Coastal Observer

Pawleys Island: Project to move inlet faces November deadline

Property owners at Prince George hope to start work next month to relocate Pawleys Inlet and rebuild the dunes in front of their community. The work needs to be completed by the end of...
Read More

THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES

Environment: Environmental lawyers say county underestimated impact on oysters

Standing on the shore at Morse Park Landing, Dennis Allen saw something that consultants planning a dredging project for Georgetown County had overlooked: oysters. The popular landing was only one place that the former...
Read More

Waccamaw High: First-year teacher feels right at home

When Lilly Javoroski graduated from Waccamaw High School in 2022, she had no idea she’d come back four years later to teach. It wasn’t always her plan to teach, Javoroski said, but she always...
Read More

Legislature: Delayed state budget includes $10M in earmarks for local projects

The fate of $10 million for local projects included in this year’s state budget could be decided when the legislature reconvenes next week. Or it could remain in limbo as the lawmakers figure out...
Read More

Sales tax: Sales tax proposal raises concerns about spending

Georgetown County Council moved a step closer to placing a referendum on a 1-cent local option sales tax before voters in November, but two members said they have concerns about the proposal. The state...
Read More

Housing: Inlet residents form union to challenge rent hike

Rent increases of up to 16 percent on mobile home lots in a Murrells Inlet community have prompted residents to form a tenants union to try to negotiate with the property owner. Now known...
Read More

Education: Waccamaw Elementary opens doors on 50th anniversary

Beverly Thompson, a Pleasant Hill High graduate, has taught at Waccamaw Elementary School for 39 of its 50 years. Returning as a third grade teacher for the 10th year, Thompson reflected on how the...
Read More

Pawleys Island Community Church: As families look for answers, counselors offer a path forward

Parents, grandparents and community members are searching for answers after the discovery that a sex offender was allowed to work at Pawleys Island Community Church and its Christian Academy as a volunteer custodian. But...
Read More

Roads: Anderson wants county to limit golf carts to 25 mph roads

Georgetown County would limit golf carts to roads with speed limits of 25 mph or less under a proposal from Council Member Bob Anderson. “These golf carts on the Waccamaw Neck are traveling on...
Read More

Land use: County’s new wetland rules may curb ‘economic viability’ of five lots

Building five houses on five lots in the center of Murrells Inlet won’t recoup the owner’s $1.48 million investment, according to his attorney. But changing the zoning to allow 10 houses on the 1.5...
Read More

Utilities: Santee Cooper takes comments on rate increases

A meeting next week at the Waccamaw Library will give utility customers an opportunity to comment on Santee Cooper’s proposal to raise rates over the next two years. The board of the state-owned utility...
Read More

Sales tax: Tax that failed by 54 votes in 2024 will get a second chance

A sales tax that will cut property taxes in Georgetown County while raising revenue for local government will be up for a vote in November, two years after voters rejected the local option sales...
Read More

THE WEEK’S FEATURED STORIES

History: Georgetown 500? Spanish hopes to settle new land foundered offshore

After the celebrations around America’s 250th last month, this week’s 500th anniversary will appear as a footnote. That’s something researchers hope will change. “Maybe the 502nd,” said Jim Spirek, the state underwater archaeologist at...
Read More

BUSINESS NEWS

Observer staff wins top awards in news contest

The Coastal Observer staff won 19 awards for writing, photography in design in the S.C. Press Association’s annual news contest, including the President’s Cup for excellence and Weekly Journalist of the Year for its...
Read More

LOCAL EVENTS

Meetings

Georgetown County Board of Education: First and third Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m., Beck Education Center. For details, go to gcsd.k12.sc.us . Georgetown County Council: Second and fourth Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m., Council Chambers, 129 Screven St., Georgetown. For details, go to georgetowncountysc.org. Pawleys Island Town Council: Second Mondays, 5 p.m. Town Hall, 323 Myrtle Ave. For details, go to townofpawleysisland.com. , .

COASTAL OBSERVER