Drayage Brokersin Charleston, SC

Jimmy Buffett is revealing he was hospitalized Thursday.

The "Margaritaville" singer, 76, told fans in a statement posted to social media that he had to cancel a planned show in Charleston, South Carolina, due to "some issues that needed immediate attention."

“I had a sudden change of plans this week that affected us all,” he shared.

Buffett was returning from a trip to the Bahamas when he stopped in Boston for a "check-up," he said, after which he was hospitalized.

"Growing old is not for sissies, I promise you. I also will promise you that when I am well enough to perform, that is what I'll be doing in the land of She-Crab soup," Buffett added, ending his post with the reassurance "just remember, NOT YET!"

USA TODAY has reached out to Buffett's reps for further information.

Over the course of his long and award-winning career, Buffett has recorded 27 studio albums and won an ACM award for his hit song "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," according to his website.

The singer is also known for his multibillion dollar empire, which includes resorts, liquor, casinos and RV parks all branded with the singer's stamp of a parrot and palm tree. In 2022, Buffett expanded to cruises by launching a regular schedule of voyages on the 658-cabin Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, chartered from Palm Beach, Florida, to Grand Bahama Island.

"Fun is a part of life":Jimmy Buffett extends his signature mantra to Margaritaville-themed cruise

The "Margaritaville" singer spoke to USA TODAY in 2020 about why he no longer drinks margaritas, releasing a new album and his multiple near-death experiences.

"I've had a couple close calls and I'm still here, so I think I've been living like it could be my last day for a long time," the actor said.

He also said his 2020 song "Live, Like It's Your Last Day" was inspired by his past experiences with a 1994 plane crash and 2011 stage fall.

Jimmy Buffett:The singer talks releasing a new album during a pandemic and why he stopped drinking margaritas

Regional planning is crucial in a metro area such as Charleston’s, which covers parts of three counties and more than two dozen large, medium and small cities and towns. And there’s no better example of that importance than Folly Road, the main street of James Island and the primary link between Charleston and Folly Beach.

The good news is that leaders from three municipalities, the county, local businesses, nonprofits and neighborhoods banded together seven years ago to improve the approximately 8-mile-long stretch between the Wappoo Creek bridge and the beach itself.

Their resulting plan, Rethink Folly Road, aims to address inefficient traffic operations, missing sidewalks, limited bike lanes, bleak landscaping and missing bus shelters. “The roadway, including many of the properties that front it, does not convey James Island’s unique sense of place,” the plan concludes with diplomatic understatement.

The bad news is that when so many governments and private-sector leaders are tasked with implementing the plan’s recommended changes, it’s fair to wonder if anyone is truly accountable. And that question — along with the disruption caused by the pandemic — strikes us as the main reason progress has been so slow since the steering committee formed and adopted the Rethink Folly Road Plan in 2016.

The difficulty of regional planning is evidenced by the slow pace of progress on new sidewalks, paths and improved bike lanes along Folly. But there’s reason for optimism that we’ll soon begin to see signs of improvements, which won’t come all at once but a few at a time, over many years.

The most significant piece should start this year: Charleston County is finalizing deals with property owners along Folly between the Ellis Creek bridge and George Griffith Boulevard, and we hope construction work can begin this year on improved sidewalks, wider bike lanes and improved pedestrian crossings on this stretch.

As work begins, we urge the city of Charleston, the town of James Island, the city of Folly Beach and the county to identify money to design the next several phases, which would improve the stretch from George Griffith Boulevard to Grimball Road and eventually to Sol Legare Road. Shortly past that, the road narrows to two lanes approaching the beach. Designing these next phases will not involve a significant financial commitment, especially if these four local governments all pitch in, but that work will be needed before tackling the more difficult task of finding the money for the actual construction work.

James Island Mayor Bill Woolsey’s commentary in 2017 is as valid today as it was then: “Rethink Folly Road is a plan. The problem is money. Implementing the entire plan would cost tens of millions of dollars. There has never been any notion that this money would suddenly materialize and all of the plan would be implemented right away. Rather, Rethink Folly Road will be implemented gradually and only with approval by the four local governments on the island.”

Governments are not the only entities working to make this happen. Several private property owners along Folly, such as Corky’s Outdoor Power Equipment, Chase Bank, Chic-fil-A and a new Refuel station, are putting in significant new sidewalks as part of recent construction projects. A large part of Folly’s challenge is that it once was a rural thoroughfare that evolved into a major traffic artery at a time when government was mainly interested in moving as many cars as possible as fast and safely as possible, with little consideration for those on foot or on a bike.

The businesses and property owners who have made investments to correct that problem on their property deserve praise, and we urge the city of Charleston to follow their example by doing the same in front of Fire Station 13 just north of Means Street.

“There are so many pieces of this puzzle, and everybody has to do their part for this vision to come to life,” Charleston Moves director Katie Zimmerman, who serves on the Rethink Folly Steering Committee, tells us. “It’s both a positive and a negative that we need people to really pull their weight on this. It’s truly a community building exercise, but it’s really talking a long time.”

The amount of time is underscored by the fact that the Rethink Folly steering committee has held less discussion about one of the road’s busiest stretches, between Harborview Road and the Wappoo Creek bridge, where dozens of businesses and driveways line a five-lane stretch with only a hodgepodge of sidewalk segments and no safe way to cross Folly except for the stoplight at Tatum Street. This stretch also is the focus of a road safety audit by the S.C. Department of Transportation, and we urge agency officials to prioritize improvements here for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists. And the county and city need to build a long-overdue sidewalk along Folly at the county’s McLeod Plantation site.

We’ve rethought Folly, but that’s just the first step. We must keep working on the second, far more difficult and costly step of rebuilding it so it’s safer, more functional and more beautiful for everyone.

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Progress on a $500 million 20-year plan to transform state-owned Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum into a hospitality hotspot is moving along on schedule, according to an annual report to lawmakers last week.

Charleston-based Bennett Hospitality broke ground on its mixed-use Patriots Annex development last fall. A new visitor parking area for the military museum is being constructed as part of the first phase and is expected to be completed in October, Patriots Point executive director Allison Hunt said in an update to the legislative Joint Bond Review Committee.

Once the current parking lot and visitors center are relocated, infrastructure design work can be finalized and construction can begin. Site clearing and grading is expected to start within the next year.

The Patriots Annex master plan calls for three hotels, a convention and conference center, three office buildings, parking garages, an amphitheater, retail space, a public boardwalk and 130 residential units on state-owned land under a long-term deal.

From April 2022 to March, Bennett Hospitality paid $398,764 in rent to the Patriots Point Development Authority, according to the report. The company has received all approvals necessary from the Town of Mount Pleasant’s design review process.

Under review

Local hotelier Jim Palassis is looking at building a new lodging in West Ashley.

The Charleston Planning Commission reviewed and approved a request on May 17 to rezone properties at 813 Dupont Road and 804 Orleans Road to general business for accommodations use.

The panel agreed that hospitality is an acceptable land use in that area of the city. Other previously proposed plans for the parcels that never materialized have ranged from commercial buildings to affordable housing.

Palas Holdings bought the adjoining properties in 2018 and 2021 for a combined $1.4 million. The company is the longtime owner of Town & Country Inn & Suites on Savannah Highway and the Market Pavilion Hotel at East Bay and Market streets on the peninsula, among other assets.

Palassis has other hospitality projects in the works in the same area of West Ashley. Plans have also been explored to turn the vacant site of a former Hyundai dealership on Highway 17 into a hotel.

Where to go

Charleston has scored yet another travel endorsement, this time with global news network CNN including the Holy City on its “Where to Travel in 2023” list.

Minneapolis was the only other destination in the U.S. to make the cut. Among the 21 international places to go was the Beatles’ hometown of Liverpool, Poland, western Australia and Cairo.

CNN highlighted Charleston’s rich history, the upcoming debut next month of the International African American Museum, and popular visitor draws such as Spoleto Festival USA starting later this week and the Charleston Wine + Food Festival.

The report also noted that international travel has rebounded to 80 percent of its pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2023, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

Around town

For the ninth year, the Garden Conservancy and the Charleston Horticultural Society are offering self-guided tours of private gardens in downtown Charleston. Tickets are $90 for “Behind the Garden Gate” on May 27 and June 3. They can be purchased through the conservancy’s website. Each tour features seven different gardens.

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PENDLETON — Perched on a hill now overlooking the town square, Lowther Hall saw Pendleton grow in what was originally its backyard.

Built in 1793 — potentially earlier, depending on who you ask — the home was built just three years after the town was founded a stone’s throw away. Its current owners, Karl and Rebecca Pokorny, are convinced the home originally faced away from what is now the center of town.

Instead, its front door seems to have been one that welcomed a sweeping view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Named for its second owner, Lord Lowther, the home was first a hunting lodge for Dr. William Hunter of Charleston.

“There’s lots of murkiness about the absolute origin,” Rebecca Pokorny said.

She’s traced the deed history to April 10, 1793, when Hunter purchased lots 21 and 22 from the Pendleton Commission. He built a “house, kitchen and some other buildings,” according to the oldest deed she could find.

Some friends in the historic preservation realm have said Lowther Hall may be older than that, based on its style, paint shadows and the craftsmanship of its construction. They lovingly call it “frontier federal,” a phrase borrowed from an architectural historian friend who noted the homes no-frill appearance.

“It’s federal without the frills and, in some cases, it’s federal without the federal alignment,” Karl Pokorny said. “But we liked the plainness of it.”

When the Pokornys visited the for-sale Lowther Hall in 2013 — just to see it and get the idea out of their system, Rebecca joked — they found its plain 18th-century bones largely intact. Having restored historic homes individually and together, seeing those details was all the couple needed to decide the house was their next project.

200 years of Lowther Hall

The white house on the hill, visible from the new rooftop restaurant seating on Exchange Street, has a history to match the town.

It went from hunting lodge to family home, potentially saw issues of the Pendleton Messenger printed within its walls and served several college ladies and newlyweds as apartments. Now it is on its way back to serving as a humble home and restoration lesson.

Lowther Hall has ties to former South Carolina Gov. Charles Pickney. William Ravenel of Charleston owned it briefly in the late 1800s.

Each family seemed to leave a mark on the property. Exterior buildings were moved, including the kitchen that now joins the home and serves as a mudroom of sorts. Bathrooms were created, the front door relocated to Queen Street to face Pendleton, windows shifted around, layers of shingles added and rooflines lengthened.

The Pokornys bought the property in 2014 and set out to bring it back to its roots as much as possible. Where the hand planing work is visible in the construction of its wooden walls — those not covered by 1800s newspaper advertisements or linen “wallpaper” — they intend to let the “imperfection” shine. There was no sign of water damage to the original layer of wooden shingles, and all the intricate moldings were carved by hand.

It’s a nod to the skill of the craftsmen who built the original home with their bare hands, Karl said, and their marks are worth remembering in a building that has truly stood the test of time. He keeps a Facebook page dedicated to Lowther Hall where he chronicles their findings for all to see.

“You can’t reproduce this,” Karl said. “It took 230 years to make this happen. And all those things that are considered defects, you can also look at as character.”

Restoration over renovation

The pair agree there’s a need for modern plumbing and wiring, and a need to ensure what they do serves a purpose and doesn’t distract from the character. Some electrical projects that needed maybe 25 feet of wire ended up with 100 feet, just to make sure everything blended as well as possible.

“You just have to take it case by case,” Rebecca said. “Is it important enough for the ugly, or the detraction from the beauty, of what we have to put to function there?”

Every project is a puzzle that they can solve to find out more about Lowther Hall, its inhabitants, visitors and buildings. Historians and architects can get hooked on figuring out the original placement of a fireplace mantle. There’s also frustration for the homeowners who happen to be doing most of the work themselves.

“Sometimes you create more questions than you answer when you open up a wall and you’re trying to figure out ‘OK, how did this start out?’” Rebecca said. “And you think, ’Oh, we’re gonna figure it out, we’ll just take this little piece of wall off. And you open it up and it’s like, ‘Well, now we have five more questions.’”

What must be replaced is done with careful consideration of material and access to other historic properties that might have suitable alternatives lying around in storage.

The Pokornys are maintaining as many original components as possible. Karl straightens every nail he removes and replaces it, though occasionally adding supplemental screws. They realize they won’t be Lowther’s final family.

“We hope that whoever buys this after we’re gone — inherits it, whatever the case is — appreciates it, too” Karl said. “So, we want to make it livable, so that it’s comfortable.”

Writing often can be improved after the writer leaves a draft alone for a time and returns to it with fresh eyes. Designing a $1 billion-plus barrier to protect peninsular Charleston from future storms and rising seas likely will benefit from the same deliberate approach.

So we have no misgivings about the fact that Charleston’s public discussions with the Army Corps of Engineers regarding a perimeter protection project have hit a months-long lull. After the Corps’ project dominated most of the city’s discussion last year, our civic focus has moved on to the different (but somewhat related) debate over the redevelopment of Union Pier.

But it’s important to keep two things in mind: The peninsula needs more protection if it is going to remain a viable place to live, work and play in the decades to come and our work on this project — including its important environmental, recreational and social benefits — will resume in the months to come.

There are four steps to protecting downtown, and the first one — assessing whether a project is financially feasible and ensuring the federal government will pick up 65% of its cost — is already done. The city and the Corps are now negotiating a contract for preliminary engineering and design work, the second step, and it’s taking a while because City Hall is wisely seeking a special agreement that will clarify its requirements and goals.

The design phase is critical because if it’s not done right, if the proposed design for the perimeter protection amounts to little more than a concrete wall, there won’t be a construction phase. Nor should there be. The city is seeking an agreement that clarifies its rights to propose aesthetic, recreational, nature-based elements to the project, the design of which also will vary widely along the route given the distinctly different natures of the miles of peninsula waterfront.

Also, while the Corps’ interest is strictly in protecting our low-lying city from future storm surges, whatever is built should do more than that. If designed well, it could provide protection from higher tides and even heavy, conventional rainfall. The perimeter protection system will include new pumps, which also should be designed to help with conventional drainage. The only question should be who pays for that. Likewise, a well-designed project could help improve water quality, enhance the public realm and reduce future operational and maintenance costs.

We hope the Corps of Engineers will show the flexibility needed to ensure Charleston’s project is designed with as much creativity as possible while still accomplishing the Corps’ main goals. We’re encouraged by a new executive order that urges the agency to deploy nature-based solutions to tackle climate change and enhance resilience. We expect Charleston’s perimeter protection will be a blend of nature-based options, such as oyster beds, mud flats and expanded marshes, along with man-made elements, such as ongoing work to raise the Low Battery at the peninsula’s southwestern edge.

Last week, the World Meteorological Organization said global temperatures are expected to soar to record highs over the next five years, with a 98% chance that one of those years will eclipse Earth’s hottest year on record, 2016. The city already is expecting 14 inches of sea level rise by 2050, which would threaten the livability of a chunk of downtown if nothing is done.

We have had a pause in the public engagement over how best to protect historic Charleston from rising seas and future storms, and that has presented a welcome opportunity for everyone to recharge on the issue. However, no one should mistake this quiet time as a sign that this is no longer a critical issue for our city. We must prepare to write a new chapter soon.

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