kitchen countertopsIn Charleston, SC

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Some Charleston renters worry about their health after seeing significant problems in their homes. They say Conrex Property Management isn't helping.

Emmy Moore says she was told the home had been inspected and cleaned before moving in. This was the first of many problems.

"It was just covered with dirt and dust; there were dead roaches all over the floor, a bunch of other bugs," Moore said.

Moore has lived in a home under Conrex Property Management for four months.

She says it was not what she expected.

"They offer you these incentives. They post these pretty pictures from probably months or years prior, and then the people get in them, and it's nothing like the pictures," Moore said.

Moore says she's had on-and-off trouble with her air conditioning unit, which went out again last week.

"We all woke up because of the heat. It was almost 90 degrees upstairs, and he (Moore's infant) was covered in a heat rash. He was sweating head to toe, and any part of his body with a blanket or diaper on it was just broken out," Moore said.

Once out of the house, she made a maintenance request with the management company.

"She told me she would make sure somebody was out there that day because it was considered an emergency. Nobody came that day," Moore said.

That night Moore packed her things and took her baby to a family member's house to wait for the unit to be fixed.

A week and a half later, she is still out of her house.

Moore says she knows others renting under the same company dealing with mold, exposed light switches, and water damage.

Other tenants I spoke with say they also asked for help and never got anything fixed.

"I put in a maintenance request for the ceiling and all that work to be done, and they just closed it without contacting me and never fixed it... said that it was closed and taken care of," a tenant renting from Conrex Property Management said. "It bugs me every day. I can't stand it. I want to move out, but I'm paying this high cost of rent, and I can't afford to get a place and get another deposit together."

We reached out to Conrex Property Management and have not received a response.

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - After two juveniles were arrested near Philip Simmons High School Friday afternoon, high school students and parents feel like the school handled the situation well.

The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office responded to the high school late in the school day about a possible weapon on campus. This caused all three Philip Simmons schools to be placed on lockdown. Parents said they were notified via email, text and phone call quickly after authorities arrived.

Kendra Christmas, a mother to a 15-year-old Philip Simmons student, said she felt like the school district did a great job communicating with parents.

“I think at first you are kind of stunned and you don’t believe it’s real, but my son was like, ‘Mom we are really good and we’re safe in here,’ which was comforting,” Christmas said. “So, I didn’t rush to the school. I came close by and waited until we got the go-ahead to come.”

Students said that once classrooms were placed on lockdown, they remained seated for about an hour before gathering in the corner away from windows.

“They just said that we were in full lockdown and said that no one could leave the room,” Landon Robb, a student at Philip Simmons, said. “We locked the doors and had the blinds shut. Traffic surrounding the schools was backed up for at least an hour as students were released from the lockdown.”

Dennis Schimpf is a father to two Philips Simmons High School students. He said the situation taking place so close to home is crazy.

“You don’t think about it every day,” Schimpf said. “In the national news you hear about it happening and it’s really crazy to think about that. You know, kids are walking around with guns like that.”

Despite the lockdown, students and fans gathered Friday evening to watch the Philip Simmons homecoming football game. A 15-year-old student, Que Vaugag, said people were freaking out, but he was not.

“I mean, you can’t stop what’s going to happen,” Vaugag said. “Life is life. You never know.”

As the lockdowns were lifting, the sheriff’s office announced that two juvenile students were in custody. Overall, three guns were recovered in the incident, according to officials.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

The notion of a particular location being a “postcard place” or providing a “postcard moment” might one day outlive the actual use of postcards themselves: The phrases convey a sense that somewhere is so beautiful or special or interesting that people will want to take note.

To be frank, there aren’t many such places in North Charleston, but the city just added a very nice one.

Its new pedestrian bridge, which is expected to open soon, runs from Riverfront Park across Noisette Creek to a future redevelopment site. The structure is playful, interesting and inviting. And before it even opened it already made Architectural Digest’s list of the 11 Most Beautiful Elevated Walkways Through Nature — in the entire world.

Indeed, the bridge’s meandering curved path might strike some as illogical, even wasteful since a straight line would have been faster, more economical. But the curves are a sign that the bridge wasn’t built simply to get people from one place to another; it was constructed to be a place in and of itself, a place people want to get to. The curves on the bridge echo those of Noisette Creek and the walking paths in Riverfront Park while also increasing views of the marsh and creek to the west and the Cooper River farther to the east.

The twin arches that begin on the creek’s south side and then splay across the bridge as they run northward might generate more curiosity. Ray Anderson, the mayor’s assistant for development and a Clemson University architecture graduate, notes he had hoped for a bridge along the lines of Spanish architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava’s works. But Anderson jokes he couldn’t afford Calatrava.

Instead, a team with Thomas & Hutton, including landscape architect Steve Dudash, structural engineers Jen Hayes, Joe Cook and Dan Martin pursued a design using the arches as dramatic supports — just like those found in many Calatrava designs, including his famous Alamillo Bridge in Seville, Spain, which is supported by cables held by a single, leaning pylon.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, creating a design in which the arches played a structural role would have cost much more, so the cables went but the arches stayed. And that’s a good thing because if this bridge becomes iconic — and that’s likely a judgment to be rendered in time, not by a single person today — it’s the arches that will make it so.

The arches were made of iron and steel from Augusta, and they were assembled from massive pieces that weighed more than 20 tons at the base to almost 10 tons at the top. They include LED lights that will illuminate them at night — and also can decorate them with seasonal colors on St. Patrick’s Day, the Fourth of July, Christmas and other holidays.

The lack of cables only enhances the views, and the cables would not have been seen in the distance anyway. Perhaps one of the arches’ main roles will be announcing the bridge’s presence and serving as a point of reference for those approaching it on foot or on a bike, not unlike the way distant glimpses of the Ravenel Bridge provide a point of reference for those driving around Charleston in a car. (Keeping the arches added about $1 million to the bridge’s $9 million price tag.)

The bridge still has plenty of support, albeit conventionally, from pilings. While it may only be used by pedestrians and cyclists, its design and width are sufficient to support a firetruck or ambulance, should one need to cross it in an emergency, Anderson says.

Although it’s largely a bridge to nowhere at this point, it will be useful soon as a way to expand parking near Riverfront Park — and it’s a necessary first step in the city’s ambitious plans for redeveloping the series of unattractive warehouses between Avenue B and the river.

That’s a multiyear effort that eventually could create another postcard: North Charleston’s best urban neighborhood on the water.

For now, the bridge is more destination than connection. But it ultimately holds the promise of linking the current city to a better one.

Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings.

A milkshake sold in South Carolina is brimming with strawberries — but the flavor punch doesn’t stop there.

The creation is also topped with a whole slice of cheesecake, helping it to earn recognition as one of the “most outrageous” milkshakes in the United States.

The treat-filled concoction is sold at The Crazy Mason in Mount Pleasant, just outside of Charleston. It was the only place in the Palmetto State to be named among “11 of the most outrageous milkshakes” on Yelp.

The restaurant review website said it created the unranked list after users shared their favorite places to get milkshakes. Yelp considered the “total number of submissions, ratings, reviews, geographic representation, and other factors,” according to results shared Thursday, Sept. 15.

The Crazy Mason said its over-the-top shake starts with “ice cream in a strawberry-swirled jar with a vanilla buttercream rim rolled in crushed cones.” Then the shake bursts out of the jar with the addition of strawberries, crushed graham crackers, icing — and, of course, an entire slice of cheesecake.

The concoction — called Sweet Cheesus — has some Yelp users raving, helping The Crazy Mason earn more than four out of five stars.

“You know the old saying, when people think something’s good, they say, ‘sweet Jesus’? Well, we say Sweet Cheesus,” Bo Steele, co-owner of the milkshake shop, said in a Yelp blog post.

In addition to its Mount Pleasant location, The Crazy Mason has a footprint in Greenville, Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach. Its website also lists plans for shops in Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Though the Mount Pleasant shop earned national recognition, Steele told Yelp that Sweet Cheesus is typically one of the top sellers across all of the business’ locations. If you’re not a cheesecake fan, shakes topped with caramel apples, cannoli and other treats are also on the menu.

On the nationwide list, other milkshakes that made it into the rankings were served in Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, Utah and Virginia. Those shakes’ extravagant toppings ranged from sugary cereal to a burger and fries.

Middle Eastern food has gained significant popularity over the years, enjoying a jump of more than 30% in its inclusion on restaurant menus. Some of the most popular Middle Eastern dishes are baba ghannouj, hummus, falafel, tahini, tabouleh, pita bread, and (of course) baklava. Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated Middle Eastern restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina on Tripadvisor. Tripadvisor rankings factor in the average rating and number of reviews. Restaurants on this list may have recently closed.

Keep reading to see if your favorite restaurant made the cut, and to discover new spots you haven’t been to yet.

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#6. Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe

– Rating: 4.0 / 5 (116 reviews)– Detailed ratings: Food (4.0/5), Service (4.0/5), Value (4.0/5), Atmosphere (4.5/5)– Type of cuisine: Quick Bites, Mediterranean– Price: $$ – $$$– Address: 320 West Coleman Boulevard, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464– Read more on Tripadvisor

#5. Butcher & Bee

– Rating: 4.5 / 5 (339 reviews)– Detailed ratings: Food (4.5/5), Service (4.5/5), Value (4.0/5)– Type of cuisine: American, Mediterranean– Price: $$ – $$$– Address: 1085 Morrison Drive, Charleston, SC 29403– Read more on Tripadvisor

#4. Ali Baba Mediterranean Deli and Catering

– Rating: 4.5 / 5 (67 reviews)– Detailed ratings: Food (4.5/5), Service (4.0/5), Value (4.0/5), Atmosphere (3.0/5)– Type of cuisine: Quick Bites, Mediterranean– Price: $$ – $$$– Address: 186 Seven Farms Dr Ste 500, Charleston, SC 29492-8510– Read more on Tripadvisor

#3. Tabbuli

– Rating: 4.0 / 5 (50 reviews)– Detailed ratings: Food (4.0/5), Service (4.0/5), Value (4.5/5), Atmosphere (4.0/5)– Type of cuisine: Middle Eastern, Mediterranean– Price: $$ – $$$– Address: 2026 Savannah Hwy, Charleston, SC 29407-6286– Read more on Tripadvisor

#2. Tabbuli

– Rating: 4.5 / 5 (476 reviews)– Detailed ratings: Food (4.5/5), Service (4.5/5), Value (4.0/5), Atmosphere (4.5/5)– Type of cuisine: Mediterranean, Middle Eastern– Price: $$ – $$$– Address: 6 N Market St, Charleston, SC 29401-2623– Read more on Tripadvisor

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#1. Leyla Fine Lebanese Cuisine

– Rating: 4.5 / 5 (1,083 reviews)– Detailed ratings: Food (4.5/5), Service (4.5/5), Value (4.5/5), Atmosphere (4.5/5)– Type of cuisine: Lebanese, Mediterranean– Price: $$ – $$$– Address: 298 King St Intersection King and Liberty, Charleston, SC 29401-1441– Read more on Tripadvisor