Personal Injury Attorneyin Folly Beach, SC.

It's only twelve miles south of Charleston's historic homes and manicured window boxes, but the salty little town of Folly Beach ditches the Holy City's refinement in favor of an easygoing, barefoot sensibility that feels a bit more California than Carolina. Known to locals as the Edge of America, Folly is everything a beach town should be. Surf shops line the main drag; cover-ups count as appropriate lunch attire; and nobody takes themselves too seriously (they drop a pair of LED-lit flip flops to celebrate New Year's Eve). Here's where to stay, eat, and play in South Carolina's super chill surf town.

Every single room at The Tides Hotel comes with an ocean view. Perched at the end of Center Street, the town's main thoroughfare, the hotel is steps from both the beach and an array of local shops and eateries. For families looking to stretch out a bit more, there are a boatload of rentals to choose from: Opt for ocean-front properties that will sleep a crowd or cozy cottages with marsh and Folly River views. And for people who wouldn't dream of traveling without their four-legged companions, there are plenty of pet-friendly rentals too.

You won't go hungry on this island. Lost Dog Café is a local staple, serving coffee and all-day breakfast; don't miss the eggs Benedict, which they top with fried green tomatoes. Fish tacos, Vietnamese-inspired lettuce wraps, and Cuban sandwiches all have a place on the colorful menu at Chico Feo, where the vibe is equally colorful. Don't let the easygoing atmosphere fool you: Rita's Seaside Grille is serious about their food … and their cocktails. Try one of their Signature Crushes, fruity sippers with flavored liquors that pack a punch. End the night at Sand Dollar Social Club, a dive bar where you're invited to come as you are, so long as you're a member; membership costs $1, and bring your cash (you won't find a credit card machine here).

The island's six miles of beachfront are its main attraction, and it'd be easy to while away a week with no plans beyond putting your toes in the sand. But for those looking to build an action-packed itinerary, there are plenty of activities that highlight the destination's natural beauty: Book a guided kayak or standup paddleboard tour to explore the tidal creeks; stop by McKevlin's Surf Shop, South Carolina's oldest surfing outfitter, before catching some of the area's best waves at The Washout; and plan to make a return trip with your fishing poles to Folly in spring of 2023, when the beloved pier is set to reopen after extensive renovations.

The City of Folly Beach says sea level is expected to rise at least one foot in the next 25 years.

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCSC) - The City of Folly Beach says sea level is expected to rise at least one foot in the next 25 years. That’s why city officials are working to update the “Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan.”

Science and research show that sea level is expected to rise at least one foot by 2050, according to the city’s website.

Director of Public Works for Folly Beach Eric Lutz says the latest predictions show a higher tide trend than two or three years ago.

That’s why the city is trying to prepare now for what may come later down the road. Officials want to hear from residents and visitors of the island about how higher water is affecting them.

They have an online survey open through April 17, and they want to hear the public’s experience with flooding on the island.

City officials, property owners and outside experts are meeting to discuss and make recommendations for the Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan on April 19.

Lutz explains that this issue creates challenges on both sides of the island.

“Any little rise in sea level increases the magnitude of erosion, because every high tide we get erosion anyway, as the tides are pushing higher and higher it’s just chewing up the front side of the island, or the beach side of the island,” Lutz said. “On the backside, we’ve got lots of fragile low areas and when we get any kind of sea level rise it’s pushing these tides up even higher which causes problems for access.”

For long-term Folly Beach resident Marlene Estridge, the high water on Tabby Drive has affected her daily routine more than once.

“I have a sick son and I need to get out with him if he has an appointment or chemo, and there have been times where I couldn’t get him out and we had to cancel,” Estridge said.

Other residents like Phil King say the occasional high water doesn’t take much of toll on him.

King said, “Personally, I just live with it, and I just drive through it, it doesn’t really cramp my style too much, but it’s a little hard on the vegetation sometimes if it’s a lot of salt water.”

Lutz says he is aware of the issue Estridge and others have faced.

“We do have occasionally times when people actually get kind of trapped in their house because they just can’t get out to the street and drive anywhere until the tide goes down,” Lutz said. “A couple areas on the island we actually have hotspots that we have to put manmade pumps in and pump down when we get really high king tides.”

Lutz says the survey will reopen at some point after officials gather next week to discuss.

He expects there to be a community meeting planned later this year to hear directly from residents.

To take the survey, click here.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

A months-long discussion came to an end Tuesday night as voters decided on the fate of short-term rentals on Folly Beach.

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCSC) - A months-long discussion came to an end Tuesday night as voters decided on the fate of short-term rentals on Folly Beach.

Just 78 votes ended up separating the debate of the number of short-term rental licenses allowed on Folly Beach. The final vote rang Tuesday night after lines at the polls began at 7 a.m. officially capping the number of rentals, like condos and Airbnbs, to 800 across the island.

There were more than 1,200 people that voted, which is about half of the number of registered voters on the island.

“This is probably the most people I’ve ever seen vote, even in a presidential election, that I can remember,” Goodwin said.

This special citizen vote tallies 655 voters for the cap on short-term rentals and 577 against it.

This issue stems back to October when a citizen petition to cap the number of short-term rentals came to city council, which was then put up to a citizen vote.

Ann Peets, who supports the cap, says she doesn’t want the permanent residents leaving because of disruptive renters.

“It’s a very tight-knit community and we feel like if people keep leaving that’s going to be lost,” Peets said.

Those against the cap on rentals, like Elton Culpepper, says he doesn’t want his kids to not have a rental option on inherited property.

“I feel like the property value will go down and they should be able to short term rental it,” Culpepper said.

Bill Murschel says he’s been renting on the island for over 25 years. Although he could not vote, he says he worries how this would affect his vacations.

“I don’t want to be priced out of the market,” Murschel said. “I want to have plenty of choices when I contact a local real estate office and pick my place.”

Mayor Goodwin says he signed the original petition and voted for the STR cap.

“We know they bring in tax dollars,” Goodwin said. “We never want to see short term rentals go away totally. It’s just where do you want your city to be in reference to a community versus businesses.”

He was asked if he thinks this will have any effect on people investing on Folly Beach in the future.

“I don’t think so,” Goodwin said. “You know, before this got started, like I said, the number was 800. That didn’t stop people from buying and selling out here... Nobody’s going to be totally happy with the vote. So, now it’s just a matter of the community coming back together and healing and let’s get on with the rest of the world.”

Goodwin says it will take several years for the number of current STRs to dwindle down to 800 from either people selling their property or no longer renewing their licenses. He says there’s currently around 1,200 on the island.

The vote will be certified on Thursday and will immediately take effect.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

The New Jersey high school graduate who went to college in South Carolina -- and sped into the back of a golf cart carrying a couple leaving their wedding reception, killing the bride in her wedding dress late last month -- allegedly had a blood alcohol content more than three times the legal limit, according to a redacted toxicology report.

Jamie Lee Komoroski had a BAC of 0.261 when she allegedly slammed her rental car into the back of a golf cart escorting 34-year-old Samantha Miller, of North Carolina, and her new husband, Aric Hutchinson, around 10 p.m. on April 28, according to the report.

It says she told a responding officer she thought she had been hit by something as she was heading toward her house, which was in the opposite direction.

Eventually, Komoroski told the officer she had "two drinks, one beer and a drink" -- and clarified upon questioning that the drink was "like a tequila pineapple an hour ago or so."

Data retrieved from the car indicated Komoroski was driving 65 mph and only briefly hit the brakes before she hit the golf cart on Folly Beach, an island near Charleston, investigators have said. Her car was destroyed, an image released along with the redacted toxicology report shows. The speed limit is 25 mph.

Miller was pronounced dead in her wedding dress. Hutchinson suffered a brain injury and multiple broken bones, and while he is expected to survive, the recovery will be long, according to his mother. She established a GoFundMe page to support her son as well as her son-in-law and grandson, who were the couple's golf cart escorts from the reception.

Komoroski, a 25-year-old who attended North Hunterdon High School and worked at a Flemington diner before launching her college career at Coastal Carolina University, refused sobriety tests at the scene, police said. She has hired a top former Garden State prosecutor to assist in her defense.

Christopher Gramiccioni, who stepped down as Monmouth County prosecutor in June 2021 after years in the position, released the first public statement on Komoroski's behalf last week.

"We cannot fathom what the families are going through and offer our deepest sympathies. We simply ask that there not be a rush to judgment," he said. "Our court system is founded upon principles of justice and mercy and that is where all facts will come to light."

Komoroski, who wasn't hurt in the crash, is charged with reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of driving under the influence causing death. She faces one to 25 years in prison on each DUI count.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FOLLY BEACH — Hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022 took such a toll on the shore that the federal government has allocated funds for the emergency replacement of 90,000 dump truck loads of sand here.

The Army Corps of Engineers Charleston District announced the $97 million award this week from the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act to repair damages to South Carolina beaches after recent coastal storm events.

In addition to Folly Beach, the money will help rehabilitate beaches along the Grand Strand and Pawleys Island to their pre-storm conditions.

Each project will reduce coastal storm risk and protect the beaches that “provide far-reaching economic and recreational opportunities for the entire state of South Carolina,” Lt. Col. Drew Johannes, the district’s commanding officer, said.

Sand renourishment was needed for quite a while in Folly Beach. Broadly speaking, the entire beach is erosional at this point, City Administrator Aaron Pope said.

Spots on the east end of the beach were hit pretty hard last hurricane season, “but the whole island is eroding,” Pope said.

A $27 million allocation to Folly Beach will support the removal of 900,000 cubic yards of sand from the Folly River and replace it on shore.

Pope said the emergency funding is good for a number of reasons, including creating an elevated timeline to get the work done.

Typically, the city will do beach renourishments on a 12-year cycle and be responsible for a local cost share. The beach was due for more sand in 2024 but the next dump of sand will depend on how well the emergency work holds up, Pope said.

Pawleys Island will receive $14 million in emergency rehabilitation to include repair and replacement of damaged sand fencing and vegetation as well as about 200,000 cubic yards of sand — enough to fill 20,000 dump trucks — on a 1.2-mile portion of the island’s southern end.

The barrier island on the eastern edge of Georgetown County took a nearly direct hit when Ian made landfall south of Georgetown on the afternoon of Sept. 30 last year. Sand washed into the island’s streets and under stilted houses, docks over Pawleys Creek were destroyed and a private pier collapsed into the ocean.

An October 2022 assessment by Columbia-based engineering consultant Coastal Science and Engineering found that dunes near the island’s south end “completely eroded” during the storm. The assessment also suggested that beach renourishment undertaken on the island in 2020 limited the damage to area homes from Ian.

“Some of the property owners were able to do some rehabilitation work on their own nickel, but this will allow us to do a more comprehensive repair on the south end,” Mayor Brian Henry said. “It’s a huge help to us. We don’t have the funds in our operating budget to do that type of repair.”

Town Administrator Dan Newquist said the town will find out more details about the Corps’ rehabilitation project in the following weeks. He added that he doesn’t know of a timeline for the project just yet.

“Hearing that number, that’s more than just replacing the dune vegetation and sand fencing,” Newquist said. “That’s adding volume of sand to the dune line, and that figure, that seems like a pretty robust emergency repair package, for sure.”

Extensive beach and dune erosion along the Grand Strand will be addressed, too, with the help of $57 million.

North Myrtle Beach is estimated to receive 350,000 cubic yards of sand. Myrtle Beach could get about 650,000 cubic yards of sand, and Surfside/Garden City is estimated to have 500,000 cubic yards of sand dumped on the beach.

Funding for the projects at Myrtle Beach, Folly Beach and Pawleys Island will also allow for design, permitting and other work.

Constructions contracts should be awarded in late-summer or early-fall for Myrtle Beach and Folly Beach, and in early-winter for Pawleys Island, the Army Corps said.

Mike Woodel contributed to this report from Georgetown.