Probate Lawyer in Sullivan's Island, SC

In 2018, Poe's Tavern in Charleston celebrates 15 years of possibly the greatest tribute ever to America's macabre sweetheart, Edgar Allan Poe. If you haven't experienced this Edgar Allan Poe-inspired tavern on Sullivan's Island, then you're missing the marvelously moody shrine, whose food is every bite as remarkable as their quirky decor.

Most people know there are two more locations of Poe's Tavern (Wrightsville Beach, NC and Atlantic Beach, FL); however, a visit to the original location and a look at its exceptionally moody decor is a must.

It's the quintessential beach tavern, and coincidentally is located on the very island where Poe was stationed in 1827 while enlisted in the Army.

He was 18 and enlisted primarily because he couldn't support himself as a poet — yet he kept writing while serving in the military. A number of his most famous works are attributed to his time spent in Charleston.

Poe's Tavern pays homage to the writer, best known for his tales of mystery and the grim.

Signs of the poet and his work at unmissable inside the tavern...

Even the window into the kitchen is framed with a passage from his famous works.

Here in the original location of Poe's Tavern, signs of Edgar Allan Poe seem to be everywhere. At the entrance, the walkway bears an inlaid mosaic goldbug.

And inside, everywhere you turn there is deliciously moody decor featuring everything Poe!

Speaking of delicious, we can't conclude without mentioning the stellar food!

Folks who've already been here know they're not leaving disappointed. And while reading some of Poe's literary masterpieces may leave you feeling a bit dark and full of despair (or not!), the food at Poe's will fill you with satisfaction and perhaps even a bit of culinary euphoria.

Known for having THE BEST and most inventive burgers in the entire state of South Carolina, they really bring masterpieces of their own to the Poe's overall experience.

Daily and seasonal specials help to keep the menu lively and ever-changing.

Have you been to the original Poe's, located in Charleston?

Poe's Tavern is located at 2210 Middle St., Sullivan's Island, SC 29482. It's open seven days a week from 11:00 a.m. to midnight. Learn more on the official website - and put this one on your bucket list!

Eight alumni from the Master of Science in Environmental and Sustainability Studies Program are leading the way in developing the Sullivan’s Island Resilience and Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan.

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^{Above (l–r): Alumnae Kim Morganello, Rebecca Fanning and Anna Kimelblatt (Photo by Catie Cleveland)}

Not that we needed the reminder, but the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Debby once again hit home – quite literally in many cases – the need for resiliency in the face of “rain bombs” coupled with sea-level rise.

One of those areas in the Charleston region most impacted by that dual threat is Sullivan’s Island. Leading the way in developing Sullivan’s Island Resilience and Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan for a 2-foot rise in sea levels over the next 50 years are graduates from the College of Charleston’s Master of Science in Environmental and Sustainability Studies Program. Eight alumni are working on the project, including Rebecca Fanning ’21 (M.S.), the director of resilience and natural resource management for the town; Anna Kimelblatt ’21 (M.S.), resilience project planner with climate resilience firm Weston & Sampson of North Charleston; and Kim Morganello ’08 (M.S.), senior project manager with Weston & Sampson.

You would have thought an alumni reunion broke out at the project’s kickoff meeting on May 22, 2024, inside council chambers at the town hall.

“We were going around the room doing introductions, and everybody gave a little bit of their background and what they focused on, and one after the other was like, ‘I, too, am a grad of the EVSS program,’ and, ‘So am I,’ and, ‘Me, too,’” Kimelblatt recalls. “We’re all sort of from different years, different types of backgrounds, so it’s a nice variety of alums working on this project together.”

On the 30th anniversary of the program, the expertise of EVSS alumni has never been more critical, especially to barrier islands like Sullivan’s.

“We’re so much more vulnerable to hurricane-force winds, and storms are intensifying, but there’s also something unique to Sullivan’s Island with the incredible geomorphic formation of the accreted land in the maritime forest that serves as a buffer and a real appreciation for the value of natural resources,” Fanning says. “I see an opportunity on Sullivan’s Island to deploy some of the nature-based solutions that other places may have a harder time implementing, just because gray infrastructure solutions are more easily understood and quantifiable.

“And I’m so happy that we have the bright minds that we do working on this project,” she adds, ‘because I can’t think of a better team that has more knowledge of green infrastructure solutions than the team that we have gathered for this plan.”

The first step for Weston & Sampson (one of three firms working on the project) is to do two-dimensional modeling of flood inundation on the island and simulate different types of tidal and storm scenarios to identify problem locations. They’ll also conduct a robust public-engagement process.

“The fact that so many of our alumni are contributing to such a critical project speaks volumes about the success of the EVSS Program,” says Program Coordinator Lucy Davis, noting its strengths, including an interdisciplinary curriculum focused on current issues, hands-on experience and a strong network of alumni. “Since its inception in 1994, our program has been an applied graduate program specifically designed to prepare students to work in the field and address ongoing environmental issues and solutions. Graduates leave the program not only equipped with the necessary skills but also well-connected within the field, which significantly contributes to their professional success.”

The alumni, including Lucas Hernandez ’19 (M.S.) and Kayla Pehl ’21 (M.S.) at Weston & Sampson, Katie Ellis ’17 (M.S.) and Jenna Cormany ’14 (M.S.) at McCormack Taylor, and Cheyenne Twilley ’24 (M.S.) at Elko Coastal Consulting, appreciate how well the College prepared them and the real-world application of the academics.

“It’s a real multidisciplinarian program,” Morganello says. “It’s got hard science, engineering, policy, permitting, public outreach. There are all these different interfaces and everything that we do in this field, including environmental law classes, geology, GIS and wetland science. That’s something I really appreciate about the master’s in environmental science and have found a lot of success in the professional world going about things that way.”

The research phase of the Sullivan’s Island project will take about a year to complete before a wide range of solutions are recommended, from something as simple as rain gardens to more complex engineering projects. Community input will be an integral part of this research-based approach.

“We want Sullivan’s Island to take ownership of this plan,” Kimelblatt says. “Connecting with the local community and taking the time to get out and hear them is something that EVSS really taught me.”

Adds Morganello with a chuckle: “I remember when I told people I was going to go to grad school (to study environmental science), and they were like, ‘What are you going to do with that degree?’ I don’t think people say that anymore.”

SULLIVAN'S ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) — It's been a long struggle between the residents of Sullivan's Island looking to preserve area trees and Dominion Energy's need for worker safety when working around power lines.

Last week the town voted to start a tree planting program with help from Dominion and SCDOT.

"We have some ideas of what this project could look like for the Town of Sullivan's Island, but certainly for the community at large as well," says Rebecca Fanning, Director of Resilience and Natural Resources for Sullivan's Island.

The Town of Sullivan's Island voted to match $25 thousand donations from SCDOT and Dominion to fund the tree planting program.

READ MORE | "Propane tanker leak prompts half-mile evacuation on Sullivan's Island."

"The $75,000 provided by the town, Dominion, and SCDOT, we don't have a clear agenda for that funding yet. The collaboration that has been formed between the utility company, the department of transportation, and ourselves is maintained and shepherds those funds," says Fanning.

Town officials say they've learned some lessons moving forward about where planting should take place.

"One thing that we've realized as a result of this project and collaboration is the need to consider utilities as a part of any planting plan. And just taking, for example, a relatively new construction of town hall and the fire station here behind me, we have young palmetto trees planted directly under power lines," adds Fanning.

The aftermath of Hurricane Hugo led to many trees being planted further away from homes, which meant closer to powerlines.

"After seeing trees crashing on roofs, people kept a safeguard zone between their houses and any tree plantings, and that's something that we need to reconsider carefully. There are trees like Palmetto trees that don't tend to bend and snap in storms at all, and could be planted very close to houses," Fanning says.

READ MORE | "Sullivan's Island grapples with escalating coyote encounters, residents call for action."

Lessons learned as they plan for preserving the future.

"Ensuring that planting plans take into consideration the urban infrastructure and the various needs that folks have," says Fanning.

One current project underway is the relocation of 9 grand Palmettos from historic downtown to neighborhoods around Fort Moultrie.

They are still evaluating which trees can be relocated.

Three years ago, we joined others in lamenting Dominion Energy's plan to cut down more than 500 mature palmettos on Folly Beach, as they had grown dangerously upward and into overhead power lines. And we noted the only good options were to avoid planting such trees directly under power lines in the future, move trees under power lines before they grow up into them and undertake the costly, time-consuming but ultimately superior solution of placing those lines underground.

Just recently, however, as Sullivan's Island faced a public outcry over Dominion's plan to remove more than 500 palmetto trees there, a fourth possibility has become clear.

Those who worked to create this possibility, a compromise of sorts, deserve our thanks. And other municipalities should take note in case their beloved street trees face a similar threat.

Last week, the S.C. Department of Transportation, which owns the right of way where most Sullivan's Island palmettos were going to be cut down, announced that it had struck a deal with the town and Dominion Energy to reduce the tree removals.

Under the plan, Dominion agreed to reduce its planned cutting by 269 trees, while both Dominion and DOT will contribute $25,000 each to a nonprofit that will plant new palmettos and other species of trees on the island — in more appropriate spots. Meanwhile, nine palmettos around Fort Moultrie that are considered historically significant will be relocated near the fort but away from power lines.

It may not be purely a coincidence that the deal unfolded during the week when we celebrated Carolina Day, which commemorates the June 28, 1776, battle in which the patriots, manning an incomplete fortification made out of palmetto logs, repulsed a British invasion. That battle is why South Carolina's flag prominently features a palmetto.

As Transportation Secretary Justin P. Powell tells us: "We're the Palmetto State because of the palmettos on Sullivan's Island. ... It is a symbol of our pride in our community and an iconic representation of what it means to be a South Carolinian." Indeed, it's because of that connection that a state agency's intervention to save trees in an individual community makes sense.

While it's not unheard of for the Transportation Department to weigh in on the future of trees in its right of way — for instance, it recently argued against removing the large live oak on James Island known as the "Widowmaker" — its efforts on Sullivan's go above and beyond previous work. Mr. Powell is proud of how his employees helped find a compromise between safety and preserving trees, and justifiably so.

This is, as Sullivan’s Island Mayor Patrick O’Neil puts it, "a very positive resolution for the island and the state."

But this only scales back Dominion's tree removal plans; it doesn't eliminate them. The island still stands to lose hundreds of trees. So we continue to emphasize the points we made in 2021.

First, plant wisely: Only trees that won't exceed 15 feet when mature should be planted under power lines; Dominion has a list of 26 such species, such as Japanese maples and certain species of holly, magnolias and viburnums. It's also worth considering whether a tree can be trimmed and survive, as most live oaks easily can, or whether it cannot be pruned and ultimately could need to be removed. (For questions, call Dominion at 800-251-7234.)

Second, property owners with palmettos or other problematic trees growing under power lines should consider moving them now, before they reach a height that Dominion finds hazardous.

And lastly, cities, towns, utilities and neighborhoods should work together to place more power lines underground. This takes a lot of time and money, but it ultimately yields benefits well beyond saving trees, including fewer service interruptions due to high winds and storms and a more appealing streetscape. Most local governments require power lines to be buried in new subdivisions for all those reasons, but it's taking too long to bury them in most older neighborhoods, not only in historic Charleston but in many mid-20th century communities.

If we speed up the burying of power lines, that will pay off in creating not only more lush, appealing local landscapes but also healthier, safer ones, as we have a growing appreciation of the important role street trees play in soaking up stormwater and minimizing the effects of dangerous heat.

While the Transportation Department might have established a new model for minimizing the loss of trees as Dominion works to ensure its power lines remain in the clear, the ultimate solution is not to have to worry about trees and power lines in the first place.

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SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Dominion Energy released a new plan to cut by more than half the number of Palmetto Trees it will remove from Sullivan’s Island.

The initial proposal called for the removal of 523 trees. But the new proposal would remove only 254 trees.

All over the island, there are hundreds of trees that have been marked with spray paint. Trees marked with a red spot will be cut down, but those marked with a white spot will be saved. The tweak in plans comes after town officials, residents and 8-year-old Keegan Novak rallied to protect the trees and got support from the South Carolina Department of Transportation.

“The Palmetto Tree is the State’s tree,” Secretary of Transportation Justin P. Powell said. “It is a symbol of our pride in our community and an iconic representation of what it means to be a South Carolinian. I’m proud of the work our SCDOT employees did to help navigate the safety issue at hand while ensuring we preserved as many of these historic trees as possible.”

Novak, with the help of his parents, placed signs that said, “Don’t cut ‘em down,” on hundreds of trees slated for removal. Members of the community and town government leaders rallied behind this effort. Novak is over the moon about Dominion’s new plan.

“I’m just really happy about it,” Novak said. “It’s more than I could wish for.”

Crews will remove the red-marked trees section by section starting next month as a part of Dominion’s routine five-year cycle to ensure safety and reliability with the trees growing too close to overhead power lines. Nine historic palmetto trees will now be relocated around Fort Moultrie.

“It’s just really important to our history and nature,” Novak said. “No trees, no humans. No human, no trees.”

Dominion and the town urge property owners to consider utility lines when planting trees in the future.

“There are ways to plant close to a rooftop safely and moving forward I would love to help folks plant on their lawns in such a way that trees with be safe from utility conflicts,” Director of Resilience and Natural Resource Management for the Town of Sullivan’s Island Rebecca Fanning said.

Mayor Patrick O’Neil said the timing of the decision couldn’t be more appropriate, as Friday is “Carolina Day.”

“Sullivan’s Island is the place where the palmetto earned its place on our flag and in our hearts from the Battle of Sullivan’s Island in 1776 on June 28, when the patriots when able to defend the island from an attack from the British fleet who were coming into the harbor, and they were fighting from behind a fort that was under construction but being built of palmetto logs,” O’Neil said.

The removal of trees will start next month. O’Neil said in the future for this process, the work will be done in the off-season.

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