Oil Change in Charleston, SC

A Charleston Harbor pilot rescued three people after their 58-foot yacht struck a jetty at the mouth of the harbor early on the morning of March 18. The vessel later sank.

Pilots pulled a 9-year-old and her parents from the sinking yacht, according to a news release.

The yacht struck the North Jetty, which is the rock breakwater that extends two miles from Sullivan's Island into the ocean that protect the channel into the harbor.

The yacht was on top of the rocks and taking on water when crew arrived, and the family of three was still aboard the vessel. They were not injured in the collision, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Early Tuesday, @USCG Sector #Charleston was alerted to a 58-foot yacht that had reportedly struck the Charleston jetties and was taking on water. The three people aboard transferred to a dinghy and were safely recovered by a nearby Charleston Harbor Pilots vessel. pic.twitter.com/bL3lJHlDF0

— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) March 18, 2025

Charleston Pilot Launch Captain Montgomery Stafford maneuvered the 75-foot Pilot Launch Fort Moultrie close to the jetty, while Harbor Pilot Doug Logan and Apprentice Stephanie Kelly rescued the family.

Shortly after the rescue, the yacht washed over the jetty and sank outside of the channel, according to the release.

“The swift and decisive actions of our Pilot Boat Captains exemplify the highest standards of professionalism,” said Captain Crayton Walters, president of the Charleston Branch Pilots' Association. “Their skill and dedication ensured the safety of the passengers on this imperiled vessel."

Even though the yacht sank outside of the channel and will not impact navigation abilities for other vessels, it may need to be removed for environmental concerns, Charleston Waterkeeper Andrew Wunderley said. As long as it remains in the water, fuel on the boat could leak or batteries in electronics could impact the water and habitat quality, he said.

Boats colliding with the jetty is not a regular occurrence, but it's not surprising, he said. The jetties can be difficult to see, especially at night.

Still, "the primary responsibility lies with the captain of the boat," Wunderley said. Modern navigation equipment typically provides a high level of awareness of where hazards are, he said.

South Carolina health inspectors found multiple violations at restaurants in the Charleston area in February, from moldy vegetables to dirty dishes stored as clean.

However, one Charleston-area restaurant scored worse than the others for February.

The state regularly releases grades and inspection reports for food establishments in Charleston and the surrounding area.

Here is the restaurant that received the worst rating in the Charleston area in February, followed by other area restaurants that earned low scores.

Kanji had an inspection on Feb. 4 and got a 67 C grade.

An inspector observed tilapia and escolar not honestly represented — the menu represents these fish as yellowtail and white tuna.

Coffee was seen not lidded while adjacent to the sushi cutting board and make table. The hand sink was obstructed and being used to store cutting boards.

The rice cookers and kitchenware were unclean to sight and touch. The sushi holding canister was not cleaned between use and not cleaned at a minimum frequency of at least every 4 hours. Rice residue from the prior day was seen inside the sushi container.

Tuna, salmon, and crab were seen not kept at proper holding temperatures. Opened containers of fish eggs, crab meat, and sushi fish were seen not dated. Food was seen stored on the floor of the walk-in cooler. Heads of cabbage were seen stored on soiled shelving. Gloves on the cook line were seen not stored away from potential sources of contamination. Grit, grime, and grease were seen on cook line equipment and sinks.

The restaurant had a required follow-up inspection on Feb. 14 and got an A grade.

Athens had an inspection on Feb. 26 and got a 74 C grade.

An inspector observed heads of lettuce resting in a soiled prep sink. Also observed an employee’s beard not being restrained on the cook line.

Dirty food containers were seen stored as clean. Custard-filled pastry, pizza sauce, baked casserole, and lemon soup were seen kept past expiration date.

Containers of cooked tomato sauce were seen not called to cool properly. Grease and particle accumulation were seen on cook line equipment and shelving.

The restaurant had a required follow-up inspection on March 11 and got an A grade.

Kiki’s Chicken had an inspection on Feb. 3 and got a 75 C grade.

An inspector observed an employee pick up a waffle with bare hands.

Chicken was seen left in a sink at 62 degrees. Undated sausage was found in the cooler. The back door of the restaurant was open. Cutting boards were old and needed replacement.

The restaurant had a required follow-up inspection on Feb. 6 and got an A grade.

Trotter Restaurant had an inspection on Feb. 26 and got a 72 C grade.

An inspector observed rotten zucchini with white organic growth in the cooler. Also observed a container of mozzarella cheese with blue organic growth.

Multiple pans of uncovered food were seen in the cooler. Cut vegetables were seen unwrapped and resting on several shelves. A foreign product was seen inside a container of blue cheese dressing.

Black organic matter was seen inside the ice machine. Certain foods were seen not kept at proper holding temperatures.

The restaurant had a required follow-up inspection on March 5 and got an A grade.

This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 6:00 AM.

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Patrick McCreless is the service journalism editor for The State, where he and a team of reporters write about trending news of the day and topics that help readers in their daily lives and better informs them about their communities. He attended Jacksonville State University in Alabama and grew up in Tuscaloosa, AL.

Global sea levels rose faster than expected last year, largely due to warming ocean temperatures, a new NASA analysis found.

As seawater creeps further into coastlines, salt threatens to pollute the freshwater reserves that people depend on. But this brine isn’t just coming from the ocean: New research shows freshwater ecosystems are facing widespread dual threats of salt contamination from the sea and land, made worse by climate change.

Humans are a salty species, using the mineral for a vast number of reasons—from de-icing the roads during snowstorms to seasoning food.

But our salty habits, coupled with rising seas, pose major threats to human health, infrastructure, agriculture, and wildlife. Now, scientists are trying to help water managers better understand the salt risks that crucial water supplies face from land to sea as global temperatures warm.

A salty future

When it comes to climate change, scientists are learning to expect the unexpected. Even so, 2024’s rate of sea level rise was unusual, according to NASA.

“Every year is a little bit different, but what’s clear is that the ocean continues to rise, and the rate of rise is getting faster and faster,” Josh Willis, a sea level researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said in a statement.

Using an ocean-observing satellite, scientists measured last year’s global rate of sea level rise at 0.23 inches, compared to the expected rate of 0.17 inches annually. This may seem tiny, but bear in mind that even small increases in sea levels can have major consequences for coastal communities, including worsening storm surges during hurricanes.

Around two-thirds of 2024’s rise can be attributed to ocean warming, because seawater expands as it heats. The rest of the rise is due to an influx of water coming from ice sheets and glaciers, which are melting at unprecedented rates around the world due to climate change. Last year’s El Niño weather event may have also been to blame for warming up the water by impacting how heat travels vertically through the ocean, NASA scientists said.

Overall, the rate of annual sea level rise has more than doubled since 1993. Global sea level has increased by 4 inches in that timeframe.

“It used to be that we could predict the future based on the past trends, but now we know that there are all these changes happening,” Sujay Kaushal, a geologist at the University of Maryland, told me. “Nothing is shocking anymore.”

Kaushal mostly studies the ecology of watersheds outside the ocean, such as wetlands, streams, and rivers, which provide roughly 70 percent of humanity’s drinking water. However, in a newly published study, he teamed up with oceanographers to see how salt from the ocean and land are affecting tidal fresh waters. Spoiler alert: It’s not looking good.

Essentially, salt is coming from both directions—land and the ocean—and meeting in the middle, representing a “double trouble” issue for freshwater tidal basins, Kaushal said. The salt on land is mostly coming from wastewater, fertilizers, resource extraction, and road salt.

I interviewed Kaushal for a newsletter I wrote in January about how road salt is threatening water supplies and wildlife, and the data is staggering: The US alone uses about 25 million tons of salt on roads each year, according to one estimate. This salt can leach into watersheds when snow melts. Typically, “dilution is the solution of pollution,” Kaushal says, referring to the fact that heavy rainfall or releasing fresh water from dams into ecosystems can decrease salinity.

But climate-fueled droughts and rising temperatures are making this strategy more difficult. During parched periods, there is less water available to dilute the system and flush out the salt, while rising seas push salt into the watershed, a process known as saltwater intrusion.

“The interaction between human activities and climate change and climate variability is very, very important,” Kaushal said. “It amplifies the salt pulses that we see from human activity.”

This issue is particularly prevalent in the Delaware River, a 330-mile waterway that winds from New York to the Atlantic Ocean at the Delaware Bay. The river supplies about 60 percent of drinking water to Philadelphia’s 1.5 million people, but saltwater intrusion and pollution is threatening this crucial resource.

The Delaware River Basin Commission has a plan in place to release water from upstream reservoirs if needed to dilute the salt. But a report released in February found that this plan may no longer be viable due to the rate of sea level rise and frequent droughts, which reporter Jon Hurdle covered for ICN earlier this month.

Risk management

Consuming salty water has been linked to a number of negative health impacts in people, including high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, dementia, and reproductive risks.

One of the key points in the new study is that salty water can also trigger chain reactions in ecosystems that can impact drinking water quality, infrastructure, and energy and food production. If saltwater reaches the intake areas that supply freshwater to communities, it could corrode pipes used for the distribution system, power generation, and heating or contaminate soils used for farming, which can kill crops.

The brine can exacerbate existing issues associated with climate change, according to the study. For example, salt can release nitrogen or phosphorus from sediments in a watershed, which act as nutrients for plants—potentially leading to an overgrowth of algae and bacteria in the system, Kaushal said. Research shows that climate change can increase harmful algal blooms, which can change water’s oxygen levels for fish and block sunlight from underwater plants.

Currently, there are few plans or comprehensive guidance on salinization threats for people who oversee rivers, estuaries and drinking water supplies. To change this, the researchers developed a risk management framework to help officials understand where and when salinization might happen along their waterways as climate change accelerates. They zero in on methods to determine the types of hazards, probability, salt exposure, and vulnerability a freshwater ecosystem may face. The Patuxent River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, for instance, has experienced high rates of salinization in recent years.

“Most of the management we do with water resources is reactive,” Kaushal said. “We’re starting to realize with climate change and climate variability that we have to be proactive.”

This story originally appeared on Inside Climate News.

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Savannah Morning News

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson used a conference appearance in Charleston a few years ago to do some networking. He met with then-Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg and discussed the friendly rivalry and many similarities between the two cities.

On yje return Amtrak ride, Johnson began plans to foster an exchange of ideas through organized visits by leaders of the counterpart cities. Earlier this month, a Savannah contingent rode the train north to Charleston for a Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce-hosted ideas exchange. The Savannah Morning News interviewed Johnson to recap the trip, discussing issues such as housing, tourism and hotel development, and how the two cities can learn from each other.

The interview was edited here for brevity and clarity.

Can you speak to what that friendly rivalry means to you and where it comes from, and also how the relationship between the two cities may be transforming?

Johnson: "The two cities historically are very, very similar... We are both major coastal communities on the East Coast, we both have tourism as a major part of our portfolio. We're also both hubs for the cities and communities around us. We are actually exactly the same in size, and there is a lot of synergy between us.

Oftentimes when people are comparing cities, those who compare things often are comparing Savannah to Charleston, Charleston and Savannah―They're better in this, and we're better at this. For me, that's fine. But I think that our similarities and the common issues we face really lends itself to finding opportunities to work together to strengthen our position in the southeast United States."

What are some of the best practices you think Savannah employs that could be helpful to Charleston?

Johnson: "Obviously, we have a very strong port. We have done very well as it relates to housing and dealing with homelessness in place. I think those were our strong points in terms of that. Obviously, our diversity remains a strength for us.

Conversely, on the other end of it, the thing that stuck out to me was obviously they picked up better in regional transportation. You heard the presentation of their plan, and how they were able to get other communities involved and engaged in a regional transportation system that would flow from Charleston out to these outlying communities. Which, I think Savannah, Bryan, Effingham and Liberty [are] going to have to have in order for us to remain vibrant."

Was there anything you picked up on the transportation front about how you can start to foster those conversations or build those next steps toward getting a more robust public transportation system here?

Johnson: "This is something I've been talking about and heralding for quite some time. I think it was important for other folks to hear it, that we can't afford to live in silos. As much we are separate communities, the viability of our future all depends on being able to get to-and-from easily and quickly, and that is from Effingham through Savannah, from Bryan into Savannah, from Bullock, from Liberty into Savannah and back.

Otherwise, we will have a situation where people live far away from their jobs, and that is not sustainable. Not only on the employment end, but also on the traffic end."

Now I want to move to a couple specific things I picked up on. I noticed Charleston has this interactive, affordable housing dashboard. I am curious if that is something you are interested in, something we could see in Savannah?

Johnson: "We actually are already working on that. I think the difference is this was Charleston-specific, and for us we have really moved in the housing Savannah model to making it more regional. I think for us we have to be better. We have the data; we have to be better in being able to share that data.

I think our What Works City certification will help us move in that area, because (the data) deals with other departments than the city of Savannah, more specifically Housing Savannah, which is an NGO, and the Community Housing Services Agency. So, I think we're moving forward to where it's really more of a one-stop shop."

Then there are some of the things we talked about with measures (such as not allowing tours in residential areas after 6 p.m.); they have taken on tourism management. What have you seen them do from a tourism management perspective you feel like you can learn from?

Johnson: "It was interesting that they stopped walking tours at six. I'm not sure that our community has that appetite for that limited amount of tours. But I think more importantly, both communities are talking about striking the balance, that we can't let tourism overtake the residential experience. I think it was important for them to say it, because I've been saying it for a long time. I think it was important for our community's tourism leaders to hear that this is not just Savannah. This is everywhere, and we want to make sure people have the opportunity to live first and do business second."

Hearing that they of have a form of a cap on hotel development on their peninsula, is that something you have explored here, maybe in the downtown, or is it something you'd be open to?

Johnson: "I think that, first of all, we are moving quickly towards preventing a further encroachment of hotels in residential areas. I think we've talked about that (hotel development overlay extension) in terms of Cuyler-Brownville, Metropolitan, and Victorian neighborhoods, where that overlay would prevent it.

There gets to be a point where too much is too much. And again for us, it's about preserving the residential experience. It's also about the opportunity to provide business space. I think we may not necessarily have the cap per se, but I think we will certainly get to the point where we are absolutely limiting hotel growth and expansion in a very clear district."

If you can speak to the average resident, why was taking this trip important for them?

"It's important because, as Savannah continues to grow and mature, we have to have a strong regional strategy. That is within the state of Georgia and outside of the state of Georgia."

Evan Lasseter is the city of Savannah and Chatham County government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@savannahnow.com.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Almost a year after the death of a Boeing whistleblower in Charleston, the mega-aircraft manufacturer is facing a wrongful death lawsuit for allegedly breaking the former employee.

John Barnett, 62, was found dead March 9, 2024, inside his truck with a gunshot wound to his head outside the Holiday Inn located at 301 Savannah Highway. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Barnett, who worked for Boeing for 32 years, filed a whistleblower complaint, alleging safety concerns with their Charleston facility. The United States Department of Labor was working through the discovery phase of its investigation and was set to begin hearings on that complaint.

The Charleston County Coroner’s Office determined Barnett’s death to be a suicide.

Filed in South Carolina District Court on Wednesday, the lengthy lawsuit accused Boeing of driving Barnett to his death after he suffered repeated retaliation, a hostile work environment and bullying. The lawsuit states the constant bullying caused John’s PTSD, anxiety, panic attacks and depression which in turn caused his suicide.

After leaving Boeing, John repeatedly tried to move on with his life. The lawsuit states “however, on March 9, 2024, the weight of years of Boeing’s harassment, abuse and humiliation became too much for John to bear, and he took his own life on what was to be the third day of his deposition in the AIR21 case. Boeing had threatened to break John and break him it did.”

An example listed in the filing included a hearing before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs on June 18, 2024, concerning Boeing’s “Broken Safety Culture.

One of John’s senior managers called him 19 times within an 8-hour period in late October 2016, then 21 times within 8 hours a few days later, documents state.

The senior manager told John “I am going to push you until you break.” Senator Blumenthal told Boeing’s former CEO David Calhoun that Boeing was successful and that “John broke.”

Lawsuit filed against Boeing in whistleblower death by pjwilliams437 on Scribd

On several occasions, Barnett had reported about the company using substandard parts, and oxygen systems with serious problems. Barnett reportedly alerted managers who took no action to fix the issues and Boeing denied Barnett’s claims, according to reports.

The 146-page lawsuit cites specific examples of retaliation and humiliation Barnett faced from Boeing. Even once he had left the company, Barnett feared that the issues he had complained about while working at Boeing had not been resolved and would someday result in a catastrophic event.

“His fears were soon realized,” the lawsuit says, when Boeing planes continued to malfunction and crash in recent years.

On March 4, 2024, just days before Barnett’s deposition in Charleston against Boeing, he was seen by a mental health counselor. Barnett had attempted to increase his anxiety medications as he reported ongoing nightmares involving people dying in airplanes, documents state.

The following is an excerpt from the wrongful death lawsuit alleging Boeing’s responsibility in Barnett’s death:

“Whether or not Boeing intended to drive John to his death or merely destroy his ability to function, it was absolutely foreseeable that Boeing’s conduct could result in PTSD and John’s unbearable depression, panic attacks and anxiety, which would in turn lead to an elected risk of suicide.. Boeing may not have pulled the trigger, but Boeing’s conduct as the clear cause and the clear foreseeable cause of John’s death. ”

Barnett filed a lawsuit against the company years before his death, alleging retaliation against him from Boeing management as a result of his whistleblower complaint. The lawsuit is still ongoing.

Boeing has released a comment following the lawsuit.

“We are saddened by John Barnett’s death and extend our condolences to his family.”

Barnett’s original retaliation lawsuit against the company is still ongoing, with depositions still taking place.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.