AC Repair in Mount Pleasant, SC

MOUNT PLEASANT S.C. (WCBD) — The American Red Cross is asking your new year’s resolution to be joining their volunteer team of over 1,800 South Carolinians.

Red Cross officials said the benefits of volunteering include meeting new people, learning new skills, being part of something larger, making a difference in someone’s life and staying active.

“Volunteers make up 90% of the workforce at the American Red Cross, and so we are really heavily relying on volunteers,” said Chase Loudermelt, account manager for the American Red Cross in the biomedical services department.

According to the Red Cross, the organization has more than 1,840 volunteers in South Carolina and nearly 300,000 across the country.

In South Carolina alone, volunteers responded to more than 1,700 disasters and assisted more than 5,670 people in 2022.

The Red Cross needs help filling a variety of positions, including blood donor ambassadors, transportation specialists, disaster action team members and volunteers for services for military and veteran families.

Click here to apply for a volunteer position.

Volunteers help make a variety of events possible, including blood drives — and News 2 partnered with the Red Cross to host two drives across the Lowcountry Wednesday.

The blood drives will last from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the following locations:

Officials with the Red Cross said the organization experienced their first blood shortage at the beginning of 2022.

Plus, they added they typically see fewer people coming out to donate blood around the holidays.

“The winter season is always the hardest season for the Red Cross to collect blood, just because people are getting sick, more people are cancelling their appointments due to weather,” Loudermelt said.

Donations are always needed at local hospitals, and just one pint of blood can save up to three lives, experts said.

“More people are traveling, so there’s more car accidents, and then we have diseases like cancer and sickle cell disease, that never take a holiday, so the people that usually need blood transfusions still need them,” Loudermelt said.

Nationally, volunteers with the Red Cross respond to more than 60,000 disasters each year, deliver more than 6.4 million blood products to hospital patients in need and provide nearly 550,000 services to military members, veterans and their families, officials said.

“Our Red Cross volunteers step up to help our neighbors here in the South Carolina Region each and every day,” said Rod Tolbert, CEO of the Red Cross South Carolina Region.

To donate blood Wednesday, click here, and use the sponsor code “BLOODBLITZ,” officials said.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – A federal investigation is underway in Mount Pleasant after residents reported a possibly-illegal removal of an eagle’s nest from a cell tower.

Mike Brown lives right across the street from the tower off Rifle Range Road. He’s watched for years as ospreys and eagles made themselves at home on top of the structure.

“Well, seven years ago I watched the osprey build the nest, had their babies and then they leave in the fall and then shortly after the bald eagles show up,” Brown explained.

This yearly cycle was disrupted on Thursday when Brown said he watched crews working on the tower remove an eagle’s nest. He doesn’t believe the birds were in it at the time, but he said he saw them just two days before.

“I mean its seriously heartbreaking, you know. They were kind of my buddies. I was very excited to see them come and go every year,” Brown told News 2.

Brown captured photos and posted them to social media. Word of the removal spread quickly.

“When I got here, there was nothing left of the nest and I do know the eagles were present and unhappy that the nest was gone,” said Cacky Rivers, a local wildlife photographer.

Rivers monitors several nests through her work. She said it’s the middle of nesting season, so the eagles may very well have laid eggs.

“I don’t know what was in there. I don’t know what they found. I have no idea. But I know that they’re done. They no longer have a nest, and they are basically parents that have nothing now and so, they may have to start over if they can. I don’t know if they will with timing or if they have to wait another year,” she said.

Rivers got in touch with both federal and state agencies who reported to the scene. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s website, the removal of eagle’s nests is illegal, unless a permit is issued.

The agency confirmed to News 2 it is investigating the incident but said they can’t comment on active investigations.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources released the following statement to News 2.

“The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources responded to reports of the removal of a large raptor nest in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has initiated an investigation regarding the removal, and inquiries concerning this incident should be directed to Office of Communications, United States Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Regional Office at fw4_comms@fws.gov.”

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – More attainable housing options could soon be coming to Mount Pleasant.

On Tuesday, Mount Pleasant Town Council voted 6 to 3 on the first reading of an ordinance that would lower the residential density allowed in commercial districts.

The Town of Mount Pleasant currently allows for 12 market-rate residential units per acre in commercial districts. Council voted in favor of decreasing the density to four units, or eight if half of the units are dedicated to attainable housing.

“I voted for it because I wanted to lower that over all density to reduce the congestion on our roads and the overcrowding in our schools, but then at the same time allow that little bit of bonus density in case you are going to build affordable housing that is for the workforce of this town,” Town Councilman Jake Rambo said.

Shelmore village is an example of a commercial district that includes residences as well.

“It has to be business on the bottom, it has to be no residential on the ground floor and the residential has to have its own access,” Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie said as he explained the current requirements for this type of development.

The attainable housing aspect of this move has Mayor Haynie’s full support, saying people who work in Mount Pleasant should be able to afford to live there. However, he voted against decreasing the number of units allowed per acre.

“Going back to before I was mayor, when I was on council, this was the answer. Twelve units per acre was what’s going to be right about Mount Pleasant. I’m not sure when that became the problem,” Mayor Haynie said.

Josh Dix represented the Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS® when he spoke during the public comment section of Tuesday’s meeting. He hoped council would defer the vote. He told News 2 the region needs as many units as it can get to meet the demand.

“We continue every year to fall behind, regionally, in the number of units that are being permitted and we simply can’t build fast enough,” said Dix, who serves as the organization’s Government Affairs Director. “I certainly am sympathetic to the concern that we’re building too quickly but the reality is we have people moving here by the day.”

Town council will vote on this matter again during next month’s meeting.

Mount Pleasant, S.C. (WCIV) — The week for the Lowcountry foodies is finally here.

Today marks the start of Charleston Restaurant Week. The decades long event hosted in the Tri-county area offers discounted prices to encourage people to come to support the Lowcountry's culinary industry during the slow season.

Owners say the event could help kick off the new year for many restaurants struggling.

The 10-day event is from Thursday to ends Sunday, January 22nd. More than 50 restaurants from downtown Charleston, West Ashley, and Mount Pleasant are participating in the culinary event.

One participant is Hall’s Chophouse. The steak house has participated in the event for a decade, and the owner says this week was crucial to keeping the doors open in the early 2010s, turning his restaurant into one of the premier steak houses in the area.

So Tommy Hall says he knows firsthand how the week can make a huge impact on some restaurants, especially those recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Typically, this January is a quiet time of year. The holidays ended, people are getting back to the routines of their life of school, their job, and the restaurants suffer. It's a hard time. So, restaurant week was there to spike the economic growth in January. It just, it's amazing what it does,” Hall said.

According to a survey by Charleston Food and Wine, restaurants in the Lowcountry saw a 42 percent decrease in revenue during the pandemic.

Take Ty’s Roadside Coastal Kitchen in Mount Pleasant. The owner, Ty Neal, has been in the restaurant industry for decades. But when he opened his restaurant in mount pleasant two years ago, in the middle of the pandemic, he even admits it was one of the biggest struggles of his career.

However, Neal says restaurant week helped give him a boost during times when customer flow was slow. Now the restaurant is one of the up-and-coming foodie destinations in Mount Pleasant, gaining attention for its open kitchen setup and hearty American cuisine.

Neal's restaurant is one of five in Mount Pleasant offering discounted three-course meals.

While Neal says tourism season was great for his staff, it’s events like restaurant week that gave him the boost he needed to keep the momentum going now.

“Make no mistake, it's a tough time for restaurants. Staffing is tough, and costs are up, so those challenges are many. But we love what we do. And so, we talk every day about beating the odds and building our fan base, and you know trying to stay viable as an inch as an industry,” Neal said.

Ty’s roadside Coastal Kitchen is offering a deal of three courses for $32 during restaurant week.

Click here to view restaurants participating in the event.

BLACKSBURG – Precisely one month from the start of the 2023 campaign, the Virginia Tech baseball team is already gathering a wealth of potential for another high-achieving season on the diamond as the Hokies have placed into three national preseason polls from respected outlets.

D1BASEBALL – No. 14 For the first time since the outlet's rankings debut in 2015, Virginia Tech has earned a spot in D1Baseball's preseason top 25 poll, landing at No. 14 – the third highest ranking among ACC programs. Last season, the Hokies entered D1Baseball's top 25 on April 11 and remained up for eight consecutive weeks, including seven straight weeks ranked inside the top 10.

Tech peaked at No. 2 in D1Baseball's rankings on May 23 and entered the 2022 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship ranked No. 4 nationally. Upon finishing one win shy of advancing to the 2022 Men's College World Series in Omaha, the Hokies placed No. 11 overall in the outlet's year-end rankings, marking the program's highest such finish all-time.

As it stands, four of Tech's 2023 ACC opponents appear in D1Baseball's preseason top 25. The Hokies will host No. 19 Virginia (March 31 – April 2) and No. 12 North Carolina (April 28-30) while making trips to No. 22 Miami (March 17-19) and No. 6 Wake Forest (May 18-20).

PERFECT GAME – No. 15 Down one line from D1Baseball's No. 14 ranking, Perfect Game placed Virginia Tech at No. 15 in its season-opening top 25 poll, signifying another program-first appearance for the Hokies (since at least 2013).

While D1Baseball favored Tech in its ACC comparisons against Louisville and Miami – as well as its consideration against TCU and UCLA – Perfect Game disagreed, presenting the Hokies as the fifth strongest ACC program out of the gates. Within the ACC, Perfect Game has Tech clocked behind No. 5 Wake Forest, No. 7 Louisville, No. 9 Miami and No. 13 North Carolina while leading No. 19 Virginia and No. 21 NC State.

On the flip side, Perfect Game backed Tech in its outlooks against three teams that were ranked higher than the Hokies by D1Baseball: Oklahoma State (No. 18), Maryland (No. 22) and East Carolina (unranked).

Virginia Tech finished the 2022 season ranked No. 10 in Perfect Game's year-end poll release.

COLLEGIATE BASEBALL NEWSPAPER – No. 28 Known as college baseball's oldest poll dating back to 1959, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper ranked Virginia Tech at No. 28 in its annual "Fabulous 50" preseason selections.

Of the 10 ACC programs appearing in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's top 50, Tech drew the seventh most points behind No. 6 Louisville, No. 8 Miami, No. 10 Wake Forest, No. 11 North Carolina, No. 16 Virginia and No. 23 Georgia Tech. The Hokies were late bloomers in last season's CBN polls, cracking the outlet's top 30 for the first time on April 25 (No. 26) before peaking on May 23 at No. 2.

This season, Tech is scheduled to face seven ACC programs within CBN's preseason top 50, including matchups at No. 32 Florida State and against No. 42 Clemson.

ADDITIONAL POLLS As of Jan. 17, three of the remaining six nationally respected college baseball polls – Baseball America, NCBWA and USA TODAY Sports (coaches poll) – have yet to release their preseason rankings.

OPENING DAY Virginia Tech will open its 2023 regular season schedule on Friday, Feb. 17, at College of Charleston in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. The Cougars (37-20 overall) won the 2022 CAA regular season championship courtesy of their 19-5 league record.