Commercial real estate brokers in Beaufort, SC

Daily Covid-19 admissions in the Beaufort County area

About the data

Data is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospitalization data is a daily average of Covid-19 patients in hospital service areas that intersect with Beaufort County, an area which may be larger than Beaufort County itself.

The number of daily hospital admissions shows how many patients were admitted to hospitals for Covid and is one of the most reliably reported indicators of Covid’s impact on a community.

Total population

Ages 65 and up

Total population

Ages 65 and up

An updated vaccine is recommended for adults and most children. Statewide, 7% of vaccinations did not specify a home county.

Nearby hospitals

Share of I.C.U. beds occupied

About this data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notes: The hospitals map shows the average I.C.U. occupancy at nearby hospitals in the most recent week with data reported. The data is self-reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by individual hospitals. It excludes counts from hospitals operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Indian Health Service. Numbers for hospitalized patients are based on inpatient beds and include I.C.U. beds. Hospitalized Covid-19 patients include both confirmed and suspected Covid-19 patients. The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on cases in May 2023.

How trends have changed in Beaufort County

About this data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notes: Weekly county death data prior to Jan. 2021 was not reported by the C.D.C. and is sourced from reporting by The New York Times. Hospitalization data is a weekly average of Covid-19 patients in hospital service areas that intersect with Beaufort County. Hospitalization numbers early in the pandemic are undercounts due to incomplete reporting by hospitals to the federal government.

Historical trends in Beaufort County

The data in these charts has been archived and they are no longer being updated.

About this data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data in these charts has been archived and they are no longer being updated. Weekly county case data prior to Jan. 2021 was not reported by the C.D.C. and is sourced from reporting by The New York Times. The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on cases in May 2023. Test positivity data is based only on test results reported to the federal government and is a seven-day average.

By Jon Huang, Samuel Jacoby, Jasmine C. Lee, John-Michael Murphy, Charlie Smart and Albert Sun. Additional reporting by Sarah Cahalan, Lisa Waananen Jones, Amy Schoenfeld Walker and Josh Williams. See a full list of contributors to The Times’s Covid-19 data reporting here.

About the data

Data on this page is reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Population and demographic data is from the U.S. Census Bureau. Hospitalization data is reported by individual hospitals to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and it includes confirmed and suspected adult and pediatric patients. The C.D.C. does not provide complete vaccinations data for some counties and caps its vaccination rate figures at 95 percent.

The C.D.C. may make historical updates as more data is reported.

The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on Covid cases in May 2023.

Some Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority customers in parts of Beaufort County received a letter about water quality that left them startled and questioning why it took so long for the utility to notify them.

For two quarters during 2023, water South of the Broad River violated a standard for safe drinking, but customers weren’t notified until this month.

The letter said tests showed a higher than acceptable level of haloacetic acid, also known as HAA5.

It says, “Some people who drink water containing haloacetic acids in excess of the [maximum contamination levels] over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.”

Haley Hughes, public education and engagement planner for BJWSA, gave The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette context for the term “many years.”

“We have searched and searched and searched to find a concrete definition of ‘many years,’” Hughes said. “And no one entity has accurately pinpointed what many years means. But in general, we believe we’re talking about 70 years.”

“One exposure, one week, one month of exposure is not what what regulators are concerned about,” said Jeff La Rue, spokesperson for BJWSA.

Posts about BJWSA’s letter drew hundreds of comments on Facebook, with people’s concerns mostly surrounding the cancer risk, the time it took them to be notified and, in some cases, wondering if the water was safe for their pets. No one The Island Packet reached out to was willing to comment on the record by publication time.

“We completely understand that not only are people concerned about themselves ingesting the water, but their pets too,” Hughes said.

HAA5s are five compounds that form when disinfectants react with natural organic material, such as tree branches, leaves or algae, in the water, BJWSA said in the letter.

The maximum contamination level for HAA5 is 0.060 mg per liter, as set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. During the third quarter of 2023, the average level of HAA5 in southern Beaufort County was recorded as 0.061; during the fourth quarter, it was 0.069.

The quarterly tests are averaged together and build upon each other throughout the year in a way similar to how schools average students’ grades over the course of a school year. Because the fourth quarter average was much higher than in previous quarters, BJWSA experts believe something that happened between October and December is the likely cause.

For context, the yearly average of HAA5s for 2023 was 0.044, and it was 0.059 in 2022.

La Rue, the BJWSA spokesperson, pointed to two factors for the increase at the end of 2023: an increased amount of chlorine to fight water discoloration, as detailed in the letter, and a chlorine generator malfunction.

The malfunction meant that BJWSA had to have chlorine trucked in and chlorine concentration levels were likely to fluctuate, La Rue said.

In early December, DHEC collected water samples for the fourth quarter.

After DHEC notified BJWSA that the levels exceeded the maximum contamination level, the utility had 30 days to inform their customers. The timeline and process for notification, including using the mail, was mandated by DHEC, La Rue said.

The letter sent to customers was dated and mailed on Dec. 29 and posted to the BJWSA website on Jan. 11, Hughes said.

“I really want to stress this,” La Rue said. “This is not an emergency. The the public notice is because customers have the right to know that this average went above the threshold of 0.060. Had it been an emergency, we would have notified people customers right away.”

He added: “One milligram per liter is equal to one penny in $10,000. It’s one word out of five Harry Potter books.”

BJWSA has since reduced the amount of chlorine added to the water and replaced the malfunctioning generator. HAA5 levels in the water are below 0.060, La Rue said.

This story was originally published January 24, 2024, 11:53 AM.

The vacant Applebee’s Restaurant along Boundary Street in Beaufort will soon have a new tenant. Culver’s Restaurant will be going into the spot sometime in 2024.

A call to Culver’s corporate offices on Tuesday verified that a franchise agreement has been signed for the location at 2338 Boundary Street.

Culver’s has been around since its inception in 1984. The first location opened in Sauk City, Wisconsin, under the name “Culver’s Frozen Custard and ButterBurgers.”

Fast forward to today, and it operates primarily in the Midwestern United States, and has a total of 930 restaurants in 26 states as of October 2023, including 9 locations currently in South Carolina. Among these are Summerville, North Charleston and Ladson. Also, close to Beaufort, there are Culver’s Restaurant locations in Pooler and Savannah, Georgia.

Referring to itself as a “fast-casual restaurant”, Culver’s menu offers a variety of lunch and dinner items including its signature ButterBurgers, chicken sandwiches, seafood, salads and more.

It also offers sides incuding fries, onion rings, chili and its popular Wisconsin cheese curds that are provided exclusively to Culver’s by a dairy in Stanley, Wisconsin.

Its dessert menu is where it’s at, with shakes, sundaes, floats and malts offered using its own line of frozen custard.

According to a Culver’s corporate representative, there is no timeline for the location opening. The existing building must first be converted to corporate specs and we were told that “it could take some time for that,” but we can expect it to be completed and opened sometime in 2024.

After opening in 1994, the Beaufort Applebee’s location closed in 2017 during the Boundary Street construction project, with its owner citing a loss of revenue due to the project.

Since then, it was the very short-lived home of Los Gallos Mexican Restaurant, and still bears the Los Gallos signage today.

The news of Culver’s Restaurant in Beaufort comes on the heels of a new Cook Out restaurant also opening on Boundary Street, and also a new Asian Chicken & Boba spot going into Beaufort Town Center, which are both slated for early 2024 openings, as well as the enormous Beaufort Station shopping center project that is also expected to open in late 2024.

Renowned actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Beaufort International Film Festival scheduled for February 20-25, 2024, in Beaufort, SC.

But before he accepts it, he’ll be putting on a free concert with the Lt. Dan Band for everyone to enjoy aboard the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort.

According to MCAS Beaufort, the free concert is scheduled for Friday, February 23rd starting at 6pm, with the gates opening at 5pm.

For over forty years Gary has stood as an advocate on behalf of America’s service members, but following the attacks of September 11, 2001, Gary’s dedication to our nation’s active duty defenders, veterans, first responders and their families has become a tireless crusade of support, service and gratitude for all those who protect our freedom and serve our country.

In 2003, after several USO handshake tours, he formed the Lt. Dan Band and began entertaining troops serving at home and abroad. Over the years, the 13 piece cover band has performed hundreds of shows for charities and fundraisers supporting wounded heroes, Gold Star families, veterans and troops around the world.

It’s fitting that the concert is taking place aboard the Marine Corps Air Station.

In 2011, in an effort to expand his individual efforts, he established the Gary Sinise Foundation with the mission to serve and honor America’s defenders, veterans, first responders, Gold Star families and those in need.

Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band have performed in Beaufort before. Back in 2011, the band put on a fantastic show at downtown Beaufort’s Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. They were also scheduled to return in 2012, but that concert was moved to Charleston in the weeks leading up to the event.

An opening act, yet to be announced, will perform at 6pm, and then Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band will take the stage afterward.

The event is outside, and concert-goers are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs, strollers and wagons. Concessions will be available for purchase from food trucks and beer tents.

If you plan to attend, please remember this is a U.S. Military installation, and there are several no-nos to consider.

For more information, and to grab your free tickets before they’re gone, visit this link.

Gary Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band are coming back to Beaufort for a concert. It will be the second time the actor’s cover band has performed in the coastal South Carolina city and it comes 30 years after Sinise starred as Lt. Dan in the movie “Forrest Gump,” which was filmed in the Beaufort area.

Sinise will perform at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Feb. 23, with gates opening at 5 p.m., the actor’s foundation and the air station announced.

The Lt. Dan Band’s performance falls on the same weekend of the Beaufort International Film Festival, where Sinise will receive the Pat Conroy Lifetime Achievement Award on the 30th anniversary of the release of “Forrest Gump.”

The concert is open to local residents and all military personnel. Check out the ticket link here or go to ltdanband.com or the air station Facebook page for more information.

However, Gunnery Sgt. Kayla D. Rivera, a Marine spokesperson, said the ticket link was set up only as a way to gauge attendance and tickets are not required. “We’re expecting between 2,000 and 3,000,” Rivera said. “We’re supporting anybody who is willing to come. And we don’t have a cap.”

The concert will be conducted outside of the barracks area.

Sinise, Rivera said, is planning to tour the base the day before the concert.

From the ticket link, here’s the restrictions and additional information: The event is “open to the local community and all military personnel. This is an outdoor event in a large grassy area. For your comfort and enjoyment, you are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs, strollers, and wagons. Concessions will be available for purchase through onsite food trucks and beer booths.”

Sinise played the popular character Lt. Dan in the 1994 movie “Forrest Gump,” the blockbuster filmed primarily in the Beaufort area.

He launched the Lt. Dan band in 2003 to entertain service members around the world. It is now part of the Gary Sinise Foundation, which began in 2011. That organization provides services for veterans and first responders and their families.

Sinise also performed at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in 2012 to raise money for robotic wheelchairs, therapy and other care for disabled Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

This story was originally published January 18, 2024, 12:01 PM.