News

By Debbie Szpanka

The building that was formerly the Patio Shoppe on Fording Island Road is being renovated to make room for a new ballroom and dance studio called Seaquins. A marquee out front announces the new business while scaffolding encircles the work in progress.

While an estimated 2.5 to 4 million gallons of oil per day continues to gush into the Gulf of Mexico from BP's damaged rig there, along the coast of the Lowcountry of South Carolina, at least one oysterman remains optimistic that the spill will not affect Bluffton's beloved May River.

Larry Toomer, owner of Bluffton Oyster Factory, the last hand-shucking oyster operation on the Eastern Seaboard, said the May is likely not in any danger from the

Matt McClellan wants to make a point to Americans about eating more healthfully, and he will do so by riding a bicycle 1,300 miles, stopping along the way to eat pizza at locally owned pizzerias.

Pizza? Healthy?

The St. Petersburg, Fla., pizzeria owner says yes, pizza can be a health food choice. He lost 24 pounds, dropped his cholesterol 86 points and decreased his body fat by 10 percent last year by eating nothing but pizza for 30 days straight.

In her 11 years as a massage therapist, Tiffany Anisette treated many women who suffered from upper back, shoulder and neck pain. She knew from experience the effects of carrying the weight of a handbag, and sometimes the world, on one's shoulders.

She set out to create a multi-purpose bag that would ease the pain but still be fashionable and help accomplish all the tasks that many women must complete in a day.

The crowd expected to hang out all day April 10 for Laurapalooza at Monster Pizza on Burnt Church Road will have their share of fun, music, food and prizes. But foremost on their minds will be the purpose for the party: their friend Laura Wright Brown of Bluffton, a 40-year-old mother of two, has colon cancer and needs help paying for treatments. The event is a fundraiser for her.

Bill Masterton, new chief executive officer of Coastal Carolina Hospital, wants his new neighbors and staff to know two things: he intends to work hard to continue to deliver high-quality healthcare with compassion, respect and dignity; and he likes Bluffton oysters.

When 80 individuals showed up for a meeting promising information about a potential free health clinic in the Bluffton area and seeking volunteers to help run it, Jennifer Brown was elated.

Brown and a small corps of additional volunteers are seeing community support, additional volunteers, and approvals from various official entities to build a Volunteers in Medicine clinic on the mainland, either in Bluffton or Hardeeville.

Residents who can pass a test and a background check could be on their way to earning $12.75 an hour - and be as busy as they wish.

That's all most people need to know about getting hired by the U.S. Census Bureau to help count South Carolinians, said Beaufort bureau office manager Carl Statham.

Target the Band has released a Christmas CD that features some very special - make that exceptional - performers.