The February 2023 edition of The Seabrooker can be accessed online through the Town of Seabrook Island’s website.
Click here and select the February 2023 link to read the following columns:
–Tidelines Editors
The January 2023 edition of The Seabrooker can be accessed online through the Town of Seabrook Island’s website.
Click here and select the January 2023 link to read the following columns:
–Tidelines Editors
The Town of Kiawah Island released the following information about the planned MUSC Project on Seabrook Island Road:
“The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) requires MUSC to have a second egress from its site. The second egress from the site is Andell Bluff Road. Andell Bluff Road is a private road owned by the Bohicket Marina owners.
MUSC has discussed the use of Andell Bluff Road as the second egress with the Marina owners, and they are still awaiting written approval from said owners. Once MUSC receives written consent from the owners of Bohicket Marina to use Andell Bluff Road, MUSC believes they can proceed with the project.
Once started, they expect a 12 to 18 month build timeline. The project is within the town limits of Seabrook Island.”
–Tidelines Editors
(Image credit: MUSC)
The Andell West (property behind Freshfields Village) re-zoning request is on the agenda for the Charleston County Planning and Public Works Committee meeting scheduled for 5:00 pm on January 12, 2023. An agenda for the meeting will be available from the Charleston County Government website (www.charlestoncounty.org) on the Friday, January 6, before the meeting. A file of the rezoning request is available from the Charleston County Government Website by clicking here.
-Submitted by John Gregg, Mayor, Town of Seabrook Island
The Northern Pitchfork
In 2009 Charleston County selected a plan to improve traffic at the intersection of Maybank Highway and River Road that would add two roads, one north and another south of Maybank Highway, between the Stono River bridge and River Road. The County has now dropped consideration of the southern prong of the pitchfork. A $4.3 million contract has been awarded to begin construction of the northern prong in 2023. The work will take about two years to complete.
Main Road and Route 17 Flyover
(Main Road Corridor segment A)
Segment A begins at Bees Ferry Road and extends along Main Road through the intersection with Route 17 to the intersection with River Road and Chisolm Road. Charleston County is expected to award a contract in the Spring of 2023 to begin the project which is expected to take about three years to complete.
Bohicket Road Enhancement
(Main Road Corridor segment C)
There are currently six alternatives under consideration for improving traffic conditions on Bohicket Road. The County is conducting additional evaluations to reduce the number of alternatives and then will seek additional public input in the Spring of 2023. The current schedule anticipates construction on the selected alternative to start sometime in 2025-26 and to take approximately three years to complete.
All dates are subject to change.
-Submitted by Dick Wildermann
(Image credit: The Post and Courier)
The December 2022 edition of The Seabrooker can be accessed online through the Town of Seabrook Island’s website.
Click here and select the December 2022 link to read the following columns:
–Tidelines Editors
The national bird – that’s what Ben Franklin famously thought the turkey should be. It was, he wrote, “a much more respectable bird” than the eagle, which he considered to be “a rank coward”. He thought the turkey to be “a true original native of America, and a bird of courage” that would willingly attack any grenadier of the British Guards who dared to invade his farm.
He was correct in thinking that the tom turkey would aggressively protect itself, as many a stroller or golfer who has come too close to one can attest. But he was wrong in thinking that turkeys were native to the United States, although today they can be found in every state except Alaska. They were first encountered by 16th-century European explorers arriving in Mexico, where turkeys had been bred for centuries, making it one of only two birds native to the Americas (the other being the Muscovy duck). Imported to Europe and the Middle East, the birds reminded traders of the African guinea fowl that came to them along trade routes passing through Turkey, and thus came to be called “Turkey birds.”
To read more about our almost national bird – the turkey – as well as other articles from SINHG, click here.
Seabrook Island Natural History Group is one of the island’s oldest and largest special interest groups dedicated to exploring the ecology, history, and culture of the Carolina Lowcountry. For more information about SINHG, click here.
-Submitted by Seabrook Island Natural History Group
(Image credits: Seabrook Island Natural History Group)
VITA (Volunteers Income Tax Assistance) is an IRS program that provides tax preparation help, free of charge, with a special focus on low to moderate income taxpayers 50 years old and older, to help them get the credits and deductions they’ve earned.
The key to providing this service is local volunteers who are trained to help them. Tax counselors receive extensive free tax training and will become familiar with IRS/SC tax rules and regulations. Volunteers of all backgrounds and ages are welcome and needed to serve clients in the Charleston area, including Johns and James Islands. Familiarity with income tax returns and technology is helpful but not required.
Tax counselors are expected to be available for 5 hours per week February 1 to April 15, 2023. It’s a great way to learn new skills, assist in helping others, and become more involved in your community.
Please consider joining our local volunteer team! Contact the Charleston District Recruitment Coordinator, Fran Williams at (803) 443-1878, or email francesca.m.williams@gmail.com, for more information.
To learn about the VITA Program, click here.
-Tidelines Editors
(Image Credit: IRS VITA Program)
At this time of year, when most of us are giving thanks and counting our blessings, we become all the more aware that there are so many people in need, both locally and globally, and that charities are crying out for help.
But did you know that, if you are at the age where you are required to take Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) from your IRAs, there is a win-win option that benefits both you and the charity? By donating part (or all) of your RMD directly to charity, the taxable portion of your RMD is reduced by the amount donated. This is called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD).
To make this happen you need to provide your financial institution or tax advisor with information about your charity (name, address, EIN number) and the amount you want to donate. Some of the larger financial institutions allow you to do all of this online. The institution will then write a check directly to the charity of your choice and you will be entitled to the deduction. Note, it must be a registered charity.
Be sure to keep records of how much you donate to charities via QCDs during the year! You should be aware that the 1099-R you receive for your IRA after the end of the year will not show the QCD portion of your distribution separately. But don’t be alarmed. There is a line on the tax return (and on the tax software) to enter the appropriate amount from your records to ensure you get the deduction.
Most, but not all, IRAs qualify for this program. Contact your tax advisor or financial institution for complete information. Please click here to go to the IRS website for more information.
Not old enough to have RMDs or choose not to donate from them? If you are among the few people who still itemize deductions on tax returns, charitable deductions are still available to you as a way of reducing your tax liability. Although there was a small deduction available in 2020 and 2021 to all taxpayers who do not itemize, as of the time of writing this, it has not been extended to 2022.
Happy Thanksgiving! Perhaps we can all find a way to do more giving when there is a way to benefit both the charity and ourselves.
-Submitted by Tax-Aide Volunteer
Election Day is Tuesday, November 8, 2022, and if you have chosen to vote in person at The Lake House that day, there are a few things you need to know.
The Lake House will open for voting at 7:00 am and close at 7:00 pm. Anyone in line at 7:00 pm will be able to vote. Please note that the fitness classes held in Live Oak Hall will be canceled on Tuesday.
When voting in person, you will have to show one of the following Photo IDs:
To view a sample ballot, click here. If you want more information about voting in person, click here. This site also contains an instructional tutorial on how to use voting machines.
According to scvotes.gov, the displaying of campaign material is not allowed within 500 feet of any entrance to a polling place on election day. Campaign material is any written or visual material that has the intention or effect of supporting or opposing any candidate, party, or question in the current election.
In addition to this campaign material and clothing restriction, it is unlawful for a person to distribute any type of campaign literature or place any political posters within 500 feet of any entrance to a polling place on election day. Click here to read more about this.
–Tidelines Editors
The November 2022 edition of The Seabrooker can be accessed online through the Town of Seabrook Island’s website.
Click here and select the November 2022 link to read the following columns:
–Tidelines Editors
Daylight saving time Fall 2022 will end at 2:00 am on Sunday, November 6, 2022, so turn clocks BACK before retiring Saturday night.
Remember, spring forward, fall back!
This is also a good time to check the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
–Tidelines Editors
(Image credit: Clipart from http://clipart-library.com)