North Myrtle Beach

By Ruben Lowman Thomas G. “Tommy” Dennis was named North Myrtle Beach Chief of Police by Public Safety Director Jay Fernandez on Monday, Sept. 14, after serving as interim police chief since early in the summer. In announcing Dennis’ promotion, Fernandez said that, “Tommy performed in the role of interim chief of police just as we thought he would. He is effective, fair-minded, has the ability to see the big picture and at the same time can zero in to help resolve specific challenges. He effectively relates to all types of people. We are glad for Tommy and know that …

By Ruben Lowman North Myrtle Beach officials addressed residents concerns regarding rules for short-term property rentals within city limits at a recent council workshop. The issues involving short-term properties and their renters that have been taken up by the council consist of excessive noise, parking and trash complaints. Many of the complaints revolved around rental properties that are advertised online and located in residential areas. The popularity of rental websites like VRBO and Airbnb have turned many properties into mini-hotels of sorts during the peak tourist season in the summer, and spurred permanent homeowners and tenants to ask the city …

By Ruben Lowman The Alabama Theatre at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach reopened its doors to the public for the first time in more than five months last week as a result of the constraints placed on performing venues during the coronavirus pandemic. The theatre will return with its world-famous “One The Show” and plans to have headlining concerts by featured performers beginning next year. Bands and artists such as The Righteous Brothers, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Temptations, The Drifters, The Platters and Cornell Gunter’s Coasters, the Little River Band, The Four Tops and much more have already …

By Ruben Lowman Horry County Schools announced on Monday, Aug. 31, that all schools will begin the 2020-21 academic year utilizing hybrid learning, which means that students will attend class in-person two times a week and utilize online learning for the rest of their coursework over the week. The expectation over the past month has been that the hybrid option would be selected, based on the disease activity reports that have been released by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. The decision for which particular educational plan was selected came down to the incidence rate of coronavirus …

By Ruben Lowman Horry County Voters Registration & Elections announced this week that they will be creating new in-person voting sites for individuals who are planning on filling out absentee ballots for the upcoming election. County officials felt the inclusion of offering absentee voting in-person was necessary in order to compensate for an expected surge in demand given the current coronavirus restrictions that have become commonplace over the past several months. There will be three voting sites set up in strategic locations throughout the county to effectively process what is presumed to be a significant increase in voters filing absentee …

By Mary Templeton There were smiles galore as members of Yaupon Garden Club met Tuesday, Sept. 1, for their first meeting of the year. Social distancing at McLean Park was made possible through the generosity of the city of North Myrtle Beach. President Graceann Phillips welcomed everyone as they enjoyed a picnic lunch. She recognized Lou Haywood who introduced the speaker, Jim Grainger, grounds superintendent for the city of North Myrtle Beach. He gave an update on the progress at the sports park as well as other recreational areas throughout the city. President Phillips congratulated the club on the 20 …

By Ruben Lowman North Myrtle Beach City Council met on Monday, Aug. 31, and passed a resolution approving the city to join a lawsuit against Horry County over the collection of the hospitality tax, as well as extending the emergency ordinance mandating the wearing of facial coverings while inside most establishments. City council approved the resolution which directs city manager Mike Mahaney to sign a Settlement Agreement in Principle and join nearly every other municipality in the area in a lawsuit brought against the county by the city of Myrtle Beach in March 2019. Myrtle Beach city officials stated that …

By Pat Dowling The North Myrtle Beach City Council met on Aug. 17 at City Hall for a 6:30 p.m. executive session and a 7 p.m. meeting. During the executive session, City Council discussed the appointment of three new members to the Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee and received a legal briefing regarding the lawsuit between the City of Myrtle Beach and Horry County concerning local accommodations and hospitality taxes. City Council took no action. During the meeting, Coast RTA General Manager/CEO Brian Piascik offered City Council an overview of the company’s status. He said that Coast RTA ridership increased by …

McLeod Health Seacoast and McLeod Health Loris have received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Silver Plus Award as well as the Get With The Guidelines®- Stroke Bronze. The Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Silver Plus Award recognizes each hospitals commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence. McLeod Health Seacoast and McLeod Health Loris earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include …

By Ruben Lowman Coast RTA has partnered with North Myrtle Beach to bring a new public bus route into the city, one of the few remaining municipalities in Horry County without public transportation. The new route is expected to start October 1 and will connect North Myrtle Beach to Myrtle Beach by way of International Drive in the Carolina Forest area, according to Coast RTA spokesperson Lauren Morris. “We have not finalized the exact route, but the route will originate at the Ivory Wilson Transit Center, next to Myrtle Beach City Hall,” said Coast RTA’s CEO and GM Brian Piascik. …