MORNING HEADLINES | South Carolina environmental advocates are praising an executive action on Monday by President Joe Biden to enact a ban on new offshore and gas drilling in most of the country’s coastal waters on 625 million acres of ocean. The ban includes the entire eastern seaboard, parts of the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, as well as the coasts of California, Washington and Oregon.
“The decision will mean preservation of our coast’s communities, economies, and the coastal places we hold dear,” Megan Huynh of the Southern Environmental Law Center told S.C. Public Radio.
In a statement, Biden said, “My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage.”t.
In recent years, hundreds of coastal communities across the United States have passed resolutions opposing coastal drilling, according to the White House. Charleston passed such a measure in March 2015, and the practice was banned in South Carolina in 2019 via state budget provisos.
Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump said he will “unban it immediately” when he takes office in two weeks. But that may be tougher than he thinks because it may take an action of Congress to repeal Biden’s decision. In his first term, Trump tried to revoke offshore drilling restrictions his predecessor, President Barack Obama, had placed but was ultimately shut down at the district court level.
In other recent headlines:
Charleston, Dorchester County sheriffs to be sworn in. Republican Carl Ritchie of Mount Pleasant will be sworn in as the new Charleston County sheriff during a 9 a.m. ceremony Tuesday, while neighboring Dorchester County will swear in sheriff-elect Sam Richardson, who will become the first Black Republican sheriff in South Carolina history.
FCC responds to complaints over Charleston’s toilet roll pole. The original proposed design was a much smaller, narrower tower and looked nothing like the tower that was completed in 2023, according to the Historic Charleston Foundation. The FCC agreed the tower has created some adverse effects, and has requested for the removal and replacement of the tower.
WEATHER: Warming centers open throughout the Lowcountry. As temperatures begin to drop this week, a few places across the Lowcountry are opening their doors to those who are in need of a warm place to stay. Meanwhile, in the Upstate, chances of snow are expected as temperatures reach below freezing.
Charleston-area museum expands ‘pay what you can’ promotion. Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum’s “pay what you can” weekend has been a longstanding annual promotion for the Mount Pleasant attraction. This year, however, it’s not just one weekend — it’s every Saturday in January.
Rent has soared more than 30% since 2020, but has stabilized. The median cost of renting an apartment in any of South Carolina’s five largest towns and cities has increased more than 30% compared to five years ago, just before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, according to a study. The largest spikes took place in 2021 and 2022. Rent increases have since leveled off according to the most recent data.
Mount Pleasant community and performing arts center lands a location. The town of Mount Pleasant’s long-awaited community arts center, tentatively named The Venue MTP, will be located on Johnnie Dodds Boulevard at the old Pivotal Fitness gym space.
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