Betty Poore: What's New on the Charleston Coast Blog: June 2008

You are not going to believe the difference 3 weeks (and $10 million) makes in the progress of the beach renourishment on the Isle of Palms, particularly at the north end. I walked down to the beach last evening to see for myself and to take some new pictures. It is hard to grasp the difference between today's beach and the beach of just one month ago. For a comparison just click on the slide show. Let me know what you think or if you have some pictures to share, send them on.

Below is an interesting article on the Housing Industry and one bit of good news admist all the doom and gloom of late.

Lampert Puts Money On Housing Rebound
Stakes Being Taken In Battered Builders, Lenders and Retailer

By GARY MCWILLIAMSJune 12, 2008; Page C4

Billionaire hedge-fund manager Edward S. Lampert is placing new bets on a U.S. housing recovery, buying stakes in beaten-up home builders, mortgage lenders and a home-improvement retailer.

Mr. Lampert's ESL Investments Inc., which owns half of department-store giant Sears Holdings Corp. and 40% of car retailer AutoNation Inc., has previously focused with mixed success on retail and bank stocks.

Recently, the Greenwich, Conn., hedge fund, which controls investments it valued at about $11.6 billion in its most recent government financial report, began picking up shares in hard-hit housing-related stocks. ESL acquired small stakes in U.S. home builders Centex Corp. and KB Home, according to its latest Securities and Exchange Commission filings. At recent prices, the stakes in the two home builders are valued at $10.4 million and $10.8 million, respectively.
ESL also is tip-toeing into mortgage origination and servicing, acquiring about four million shares of CIT Group Inc., a struggling subprime home and commercial lender, as well as 1.4 million shares of PHH Corp., a mortgage originator and mortgage-service company. The shares are valued currently at about $35.5 million and $25.2 million, respectively. ESL spokesman Steve Lipin declined to comment on the investments.

Mr. Lampert's purchases come as some analysts think the housing market's decline may be nearing an end.

In another bet on a housing turnaround, Mr. Lampert this spring increased his stake in Atlanta-based home-improvement retailer Home Depot Inc. ESL now holds about 22.7 million shares valued at $590 million, up from 16.7 million shares last year.

Labels: homes, housing, market, real estate

Well, to many of us, a cannonball is used to make a big splash when you jump off the dock or diving board...Mark is the best in our family. But, THIS cannonball is a horse of another color. Read on.

Surprise! Cannonball hits beach a bit too late for war

ISLE OF PALMS — Workers heard what sounded like a large bowling ball clanging through a 3-foot-wide pipe sucking sand from the ocean.

Along with dredge spoil being used to rebuild the Isle of Palms oceanfront, the pipe spit out a historic, 128-pound cannonball. Round-the-clock crews working on the renourishment project made the discovery in the gated Wild Dunes community on Thursday morning.

"They could hear it bouncing in," Isle of Palms police Lt. Ray Wright said. "They heard it clanking through the piping around 3 a.m."

Workers used a bulldozer to move the ball to a safe spot and called police later that morning, Wright said.

Charleston County and state explosives teams examined the sphere and deemed it safe.

It turns out there wasn't much bang left; the cannonball was solid cast iron, likely fired from a 10-inch Columbiad cannon during the Civil War, said Richard W. Hatcher III, a National Park Service historian at the Fort Sumter National Monument.

Columbiads were one of the Confederates' weapons of choice when it came to large guns, Hatcher said. Possibly thousands of cannonballs like the one recovered on Thursday were fired during the conflict, particularly during the 600-day Siege of Charleston in the first half of the war, he said.

There were 15 Columbiads on Sullivan's Island at the end of the war. The cannons could hurl the 128-pound projectiles a maximum of 5,654 yards using a 20-pound charge of black powder.

Hatcher will turn the artifact over to state archaeologists.

Wright said the cannonball had traveled almost 3 miles to shore; the dredge pipe extended more than 2 1/2 miles into the ocean, and about another half mile on the beach. It wound up near the Ocean Club Villas at the far end of the island.

The beach replenishment is part of a $10 million project that extends from 53rd Avenue to Dewees Inlet. It began three weeks ago and must be finished by the end of July, a condition of state and federal permits, in part to protect the endangered loggerhead turtle.

Munitions from past conflicts turn up with regularity in the Lowcountry. In November, workers installing a heating and air-conditioning system near Market and Logan streets downtown found about a dozen softball-size cannonballs from the Civil War.

Labels: beach, cannonball, Charleston Coast, ocean, turtles, water

The long awaited beach renourishment project is finally underway. It is phenomenal to watch. I headed to the beach Wednesday afternoon to see the process and progress. It looks like a huge movie set. Tons of slurry is being pumped in from off shore, then spewed all over the beach where bulldozers work around the clock spreading it out. ( the slurry will settle out after a couple of days, leaving behind a beautiful sandy beach)

If you remember earlier pictures, there were mountains of sandbags stretching from Shipwatch Villas to Ocean Club Villas. The bags are now gone and the "new" beach is rapidly taking shape. There is still a lot to be done, but the sheer size and scope of the work is incredible. The entire job has to be completed by July 31, 2008, just as the Loggerhead Turtles begin to come ashore to lay their eggs (an equally exciting show) To see current pictures (June 3, 2008) click here.

Beach Renourishment

To read more, click here to see what the Moultrie News, a small local paper, has to say.

Hope to see you on the beach this summer.

Labels: beach, Charleston, Isle of Palms, turtles

Well, I just returned from some R & R on Sanibel Island. Every year my mom, Toddy, and my sisters Ellen and Jenny and I head down for a week. Our MO is to hit the local coffee joint, The Bean, each morning to get our fix of caffeine, sometimes shop for dinner and always hit the beach to shell and read books. (This year, Jenny stayed home nursing her husband through back pain and eventual surgery. He goes home today after just a day in the hospital....the wonders of modern medicine.)

This trip, I read three books by local Sanibel author, Randy Wayne White. Try saying that fast. Mark and I have enjoyed his writing and have a ball recognizing the local landmarks. We have also become great fans of the rum drink he makes using a Nicaraguan rum. You'll have to read his one of his latest to get it or you can always email me and I'll send you the recipe.

But now, it is back to the real world....which is just as lovely. It is always nice to come home.