Groove to the Music with Dance Classes Near Hollywood, SC

Hollywood, S.C. (WCBD) – An abandoned mobile left along Davison Road for months in the Hollywood community is causing concerns among residents who live in the area.

It’s hard to miss, and aside from the obvious aesthetic issues, many locals are worried it could pose a threat to the environment.

“The concern is, from an appearance look, definitely an eye sore. The other one is, environmental hazard, when we get a bad rainstorm or whatever you’ll actually see stuff dripping out of the side,” said Hollywood local, Jerry Gray.

Resident Jerry Gray said it’s been alone on the side of the road for a while, long enough for pictures of it to appear on google maps.

“If you google Davison Road and Messervy Road it actually shows up on google street view so you know it’s been here for a pretty good period of time,” said Gray.

But in order to remove the trailer, someone has got to take responsibility for it, and no one seems to be stepping up.

News 2 reached out to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), which said their department does not have the authority to remove the abandoned building.

Charleston County has posted a “do not occupy” notice on the side of the trailer, but said it is not in their jurisdiction either.

Gray shared with News 2 an email between him and Charleston County Building Code Enforcement Manager Wayne Domina. Domina said that the moving company responsible for the trailer was issued a citation and it is a “very big version of littering in the town of Hollywood’s jurisdiction.”

Newly elected Hollywood Mayor Chardale Murray said she is willing to work with whoever it takes to get the building removed.

“Of course, I’m the new mayor-elect, so I’m not aware of everything that’s going on with the mobile home. But what I can do is reach out to Charleston County, maybe DMV, or one of the council members, maybe Teddie Pryor,” said Murray.

News 2 has reached out to the South Carolina Department of Transportation and the Department of Natural Resources. We are waiting on a response.

With the closing credits rolling to Hollywood’s biggest labor fight in decades, production work on South Carolina film projects are expected to resume soon.

The long-awaited resolution was reached overnight on Nov. 8, nearly four months after film and television actors went on strike.

The proposed three-year contract still must be approved by the board of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and its members in the coming days.

But union leadership declared in a written statement that the strike ended shortly after midnight Thursday. It put the value of the new contact at more than $1 billion.

“Outer Banks” co-creator and Executive Producer Jonas Pate told The Post and Courier that work will be “starting up immediately” but declined to elaborate. Filming for the series, which began in May, was initially expected to wrap at the end of this year in preparation for an early 2024 release. It’s unclear how the 118-day walkout will affect the schedule.

The S.C. Film Office said it expects that the show will resume filming in South Carolina in December.

Linda Lee, president of the Carolina Film Alliance board of directors, said Thursday that the pending labor deal “hopefully means we’ll be back to work soon.” She said that while many fully backed the strike, the last few months have been financially difficult for most workers in the industry.

“Everyone is just waiting to see what happens,” Lee said.

She also cautioned that the holidays could cause further delays in ramping production back up on a number of projects.

Matt Storm, director of the S.C. Film Commission, said numerous projects around the Palmetto State were affected, from small independent films to high-profile productions

“Since most productions were paused, it’s hard to know at this point how much that has shifted their timelines,” he said.

During the strike, Storm said, the commission, which is part of the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, held workshops and training in the Upstate to prepare more local residents for employment once projects resume.

Historic Charleston Foundation, with its recent reversal of the controversial decision to sell one of its homes after an outpouring of opposition, is making another pivotal move.

The preservation group plans to close its nearly four-decade-old gift shop at 108 Meeting St. on the lower peninsula by the end of February as part of its multiyear strategic plan to focus on its two museum properties and advocacy issues in the Lowcountry, according to CEO Winslow Hastie.

Hastie also pointed to the changing consumer landscape as a reason to shutter the 4,500-square-foot store that was once a gas station.

“Retail is a very volatile world, and it’s changed dramatically since (the shop) first started in the late 1980s,” he said.

The foundation opened a second retail space in 2011 in the City Market, a few blocks north of the Meeting Street gift shop, to capitalize on tourist-heavy foot traffic. The proximity of the two retail outlets is no longer ideal, Hastie said.

“The need for that amount of space is not really necessary,” he said of the soon-to-be-darkened site.

Retail

The foundation ideally hopes to lease the commercially zoned property, which is between Chalmers and Queen streets, as offices for a government agency or a professional services firm. Hastie doesn’t see the building as a good fit for restaurant or retail uses. He added the foundation would adamantly oppose any effort toward transforming the T-shaped structure into an inn.

“We will have restrictive covenants on the property,” he said. “It also doesn’t have parking. Any user will have to get creative on parking.”

The foundation acquired the property in 1986 from Exxon Corp. after paying $207,000, according to Charleston County land records. It made a few changes to the site, including the construction of a connection between the former storefront and the rear garage bays, but the building’s exterior, with its Colonial revival architectural features, remains intact.

The existing design came about to help the 1930s-built gas station blend into the surrounding historic neighborhood. When Exxon-predecessor Standard Oil decided to build the service station on the property, it demolished three historic homes built between 1782 and 1805 in 1929, stirring Charleston’s preservation movement to life.

Founded in 1947, Historic Charleston Foundation now wants to focus its attention on broader advocacy issues such as land use, development, tourism management, sea-level rise and settlement communities. It also hopes to expand its affordable housing-focused Common Cause Loan Fund that helps make home repairs for longtime city residents.

The decision to darken the retail shop is part of the recommendations in the group’s multiyear strategic plan, which included the decision late last year to sell the Nathaniel Russell House it owns down the street at 51 Meeting.

The group reversed its decision earlier this month after a public outcry, including a petition with thousands of signatures opposing the sale to a private entity.

“It’s been a rough couple of months,” Hastie said. “We are in a better place now.”

The foundation plans to keep its gift shop in the City Market as well as retail outposts in the Nathaniel Russell House and the group’s historic Aiken-Rhett House on Elizabeth Street in the Wraggborough neighborhood. The group also will focus on online sales more to generate revenue for its Lowcountry-centric products such as china, jewelry and home decor items.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - This week on Awareness, Billie Jean Shaw visited the beautiful and historic campus of South Carolina State University ahead of the inaugural entertainment masterclass taught by actor and singer Jason Weaver.

Weaver has an ongoing successful career rising to fame at an early age. He starred in Disney’s hit sitcom, “Smart Guy,” was the singing voice of young Simba in the original “Lion King” film and he played young Michael Jackson in “The Jacksons An American Dream,” series. As an adult, he’s starred in the movies, “ATL,” “Drumline,” and currently “The Chi.” Weaver is bringing his decades of experience from Hollywood to South Carolina State University to spearhead the university’s first entertainment masterclass, a plan he says has been in the works since January with SC State’s Board of Trustee member Dr. Macie P. Smith.

In this segment, Jason Weaver explains to Billie Jean Shaw how he entered the world of Hollywood and maintained a successful career. Weaver also talks about mega pop star Michael Jackson choosing him to play the young Michael Jackson in the “The Jackson An American Dream,” series and the surprising, yet odd way he met Michael Jackson on set. He also discusses how the role as young Michael Jackson led to call from another mega star, Elton John, who hand picked him to play young Simba in “Lion King.”

Jason Weaver shares even more candid moments from his ongoing career in Hollywood including how he’s been able to maintain his career unproblematically and his advice to future entertainers.

Jason Weaver explains how and why he wanted to teach an entertainment masterclass at South Carolina State University, the lessons students will walk away from the class with and if the title of professor is in his future. Brown also brought along other Hollywood heavy hitters to join in on the class, his attorney, actress and film producer Lena Waithe and actor, writer and producer Orlando Jones who also makes an appearance in this segment.

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Parents, activists, school board members and community members got together at St. Luke's AME Church in Hollywood to discuss ways to rally behind Charleston County School District Superintendent Eric Gallien. (WCIV)

HOLLYWOOD, S.C. (WCIV) — Parents, activists, school board members and community members got together at St. Luke's AME Church in Hollywood the evening of Oct. 17 to discuss ways to rally behind Charleston County School District (CCSD) Superintendent Eric Gallien.

Monday's meeting was the latest in a series of community meetings that have been happening across Charleston County since Gallien was put on paid administrative leave by the Board of Trustees in late September.

Ahead of the community meeting, it was revealed the board will meet the following afternoon to review a possible settlement and release of Gallien.

"It makes me really sad and very concerned about how we are going to proceed forward with good, solid leadership in Charleston County schools," said board member Carol Tempel, one of the four supporting Dr. Gallien.

The news was upsetting to board members like Tempel and community members in the Hollywood area who say they’re still learning about the situation.

"If he can do what we need done in the school district, allow him to do it," community member Lisa Jenkins said. "Not continue to stall the progress that we are making for our students."

Monday's meeting was organized by Movement 400, the group of activists working to get Dr. Gallien back in his office. Group leaders reiterated they believe the board is acting out of line.

"The board thinks it's the superintendent and they cannot be both," Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III said. "You cannot be the board and the superintendent. They want to do both and we’re not going to let them do it."

Movement 400 says even if Gallien is released on Tuesday, the group's work would continue.

"The reason we got started was not just for Dr. Gallien," Rivers said. "We got started because of the injustice of the board against black children, poor children, brown children, and just people."

Tempel says she never thought this controversy would get to the point of releasing the superintendent.

"I really felt that the cause for leave was really unjustified," she said. "I believed it was subject to investigation, of course, but not to put him on paid administrative leave."

Tempel and fellow board members Darlene Roberson and Courtney Waters read a letter to the crowd written by Gallien.

In the letter, the superintendent wrote that after conversations with his family and medical advisors, he is requesting to "immediately withdraw (the) proposal for a separation with CCSD as the superintendent."

"I've come to realize that the sacred trust our community has placed in me is something I cannot turn my back on," Gallien wrote.

Movement 400 says they plan to be at Tuesday night's special board meeting to continue to show support for Gallien and the districts students.

The meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. at 75 Calhoun Street.

HOLLYWOOD, S.C. (WCSC) - Concerns are being raised about an abandoned mobile home that was left on the side of the road about two months ago in the Town of Hollywood.

Despite their efforts, residents have seen no action taken to remove the trailer.

One Hollywood resident described the issue as playing “hot potato”, because he’s been dealing with non-stop back and forth trying to figure out who can get the mobile home taken off the side of Davison Road.

The concern at hand is potential environmental impacts, with rain causing internal leakage of unknown fluids.

Resident Jerry Gray claims further deterioration of the home has occurred due to weather and pieces have blown into the roadway, creating a traffic hazard.

“I’m looking for creativity,” Gray said. “I’m not looking for sympathy or for anyone to agree with me. I’m looking for action, plain and simple. Get it going, bye.”

The mobile home has somehow managed to end up on a widely used GPS platform.

“To be here long enough to show up on Google Maps, we’re now a global landmark,” Gray said.

Charleston County issued a “do not occupy” notice on the home on May 22 on behalf of the Town of Hollywood, but in an email said it is not the county’s jurisdiction.

In an email on Wednesday, DHEC said it is a matter that would need to be addressed by local officials.

The Town of Hollywood said in a statement:

This is an ongoing complaint. The mobile home broke down and landed in the Charleston County unincorporated area. The first attempt to repair and move failed and the trailer was dropped off on property under the jurisdiction of the Town of Hollywood, Charleston County and SCDNR. SCDNR has taken over the code enforcement case and has notified the owner of the mobile home, the mover of the mobile home and the property owner who never gave permission for the broken-down trailer to be left on Davison Road.

In response, SCDNR said:

“We do not enforce any codes. We have written a (litter) ticket to the company that was in charge of moving the mobile home. The subject has asked for a jury trial. There is a contract dispute between the moving company and the owner of the mobile home on going. SCDNR Law Enforcement is not involved with this part of the contract dispute. Also, we have not heard from or made contact with the owner of the property where the trailer is currently located. We have reached out but have not heard back. Also, it is not located on any state-owned property or WMA (Wildlife Management Areas).”

The Charleston County’s Geographical Information System (GIS) says that the property owner is a real estate investment firm called CJB Investment LLC.

Live 5 reached out to the property owner for a comment on the matter, asking if they were charging the owner of the mobile home to sit on their land and have not heard back.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.