Saturday, May 16, 2026

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Chapter 3 is up. Last week we showed you the Senate slam the door on redistricting — five Republican senators, including Horry's own Greg Hembree, blocked the two-thirds vote. Today, the governor reopens it. A special session called by McMaster only needs a simple majority. The House gavels back in Friday. The Senate Monday. And the proposed map pairs Horry and Georgetown with downtown Charleston, North Charleston, and Mt. Pleasant — replacing the Pee Dee territory the 7th has covered since 2013. Watch Chapter 3, then tell us: would you rather share a congressman with Florence and the Pee Dee, or with Charleston and Mt. Pleasant?
Governor McMaster Calls Special Session. S.C. will redistrict. #myrtlebeach #southcarolina
When North Myrtle Beach City Council convened its workshop on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, the title on the slide deck sounded straightforward enough: "Proposed Residential Zoning Districts: Conservation Residential (CR) and Estate Residential (R-1E)" [City of North Myrtle Beach Workshop Presentation, May 13, 2026]. The pitch from staff and Council was familiar — protect older neighborhoods, preserve wetlands, encourage thoughtful design. But strip away the language about pollinator plantings and meandering roadways, and a more practical question emerges: who actually benefits from these new districts? Because when you look at the mechanics, the answer isn't homeowners. It's developers holding land outside the city, and a Council that ran on slowing annexation now needing a way to keep saying yes. The Annexation Carrot Nobody's Talking About Here's what was not in the slide deck but hangs over every decision NMB makes about new zoning: there are roughly 800 acres of developable land across the Intracoastal Waterway that the city has been eyeing for years. Under campaign promises made during the last election cycle, several Council members said the era of aggressive annexation was over. And on paper, it was — until now. The Conservation Residential District quietly changes the calculus. A developer holding a 100-acre tract outside city limits has historically had two options: stay in Horry County under Commercial Forest Agriculture or low-density rural designations, or seek annexation into NMB under R-1 or a Planned Development District. If Council wanted to deny annexation under the existing menu, they could — the city's R-1 allowed too much density for sensitive land, and PDDs gave developers too much leverage. CR solves that problem for both sides. The developer gets a path into the city. Council gets to point at the 35 percent open space requirement and the 4 dwelling units per acre cap and say they're protecting the environment [NMB Workshop Presentation, 2026]. The campaign promise survives. The annexation happens anyway. That's not conservation. That's a steering mechanism — and the green-space framing is the carrot. What a Master Plan Should Do — and Why R-1E Shouldn't Override It The city's 2018 Comprehensive Plan was featured prominently in the workshop materials [NMB Workshop Presentation, 2026]. That document is supposed to be the supreme land-use authority — the master plan from which all zoning flows. Comprehensive plans designate which parts of the city are intended for which uses, and rezoning decisions should defer to that overall vision. R-1E was sold to Council as a tool for neighborhoods that were "historically developed at larger lot sizes than available now" [NMB Workshop Presentation, 2026]. Tilghman Estates was the example shown on the screen. But here's the question Council should have pressed harder: what is the master plat for Tilghman Estates? What does the original recorded subdivision require of new construction within its boundaries? And what does the 2018 Comprehensive Plan say about that part of the city? If those documents already protect Tilghman's character — and master plats typically do, through recorded covenants and lot dimensions — then R-1E isn't filling a gap. It's a redundant overlay. And if Tilghman Estates is the example being used to justify R-1E across the city, the city owes residents a clearer accounting of what specific protection R-1E adds that the comprehensive plan and existing plats don't already provide. The bigger concern is that once R-1E exists as a tool, it can be applied to any neighborhood Council chooses — including new developments where the "historic large lots" rationale doesn't apply at all. New developments don't have a historic character to preserve. They have whatever master plan a developer submits at the sketch plan stage.
Are new zoning districts in North Myrtle Beach designed for Home Owners? Or Developers?
New video is up on today's Murdaugh ruling. The South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously overturned Alex Murdaugh's two murder convictions this morning and ordered a new trial. The reason wasn't the evidence — it was former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill, who the justices said "placed her fingers on the scales of justice" by talking to jurors during the 2023 trial. The court called her conduct "breathtaking and disgraceful." Murdaugh stays in custody on his financial-crimes sentences, but the State will retry the murders. Watch the full breakdown — and let us know in the comments: do you think the State can win a conviction the second time around? [https://myrtlebeachsc.com/salex-murdaugh-new-trial-sc-supreme-court/] **Poll spec (post separately, same day, ~2 hours after the text post):** The SC Supreme Court overturned Alex Murdaugh's murder convictions and ordered a new trial. Can the State win a conviction the second time around? - Yes — the evidence is still there - No — too much has come out since 2023 - It won't get that far — plea deal coming
Alex Murdaugh granted a new trial.
The story of Keef & Jess is a local story, but it points toward something with broader implications. Horry County has long been defined economically by tourism — the beach traffic, the golf courses, the seasonal revenue cycles that make running a small business here both an opportunity and a gamble. What a platform like Keef & Jess does, almost incidentally, is help stabilize and extend the visibility of local establishments year-round. A restaurant that earns a feature is not just collecting views; it is reaching an audience of people who actually live here and eat out every week, not just during peak summer months. Their stated mission goes beyond personal entertainment — they describe their work as amplifying opportunity, celebrating growth, and connecting their audience to what genuinely makes a community thrive. That language might sound like marketing copy, but the boutique on Main Street, the gift cards passed between small business owners, and the comment sections full of locals recommending each other's favorites suggest the mission is real. There is also something instructive in the couple's trajectory for other residents watching from the sidelines. A contracting background, a camera, a genuine curiosity about the food scene, and a commitment to community — none of those things are rare in Horry County. What Keef & Jess did was combine them with consistency and authenticity, and trust that the audience would come. It did. And now, as Dressed by Jess settles into its spot on Main Street in North Myrtle Beach, the audience has followed them into a new kind of venture — one stitch at a time. Conclusion The arc of the Keef & Jess story — from food reels to real estate to retail — is really a story about what it looks like when community investment becomes its own reward. For years, this North Myrtle Beach couple trained a camera on the people and places that make Horry County worth living in. Somewhere along the way, those people and places started pointing the camera back. The result is a boutique, a brand, and a blueprint that other locally-minded creators and entrepreneurs in this corner of South Carolina might do well to study. In a region that sometimes struggles to hold onto its local character amid rapid growth and development, Keef & Jess are a reminder that the best investment you can make in your community is the kind that doesn't look like an investment at all — it just looks like caring.
Can local social media influencers make a difference? How Keef and Jess impacted our area
New video is up. We took on a question a lot of people think they already know the answer to: are Harley-Davidson riders MAGA voters? Short version — no one has ever actually polled it. The demographic overlap with the Trump coalition is real, but overlap is not identity, and Republican is not the same as MAGA. We walked through what the data shows and what it doesn't, including the South Carolina chapter of the story most national outlets miss. Watch here: [YOUTUBE URL] When you see the rally roll through, what's the first thing you notice — the bikes, the flags, the people, or the politics?
Harley-Davidson riders MAGA voters? Look who we spotted at this week's rally! #myrtlebeach
500 white carnations in a small Methodist church in 1908 — that's where Mother's Day started. The earliest one we can prove in Horry County happened at Floyds Church on May 16, 1920, and it ran on the front page of the Horry Herald. New video is up on the channel. We walk through Anna Jarvis's vow, Wilson's 1914 proclamation, and the Conway and Kingston congregations that were already standing when the holiday went national. About 90 seconds. Worth your morning coffee before brunch. How will you spend Mother's Day in Horry County tomorrow? Question: How are you marking Mother's Day in Horry County? - Brunch out - Church, then home - Beach or Brookgreen Gardens - Quiet day at home
How will you celebrate Mother's Day tomorrow? The history of Mother's Day in Horry County
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Health

CCU Study Finds Alarming PFAS Levels at Market Common, Airport — Contamination Flowing to Beach via Midway Swash

David Hucks

Myrtle Beach Water Rate Increase Coming: PFAS Cleanup

David Hucks

How Much of the Food You Eat Contains Forever Chemicals? PFAS in Food

David Hucks

Southern Environmental Law sues Sumter over PFAS in Pocotaligo River

David Hucks

Can Incinerators Burn Plastics Containing PFAS Without Harming the Environment?

David Hucks

Plastic Waste at the Highway 90 Landfill: What Horry County Isn’t Recycling

David Hucks

PFAS Horry County Landfill Testing: Does Anyone Test for Forever Chemicals in our drinking water at Horry County’s Highway 90 Landfill?

David Hucks

Marion County Wildfire Smoke Blankets Horry County, Air Alert Issued

David Hucks

Has Horry County Deforestation Led to More Pollen Allergies?

David Hucks

Untold Stories of Bull Street, SC State Hospital Mental Asylum

David Hucks

Sport

Myrtle Beach Classic 2026 Winner: Brandt Snedeker

David Hucks

Waccamaw River Heritage Preserve: Nature Conservancy purchases more than 4600 acres in Horry County

David Hucks

3 Myrtle Beach area Captains Made the Global Top 8.3% for Angler’s Choice Award

David Hucks

Excellence Rewarded: Triune Student Athletes Honored at John T. Rhodes Myrtle Beach Sports Center

David Hucks

eMYRge Launches Golf Tech Accelerator Challenge

David Hucks

Oliver, Myrtle Beach Preemie, Honored During Myrtle Beach Marathon March 7th

David Hucks

Conway High names Jody Jenerette as Head Football Coach

David Hucks

5 Candidates for CCU Head Football Coach include Vanderbilt Offensive Coordinator

David Hucks

South Carolina’s blowout of Coastal doesn’t guarantee a Clemson win

David Hucks

Coastal Carolina plays the Gamecocks in Columbia, Saturday Nov. 22nd

David Hucks

Local, National News

PSC OKs $5 Billion Canadys Gas Plant — Horry County On the Hook

David Hucks

Surfside Beach Fraud: SLED Probes $545K Loss to Spoofer

David Hucks

From Layoff to Line Out the Door: The Sweet Rise of Cherry Grove Cookie Co

Jolene Puffer

King Tides Alert for North Myrtle Beach Today Through Monday

David Hucks

Horry County penny sales tax tabled: Residents dodge a $130 million bullet

David Hucks

McMaster Calls Special Session on SC Redistricting

David Hucks

Is North Myrtle Beach Selling Conservation — or Selling Annexation Dressed Up as Green Space?

Jolene Puffer

CCU Study Finds Alarming PFAS Levels at Market Common, Airport — Contamination Flowing to Beach via Midway Swash

David Hucks

AFTER CITY MANAGER’S CONTRACT EXTENDED, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, BRIAN TUCKER TAKES TOP JOB IN LANCASTER COUNTY

David Hucks

Nancy Mace states she has pressured McMaster into calling redistricting in South Carolina special session today 5:01 p.m.

David Hucks

Latest News

Session on SC Redistricting

McMaster Calls Special Session on SC Redistricting

North Myrtle Beach Zoning Districts

Is North Myrtle Beach Selling Conservation — or Selling Annexation Dressed Up as Green Space?

Market Common PFAS

CCU Study Finds Alarming PFAS Levels at Market Common, Airport — Contamination Flowing to Beach via Midway Swash

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Latest Events

📅 May 11 – May 17 (2 events)

Myrtle Beach Pelicans vs. Augusta GreenJackets
Sports

Myrtle Beach Pelicans vs. Augusta GreenJackets

📅 Saturday, May 16

📍 TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark

View Details →via Ticketmaster
Myrtle Beach Pelicans vs. Augusta GreenJackets
Sports

Myrtle Beach Pelicans vs. Augusta GreenJackets

📅 Sunday, May 17

📍 TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark

View Details →via Ticketmaster

📅 May 18 – May 24 (2 events)

James Yon
Undefined

James Yon

📅 Tuesday, May 19  ⏰ 7:00 PM

📍 Comedy Cabana

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James Yon
Undefined

James Yon

📅 Wednesday, May 20  ⏰ 7:00 PM

📍 Comedy Cabana

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