Tree Service in Sullivan's Island, SC

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Sullivan’s Island town leaders are breaking ground Friday morning on a major project to ease flooding in some of the town’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.

Crews are expected to begin work at drainage basins on Station 28.5 and Station 31, two of the worst-functioning systems on the island.

Crews will need to close some roads while installing new pipes and infrastructure but residents will still have access to their homes. Town officials say contractors will notify property owners in advance if work may affect them directly.

The project is set to break ground at 10 a.m. at the corner of Jasper Boulevard and Station 28.5.

The project is funded through the South Carolina Infrastructure Investment Program grant, which also covers upgrades at Stations 16 and 25 in a later phase.

Officials say the improvements will increase the capacity of main stormwater lines, make upgrades to lateral lines and install tidal backflow prevention devices at each outfall.

Filtration devices are also being added to storm drains to ensure cleaner water flows into the creeks surrounding the island. In some areas, crews will also need to remove and replace road pavement and sidewalks.

Town leaders say the basins selected for this work are among those with the most severe drainage problems, affecting the greatest number of residents. These locations lacked the major trunk lines and lateral lines needed to move water off streets, a problem outlined in the adopted earlier this year. The plan found that a majority of Sullivan’s Island’s drainage systems were outdated with some being more than 100 years old.

A South Carolina Infrastructure Investment Program grant is providing $10 million in funding for the project. The town contributed $1.1 million for design, permitting and planning, mostly from federal American Rescue Plan funds.

Construction is expected to be substantially complete by June 2026.

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Neighbors have discovered a spark of joy in a small wooden box in which people can pick up paint supplies.

Lowcountry native Mary Beth DiNunzio celebrated her birthday by asking a friend to build a small wooden box two years ago. She named it “The Art of Giving”, imagining a place where anyone could pick up free art supplies - or leave a creation of their own.

The box is located on Atlantic Avenue near a popular beach access.

“I wanted to bring some joy to somebody’s life that opened the box and found something they wanted,” DiNunzio said.

Inside, visitors find watercolors, brushes, seashell ornaments and even finished pieces of art. Children often return the kindness by leaving hand-painted cards and drawings. One watercolor note from a local visitor reads, “With hope in our hearts and generosity such as yours, we can surely face this world with artistic flourish.”

DiNunzio says those small gestures are the heart of the project.

“It goes both ways - I’m giving art to them, and they’re giving art back to me,” she said. “I love sharing with the community and want people to enjoy the art and get inspired.”

The idea is catching on. Neighbor Kerry O’Connor Hood discovered the box while visiting the beach with a friend.

“Kids love to paint. Kids love to make anything - it doesn’t even matter what it is,” Hood said. “This person started a great thing, and the fact that you can drop off what you want and take what you want. It’s beautiful.”

Hood has added some small toys and painting supplies herself, inspired by the simple, open invitation to create.

“If more of us felt like this and were just open to giving to people, it would be such a nicer world,” she said.

Though she spends hours filling the box with seashell ornaments and other handmade treasures, DiNunzio insists the real reward is watching strangers discover it.

“I don’t like to receive,” she said. “I’d rather just give.”

On a stretch of beach where the waves are constant, “The Art of Giving” proves that generosity can ripple outward, turning a little wooden box into a community canvas of kindness.

People who are interested in seeing her art box can follow DiNunzio’s Instagram handle @theartofgiving4.

A Lowcountry, South Carolina couple are suing their former friends and business partners over a beer business gone bad, according to a civil suit filed in Charleston County last week.

According to the lawsuit, plaintiffs Lisa Pollner and Caleb Fournier of Sullivans Island, S.C. are suing their former friends and neighbors – Scott Hansen and Meghan Hansen (along with two business entities) – in an effort to “remedy the fraud carried out by (the Hansens) to entice the plaintiffs to invest $500,000 into a beer business, only to learn that the Hansens used all of the funds invested for their personal benefit, trips and every day expenses.”

That beer business, Island Brands, reportedly attracted numerous Lowcountry investors who are now raising questions about the money they put in. The company also obtained significant capital through crowdsourcing.

The complaint from Pollner and Fournier – filed last Thursday (August 28, 2025) in Charleston County – alleged that Scott Hansen “fancied himself as the mastermind behind Island Brand” and as a “show man who would market the start-up beer company into success.”

“In actuality, he was a roadside con artist,” the filing continued.

According to the complaint (.pdf), the Hansens “met and befriended” Poller and Fournier in early 2018, becoming “close friends” with them.

“Lisa and Caleb trusted Scott and Meghan, cared for their children and believed the feeling was mutual,” the filing noted.

In May of 2018, after allegedly being approached by Scott Hansen, Poller and Fournier made an initial investment of $125,000 in Hansen’s venture – which purportedly secured for them a 2.5% equitable stake in Island Brands’ parent company, American Beverage Holding LLC. According to the complaint, though, this money “was not an investment, it was a support system for Scott and Megan.”

“The funds allegedly invested by Lisa and Caleb into ABH were used by the Hansens for a week-long vacation in Telluride, Colorado,” the lawsuit claimed. “They also used the funds for their online subscriptions, such as for Netflix and Xbox, paid for their groceries and medicines, gas, Starbucks, and fancy meals.”

The Hansens “took active steps to conceal the truth” about the money, including “having lawyers produce documents showing the investment and the value of it.”

Four months after the initial investment – in October of 2018 – Poller and Fournier wired another $125,000 to the Hansens as part of an additional investment in the venture, per the lawsuit, allegedly unaware they had already “blown through the money.”

“Scott and Meghan continued using Lisa and Caleb’s money for their own needs and to support the façade of a wealthy, successful couple,” the complaint alleged. “In actuality, they were both fraudsters.”

Four months after that payment – in February of 2019 – Hansen allegedly made false representations to Fournier about acquiring an additional stake in his businesses, this time requiring a $250,000 payment.

Once again, per the complaint, Pollner and Fournier ponied up the cash – which, according to their complaint, allowed the Hansens to “finance their fake lifestyle, masquerading as successful people living the good life on Sullivans Island.”

Throughout this time, Pollner and Fournier allegedly continued to believe they were “founding members” of Hansen’s company and “would routinely attend Island Brand events and often remark to guests of their commitment to ABH and their investments.”

Fournier also allegedly spent another $30,000 of his own money on “marketing events with local bands and DJs” in an effort to grow the business.

All the while, according to the lawsuit, Hansen was taking “active steps to fraudulently conceal his conduct, specifically the fact that he pocketed Lisa and Caleb’s money and that they were not, in fact, investors in ABH.”

Meanwhile, Hansen allegedly used another company he created – MOTU LLC – to house his and his wife’s interest in the company.

According to the lawsuit, Hansen was eventually “forced out” of his role as CEO of Island Brands – leaving the company on the “brink of bankruptcy.”

A private equity firm reportedly purchased the “limited assets” of the brand at some point within the last two years, including its beer recipe and name. ABH – the company Pollner and Fournier purportedly invested in – was dissolved in May 2025.

An undated notice posted to Island Brands website offered its former investors a bitter aftertaste.

“As the new brand operators of Island Brands, we recognize that when ABH HoldCo. ceased operations it resulted in a loss of investment for its founding investors,” the notice stated. “Therefore, as the new brand owners we want to extend our gratitude for your continued support and offer all previous investors a 50% rebate on all retail purchases of Island Coastal Lager and Island Active beer products.”

The rebate is only good through March 31, 2026, however.

FITSNews has reached out to Island Brands for comment. In the event we receive a reply, we will certainly provide that information to our audience – just as we also intend to publish any and all formal answers to these claims filed by attorneys representing the defendants.

is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Potential changes are underway for Sullivan’s Island erosion control structure ordinance.

Erosion control structures are not allowed to be constructed in RC-1 and RC-2 Recreation and Conservation Area Districts without town and agency approvals, according to.

Town leaders say the ordinance prohibits structures such as fill, bulkheads, seawalls targets areas along the back portions of the beach as well as marsh areas.

Town Planning and Zoning Director Charles Drayton says the idea to amend the ordinance was first brought up in May 2024.

“We’ve had some concerns brought to us from some of the residents back there who are experiencing tidal inundation in their properties currently, and we’re looking for ways to address that in an environmentally friendly fashion,” Drayton says.

The idea falls in line with the town’s progress towards a Sea Level Adaptation and Resilience Plan. The plan is meant to create community-wide recommendations to protect the island from future flood events.

Some recommendations included creating natural buffer areas that will give rising tides space before any impacts to property.

Drayton says the plan also considers an amendment to the town ordinance that only allows one foot of fill to be added on properties. Drayton says seven feet and four inches is the height predicted to protect homes from sea-level impacts in about 50 years.

“Consideration for allowing greater fill on some of these low-lying lots that are more susceptible to tidal flooding so that they would be able to build their building pad at seven and a half feet.”

Resident Eric Dodson says he appreciates the town’s steps towards a protective plan. He shared concerns that the plan will only allow homeowners to adapt to sea-level rise.

“What we need to do is defend against it. That adaptation that’s recommended takes years to basically start to take hold when we’re under constant attack right now. And we need to do this today, and it needs to be effective today. Not 10 years from now or five years from now.”

He hopes officials understand how storm events impact homeowners on a frequent basis.

“Inundates the downstairs, the garage level and creates thousands of dollars of damage. The storm we had in December, about a year and a half ago, was a significant budget impact. Because it basically took everything out and that wasn’t even a named storm.”

Dodson says he denied approval for a bulkhead to defend against sea-level rise impacts to his property over a year ago. He wishes to see a change that follows regulations under the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services instead of restrictive town regulations.

“We’re trying to do is replace our revetment with a bulkhead because it’s stronger, more resilient, and the revetment is currently not working in maintaining the ability for our property not to continue to wash into the marsh.”

The resilience plan will go to town council leaders for preliminary review on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

If any changes are made to the plan, it will go to the council again for a final reading in September.

I am pleased to announce my candidacy for re-election to the Town Council of Sullivans Island. The journey we began together four years ago continues today, building upon a record of cooperative and transparent government, fiscal responsibility, preservation of the maritime forest and other natural resources singular to our Island Home, and maintaining and protecting the unique historic heritage of our Island. Here are some specifics for you to consider.

The FY 2026 annual budget has, for the first time, separated operating and capital components — with further online transparency behind the budget and budget process in the works. Department heads are now held accountable for their “business unit” and are required to submit capital requests for approval/dis-approval;

More efficient investment of the Town’s cash balances has resulted in several hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in current income available to fund island needs and wants, without tapping into tax or grant sources;

The preservation of the maritime forest is largely a fait accompli; the rehabilitation of the “Cove Inlet Bridge” is complete — and additional pocket parks are under consideration.

Markers have been placed at sites of historical significance throughout the island and many of our batteries have been cleansed of overgrowth.

These are just a small number of the achievements of a very united Town Council. My colleagues on council that also seek re-election will no doubt weigh in with others. As Chair of the Finance Committee, I am particularly proud of the advancements we have made in bringing an increased level of fiscal responsibility, oversight and transparency to the process of meeting the financial needs of the town. I know many of our residents are focused like a laser on Town expenditures. So am I. I bring almost 40 years of asset management, investment expertise and organizational leadership to my role on council. I will continue to maintain my business mindset while overseeing the Town's finances and serving you, the constituents.

Much remains to be done … not the least of which is a years-long, massive flood control project that will extend from one end of the island to the other. Substantial initial funding has been received via government grants, but the process must press forward. With your support, together we will continue to preserve our heritage and enhance our quality of life.

I look forward to meeting you personally and asking for your support as we approach the Nov. 4 election. Until then, I remain at your service.