chance to influence the future of this property.”

A spokesperson for DES said they’ve already received 510 public comments, as of 3 p.m. Aug. 7.

“To accommodate the significant public interest in this dock permit application, a public hearing will be held,” the spokesperson said in an email. “Once the date, time and location are confirmed, the details will be shared publicly to allow for proper notice of the of the public hearing.”