James steps down as Coastal Conservation League leader

MORNING HEADLINES | Local environmental advocacy group Coastal Conservation League this morning announced that Faith Rivers James, 60, has stepped down as executive director.

James, a Lowcountry native, led the organization in several ways over her nearly four years as the nonprofit’s top leader. Among her accomplishments:

St. Helena Island. She helped to defend the cultural protection overlay on St. Helena Island in council chambers and the courts.
Union Pier. She stood with community partners to protect the historic downtown area.
Species. She also led on landmark protection wins for the red knot and horseshoe crab populations.

“We are deeply grateful for Faith’s integrity, her advocacy, and her unwavering commitment to the communities this organization serves. She leaves behind a strong, experienced team and a League well-positioned for the work ahead.”

James’ departure, however, comes after 38 staffers resigned from their positions during her time as executive director. Several complained privately about James’ hands-on leadership style, which they called “micromanagement,” according to a Feb. 26 article in The State. There were also complaints that the league had become hesitant to jump into some environmental disputes that it should have led on.

Lori Cary-Kothera, the League’s chief conservation officer, will serve as interim executive director as a search for a new leader ensues.

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In today’s City Paper

CP OPINION: Memo to City of Charleston: Do your business in public. “Back in civics class, we learned governments are supposed to do their work in public. Decisions are not supposed to be done by popularly-elected officials who sneak around in backrooms to keep regular people from having a real say in decisions funded by tax dollars.”

CP COVER STORY: World premiere at Gaillard dives deep in Charleston’s dark waters. When New York City choreographer Dwight Rhoden first met Charleston composer Edward Hart to discuss a new work, they did so with ankles deep in Charleston water.

CP NEWS: City council rams through bill allowing it to dodge its own design board. Thanks to some creative, surprise legislation by Charleston City Council, the city has a new level of authority over its own building projects anywhere off the peninsula.

CP FOOD: Wine + Food returns to Charleston for year 20 on March 4. When Charleston Wine + Food (CHSWF) hosted its first festival in 2005, no one could have envisioned its evolution and success over the past two decades.

CP ARTS: Gaillard outdoor installation to glow with legends. A new temporary public installation is primed Feb. 27 to turn heads, prompt awes and forge community. Free and open to the public, the Monuments outdoor artwork will transform the streetscape near the George Street entrance Charleston Gaillard Center into an illuminated shared space inspiring recognition and reflection.

CP MUSIC: James brings soul, R&B to Charleston March 10. Leela James makes music that feels both modern and old-school. The Los Angeles, Calif., R&B vocalist and songwriter, who performs March 10 at the Charleston Music Hall, has spent most of her two-decade career blending traditional rhythm-and-blues instrumentation with electronic accents.

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High-tech hub aims to put North Charleston Police Department one step ahead. The North Charleston Police Department is preparing to move into its new Joint Operations Center, a centralized hub designed to bring camera monitoring, dispatch and crime analysts together under one roof.

Charleston County library archives to be moved to James Island head of renovations. The archive room at the county’s main library branch will temporarily close and move its materials before the building undergoes renovations.

Charleston County school board meeting breaks into chaos. A meeting of the Charleston County School Board of Trustees broke into chaos on Wednesday during the nomination process for the district’s new Education Foundation Board of Directors.

Measles still a ‘great concern’ despite drop in new cases. The S.C. Department of Public Health held its weekly measles media briefing Wednesday during which the state’s epidemiologist cautioned that the spread of the virus is still a great concern despite the recent decline in new cases.

Pressure grows for records on Epstein’s Hilton Head victim. Pressure is mounting for the Department of Justice to release all files about an alleged teenage victim of Jeffrey Epstein in Hilton Head, including any documents related to a separate reported encounter with Donald Trump.

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