AC Repair in West Ashley, SC

Happy (almost) Cinco de Mayo, Charleston.

The holiday honors Mexico’s victory over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The Second Franco-Mexican War didn’t end that day, but the battle became a symbol of resistance against foreign powers.

If you’re celebrating this year, here’s where to eat, drink, and dance in the Holy City — on Cinco de Mayo and through the weekend.

Celebrate

Cinco de Mayo Block Party at Mex 1 West Ashley | Thurs., May 5 | $10 in advance, $15 at the door | 5 p.m. | Mex 1 West Ashley, 817 St. Andrews Blvd. | Head over to this local spot to enjoy food tents, local vendors, outdoor bars, and live music from Charleston-based Midnight City Band.

Cinco de Mayo Parking Lot Party | Thurs., May 5 | Free | 4-9 p.m. | Jalisco Taqueria & Tequila, 1271 Folly Rd. | Experience a full-service taco tent, music, yard games, and a margarita bar offering $10 Patrón margaritas and $7 shots of Patrón — family and pet friendly.

Cinco de Mayo Party | Thurs., May 5 | Free | 5 p.m. | Dashi, 1262 Remount Rd., North Charleston | Grab $3 tacos, $5 house margaritas, $8 frozen jalapeno & mango margaritas, $2 jarritos, and $3 Modelo & Dos Equis before a late-night comedy show with Cam Bertrand, Jeremy McLellan & Dedrick Flynn.

Cinco de Mayo at The Basement | Thurs., May 5 | Free | 12 p.m. | The Basement, 1055 SC-41, Mt. Pleasant | Dig in at the free taco bar from 2-5 p.m., all-day drink specials including $5 house margaritas and $5 Espolón shots, and wrap up the evening with live music from 6-9 p.m.

Margarita at the Beach | Thurs., May 5 | $39+ | 6-8 p.m. | Painting with a Twist, 2511 N. Main St., Ste. B, Summerville | Celebrate the holiday by painting a 16×20 canvas or 17.5×17 wood plank board at this local studio.

SOL Southwest Kitchen | Thurs., May 5 | Free | All day | SOL Mt. Pleasant, 1101 Stockade Ln., Mt. Pleasant | Partake in a complimentary tequila tasting from 6-8 p.m., enjoy live music from Patrick Norris between 6-9 p.m., and celebrate with all-day specials.

Charleston Margarita & Mimosa Fest | Sat., May 7 | $24.99+ | Registration 12-2 p.m. | Share House, 23 Ann St. | Bar hop between Share House, Silver Dollar, The Brick, and Uptown Social from 12-6 p.m. with your wristband good for various drink specials at each venue.

Eat + drink

Cinco de Mayo is about much more than delicious food and drinks — but the deals don’t hurt.

Cinco de Mesa | Snag a $5 Mesa Verde at your local Verde restaurant with the online promo code CINCO22.

$6 House Margaritas | Choose between coconut, pineapple, lime, mango, spicy, and signature margarita flavors at Pink Cactus for this hard-to-beat special.

Happy celebrating, Charleston. Let us know how you’ll be spending the day.

Skeptics of extending Interstate 526 from U.S. Highway 17 to Johns and James islands have called the project “a code, not a road,” a pithy rhyme that describes the project’s impracticality while recognizing the serious traffic problems — and the very real frustrations over those problems — that supporters have hoped the new road would magically solve.

But with its price tag rising from $725 million several years ago to $2.35 billion today, and with Charleston County required to pay all but $380 million of that — the state capped its commitment at $420 million and already has spent more than $45 million toward that cap — the project’s status has gone from impractical to practically ridiculous. Or, as Councilman Henry Darby said Thursday, “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

Instead of getting kicked by the mule yet again, it’s time for Charleston County and state transportation officials to back away from the special status of this project, also known as the Mark Clark extension (even though it would be a 45 mph parkway, not an interstate), and instead redouble their efforts on other traffic solutions that can be completed more quickly, less expensively and with more widespread public favor.

This road is going nowhere fast, but that reality must not make officials too complacent to tackle the serious congestion problems that made extension advocates think it was a good idea in the first place. Even if a magical solution were to appear, the extension still would take more than a dozen years to build. S.C. Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall has recommended proceeding with about $150 million in engineering work to get the project ready for bid, but we urge her and Charleston County not to spend another cent.

Instead, they should use that money to launch a special planning effort to identify better options for easing congestion in West Ashley as well as on Johns and James islands. That would move us toward a solution faster than somehow hoping there will be a way forward for the Mark Clark extension when the state Transportation Department returns to the county in a few months with an even more refined cost estimate. Some council members suggest opponents have delayed 526 and driven up its costs. Even if that were true, and we would argue it’s not, they should think about this: Now that it costs more than $1 billion more, are those opponents going to give up now?

There are other solutions that aren’t as dramatic but also wouldn’t be nearly as costly or controversial, such as building the “pitchfork” roads on both sides of Maybank Highway from River Road to the Stono River bridge. The ongoing work to address Main Road, from Bees Ferry to Betsy Kerrison, also will help, and there are other projects in West Ashley that could help, too. We also believe our tax dollars would be better spent beginning a study on a bus rapid transit line through West Ashley similar to the one being developed along Rivers Avenue. In other words, we should seek many solutions, not a single, prohibitively expensive one.

Extending Interstate 526 across Johns and James islands in particular was never a good idea because of the environmental damage involved and the dubious impact it would have on traffic congestion, particularly when measured by the bang for the buck. More cost-effective solutions can address traffic without marring the edges of these two sea islands.

Look at it another way: From a traffic engineering standpoint, it might be easier to get around the Charleston region if Interstate 526 were extended from where it ends at U.S. Highway 17 in Mount Pleasant through the Old Village and across the Cooper River to where the James Island connector touches down on the peninsula. It would be like building our own ring road, like Interstate 285 around Atlanta.

Of course, nobody has suggested that — for a multitude of reasons that go far beyond cost.

For years, development on Johns Island has been allowed to spread rapidly while road improvements lagged far behind, a scenario that has played out in other parts of the Charleston metro area. Anyone who lives on Johns Island or travels there knows it’s a frustrating problem that also impacts West Ashley and James Island. But that’s another reason why state and local officials should step back from their grand 526 extension plan and refocus their thinking on more cost-effective, practical traffic solutions.

Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings.

State Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall said the new $2.35 billion price tag for the Mark Clark Extension could change within months in a presentation to Charleston County Council.

For now, some county officials are choking on the idea of having to come up with $1.9 billion as Charleston County’s share of the road plan. An earlier, outdated estimate put the county’s cost share at $305 million.

“I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry,” Councilman Henry Darby said. “I would never, ever go with this.”

The long-planned Mark Clark Extension would extend Interstate 526 from its terminus at U.S. Highway 17 in West Ashley across the Stono River to Johns Island, where it would be a 45-mph parkway. Then it would cross the Stono River again to James Island, to connect with the James Island Connector at Folly Road.

The parkway would cover a distance of less than 8 miles, but the project involves two new bridges, connecting roads, wetlands and property acquisition costs that all drive up the price.

Under a 2019 agreement the county signed, the state’s share of the project is capped at $420 million, so all of the cost increase would be borne by the county. The last cost estimate was calculated in 2014. The project is slated for completion in 2035.

“I look forward to renegotiating with the state and looking for a path forward,” Councilwoman Jenny Honeycutt said.

The new estimate was sent to the county on April 25, and Hall went over the details at the council’s Finance Committee meeting May 5.

Hall stressed that with a large and complex road project, costs are difficult to nail down. She said DOT has reached out to road and bridge contractors to review the new estimate and expects to update the potential cost in 90 to 120 days.

Mark Clark Extension Project Director Jay Mattox said the $2.35 billion estimate was the result of a detailed and lengthy review.

“We ran this simulation that simulated the project tens of thousands of times and basically came up with $2.3 billion in all the different scenarios as the likely (maximum) cost,” Mattox said.

He said DOT came up with a base cost of $1.6 billion — the county’s share in that scenario would be $1.18 billion — then factored in things such as likely litigation and inflation.

“Even if our responsibility is $1.5 billion, that’s out of our league,” Councilman Dickie Schweers said. “We can’t play in that game. The state should be running this whole project.”

Knowing that DOT will be coming back in months with a potentially different estimate relieved County Council of having to make a decision soon, but the county has been asked to commit within six months to moving forward with continuing work at a cost of $75 million.

“The need for the project is obvious,” said Hall, citing the area’s rapid population growth.

She said the county’s ongoing plans to spend more than $200 million on traffic improvements along Main Road on Johns Island, and at the U.S. Highway 17 intersection, will help but won’t be enough.

The road project has the support of Charleston business and real estate groups, the City of Charleston, and the county. It’s opposed by conservation and wildlife groups, and residents have been divided.

Councilman Brantley Moody, who supports the Mark Clark Extension, blamed the rising costs on delays caused by opponents of the project. According to Mattox’s presentation, delays have added $112 million to the cost estimate.

Hall said DOT has concluded that the project is so large that it should be done in two phases, starting with extending the road from West Ashley across Johns Island. That’s meant to ensure that the job’s not too big, in order to get competitive bids if the project reaches that point.

Council Chairman Teddie Pryor said that when DOT comes back with the refined cost estimates in several months “then council can dive into this and figure out what to do.”

Roper St. Francis Healthcare was fined $104,000 by the state for repeatedly mishandling medical waste sent to Charleston County landfills, according to orders

Roper entered into two consent orders with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control where it agreed to pay a total fine of $104,000 for multiple violations of the state’s infectious waste laws.

The hospital noted in the orders that it did not agree with the department’s version of events.

The incidents involved two of the health system’s hospitals, Roper Hospital in Charleston and Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital in West Ashley, spokesman Andy Lyons said.

According to the order, DHEC was contacted Aug. 27 by a manager of Carolina Waste and Recycling in North Charleston that it had received a load that appeared to contain medical waste, which it is not licensed to handle.

A department inspector found bags that were open and spilling onto the ground that appeared to contain bloody gauze, gloves, medical vials and papers from Roper. The bags were not marked as a biohazard and secured as required.

Roper sent a contractor to pick up and properly dispose of it.

Two weeks later, Carolina Waste again contacted DHEC to report it had received what appeared to be more medical waste. The medical waste was unmarked and some bags were open. Other waste was kept in containers too flimsy to prevent tearing.

Along with gauze and other waste products were gloves and tubing and surgical drapes. Roper again arranged for proper pickup and disposal.

About a month later on Oct. 5, DHEC got a call from a manager at the Charleston County landfill about a load from Roper that appeared to contain infectious waste, which it is not permitted to take. Further inspection showed bags and containers that were open or easily torn, with some not marked as biohazards.

They contained bloody syringes, gauze, medical vials, and intubation equipment along with documents from Roper.

St. Francis was fined for incidents in September and October involving medical waste, including a patient’s wristband with the hospital’s name, mixed in with other trash sent to Charleston landfills.

In November, DHEC issued Roper and St. Francis notices of violations of the state’s infectious waste disposal laws. Roper responded with a waste management plan and corrective actions that cost the hospital $114,000, according to the order. St. Francis also took corrective actions.

The health system “went above and beyond to fix it,” Lyons said. “Since the state’s last visit more than six months ago, we’ve gone to great lengths and expense to make improvements to our handling of infectious waste.”

The hospitals did immediately investigate and worked with DHEC to correct each of the violations, the state agency noted.

DHEC ordered the health system to pay civil penalties of $50,000 for Roper Hospital in Charleston and $54,000 for Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital in West Ashley, and those have been paid, Lyons said.

Last year, Medical University of South Carolina also ran afoul of DHEC after some of its medical waste was found in the Charleston County landfill.

MUSC said at the time it was working with DHEC to correct it and reviewing its waste-management practices. That investigation is still ongoing, a DHEC spokeswoman said.

Editor’s note: this article has been updated to correct the total amount Roper St. Francis Healthcare was fined by the state.

Did you know that the largest balloon retailer in North America lives right here at home in West Ashley?

As a mother of five with a plethora of experience planning and hosting events for her family and local community, Charleston Balloon Company’s Senior Designer and CEO, Jill Shortreed has been active in the event and balloon industry for nearly 25 years. She is now an industry leader and public speaker; teaching other small business owners how to take their business to the next level—just as she did. Each day, both Jill and her team at Charleston Balloon Company strive to change the way that the world views and experiences balloons.

“Balloons have a place in the event industry and the best event planners that we work with do not make it an afterthought but part of the initial planning process” states Jill.

You may now be asking yourself, what is Charleston Balloon Company? Charleston Balloon Company is not a party store. You will not find cups, plates, candles, cards, or candy. What you will find is balloons, and only balloons. As the largest balloon retailer in North America, you will find a store filled with over 7,000 products, 75 different colors of latex balloons, and hundreds of new designs on display in their shop and across their social media.

Specializing in only balloons makes the Charleston Balloon team masters at crafting event decor that will elevate a birthday, bachelorette weekend, or any event into an unforgettable memory. Their Instagram-worthy decor makes them in high demand with clients booking up to a year in advance. Their balloon arches, over the top balloon arrangements, and personalized confetti balloons continue to make them the number one go to balloon delivery service.

Jill says, “If you want balloons, we make it happen. Sometimes it feels like we can defy the impossible with our balloons!”

And that’s no exaggeration.

Charleston Balloon Company truly defies what people expect from balloon arrangements. Some of their favorite events include transitioning a large, empty banquet room for a sweet 16 into an under the sea spectacle filled with bubbles & mermaid themed decor; a pool party where guests entered through a giant shark’s mouth, and ceiling filled with a stunning assortment of silver balloons for a private, corporate dinner.

“We love taking balloons to a different level from what people think balloons are,” Jill says. “My favorite thing to do is put balloons where people least expect them.”

The multiple large-scale balloon installations and event inquiries that Charleston Balloon receives every day require a team of experienced balloon artists and professionals to make it happen. And they have their process of granting clients’ wishes down to a science.

Depending on the magnitude of the requested decor, clients often come into the shop for a consultation with a vision in mind. The Charleston Balloon Company team asks a few questions to get into the client’s head to begin a collaborative design process together. Larger-scale events can even receive a digital mockup of their decor, and the Charleston Balloon team will bring that digital rendering to life to make the client’s balloon dreams come true.

While it’s rewarding to bring a vision to life with balloons and a bit of magic, the most rewarding part of Jill’s job is creating an emotional experience with balloons.

“Even if someone is having a horrible day or is ordering balloons for a sad reason, a balloon creates an emotional happiness that no other product creates,” she says. “When a child runs up to find balloons at their front door, the amount of emotion attached to that is indescribable.”

With internationally-recognized credits, multiple prestigious awards, and a portfolio full of large and small-scale projects for both private and public events; Charleston Balloon Company continues to pave the way for the balloon industry each and every day with their highly requested services.

Today, the family-based, independent, woman-owned company is thriving with hundreds of events per month and a wide variety of clients. From foil shaped numbers and latex balloons to large arrangements, installations, and much more, Charleston Balloon Company truly does it all, and does it well.

To learn more about why they “Get Invited to The Best Parties” and how you can place an order for your next event, visit their website at charlestonballooncompany.com.