Hair Salon inCharleston, SC

HANAHAN, S.C. (WCIV) — Some Hanahan residents are unhappy about potential plans for a new apartment complex.

The plot is 17 acres of land near Tanner Hall. Right now the land is zoned for single-family use, but the developer wants to change it to multi-family use to build about 300 apartments.

"It's zoned single-family dwellings and it would hold about 70 additional homes. It's up for rezoning now," said Sean Kennedy, a Tanner Hall resident of 16 years. "I want to point out- this is for the second time in less than six months."

Kennedy says he wants the acres to be homes since that is what the land is zoned for. There are signs all throughout the neighborhood saying, "Say no to re-zoning."

"We have more apartments than what is needed," Kennedy said. "You can go half a mile, a 5-minute walk, and there are hundreds and hundreds of apartments."

"They are going to negatively affect my home, my community, my neighborhood, and my quality of life," said Brittany Wood, a Tanner Hall resident of two years.

The developer, Panther Resident Management, feels differently than the residents. They are requesting the City of Hanahan to re-zone the property.

"We think this project is a huge win-win for the City of Hanahan," said Eric Wardrop, principal at Panther Residential Management. "There are housing shortages all over Charleston. Hanahan is no different."

The planning commission meeting was supposed to happen Tuesday night but now is pushed to February. Wardrop said they have been meeting with city officials and residents to build the best plan for the community.

"[The current plans] included shifting buildings, enhancing landscaping buffers, enhancing security and procedures throughout the complex, fence around the gated community," said Wardrop. "A project like this is not detrimental to Hanahan where housing is expensive; not a lot of affordable options."

Still, Tanner Hall residents are concerned.

"No one wants to see Hanahan become a sea of apartment complexes like you can see in other parts of Charleston," said Wood.

The next planning commission meeting for the City of Hanahan is on February 2.

With the 17th running of the Charleston Wine + Food Festival just two months away, Alyssa Maute Smith has already spearheaded the nonprofit organization’s planning for the March 2023 event as interim executive director.

On Jan. 3, the festival’s 15-member board of directors made her role official: Maute Smith, a Charleston native, has been named the new executive director of the Charleston Wine + Food Festival, which first debuted in the Holy City in 2005.

“I am so passionate about this community. … I really do feel like this community has helped shape me,” she said. “I’m really, really excited to be leading this organization.”

Maute Smith, who has a master’s degree in strategic communications from the College of Charleston, formerly owned a marketing communications firm, managed other businesses and was a fellow in Washington, D.C., with U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn’s staff. She’s been with Wine + Food since February 2016, previously serving as its marketing and communications director.

She was selected after the festival’s board of directors conducted a national search that entertained applications from more than 70 individuals.

“As strong as the pool was, we make this decision with absolute confidence that Alyssa is the right choice for the future of this organization,” board chair Mamie Bush said in a statement.

Maute Smith’s appointment follows the departure of Gillian Zettler, who served in the top post for nine years. She left the festival in March 2022 to accept a new role in Charleston with Beemok Hospitality, an affiliate of Beemok Capital, the family office of local businessman and philanthropist Ben Navarro.

“Gillian was always a big dreamer. She had a huge imagination,” Maute Smith said. “I think that in the live events industry, that’s something that’s always needed.”

The festival returned after a one-year hiatus in 2022 with a new look. The flagship Culinary Village was moved to Riverfront Park in North Charleston after the three-day extravaganza featuring drinks and samples from chefs was stationed in Marion Square in downtown Charleston from 2005 to 2020.

Riverfront Park will again host the Culinary Village in 2023.

Restructuring this signature event to address concerns about long lines and a shortage of food has been one of Maute Smith’s primary areas of focus heading into 2023.

This year, Riverfront Park will be split into four food-focused neighborhoods, each with a different theme that aims to “authentically” tell the stories of Charleston through food and wine, Maute Smith said.

After what many considered to be a successful event in 2022, the new director is confident that attendees will be just as enthusiastic about a festival of Wine + Food’s size and scale this year.

“Walking into (last year’s opening night), it was so evident that, not only were live events back, but live events were needed more than ever,” she said. “We’ve really focused the last nine months on perfecting logistics.”

Overall, the Charleston Wine + Food Festival will host 111 events in downtown Charleston, North Charleston, Summerville, Dorchester, Mount Pleasant, James Island, Johns Island, Sullivan’s Island and Wadmalaw Island.

Tickets are still available to several events, including the Culinary Village, the World of ’Cue, Kamayan Night and Rice: The Global Grain, among others.

For more information, visit charlestonwineandfood.com.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, some art galleries looking to take advantage of the allure of Charleston’s Lowcountry landscape saw a huge decline in foot traffic, leaving many struggling to stay afloat or transition to an online sales model.

This was the case for The Miller Gallery, a contemporary art gallery which opened its first location on East Bay Street in 2017.

Owner Sarah Miller Gelber said the gallery’s brick-and-mortar location was hard to maintain as gallery strolls downtown declined due to a six-week halt in sales as lockdowns began in March 2020.

“We knew there was a minimum of six weeks we weren’t allowed to open our doors to the public,” Gelber said. “And we needed to sell artwork during that time period or we weren’t going to be able to survive.”

So Gelber and her assistant spent long hours creating a virtual gallery experience, transitioning all of the commissioned pieces online. With over 30 artists from the Lowcountry and other parts of the U.S., Gelber set up the website where viewers can peruse work from each artist.

“Every artist has their own page,” she said. “We did that during the first week of the pandemic and it took off.”

All of their inventory is listed on their artist page with multiple images for each piece. She even equipped a virtual reality feature that allows customers to see the artwork in their own space.

Gelber closed the East Bay gallery location in August 2022. Not only was her lease ending but she was also a new mom to a 6-month-old girl, requiring her to spend more time on family and needing a flexible work location.

Now Gelber’s moved to a quaint office location on Meeting Street, complete with a courtyard for hosting pop-up events and a gallery room for private showings and consultations.

“It feels right and it’s working,” Gelber said. “I’m happy that we made this transition. People are still getting used to it for sure, but as am I. ”

The Miller Gallery is part of a growing trend of online art galleries in the Lowcountry, making art more accessible both by location and price.

Gelber is a College of Charleston alum and former president of the Charleston Gallery Association, a collection of over 35 fine art galleries in Charleston. She said traditional galleries in Charleston can be intimidating to the new art buyer or collector.

Walking into rooms filled with fine pieces worth thousands of dollars, minimal seating and an air that discourages the frequent rowdiness of the historic French Quarter district, presents an uncomfortable challenge for those yearning to learn more about the art scene in Charleston.

A new gallery experience

Gelber said many of her clients are families new to Charleston and surrounding areas and looking to either explore local artists or start their collection.

She said the online experience is great for the new buyer especially, eliminating the nervous stroll through through traditional art galleries and opening the doors to online chats with gallery curators about interesting pieces.

Gelber also offers clients a personal curating experience, taking into account their style, the room they wish to furnish and their budget. Once clients have filled out a questionnaire, they are invited to Gelber’s gallery room for a private showing of pieces she personally collected on their behalf.

She smiled, likening the appointment to the feeling of a new bride picking out her wedding gown.

“You’ll see your wedding gown and your photos for the rest of your life, you want it to be perfect,” Gelber said. “Artwork is going to live with you forever — it’s a hard thing to pick out.”

Not the first nor the only

Allison Williamson, owner of the Charleston Artist Collection, a web-based gallery in Mount Pleasant, said she was the first to open an online art gallery in Charleston.

Williamson launched the Charleston Artists Collective website in 2010. After great success with online sales, she opened a brick and mortar in Mount Pleasant followed by three more locations in Atlanta, Nashville and Washington D.C.

“We were virtual long before a lot of them today are,” Williamson said. “It was meant to be a more approachable way to buy art. A lot of people feel like galleries are intimidating.”

Williamson moved to Charleston from Park City, Utah, and started helping artists market their work, hosting shows and different events for them.

“Before we knew it, artists were selling to people in California and New York and all over the country,” Williamson said.

Williamson opened the location in Mount Pleasant after seeing a huge jump in sales, needing a larger space for shipping and other business needs.

Now the gallery operates as a hybrid model, offering both an online and physical space to fit the needs of nearly every art buyer.

Other online galleries in Charleston include Dress the Room Charleston and Shop Docent.

For more information on The Miller Gallery visit www.themillergallery.com.

For Renée McCauley, professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science, having a passion for computer science education extends far beyond the classroom. That’s one reason she is such a dedicated member of and volunteer for the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the flagship organization for computer science professionals around the world.

McCauley has contributed significantly to ACM’s Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), an international community consisting of thousands of educators, and will be recognized for her service at the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education in March 2023, when she will officially receive the 2023 SIGCSE Award for Lifetime Service to the Computer Science Education Community. The award honors an individual who has a long history of volunteer service to the computer science education community.

McCauley has been a member of ACM SIGCSE throughout her 30-plus years in the computing profession. For her, attending SIGCSE conferences is like going to the Sundance Film Festival – complete with glimpses of the stars!

“I remember seeing a textbook author across the room talking about teaching techniques — for me, he was a celebrity,” says McCauley, who notes that SIGCSE is a great place to find mentors. “All people are accessible at SIGCSE, which is not what you expect at a conference of experts. It’s a highly collegial organization and a very welcoming and collaborative group.”

McCauley’s positive SIGCSE experience led her to volunteer for various organizational positions over the years. In addition to co-chairing annual conferences, she was elected to the SIGCSE board for 12 years – serving three-year terms as an at-large board member, treasurer, chair and immediate past chair. Under her leadership, the SIGCSE organization grew in several ways – from membership to conference sizes to international presence – and introduced programs for educators at the K-12 level as well as professional workshops for new faculty and department chairs.

McCauley also held leadership positions at the parent organization, ACM, for six years. She co-edited a top computing education research journal for seven years and led or contributed to several international computing curriculum committees. She was also involved in the creation of the ACM Inroads magazine, and served on numerous committees and panels in other national and international organizations, including the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Computer Society, the National Science Foundation and the Computing Research Association Committee on the Status of Women.

These are just a few highlights of McCauley’s professional imprint on the international computer science community. She credits the College for giving her the freedom, opportunities and support when it was needed.

“I am thankful to the College for giving me the opportunity to balance my research grants, research papers and community service for the international community,” says McCauley. “It has made my career so far very rewarding.”

Susan Rodger, a professor of the practice in Duke University’s Department of Computer Science, nominated McCauley for the lifetime service award, saying, “McCauley has led SIGCSE and the computer science education community in new directions and programs with great benefits to all.”

“I still enjoy volunteering professionally, and have maintained an active research program with NSF funding and many international collaborators,” says McCauley, who is the first female faculty member to chair the College’s Department of Computer Science. “I review papers and grant proposals, and sit on professional committees. Currently, as chair of the computer science department, I am more locally focused, particularly on how I can assist faculty to be successful, including mentoring new faculty toward tenure and promotion or senior instructorship. It is important to help guide faculty to ensure they are successful for the long term, as this reflects greatly on the quality of students and professionals we produce – the next generation of computer scientists – and the impact this has on society at large.”

“Winning the SIGCSE Lifetime Service Award is a remarkable honor, and Dr. McCauley truly is clearly deserving of this distinction,” says Sebastian van Delden, dean of the School of Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering at the College. “Not only is she an internationally renowned expert and scholar, she is an outstanding department chair who brings out the best in her colleagues, students and staff. I am so privileged to work with her and benefit from her mentorship and friendship.”

On March 17, 2023, McCauley will officially receive the lifetime service award and speak at the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, which will be held in Toronto, Canada. She will talk about how she first got involved with SIGCSE; about how, year after year, she became increasingly engaged; and, finally, about all the great people she met and mentored her. She hopes to encourage young colleagues to begin engaging and contributing similarly for years to come.

Now McCauley is the conference celebrity attendees hope to see.

The College of Charleston basketball team has cracked Associated Press’ Top 25 for the first time in 20 years. The Cougars ranked No. 23 with 116 points from 61 AP voters in the AP Top 25 poll that was released Jan. 2.

Meanwhile, the USC Gamecocks were ranked No. 1 in AP’s Top 25 for women’s basketball.

“I think everyone was really excited and proud of this team and what we’ve accomplished so far,” said College of Charleston guard Ryan Larson. “The hard work is paying off, and it’s such a rewarding feeling. There’s still so much left for us to accomplish this season.”

The team currently has one of the nation’s longest win streaks at 13 games and is the first Colonial Athletic Association in the Top 25 since 1987.

In other headlines:

Charleston attorney found dead in his home. Well-known Charleston defense attorney David Aylor was found dead in his home Monday morning. The cause of death is pending. No foul play is suspected, according to the county coroner.

S.C. was hot spot destination for movers in 2022. North American Van Lines’ annual migration map found that South Carolina has the highest percentage of customers moving into its borders by a 2-to-1 margin. A total of 66% of movers came into the state, while 34% moved out. The Charleston area was the top pick for many of the movers.

Children’s museum gets a new director. The Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry appointed Karen Coltrane as the new executive director. She replaced Nichole Myles, who left earlier this year and is dedicated to helping the organization find some new footing, she said.

Lowcountry artists paint the town. A mural-painting business, mainly based in Charleston and Columbia, is painting bright and creative murals for visitors and residents to enjoy. Girls Who Paint Murals has painted over 50 murals in the past year since it started.

Breeze Airways to offer discounted specials from Charleston. Breeze Airways is offering low fares for the slower traveling season from Charleston to 16 locations. One way flights to New York, New Orleans or Florida are as low as $39. Other locations include Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia and Connecticut.

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