Hilton Head

Southern Living magazine has named Hilton Head Island as the best beach town in the South. Praising the island for offering the opportunity to “enjoy the sun and the sand,” the magazine said Hilton Head’s richness of the town “wins the day.” Tybee Island ranked No. 2. Readers voted on their favorite spots.

The South Ca rolina House unanimously passed a $600 million income tax cut. The House plan cuts the state’s top income tax rate from 7% to 6.5% next year and will reduce it to 6% over the next five years. About 1.1 million of the state’s 2.6 million eligible people pay that rate.

All other taxpayers would be combined into a 3% bracket, according to The Associated Press.

Hilton Head Island Town Manager Marc Orlando has proposed a public-private partnership strategy to develop workforce housing on more than 12 acres of Town-owned property. The town said the proposal will help address the island’s need for more housing for its workforce. The vision includes efficient use of land, energy and water resources, environmentally responsible building materials, and edible landscapes. The site is close to the Hilton Head Island Recreation Center and Hilton Head Island public school campus.

JoJo Woodward announced last month his plan to run for Beaufort County Sheriff. Woodward, who ran in the 2018 primaries, has more than 35 years of experience in law enforcement. He has served as captain of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. He will challenge incumbent P.J. Tanner. The primary is June 14.

A marine military plane (F/A-18D Hornet) crashed in the Lobeco area near Half Moon Island Road and Coosaw Plantation Drive. The pilot and co-pilot were not injured, officials said. The area where the plane went down is uninhabited. According to militarymachine.com, each F/A-18 Hornet costs more than $34 million.

The Technical College of the Lowcountry’s paid tuition program will continue through the summer of 2022 offering S.C. residents the opportunity to further their education – for free. The program is available to South Carolina residents, including: adults with some college; adults with no college; and recent high school graduates.

Breeze Airways has added five new routes from Savannah- Hilton Head International Airport, including a non-stop flight to Los Angeles. Other flights include those to Hartford, Conn.; Providence, R.I.; Columbus, Ohio and Norfolk, Va. The flights to Hartford and Providence begin June 3. The Columbus routes launch June 4. Norfolk and L.A. flights begin July 1.

BY STEVE WILMOT

The 2022 RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing is the week you’ve been waiting for.

The excitement and traditions are back.

From the ceremonious opening boom of the classic cannon to the championwinning putt in the final round, everyone’s teed up for a legendary time.

HILTON HEAD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCES YOUTH WINNERS

Sixteen-year-old Ewan Manalo, a cellist from Ooltewah, Tenn., won the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra’s 2022 Youth Concerto Competition. Manalo captured the top prize, performing the final movement of Edward Elgar’s Concerto in E minor, Op. 85. The top prize includes a cash award plus the opportunity to perform with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra during the 2022-2023 season. Violinist Leila Warren, 12, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., won second prize. Seventeen-year-old violinist Jeremiah Jun-seo Jung from Suwanee, Ga., won third prize. The Special Achievement Award was presented to violinist Seunne Khoo from Cary, N.C. A playlist of the competition is available on YouTube.

HILTON HEAD’S ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATION RETURNS 

After a two-year hiatus Hilton Head’s St. Patrick’s Day parade will return this year.

The parade will march down Pope Avenue on 3 p.m. March 13. The parade will step off from the beach parking lot onto Pope Avenue across from Lagoon Road. It will continue along Pope Avenue, turn left onto Office Park Road and end at Park Plaza.

Because of the coronavirus safety concerns, the parade committee said no objects will be thrown or handed out by participants. Objects include candy, beads, T-shirts, or other items.

BEAUFORT COUNTY ADOPTS REVISED REDISTRICTING MAP

BY TONY KUKULICH

On the heels of completion of the 2020 U.S. census, Beaufort County launched its decennial initiative to redraw district boundaries, an effort driven by statistical analysis, guided by legislative statute and informed by public opinion.

The task of redrawing Beaufort County’s 11 districts fell on the shoulders of Daniel Morgan, the county’s director of mapping and applications. “This is my third (redistricting),” Morgan said. “At least I had the experience of doing the past censuses. We went back to historic data and looked at 2010. That was our baseline.”

Islanders Beach Park at 94 Folly Field Road is getting a new pavilion that will give visitors with disabilities and others with special needs a chance to enjoy views of the beach, the Town of Hilton Head said. The town has contracted with Nix Construction Company to build a handicap-accessible covered overlook pavilion adjacent to the existing beach boardwalk. The pavilion will feature a wide entry path for wheelchair access and benches for seating.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation plans the removal of the toll booths from the Sol Blatt Jr. Cross Island Parkway and will make improvements to the road. SCDOT entered a $12.7 million contract with APAC Atlantic, Inc., for work to be done as part of the Cross Island Parkway toll conversion. The conversion project includes pavement removal, pavement reconstruction and resurfacing, signage and striping along the parkway and ramps from U.S. 278 Business to the Charles Fraser Bridge. Removal of the toll plaza is expected to be completed this spring and the remaining work is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

The United States Department of Agriculture is investing $63.3 million in rural South Carolina communities through job training, business expansion and technical assistance. The Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce received an $86,217 Microentrepreneur Assistance Program grant which will allow it to provide technical assistance to rural micro-entrepreneurs or microenterprises. The funds will be used to offset costs of workshops, meetings and will help potential clients with feasibility studies, business and marketing plans.

The Town of Hilton Head Island has launched its new MyHHI mobile app, designed to give users a tool to report non-emergency issues from their smartphone, tablet and computers. Users can access information about parks, beaches, cultural events and other topics. The free app is available from Google Play and the Apple Store. For more information about MyHHI, visit hiltonheadislandsc.gov/myhhi.