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It takes nearly 6 million airplane seats and 5 million hotel stays to accommodate travelers to The Holy City on a yearly basis.

Downtown Charleston is a hot spot for dining, shopping, gallery browsing and walking tours. It's made best of lists for various travel publications for more than a decade now, placing it on the map for international visitors in addition to U.S. wanderlusters and Southern sightseers. (Charleston has been named the top city in the United States by Travel + Leisure magazine for 12 years in a row now).

Arts and culture events like Spoleto Festival USA, Charleston Wine + Food and the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition have people flooding to the peninsula particularly in the spring.

As this high season approaches, locals can’t help but anticipate clusters of out-of-towners meandering through as they make their way to work, try to find parking or meet friends on-time. With all the foot traffic residents navigate on a regular basis, there are tell-tale signs of a non-Charlestonian.

Here are some of the dead giveaways that you're a tourist in Charleston. Take note, ye visiting festivalgoers.

Don't block the sidewalk

There’s nothing more touristy than stopping in the middle of a cramped sidewalk to check your phone or stepping into narrow traffic lanes to snap a photo. And on these slim 17th-century sidewalks, it’s customary to be mindful of people who are walking quickly behind you to their destination. It screams “clueless” when a group of people blocks the entire thoroughfare and locals have to practically shoulder through them. Yes, it's the slow South and all, but please put a little more New York City pep in your step.

Don't get your heel stuck in the cobblestones

Between the plethora of Spanish moss, graveyards, steeples and brides-in-white, downtown certainly has its own brand of whimsy for the wandering multitudes. But it also has its hazards. The cobblestone streets of the historic district have broken many-a-heel and scraped plenty of knees, so comfortable footwear is key. Towering stilettos spell disaster on these uneven sidewalks, ladies, so if you have a fancy event to get to, pack a spare pair of flats in your bag. And walking while texting pretty much isn’t an option unless you are familiar with constant dips and gaps in the sidewalks.

Look both ways

Jaywalking is treacherous across small Holy City streets where cars are constantly veering to get around pedicabs, horse carriages and construction blocks. It is a telltale sign that sightseers are oblivious when they amble into traffic without looking both ways. Local pedestrians know making eye contact with drivers can save a lot of exasperation.

Dress for the weather

Fashion in Charleston is as much about presentation as it is self-preservation. Oftentimes it’s above 80 degrees with 80 percent humidity and the chance of a stray afternoon rainstorm that can turn into a treacherous flash-flood. Dressing right is all about light layers, including rain-resistant jackets so you aren't caught unprepared in a deluge. And with the sun beaming down, it’s obvious a daytripper is a tourist if they're already bright red, not protecting their faces with hats or sunglasses.

Matching attire is a dead giveaway

Speaking of fashion, if you're visiting for a bachelorette party, it's already obvious you're a tourist by the matching T-shirts, sashes, wigs or other kitschy garb. If you want to blend in a little better, try wearing similar but different dresses from a local boutique instead. You might not be able to say you're from Charleston, but when you go back home you can say your dress is. Our local economy thanks you.

Pay attention to the one ways

In addition to horse carriage tours, one-way streets are common tourist traps. A sure sign a tourist has made an embarrassing error is when they take a turn the wrong way down one of these. Usually, a full-on screaming match with the front seat passenger ensues in this case, often followed by a frenzied backing-up process that'll make you stick out like a sore thumb. Pay attention to the signs, and don't just trust your GPS.

Sweet tea is the only tea

The term “iced tea” means sweet tea here. If you want unsweet tea you need to specify that, although it’s highly discouraged. You might be able to get away with half-and-half.

Embracing Southern hospitality

Charlestontians can sense if someone is behind them when they are opening doors, and we always hold the door for them, smile and nod. It's called Southern hospitality and you'll need a dose to blend in here. Speaking of hospitality, if you aren’t tipping at least 20 percent at your meal in a downtown restaurant, it’s clear that you aren’t in the loop. When in doubt, the social default is friendly and laid-back, though we might throw a "bless your heart" behind your back. This is the South, after all.

Kalyn Oyer contributed to this report.

A company owned by Charleston investor and philanthropist Ben Navarro will pay $250 million to buy Union Pier Terminal along the peninsula's waterfront, with a mortgage this week sealing the deal.

Navarro's Marti Holdings LLC and the S.C. State Ports Authority filed the document with the county Register of Deeds on March 4. It capped more than a year of negotiating the sale terms and working with local governments to form a special tax district that would pay for costly public infrastructure upgrades at the roughly 65-acre industrial site between Concord Street and Charleston Harbor.

The mortgage doesn't state a purchase price but references a $250 million deposit that Marti Holdings has placed on the property. The SPA confirmed Wednesday that figure matches the sale price.

Other details of the deal are included in a purchase agreement that was cited in the mortgage but not publicly filed. That document was signed a year ago, about the same time the SPA announced the sale to Navarro.

"The purchase and sale agreement are not public until the deal closes and the transfer deed is recorded," the SPA said in a written statement. "We do not release terms of the sale of an ongoing real estate transaction."

The $250 million also matches the assumed price cited in a footnote in a document outlining the special tax-district that Charleston City Council approved on Nov. 5.

The notation included another key detail — that the deal is expected to close in 2027.

A spokesperson for Beemok Capital, the "family office" that oversees Navarro's investments, said the company is "excited to proceed with closing this transaction with the Ports Authority."

At $250 million, the purchase price is well below the $400 million or so that some real estate analysts expected the prime property to fetch when the SPA announced in 2020 that it was putting Union Pier up for sale. The maritime agency has said it plans to use the proceeds for general operating expenses.

The effort to sell Union Pier has been tortured at times. The SPA initially hired Los Angeles-based developer Lowe to get the permits in place for a sale. It also offered the real estate firm an option to buy the site.

Lowe had previously purchased the ports authority's old headquarters just south of Union Pier, with the aim of replacing the outdated office building with a high-end waterfront hotel. That 191-room project has been taken over by Navarro's Beemok Hospitality Collection, which expects to open The Cooper later this year.

Conservationists and preservation groups opposed the original Union Pier redevelopment plan that Lowe proposed as too dense and out-of-character with the city's Historic District. The SPA ultimately paid $9.9 million to sever its ties with the California developer.

The authority also agreed to a new process that involved dozens of community groups that would form a plan for Union Pier's redevelopment during months of public meetings.

Navarro and the SPA started talking about a deal in late 2023. The agency's board unanimously approved the partnership in March 2024.

Bill Stern, the port's chairman, said at the time that the agency wanted to find a local buyer to redevelop the former cargo terminal that in recent years has been used mostly as a parking lot and as a cruise ship berth.

When it decided to sell Union Pier, the SPA let lapse its home-port agreement with the operator of the Carnival Sunshine, which left Charleston in January. The special tax-district agreement with the city calls for an eventual removal of the existing passenger building.

Navarro, a Rhode Island native who quickly rose to vice president of Citigroup early in his career, founded the investment firm Sherman Financial Group in 1998 and later bought a small bank he renamed Credit One Bank.

He moved his business to Charleston more than 20 years ago.

Credit One, the sponsor of an annual professional women's tennis tournament on Daniel Island, is now one of the nation's largest credit card issuers.

The centerpiece of Navarro's local hospitality holdings is The Charleston Place, just a few blocks inland from Union Pier. He bought the 434-room hotel and shopping complex for $350 million in late 2021 and is in the throes of a $150 million multiyear renovation project.

Navarro's other investments include the Riviera Theater on King Street; Sorrelle, an Italian restaurant, and the adjoining Mercato market on Broad Street; and the American Gardens urban park under construction at 141 Meeting St.

South Carolina senator Matt Leber has sent a letter to Charleston County council members demanding the removal of recalcitrant library board members who refuse to be sworn into office by taking an oath to the state’s constitution.

Eight of the eleven trustees appointed by council have refused to take the constitutionally required oath, while only two appointees, Graham Horsman and Alessa Bertoluzzi, followed the constitutional mandate.

Article Six, Section Five of the South Carolina Constitution plainly states that “the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and all other officers of the State and its political subdivisions, before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, shall take and subscribe the oath of office as prescribed in section 5 of this article.”

The constitutionally mandated oath reads as follows:

Despite the state’s constitution making it crystal-clear that all political appointees must take the oath, Leber solicited an advisory opinion from the office of South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson to make absolutely sure.

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RELATED | AMETUR THEATRICS IN CHARLESTON COUNTY

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In its advisory opinion (.pdf), Wilson’s office concluded that “members of the Charleston County Public Library Board of Trustees are offices within the meaning of Article Six, Section Four of the South Carolina Constitution. They are therefore required to take the oath of office prescribed in Article Six, Section Five of the South Carolina Constitution.”

According to Leber’s letter (.pdf), Charleston County library chair Rob Byko “refuses to recognize the Attorney General’s opinion, dismissing it as a ‘piece of paper’ and claiming that it does ‘not rise to the level of being on the agenda.'”

“Shockingly,” the letter continues, “other members of the Charleston County Library Board expressed profound disdain and even outright disgust towards the Constitution, drafting up their own “pledge” that better fits their political ideology.”

Leber opined that “taking an oath to the Constitution should not be controversial.”

“To the contrary, it is what unifies us as Americans and as South Carolinians,” he wrote.

Leber concluded his letter with a call for the swift removal of the illegally operating board members.

“I now call upon the Charleston County Council to remedy this situation by the removal of the offending trustees,” he said.

Leber is expected to address the issue from the well of the S.C. Senate later this afternoon (March 4, 2025).

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THE LETTER…

(S.C. Senate)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

(Via: Travis Bell)

Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.

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Residents evacuated Prince George Community in Georgetown County amid wildfires. Planes used to drop gallons of water on impacted areas. (Provided: Georgetown County)

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — After a weekend of fighting fires across the state, the South Carolina Forestry Commission says one major fire, the Carolina Forest Fire in Horry County, remains Monday. The South Carolina Forestry Commission said it now spans more than 1,600 acres and is just 30% contained.

People are back home after a brief evacuation, but parts of the wooded areas are still off limits. The South Carolina Forestry Commission said this isn’t the first time a fire of this magnitude has happened in that same area.

Andy Johnson, fire prevention coordinator for the South Carolina Forestry Commission, said, “If you think back in 2009, we had the Highway 31 fire, which started around Carolina Forest and we lost homes on that fire. It burned about 19,000 acres and basically closed down Myrtle Beach for a while,” he said.

Johnson said the current Carolina Forest Fire has the same footprint and has had about the same type of fire behavior, with erratic spreading and large flame links.

READ MORE | "Red Flag warning in effect in parts of Lowcountry with heightened fire risk"

“But, we have not lost any structures right now. We're very thankful for that,” he said.

Firefighters from across the state have been helping including firefighters from Dorchester and Georgetown County.

Johnson says one of the differences from 2009 to today is how their teams responded. He said more than 60,000 gallons of water dropped from Blackhawk helicopters and planes onto the flames have helped. Multiple agencies including the National Guard are still responding. Johnson said the South Carolina Forestry Commission will staff that fire until they see significant rain.

The South Carolina Forestry Commission says wildfire season is far from over. “Generally from March to April is when we experience our most explosive fire season,” Johnson said.

In Berkely County, the second most wildfire prone area in the state, Hanahan Fire Department says they faced challenges when working to extinguish a more than 60 acre blaze.

Christopher Zak, Assistant Fire Chief with the Hanahan Fire Department said, “We don't have unlimited water sources out in a wildland fire. And that was one of the challenges that we had in Hanahan, we don’t have a fire hydrant out there."

READ MORE | "Crews battle wildfires in North and South Carolina amid dry conditions and gusty winds"

Zak said they were concerned about the fire along North Rhett impacting the railway but crews from Goose Creek , Joint Base Charleston, Hanahan and the South Carolina Forestry Commission were able to act quickly and avoid damage. In Georgetown County, crews acted fast, and evacuates neighbors from the Prince George community.

Brandon Ellis, Director of Emergency Services for Georgetown County, said, “For it to be of this magnitude was kind of unique. We planned for this, we trained for this, we've exercised this internally before, so we were able to very quickly, within a matter of just a few moments, initiate that evacuation to get the word out to the public within that community that they needed to leave.”

Georgetown County officials says there was minor structure damage but residents were allowed back in their homes Saturday night. Burning bans are still in place statewide.

“When we're done with this, when all this is over with and where the burn band has been taken off, we really encourage our homeowners to think before you burn,” Johnson said.

The causes of all these forest fires are still under investigation. South Carolina Forestry Commission says their number one issue is human caused fires.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Three brothers were sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud in a $2.8 million COVID scheme.

According to a report from the United States Attorney's Office, two brothers, William Chan, 40, and Siu Chan, 32, pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy and were sentenced with 24 months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision.

The third brother, Ka Ho Chan, 33, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and was sentenced to 12 months and one day imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision.

"These defendants exploited a program intended to help struggling businesses during a critical time. Their greed led them to defraud the government and taxpayers, diverting millions of dollars intended for legitimate economic relief,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Brook B. Andrews for the District of South Carolina. “This sentencing sends a clear message: those who attempt to profit from pandemic aid through fraud will be held accountable."

Additionally, the brothers, along with other family members, operate a string of restaurants in the Charleston area.

READ MORE | 29 plead guilty in $5M COVID-19 unemployment fraud scheme led by SC inmates

Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that beginning in March 2020, the Chan brothers applied for Paycheck Protect Program and Emergency Injury Disaster Loans funds using false information and documents.

The evidence presented for William and Siu Chan revealed that at least 22 loans were applied for and received totaling more than $2.5 million.

Further investigation revealed that a handful of the loans applied for by the brothers were legitimate applications, however the funds we not used for legitimate business purposes once granted. For example, evidence showed that the brothers used the loan funds to make personal car purchases and pay personal credit card expenses.

READ MORE | New report details widespread fraud in pandemic unemployment relief programs

Ka Ho Chan pleaded to a separate charge of an EIDL loan and grant he received and misused, according to the report. Evidence revealed that all the funds received by him, though his own wire fraud scheme, and the funds he received from his brothers were not used for legitimate business purposes.

In his plea agreement, he agreed to pay a restitution figure between $300,000 to $350,000 based on his receipt of fraudulent loan proceeds applied for by his brothers during their conspiracy.

The Attorney's Office states that the total amount of fraudulent loans and misuse of EIDL and PPP loan funds presented to the court during sentencing exceeded $2.8 million. In advance of sentencing, efforts had been made by the brothers to pay restitution. As a result, the outstanding restitution owed in the amount of $1,268,386.50 was ordered.