Personal Injury Attorney in Hilton Head Island, SC

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. —

As the top golfers in the world assemble this week at Augusta National for the Masters, many of them will be making their way to the Lowcountry and Hilton Head Island for next week’s RBC Heritage.

And tournament organizers and the folks at Harbour Town are ready for it.

They are ready to get their plaid on at the Harbour Town Golf Links. Preparations are well underway at the course as they get ready to welcome the world’s best golfers next week for the RBC Heritage.

“I've used this analogy in ways almost like when you do construction on a house, it kind of gets worse before it gets better," said Steve Wilmot, tournament director of RBC Heritage. "We're in that worse stage, you could say that, but there's so much happening. But then every day, every hour, every moment right now, I mean, it's getting closer and closer.”

The RBC Heritage is now one of the premiere events on the PGA Tour, now a signature event, featuring only the top golfers in the world. A far cry from when this tournament was in jeopardy of being cancelled for good.

“Think where we were in '10 and '11, that we weren't really sure what was going to happen in 12," explained Wilmot. "To be here today is a signature event. Last year was a designated event or a signature event. So it's really only been a couple of years.”

The RBC Heritage is certainly no stranger to sporting a star-studded field for this tournament. And now that the event is a signature event on the PGA Tour, it features its best field is ever seen.

“We have 29 of the top 30 from the current, FedEx list," said Wilmot. "We have 49 of the top 50 that are eligible. We have 45 of the top, the official world golf ranking players in all two. So everyone's going to be here.”

The RBC Heritage will officially begin with the opening ceremonies Tuesday, April 15, at noon.

The first round of competition begins next Thursday morning, April 17, at the Harbor Town Golf Links.

Rumors circulated on social media platforms such as Facebook and Nextdoor on Tuesday that probed about the possibility of a Trader Joe’s coming to Okatie Crossing in between the Bluffton and Hardeeville areas.

But was it an April Fool’s joke or a serious development scoop?

At the intersection of U.S. 278 and S.C. 170, this corridor is at a prime location between highly populated areas and roadways for both Jasper County and greater Beaufort County residents.

It has long been predicted that the national grocery store chain would make its landfall in the Lowcountry, but according to local officials and store representatives, the rumor is just a rumor.

“We’re actively looking at hundreds of neighborhoods across the country, so there is a possibility we are looking at something in the area,” said Nakia Rohde, public relations manager for Trader Joe’s. “At this time, we do not have any locations confirmed in the area.”

The proposed space for the new grocer that residents and online posts pointed out is the vacant lot space behind the Wendy’s on Okatie Center Boulevard.

Back in 2019, this lot was also seen as a potential space for a Costco, which has since fallen through due to cost constraints.

“The property is not currently under contract and nothing is imminent at this point,” said Michael Patterson, president for Horne Properties, which oversees development in Okatie Crossing Center. “The property is still available at this time.”

Even though this area serves many residents of Beaufort County, the land is located within Hardeeville’s city limits.

City Manager of Hardeeville, Josh Gruber, also confirmed Wednesday that the Trader Joe’s rumor was not true.

The Island Packet also reached out to the Town of Bluffton in regards to other rumors of a Trader Joe’s opening in the area. Spokesperson for the town, Debbie Szpanka, debunked these rumors, too.

“The Town has no information that would indicate a Trader Joe’s is on its way,” she said. “However, Bluffton would welcome one with open arms. I feel certain Trader Joe’s would be very happy with us and be pleased with its decision to open its doors here.”

While this Trader Joe’s rumor made the rounds online, it turns out it was simply the product of an April Fool’s fiasco and Lowcountry residents won’t be visiting this new grocery chain anytime soon.

The Okatie Crossing Center has been a hot spot for new development, with the newest additions being a Pet Paradise Dog Daycare Center that opened in 2024 and a new Harbor Freight location on the way soon.

This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 4:24 PM.

Aldi grocery store has taken a big step toward opening its newest location in Hilton Head.

The construction representatives for Aldi presented their designs to The Town of Hilton Head’s Design Review Committee On March 25 and were approved the space, so long as some tweaks are made.

The new grocery will occupy the empty lot space at 80 Matthews Drive, off William Hilton Parkway, within Sea Turtle Marketplace.

The Aldi will be located near the Homegoods and Northridge Cinema 10 within the marketplace, right next to the Hilton Head Island Airport.

Spokesperson for the Town of Hilton Head, Heather Woolwine, confirmed that the new Aldi location on the island was set for final approval once those design adjustments were made. The changes needed for final approval include pedestrian access, lighting and grocery cart storage.

The new Aldi grocery store will be a freestanding 20,000 square-foot building with its own parking lot.

The proposal for Aldi’s grocery store began last year, when the construction and civil engineering companies representing the store first presented the idea to the Town of Hilton Head.

Following this, The Providence Group, which manages leasing for Sea Turtle Marketplace, announced on Facebook last February that it had signed two new tenants for the marketplace, Aldi Grocery and Fidelity Investments.

While there is still no construction date in sight, once those design changes are made, Aldi will officially be set to break ground at the new location.

In January 2023, an Aldi opened along U.S. 278 in Bluffton.

In February 2024, another location was approved by Beaufort’s planning commission to start construction in Beaufort Station. This shopping center is located at the heavily trafficked intersection of Robert Smalls Parkway and Parris Island Gateway.

Aldi is a grocery store based in Germany that is headquartered in Batavia, Illinois, just west of Chicago.

However, Aldi is two companies. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946. The business later split into two separate grocery store groups in 1961.

Aldi is known for being a discount grocer that holds a “no-frills” approach to keeping prices low.

Three Beaufort County food businesses and one Jasper County business were cited with “B” grades in February’s health inspections by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Here is a rundown of restaurants that received the lowest ratings in February:

Chophouse 119 scored 86% (B) on Feb. 13 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included:

Chophouse 119 was reinspected on Feb. 21 and scored 100% (A).

Dolphin Head Golf Club scored 79% (B) on Feb. 11 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included:

Dolphin Head Golf Club was reinspected on Feb. 21 and scored 100% (A).

Taqueria El Primo scored 85% (B) on Feb. 25 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included:

Taqueria El Primo has not been reinspected as of March 7, but one is required within 10 days.

Bryan’s Country Store scored 79% (B) on Feb. 11 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included:

Bryan’s Country Store was reinspected on Feb. 20 and scored 100% (A).

Inspectors give restaurants a grade of A, B or C, depending on the conditions found at the time. Points are docked for various infractions, and restaurants have a chance to correct the problems and improve their score in a reinspection.

The grade scale is as follows:

During February, SCDA recorded 227 inspections of restaurants, schools, stores and other food establishments in Beaufort County and 43 in Jasper County.

The agency publishes the results of these health inspections on its website.

Newer food-grade decals include a QR code that customers can scan with their phones to see a food establishment’s latest report.

This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 6:00 AM.

The Island Packet

(843) 626-0211

Anna Claire Miller is the Service Journalism Reporter for The Island Packet. Originally from Georgia, she has experience in magazine writing, non-profit communications and city government. Anna Claire has a bachelor’s degree in journalism, legal studies and English from High Point University.

The Lowcountry has long been a popular destination for Florida expats looking to escape - add to that list a familiar but mysterious species of pink birds that are increasing in population in the Hilton Head and Beaufort County marshes.

When spotted locally, the Roseate Spoonbill is far from what his or her ancestors considered home. At first glance, the large, pink bird standing in a Beaufort County marsh could be mistaken for a flamingo. But what sets a Roseate Spoonbill apart from their pretty, pink cousins is a shorter neck and a long wide bill shaped like, well, a spoon.

This striking bird has been making its way north, from its traditional home range in Florida Bay, up though Georgia and into South Carolina for the last two decades. Driven by warming temperatures and loss of habitat in Florida, there are signs that this climate migrant may soon be in the Lowcountry for good.

“Its very clear that they’re following the temperature,” Jerry Lorenz, a researcher with Audubon Florida who has studied the species for the past 30 years, said. “The country is getting warmer, the world is getting warmer…these birds are taking advantage of warmer temperatures.”

There are now a number of year-round residents in and around Beaufort County, Jenn Clementoni, a master naturalist vice president of Port Royal’s Cypress Wetland, said. A pair of Roseate Spoonbills has taken up residence on Harbor Island, even staying through the snow in January. Another pair have stuck around Cypress Wetlands in the past. A few places in the ACE Basin play host to spoonbills year round now, including Donnelley Wildlife Management Area in Colleton County, Clementoni said.

Historically, most of the country’s Roseate Spoonbills lived in Florida Bay, southwest Louisiana and the Texas coast. In the second half of the nineteenth century, plume hunters drove the population nearly to extinction in pursuit of feathers to adorn women’s hats and other fashions. But by the 1970s, the population in Florida had made a comeback.

A simple roseate Spoonbill appearance in the Lowcountry isn’t necessarily unusual. Spoonbills often return to where they were raised to begin breeding, but after leaving their nest for the first time they often travel far to explore. In fact, they’ve been spotted as far north as Wisconsin, Montreal and New Jersey. Those that astute birders have spotted historically in much of Beaufort County are these errant, curious teenagers.

It’s not unusual for a very small number of birds to spend the winter while the rest of their peers migrate south. But a number of roseate Spoonbill outliers have started to stick around in South Carolina, establishing a year round population, Clementoni said.

Around 2000, Lorenz started to notice that the birds were moving further north and inland into Florida. Since then, many have abandoned their old nesting grounds in Florida Bay as the sea level has risen. Shallow water is necessary for spoonbills to catch food. They stand in shallow water and wave their half open beak back and forth until they catch a small fish or shrimp. If that water gets too high for too long, like it has in Florida Bay, many can’t continue to feed, and therefore live, in the area anymore.

The spoonbill’s move out of Florida Bay has been accompanied by a move north. While a young bird hanging out in the marsh before flying back to Florida to breed isn’t a sign of permanence, breeding in South Carolina certainly is.

In 2020, researchers with the South Carolina DNR documented the northernmost roseate Spoonbill nest ever recorded in Charleston County. This comes after the previous record set in 2011, researchers first recorded a nesting spoonbill in Georgia. To date, there are no records of spoonbills nesting in Beaufort County, Clementoni said.

The spoonbills will not need to deal with many new natural predators, namely alligators, in South Carolina.

“What does affect them is making sure we have healthy, clean marshes,” Clementoni said. “That’s where they feed … So we seem to have the perfect storm as far as what they’re looking for, as far as habitat and as far as food source.”

The Roseate Spoonbill can certainly add to the biodiversity of an area, which is a good thing. But if they become more prolific in the area, they could also displace other native species.

“They’re not introduced, so you can’t call them exotic or introduced or invasive,” Lorenz said. “They may be invasive, but they’re native. It’s just the climate is changing. From a legal perspective, that’s one thing. From an ecosystem level, that’s a whole different question.”

The spoonbills moving up north are not unique, Lorenz said. There are a number of birds and other animals that move north as the climate changes and their home ranges become too warm. He says that state and local governments will need to come up with a plan to manage these species that move into new ranges.

This story was originally published March 6, 2025 at 1:22 PM.

Weather News

April 17, 2025 3:24 PM

RBC Heritage

April 17, 2025 12:48 PM

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The Island Packet

202-383-6005

Lydia Larsen covers climate and environmental issues along South Carolina’s coast. Before trading the lab bench for journalism, she studied how copepods (tiny crustaceans) adapt to temperature and salinity shifts caused by climate change. A Wisconsin native, Lydia covered climate science and Midwest environmental issues before making the move to South Carolina.