I start this month’s article with a sad heart. We need to hold the families and friends of the Boston bombing victims in our thoughts and prayers. This was another reminder of how fragile our society is and how easily we can be devastated by evil behavior. And it’s a reminder of the price we pay for having an open society built on individual freedoms. Please also say a special prayer for the people of West Texas. The explosion there reminded us of the high price our first responders are … [Read more...]

It’s sad to report the loss of one of our “Folly Family.” Thomas (Big Tom) Thiel died in an early morning fire at his home March 22nd. Our community will feel this tragic loss in the days, months, and years to come. This tragedy begs us to discuss the steps we can take to make our homes safe from fire: We all need working smoke detectors. If you have them, make sure they are fully functional and the batteries are in good shape (the rule is: change the batteries twice a year when you … [Read more...]

Dear Fellow Residents: Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: there’s a petition circulating to restore drinking on the beach for most of the year (except summer weekend days, and three summer holidays). Its backers have told the Post and Courier that they have the signatures required under the state Initiative and Referendum law. That would be 330 signatures from active registered voters in Folly Beach. What happens now? We will follow the law, just as we did with the citizen … [Read more...]

Dear Fellow Residents: We have a primary election coming up next month, for a new member of Congress. There are many candidates in both parties. It’s important that each of them knows something about Folly Beach, and particularly our need for a Federal appropriation for beach mitigation (renourishment). I urge each of you to reach out to the candidates and assess their strengths, but also to talk to them about our need for their help if they should be elected. And then, of course, … [Read more...]

Dear Fellow Residents: Welcome to the new year, fellow survivors of the Mayan apocalypse! Actually, the Mayans had a very complicated calendar, with 360-day years, 500-year epochs, and 5,000-year great epochs. So according to the Mayans, we have just entered a new great epoch. I look forward to that fresh start of living together in peace and harmony. Unfortunately, we have a few pieces of business left over from the old great epoch. Beach revitalization is still at the top of the agenda. We … [Read more...]

Dear Fellow Residents: In this joyful season, I wish we could put aside the problems we’re struggling with. But some of them won’t take a holiday. The erosion from recent offshore storms has made shoreline protection more urgent than ever, and every one of us needs to help. We need to restore our beach not just because it’s the basis of our economy, but because a healthy beach protects homes and businesses (rentals are businesses) which pour revenues into the county, the state, and the … [Read more...]

Dear Fellow Residents: It’s been a while since we talked about renourishment, but that doesn’t make it any less important. There have been recent developments, and our mountain to climb has gotten higher. You will remember that we – all of us, you included, I hope – have been lobbying Congress to include our $18 million beach revitalization project in the Federal budget which began October 1st. We were in that budget, which is being spent through continuing resolutions, because no … [Read more...]

Dear Fellow Residents: We’re in the midst of one of our periodic no-holds-barred arguments about what we want Folly Beach to be. It’s hard, when we’re arguing strong feelings and taking sides, to remember that this passion about our community is one of the things that drew us here. People who live on Folly Beach – and people who do business here – love this place, love what it stands for, and want to do the best for Folly. And they want to shout what they think is best for Folly from … [Read more...]

From the Desk of the Mayor and The Chief: We’ve joined forces this month to tackle an issue that affects all of us: crime in our community, and what we all can do about it. Public Safety is working hard to catch “the bad guys,” but residents have a vital role to play. First, the facts. Some serious problems have developed on Folly Beach: Several incidents of drinks being doctored with substances. Some of those incidents have been followed by rapes. Many systematic break-ins and … [Read more...]

Dear Fellow Residents: You’ve heard some bad news from me, especially on renourishment, but this month there’s a lot of good news: The County Parks and Recreation Commission has committed $3.2 million to restore the park to what it was before Hurricane Irene started the deadly cycle which destroyed it. More on that below. The PRC also increased their annual contribution to our renourishment fund from $60,000 to $77,300. That money should come in shortly. Thanks to Councilmember Joe … [Read more...]