Water Damage Restoration in Charleston, SC

Bermuda's pink-sand beaches are just a two-hour flight away for Lowcountry residents, now that BermudAir has launched its newest nonstop route.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the first Bermuda flight to Charleston has just landed. We will be boarding shortly," an airline gate agent said over the intercom as the first direct flight from Bermuda touched down on the CHS runway April 19.

The landing was followed by applause from passengers waiting to board.

The excitement drew onlookers from nearby gates to the window to watch as the plane, marked with a colorful bright tail, pulled into gate A1. The pilots, still in the cockpit, waved to the crowd.

Fran Tucker Griffiths was among the group, waiting with her ticket and passport in hand to board. Though she spends most of her time in South Carolina now, she lived in Bermuda for 38 years and raised her children there. To her, the island is still home.

"The day they announced this flight, I booked it," Griffiths said. "I'm so excited. I've been waiting since 1982 for a nonstop route. We've had to fly Delta through Atlanta and make a whole day of it, but this two-hour flight saves us a day of travel."

She already has tickets booked for additional May and June trips.

"Bermuda has amazing golf and the most beautiful beaches and people. It's just a special place," Griffiths said.

BermudAir, the resort island's carrier, will serve Charleston year-round with a once-weekly Saturday flight to and from L.F. Wade International Airport in the historic town of St. George.

The weekly flight departs CHS at 5:30 p.m. every Saturday and arrives in St. George's about two hours and 10 minutes later. The return leg will touch down around 4:45 p.m. every Saturday.

BermudAir took to the skies slightly over a year ago, with two Embraer ER-170 jets to serve three U.S. cities: Boston, Fort Lauderdale and the New York City area. Before the carrier hit its first anniversary, it had entered seven markets in North America. BermudAir now flies to 10 destinations in the U.S. and three in Canada.

The carrier is the first to be headquartered on the island, which is about 900 miles nearly due east of the South Carolina coastline.

CEO Adam D. Scott said year-round service is key to Bermuda's goal of becoming a destination for business and leisure travelers beyond the summer vacation months.

"We're really pleased with the interest from both directions," Scott said.

The CEO was on the inaugural CHS flight, which was more than 60 percent full. He said it can be hard to anticipate how balanced the outbound and inbound traffic will be, but the equal interest from day one is "indicative of the demand in both markets."

More than 40 passengers deplaned at CHS, and another 30 boarded shortly after.

"Charleston a great historic city with a lot of unique character, and so is Bermuda," Scott said.

Among those landing in Charleston was a Daniel Island family returning from a spring break trip. Frank Pete, his wife Katy and their two children chose Bermuda as their vacation destination because they could take the BermudAir flight home.

"It was nice clearing customs in Bermuda, because it made flying back a breeze as if we were flying domestic," he said. "The experience was great. We enjoyed the stalagmite caves, beaches and cliff jumping on the trip."

The once-weekly route is not ideal for those looking outside of a seven-day trip, but Scott said the target is to move to a twice-weekly flights in the future if interest remains strong. He doesn't see it as a deterrent in the meantime since passengers can always return to Charleston via a domestic connection.

Bermuda is known as a vibrant, tropical and cosmopolitan getaway with blush-colored sand, coral reefs, historic sites and an international finance sector.

Travelers from Bermuda shared their favorite sights to see beyond the pink sand beaches it's most known for — crystal caves, the history of St. George, the Royal Naval Dockyard and other spots.

Charleston International CEO Elliott Summey said the schedule between the Lowcountry and Bermuda "marks a significant milestone for both regions" and promotes business and leisure travel between the two areas.

“This new route enhances our international connectivity and strengthens economic and cultural ties between the Lowcountry and the island," Summey said.

Debi Ray-Rivers is an example of that business demand. She's a Bermudian who recently moved to Hilton Head Island full-time. She was on her way to Bermuda April 19 to manage her nonprofit and has a return ticket booked for next week.

"I will be flying back and forth regularly, so I am very excited to have this convenient option," Ray-Rivers said.

Before BermudAir, she'd fly out from Savannah-Hilton Head International to a connecting flight in Atlanta.

"I hope people come visit Bermuda because of this route. We have the most beautiful island and it's an absolute gem in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean," Ray-Rivers added.

Beverly Connell, a Bermudian that lives in the Beaufort area, said the route saves her from the usual long layover in Atlanta or Charlotte airports.

"I couldn't believe there would ever be a direct flight to Bermuda from Charleston. The less airports you have to go through the better," Connell said.

Reach Megan Fernandes at mfernandes@postandcourier.com.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - The U.S. Attorney’s Office says three men face federal charges in a years-long investigation into one of the largest professional money laundering operations in the state’s history.

Nasir Ullah, 28, and Naim Ullah, 32, both of Sumter; and Puquan Huang, 49, of Buford, Georgia, are charged with conspiring to launder millions of dollars of proceeds derived from drug trafficking.

Acting U.S. Attorney Brook Andrews said the three men are accused of laundering more than $30 million in illegal drug proceeds.

“They offered their services to drug dealers across the southeast from whom they would purchase large amounts of cash,” Andrews said. “They would then use those drug proceeds to purchase and ship electronics to destinations in China and the Middle East and use those transactions to conceal the illegal source of their funds.”

The accused men collected drug money in Charleston, Richland, Sumter and York Counties, Andrews said.

“They transported cash from across the state and stored it at two business properties in Sumter while they worked to hide their trail through foreign transactions,” he said.

Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Tooley said the DEA began investigating the leadership elements of Mexico’s two dominant drug cartels and identified a large-scale and complex money laundering network operating throughout South Carolina and elsewhere to launder millions of dollars.

Tooley said one of the drug seizures listed in the indictment of $177,000 of drug money could have purchased 7 kilograms of powdered fentanyl. One kilogram has the potential to kill 500,000 people, he said.

“Seven kilograms of fentanyl has the potential to kill three-and-a-half million people, more than half of the population of South Carolina,” he said.

He said approximately five out of 10 illegal pills seized and analyzed by the DEA contain a lethal or fatal dose of fentanyl.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Chase is more than doubling down on the fast-growing Summerville market under its souped-up branch-expansion plan for the Carolinas.

The JPMorgan-owned retail-banking division has been approved by federal regulators over the past few weeks for three new full-service retail offices in the area, on top of the two it’s already opened.

The latest were greenlighted earlier this month by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. One is proposed for the northeast corner of Nexton Parkway and Brighton Boulevard, while the other would be at the northwest corner of North Main Street and 3rd Avenue near the Carnes Crossroads development.

The agency last month approved a prior request for an office at Central Avenue and Old Parsonage Road in Knightsville.

In addition, Chase has filed nine other applications this year for future branches in Bluffton, Boiling Springs, Columbia, Irmo, Lexington and Spartanburg.

The bank has set a goal of having 100 retail locations open by the end of 2025 in the Carolinas.

Chase has opened 25 brick-and-mortar outposts and about a dozen teller machines since announcing its expansion into the Palmetto State in 2018. The majority of the branches are in Charleston and Greenville markets.

Mr. 305 in the 843

Rapper and singer Pitbull is eyeing Credit One Stadium for a summer show on what's likely to be a hot night.

An application for a concert by the Miami-based artist will be considered by the city of Charleston’s Special Events Committee at its next meeting. The document notes the show date as Aug. 22, with about 10,000 attendees expected to descend on Daniel Island's commercial center.

The concert is not yet listed on Credit One’s website.

The events committee regularly reviews applications for large-scale gatherings within the city, including shows at the tennis and concert venue.

Pitbull, who recently completed a Las Vegas residency, won a Grammy in 2016 and has 12 million followers on Instagram. He's collaborated regularly with fellow Latin musicians Enrique Iglesias and Jennifer Lopez, as well with cross-genre performers including pop superstar Taylor Swift, county singer Blake Shelton and hard-rocker Jon Bon Jovi.

Pitbull's last stop in the area was in May 2023 at Riverfront Park in North Charleston.

Regional update

The panel that oversees the state's busiest airport and two others is updating its longtime name.

The Charleston County Aviation Authority's 11-member board voted April 17 to become the Charleston Regional Aviation Authority.

Elliott Summey, CEO of Charleston International, said the switch is a “housekeeping” and clarification move for the authority, which has gone by its existing county moniker since 1970.

“We're a state authority, much like the ports authority,” Summey said. “Over time, that designation has created some confusion. Since we are South Carolina's airport and the largest airport in South Carolina, our governmental name should reflect that.”

The change requires approval from the General Assembly. It won't affect the aviation authority's organizational structure.

In addition to Charleston International, the appointed public body is charged with overseeing operations at Charleston Executive on Johns Island and Mount Pleasant Regional.

Cementing its future

A global building supplier that recently acquired a Harleyville cement plant is beefing up its Lowcountry footprint with a $7.3 million investment in nearby Colleton County.

Heidelberg Materials North America announced last week it will open 71-acre terminal in Walterboro that will employ about eight workers. Scheduled to open later this year, the site at 1616 Red Bank Road will be a distribution point for aggregates the company sells. It includes access to a nearby Palmetto Railways line.

Heidelberg Materials provides cement, aggregates, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt and other building materials for customers across North America.

In addition to the new Colleton operations, the company operates more than 450 other locations throughout the continent, including 16 in South Carolina, and employs 9,000 workers.

Scott Dickson, president of Heidelberg's Southeast region, said the Walterboro depot will complement the German company's recent $600 million acquisition of Giant Cement Holdings, including the Harleyville plant in upper Dorchester County.

Lowe's link

Lowe's is taking its "never stop improving" motto to the next level with a $1.3 billion acquisition of a design distribution company.

The blue-branded home improvement chain entered into an agreement April 14 to acquire Artisan Design Group, a nationwide provider of design, distribution and installation services for interior surface finishes, including flooring, cabinets and countertops.

The newly acquired business supplies national, regional and local homebuilders and property managers, as well as retailers.

In South Carolina, Artisan Design products are sold in four Builders Wholesaler Flooring sites in Summerville, Columbia, Myrtle Beach and Greenville, as well as at an Atlanta West Carpets store in Piedmont.

The deal will give North Carolina-based Lowe's a foothold in a new distribution channel within a highly fragmented market valued at about $50 billion, CEO Marvin R. Ellison said.

Rival home-improvement chain Home Depot pulled off a similar acquisition this year when it bought Charleston-based MVP Granite Countertops, a supplier to local residential and commercial builders, remodelers and interior designers.

On the Cape

A private Kiawah Island dining amenity with a Latin-inspired al fresco bar is close to opening, with Charleston chef Mike Lata of FIG and The Ordinary serving as the culinary director.

The Cape Club has applied for its beer and wine sales permit. The bar and grill operation will be led by Kiawah Island Club chef Nico Quintero.

In addition to the dining room, The Cape features an oceanfront infinity pool with chaise lounges and cabanas, a fitness center and a sundeck on the west end of the resort island.

The Fresh Market's first grocery store in the Charleston area has set a date for its market debut.

The North Carolina-based chain this month posted signs about its future 25,000-square-foot Mount Pleasant location that announced it will open April 30 at 8 a.m.

This past weekend, the company has been signing up shoppers for its loyalty program outside the store, in addition to mailing flyers to nearby residents.

On April 21, The Fresh Market also released a statement saying a grand opening event will follow on May 3 at 7:45 a.m. and will include giveaways and food samples.

The specialty grocery store, known for its to-go meals and signature baked goods, is located at 1118 Bowman Road near U.S. Highway 17, between Dick’s Sporting Goods and shoe retailer DSW.

The Bowman Place store has been in the works for more than a year. The Fresh Market assumed a lease from discount grocer Lidl and has been working to complete build-out of the space that previously housed a kitchenware retailer that closed five years ago.

The store had been advertising for open positions online.

Throughout South Carolina, The Fresh Market has nine locations, including three along the coast in Hilton Head, Pawleys Island and Myrtle Beach. The Mount Pleasant store will be the grocer's 172nd location.

The Fresh Market was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Greensboro, N.C. The company has been majority-owned by Chilean retail conglomerate Cencosud since mid-2022, with New York-based Apollo Global Management and other investors holding a 33 percent stake.