Auto MechanicNear James Island, SC

South Carolina’s first-ever cannabis dry bar has landed on James Island. High Rise Dry Bar from Charleston Hemp Collective opened Aug. 11 and is changing the world of hemp-derived products and the non-alcoholic beverage space by offering mocktails made with legal cannabis seltzers.

“I think it’s really cool pioneering stuff like this,” said Matt Skinner, owner of Charleston Hemp Collective. “You always kind of worry about whether it’s going to go over and how many people are going to relate to it, but I feel like the reception we’ve gotten just so far is insane, so I’m super-excited about it.”

In recent years, the popularity of legal hemp-derived products has exploded in the Charleston area as these products are said to offer purported medicinal benefits and increase relaxation. Hemp Collective offers a range of products from vapes and gummies to tinctures and even Bloody Mary mix. But since launching its cannabis seltzer High Rise in May 2022, Skinner has noticed a fast-shifting acceptance.

“Charleston has really embraced this whole [cannabis] movement,” he said. “So much has changed, and so much of it is becoming more and more accepted.”

Currently, High Rise’s seltzers are in about 200 bars and restaurants, including Halls Chophouse and Husk, and 350 shops and grocery stores in the Charleston area. But the product also is distributed throughout the Southeast in Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina and Georgia.

“Some of the most elevated restaurants in Charleston are really trying to create mocktails now and jumping on board with High Rise to help craft that, and I think that’s special,” Skinner said.

He said he believes now is an exciting time — not only for the cannabis space but also the non-alcoholic market. He points to a renewed interest in non-alcoholic options particularly amongst Gen Z, who are noticeably drinking less alcohol than previous generations.

A 2022 consumer trends report from Drizly found 38% of Gen Z respondents said they opted for more alcohol-free drinks than the previous year compared to 25% of Millennials, 15% Gen X and 8% Baby Boomers.

“There’s this interest not only in the ‘canna-curious’ space right now, but also people are looking for NA (non-alcoholic) options. The NA world and the beverage space right now is insane,” Skinner said.

The company’s original plan was to create a second shop with a small bar, but now the bar is really the star, he said. Skinner and his business partner, Chris Long, wanted a space for a high-end mocktail bar, so they used a portion of the space for the shop and a larger portion for a bar, lounge area and multiple tables for guests to sit and mingle.

During the store’s recent soft opening, DJ Jerry Feels Good set the vibe with upbeat tunes. Skinner said the bar plans to bring DJ Jerry Feels Good back as a regular in-house DJ in addition to rotating other DJs on various nights.

Currently, the bar’s open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Wednesdays and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. But Skinner said they may expand the weekend hours in the future.

The first iteration of the drink menu includes seven unique mocktails with names like Connection, Tranquility, Invigorate and Zen.

Drinks include fruity ingredients like salted watermelon and pomegranate and well as savory elements like ginger, turmeric and matcha. The menu offers suggestions under each drink to add CBD, Delta-8 or Delta-9 seltzer to elevate the experience.

For those who are canna-curious but not familiar with these different derivatives of the hemp plant, CBD is a non-psychoactive compound found in hemp that can induce feelings of relaxation. Delta-8 and Delta-9 are both psychoactive compounds in the plant that can induce feelings of “being high.”

Roughly one-third of a can of High Rise seltzer is used in each drink — equal to two milligrams of CBD, Delta-8 or Delta 9.

“The point is not just one and done,” Skinner said of the mocktails. “We want you to be able to try two or three drinks. And by the time you get to your third drink, you’re gonna be feeling really good. It creates more of a social experience.”

Jules Schneider, beverage director for Herd Provisions, helped develop the current menu.“[This was] easily the most challenging menu I’ve done so far,” Schneider said. “Coaxing out flavor without the use of alcohol is another beast on its own. Alcohol is such a great solvent that making well-flavored ingredients is a cinch. I ended up making my own bitters with vegetable glycerin in a pressure cooker and really relied on great produce and proper technique to make fantastically flavored syrups.”

Skinner added, “I’ve got to give a lot of props to Jules. Not only did he take time to look at so many different [flavor] profiles, [but] he was also very careful when he named them. They all really represent the ingredients of those drinks and what they stand for.”

The menu will change quarterly to introduce new drinks and operate as a space for experimentation. Skinner wants to use the bar to test out new mocktails in addition to featuring rotating specialty High Rise drinks other restaurants and bars have developed for their location including Herd Provisions, The Longboard and others.

“Charleston is a community that supports brands that they feel like are really making a movement, and Charleston has really gotten behind High Rise,” Skinner said. “I don’t think there’s another city in the Southeast that has so much respect for this cannabis drink space.”

Love Best of Charleston?

Help the Charleston City Paper keep Best of Charleston going every year with a donation. Or sign up to become a member of the Charleston City Paper club.

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The residents of James Island are now seeing and hearing coyotes throughout their community following a rise in coyote interactions on Sullivans Island last month.

“Obviously, they’re here in our neighborhood, and we all need to be vigilant,” Lighthouse Point Neighborhood Association President Brook Lyon says.

Those who live in the Lighthouse Point community on James Island say they have recently seen and heard coyotes sometimes in broad daylight or in their backyards.

“I’ve had several reports over the last few weeks of people actually seeing the coyotes,” Lyon adds. “One last week was seen going across Schooner Road in broad daylight. Another photo was taken in the backyard of someone who has a chicken coop, and there’s live chickens there, which could be a potential food source for coyotes.”

Photos recorded on home security cameras show the coyotes on the island, concerning the community about their personal safety and their pets’ lives.

The Charleston County Sheriff’s Department says there is one reported incident with coyotes on James Island back in June.

Sullivans Island also reported five coyote attacks involving dogs in August, making the community on James Island even more worried.

“We are one town, one island, and we don’t want animals to start getting snatched or people getting attacked, like what has happened in other areas,” Lyon says.

Lyon and James Island Town Councilmember Troy Mullinax says they reached out to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and was told there was no program to help them with coyotes in the neighborhood.

“My next step is to contact Governor McMaster because it’s a natural resource issue, and at this time, the town does not have any wildlife management people,” Lyon says.

“DNR does not have anything in place,” Mullinax adds. “This is something we’re going to address at our upcoming meeting this Thursday, and just let people know that there’s something we’re working on.”

To keep the coyotes out of your neighborhood, they recommend not feeding the wildlife or keeping any potential food source outside for them to find.

If you run into a coyote, you’re advised to react loudly, throw small sticks or cans or spray the animal with water.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

JOHNS ISLAND — Five miles from the line of cars crawling through the island’s busiest intersection, three miles from a sparkling subdivision strewn with strollers, half a mile from a shabby horse stable, right off a road of mossy oaks, inside a farm stand spilling with wet tomatoes, cayenne peppers and kale, Janice Lane is furious about traffic.

“It’s just gotten crazy,” said Lane, who on a recent Thursday afternoon was bagging squash at Fields Farm Market. “Too many people. Too many subdivisions.”

Lane is old Johns Island: She moved to its rural, southern part in 1985, back when downtown was only a half-hour drive away. Now, it takes her the same time to reach the intersection of River Road and Maybank Highway from her house — 1.5 miles down the road.

Lane doesn’t live within the city of Charleston’s boundaries, but all of Johns Island is growing. Population surged from around 15,100 people in 2010 to nearly 22,900 in 2021, census data shows. A single-family home now goes for $687,000 on average. Fast-food restaurants line Maybank Highway, and subdivisions keep cropping up.

The island’s growth coincides with a political development. For the first time, residents within the Charleston city boundaries of this historically rural, yet rapidly urbanizing, area will elect their own Charleston City Council member; that council member will no longer represent parts of outer West Ashley, allowing them to concentrate on island-specific concerns.

Redistricting created a newly drawn District 3, which includes the parts of Johns Island and a sliver of James Island within Charleston city limits. District 5 Councilman Karl Brady currently represents Johns Island voters in a bloc covering parts of outer West Ashley. City Council adopted the new map last fall, which takes effect for the approaching Nov. 7 election.

It’s an exciting change for residents who have lamented the dilution of their political voice. It’s also a testing ground for three candidates, all of whom say they’ll address the island’s biggest problem — development without the infrastructure to match.

Stephanie Hodges, Jim McBride and Bill Antonucci will vie for a seat at City Hall. At stake is the future of a fast-growing area some residents worry is losing its rural quirk.

‘Sorry I’m late. I live on Johns Island.’

Traffic is the most common gripe among District 3 voters. The area, they say, wasn’t designed for so many cars.

Only two routes transport drivers on and off the island. Limited lanes lead to bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic, and a busy intersection at River and Maybank aggravates the congestion.

Some say the proposed Interstate 526 extension, which would connect West Ashley to Johns and James Island, is a salve. But that project is years away, if ever. Plans to widen parts of Main Road and build a bypass around the clogged intersection are distant, too.

A bumper sticker sums up residents’ frustration.

“Sorry I’m late,” it reads. “I live on Johns Island.”

Dated infrastructure hasn’t slowed development. A builder in July purchased 300 acres of land, a tract large enough to accommodate 430 homes. Over 200 rental homes will hit the market soon. And new businesses — a butcher shop, wine bar and gym — will start opening this year.

Construction is especially dense along Maybank Highway, which bisects the island. A Circle K, CVS and bank of storage lockers are landmarks. Cars amble down the road as early as 3 p.m., two hours before rush hour.

Driving is the best way to navigate the terrain. Bus access is limited, and few sidewalks line thoroughfares, forcing children to walk to school beside speeding cars.

Some residents dislike the big box stores cropping up on the island, an area renowned for its tomatoes and towering oaks. Others welcome the convenience. Most everyone says better roads are a must.

Infrastructure was the issue animating an Oct. 5 candidate forum, where Hodges, McBride and Antonucci pitched themselves as the best candidate to address traffic woes.

Hodges, the owner of a nutrition policy consulting business, moved to the island in 2018. She cites several proposals to relieve traffic — a roundabout at Cane Slash Road, another lane off the island that dodges trees.

Bike lanes, bus routes and sidewalks would ease congestion, Hodges told a crowd of 40 people at the Berkeley Electric Cooperative. And the area needs more affordable housing: “People who have grown up here and want to raise their families here can’t afford homes,” she said before the forum.

Hodges points to her policy research background as preparation for City Hall. McBride says his military experience will help him handle infrastructure projects.

The retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel floated ideas for reducing traffic, including creating reversible lanes along parts of Maybank Highway during rush hour. That proposal could require trimming an oak canopy to install signals. He told The Post and Courier that idea isn’t set in stone, adding he’d balance “the pain of the traffic is causing with the impact to the trees.”

“Growth is OK as long as it’s controlled,” he said at the forum.

Advocating for zoning rules limiting the number of units per acre is a “consideration,” he told The Johns Island Advocate, a community newspaper. McBride moved to the island in 2021.

This was supposed to be the first real test of the regular season for James Island.

The AAAA Trojans had rolled through their first four games, allowing just one touchdown, heading into Friday night’s game against Class AAAAA Cane Bay.

But James Island had never beaten Cane Bay in six previous tries, including a heart-breaking 3-point loss a year ago when the Cobras kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired.

The Cobras (2-2) were coming off an open date and had two weeks to prepare for the Trojans.

But this one wasn’t even close as James Maxwell scored two touchdowns to lead fifth-ranked Trojans past Cane Bay, 28-7, on Sept. 15 before a crowd of more than 2,000 at The Backyard on the campus of James Island.

It wasn’t a perfect game or even a pretty one; the Trojans turned the ball over four times and had more than 100 yards in penalties. But James Island won the physical battle up front.

“We knew this was going to be a smashmouth football game,” said James Island coach Jamar McKoy. “We made way too many mistakes, but we found a way to step up and made some great plays when there needed to be great plays made and won a big ballgame.”

James Island’s defense smothered Cane Bay’s option offense, limiting the Cobras to less than 200 yards of total offense and one TD.

“It was a very physical football game,” said Cane Bay coach Russell Zehr. “They showed up to play that kind of game and we didn’t. At times they were much more physical than we were and that’s disappointing because we pride ourselves on being a physical team and were not tonight.”

After a short punt by the Cobras, James Island grabbed a 7-0 lead on Maxwell’s 8-yard TD run early in the second quarter.

Maxwell appeared to be caught in the Trojans’ backfield on the handoff, but brushed off the initial hit, and then ran over the next two tacklers on his way into the end zone.

The Trojans pushed their advantage to 14-0 on Maxwell’s second TD of the first half, this one coming from a yard out with 2:41 left before halftime.

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD)- It has been 35 days since Jennifer Drummond was found severely injured along a James Island road.

Friends and family are still searching for answers in what is believed to be a hit-and-run.

The family, joined by their attorney, held a press conference Wednesday morning with new details they hope will bring them closer to finding the person responsible.

The Drumond family, fatigued, after over a month of not knowing exactly what happened to Jenn.

“We don’t sleep at night, wondering if someone texted with a lead,” Jenn’s uncle, Chris Drummond said.

However, they’re not letting up.

Drummond said, “You just can’t hit somebody in the roadway and drive off, and someone not know something.”

Searching everywhere they know of for answers to what is believed to be a hit-and-run.

In a press conference Wednesday morning, their attorney Scott Bischoff, gave new information on her movements that morning.

“Based on information on Jenn’s phone, her step count that was also connected to her apple watch, we believe that she left her house around 5:17 and her step count stops at 5:18, just before 5:19,” Bischoff said.

According to surveillance video there were three cars that drove down Woodland Shores Road around the time of the incident, but new video shows the car believed to be the one that hit Jenn.

“We believe the primary suspect vehicle is vehicle number 3, that appears to be a relatively modern SUV with a sunroof and 5 lights,” Bischoff said.

As far as Jenn’s condition, family members say she is making progress.

They say she got up and walked yesterday, but she’s still very slow to answer questions and there’s still a long way to go.

At this point they’re just doing whatever they can to bring justice to Jenn.

“On top of a really awful injury that she suffered, our mind is also thinking who did this, when will answers surface, will answers surface. It’s something that weighs on our mind constantly,” Jenn’s best friend, Audrey Marhoefer said.

There is a $10,000 reward for information about the incident of you have any information about this incident, call the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.