Another year is just about in the bag as 2025 has been chock-full of headlines that turned heads across the Lowcountry and beyond. From local political shake-ups to new development directions that could have lasting impacts for years, the Charleston City Paper has been busy keeping folks in the know.
As in past years, here is a packaged selection of our top news stories of the year, giving you a chance to reminisce or lament before bidding 2025 adieu. These snippets offer only a peek at the impact of the full stories, all of which can be found online at charlestoncitypaper.com.
January: Democrat elected chair of Charleston County Council
Members of Charleston County Council on Jan. 2 elected the Rev. Kylon Middleton, a West Ashley Democrat, to be its new chairman in a shift from its elected Republican majority. The move set the county’s leadership on a new path forward throughout the year, with Middleton outlining priorities like a reimagining of traffic and transportation solutions and implementing flood control measures in vulnerable communities. Early on in his tenure, however, Middleton said his top priority would be earning back voters’ trust after several 2024 failures, including voters spanking council by rejecting a half-penny sales tax for interstate extension.
February: Feds charge 8 in sweeping North Charleston investigation
Federal authorities on Feb. 26 charged North Charleston City Council members Jerome Heyward, 61, and Sandino Moses, 50, and indicted a third, Mike A. Brown, 46, over federal crimes related to bribery, extortion, money laundering, wire fraud and other kickback schemes. Two other people were charged and three more were indicted in relation to the alleged crimes. Moses and Heyward later pleaded guilty to the charges and resigned from their council seats, and Brown was suspended from his seat by Gov. Henry McMaster. All vacated council seats have since been filled.
March: How Covid-19 changed Charleston — and you
In March 2020, the first two people in the Palmetto State caught Covid-19, according to health officials. Within 27 months, nearly 20,000 South Carolinians died, and many are still dealing with the repercussions of the pandemic. A March 21 story in the City Paper examined some of those lasting impacts, from health care and education to racial conciliation and more. One teacher’s life completely changed after he left the profession due to the pandemic pressures, while local pharmacies suffered a mass exodus, leaving them with dramatic workforce shortages that some are still recovering from. Also in March was a story about the quick and forced Feb. 28 evacuation of the 100+ units of Dockside condominium along the Cooper River.
April: Advocates support slow, consistent progress on Union Pier
Local advocates chatted about the many small victories on the Union Pier project, including Charleston City Council’s spring update to its comprehensive plan and future land-use maps to include the waterfront property. The year before, local billionaire and philanthropist Ben Navarro purchased the property and announced his intent to develop it at scale and in-line with the character of surrounding communities. Later in the year, Navarro encouraged local leaders to continue pushing forward on the project with intention.
May: Interstate 526 extension officially axed
The S.C. Transportation Infrastructure Bank Board on May 12 voted unanimously to end a multi-million-dollar intergovernmental agreement between Charleston County and the state for extension of the Mark Clark Expressway. The move came nearly half a year after voters rejected a half-penny sales tax referendum that would have funded the county’s $1.8 billion+ share of the project. Without the partnership, the plan to extend Interstate 526 across Johns Island to connect with the James Island Expressway is officially off the table, county leaders said, leaving the door open for smaller improvements to traffic and transportation that together, can make a larger impact. May’s issues also brought the City Paper’s extensive coverage of Spoleto Festival USA and Piccolo Spoleto thanks to news interns from Syracuse University.
June: Favorite local attractions missing from global list. We fixed it.
Atlas Obscura, a national travel and exploration company that produces a daily podcast, books, TV specials and more, offers readers a chance to explore what makes travel destinations so special across the world. In Charleston’s entry, Atlas Obscura lists 12 “cool, hidden and unusual things” to do, like visiting Rainbow Row (really?) or Drayton Hall (been there, done that). So we filled in the gaps with our own top picks for a less ordinary version of the list. We added local favorites like the Dock Street Theatre, Porgy House, Mosquito Beach and more, each rich in history and cultural stories that tourists often miss. In another popular story this month, the City Paper talked with Chris Singleton, whose mother died 10 years earlier in the Emanuel AME massacre.
July: Awendaw residents, leaders concerned about new housing development
A proposed housing development along the edge of the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge in Awendaw has residents and community leaders worried about its environmental impact. Home construction group Pulte Home Company proposed more than 200 homes on about 182 acres of land called the White Tract. The problem: every home is planned to use individual septic tanks, posing a risk to the area’s vulnerable waterways. Local residents continued to push back against the proposed development into the fall of 2025, with environmental groups filing a petition to have the S.C. Supreme Court intervene.
August: MUSC overlay district moves forward despite some community concerns
The city of Charleston’s Planning Commission unanimously voted Aug. 26 in favor of a fast-moving proposal to create a special development district that will allow the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to be exempt from some of the city’s zoning restrictions. It then got a quick nod from Charleston City Council. Local historical advocates pushed back against the measure, since several historic buildings could be demolished without city approval, but Charleston Mayor William Cogswell called it a “compromise,” saying that he trusts MUSC to be good stewards of any and all properties that fall within their district.
September: Iconic Angel Oak poised to receive top honor
The historic Angel Oak, believed to be at least 500 years old, could soon be included to the National Register of Historic Places, a recognition that would add to its growing list of honors. Following an application process, the tree could become the first stand-alone tree in South Carolina and one of a few in the country to be included on the prestigious list. Not only that, but the honor could help the Lowcountry Land Trust’s efforts to raise $13 million to create a nature preserve around the still-growing tree to protect it and share its history. As of September, the nonprofit organization was halfway to its goal. Another well-read story for the month was Maura Hogan’s profile of Alex Rich, the new leader of the Gibbes Museum of Art.
October: Charleston County refocusing half-penny road tax effort
Charleston County leaders started a new approach to capturing billions of dollars through a half-cent sales tax to fund Lowcountry transportation projects after a 2024 referendum defeat. County leaders launched a new public input process with the Transportation Sale Tax Committee to spearhead a “community-driven, transparent effort” to fund transportation projects across the county. The fresh start already has previous opponents of the 2024 referendum hopeful for the future, but some local advocates are concerned that a potential future referendum would still be focused too fiercely on roads.
November: New downtown urban park already feels like comfortable community sweater
It didn’t take long for downtowners to adopt a new one-acre urban community park nestled between King and Meeting streets as if it had always been there. Only days after its Nov. 15 opening, several pairs of people, some with dogs, strolled the narrow park. Park workers installed a merry-go-round behind a portable hedge. A large Fraser fir stood anchored for Christmas festivities where days earlier more than 300 people joined to welcome the gardens. The park, worth an estimated $11 million, was a gift from Beemok Hospitality Collection, founded by Navarro and his wife Kelly, dedicated, he said, to the American dream.
December: CofC, neighbors, roiled in controversy over proposed dorm
A proposed College of Charleston dorm met stiff opposition due to suspicion that the site is the antebellum resting place of between 4,600 and 12,000 poor Whites, enslaved Africans, travelers and orphaned children. College President Andrew Hsu announced the dorm in September, and after the swift rebuke, said the college would “reset” the timeline on the project in order to best respect those who could be interred at the site. The controversy and investigations continued into December, as state agencies are set to permit the partial removal of the asphalt parking lot for a second round of ground-penetrating radar scans.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.