Posted By Alan Donald @ Jun 30th 2026 9:00am In: Charleston

Red Metals

This month we share good local news centering on the sectors of Aviation and Aerospace, Awards and Rankings, Business and Industry, Civic and Government, and Medical and Health Care, with a few Local Stars and a new state law affecting minors also featured in the mix. Please follow links where you see bold blue font to learn more about any specific topics of interest. Happy reading!

Starting with Aviation and Aerospace news…

  • Last month on June 10th, Boeing celebrated the 15th anniversary of its North Charleston facility. It has continued to grow and benefit our community and economy, moving all of its 787 Dreamliner production here by 2021 and starting its billion-dollar expansion last November. The company is now donating funds to the Charleston County School District to enable students to visit local manufacturing sites and attend themed career camps this summer.
  • Breeze Airways continues to add nonstop flights from Charleston, with a weekly flight to Ft. Lauderdale, FL commencing July 2nd and twice-weekly flights to Trenton, NJ starting in mid-September.
  • Our first Local Star this month is a graduate of The Citadel’s Class of ‘89: Randy Bresnik has been selected as Commander of next year’s NASA’s Artemis III mission working towards taking humans to the moon! 

We’ve come across several recent Awards, Grants and Rankings.

  • A new study by CoworkingCafe has named Charleston-North Charleston as the Best Mid-sized U.S. Metro for Small Business Success, citing our strong business formation, high share of employment in small business and healthy labor market, while another one of their studies found that Charleston is the 18th Best Mid-Sized U.S. City to Launch a Career after College, due in part to its 5.1% unemployment rate among 20-29 year olds and a median income of $72,223 for graduates.
  • Resonance Consultancy’s 2026 America’s Best Cities Report ranks Charleston 26th nationally this year – taking into account its three broad criteria of livability (18th), prosperity (42nd) and “lovability” (27th). 
  • Mount Pleasant was just inducted into the All-America City Hall of Fame and North Charleston was just named an All-America City by the National Civic League.
  • Four Charleston-area hotels have qualified for Condé Nast’s Triple Crown, each earning a spot on its Hot List, Gold List and Readers Choice Awards. They are The Dewberry, The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Wentworth Mansion and Zero George.
  • People Magazine recently included local restaurant Husk – Local Star Stephen Colbert’s declared favorite! – on its ‘Best of America’ list.
  • The Food Network’s Top 10 show featured Park Circle’s King BBQ on its recent Barbecue episode.
  • Three local farms have won grants from the SC Department of Agriculture for their innovative agribusinesses. They are Hickory Bluff Farms and Spade and Clover Gardens in Berkeley County and Jeremiah Farm & Goat Dairy in Charleston County.

For this time of year, there’s a lot of positive Business and Industry news.

  • A few companies are moving their headquarters or opening operations here – including Anubis Labs, an early-stage technology company focused on analysis of the Earth’s interior to Charleston, AVM Group, a provider of turnkey controlled environments to Mount Pleasant, IQ Fiber, a Florida-based fiber-optic internet company to the Charleston Neck, Red Metals, a copper manufacturer to North Charleston, and Venom EV, an electric golf cart and utility vehicle manufacturer from Wisconsin to Summerville.
  • A couple of new beverage establishments are also coming to downtown Charleston! Two Blokes Brewing in Mount Pleasant is about to open a new venue on Cannon Street and a tea maker from North Dakota has opened its first SC shop, Steep Me Tea Apothecary, on King Street.
  • Plus, a recent study by USC’s Darla Moore School of Business estimates that the Navy Yard Industrial Campus and its tenants generate an annual economic impact of $1 billion for the local and state economy, while preserving the historic fabric of the former Charleston Naval Base and Shipyard in North Charleston. 

There’s also an abundance of Civic and Government news from the local through to federal levels.

  • The City of Charleston just opened the 19-acre Dale T. Morris Ecological Park on Johns Island, has started its $12.6M flood-mitigation project in West Ashley’s Windermere neighborhood,  and is providing $2 million towards the construction of 88 affordable senior living apartments in downtown Charleston as part of its Project 3500 goal to add 3,500 new affordable housing units by 2032.
  • The Town of Mount Pleasant’s Take Root Program is working to restore and expand its tree canopy through tree planting, giveaways and grants and is seeking community input until the end of July on where new trees should be planted.
  • Berkeley County opened a large portion of its new $10.5M, 15-acre Waterfront Park on the shore of Lake Moultrie in Moncks Corner last month as part of its outdoor tourism and recreation strategy. It features a boat landing with six ramps, a 36-boat marina and parking for 180 boat trailers, as well as walking trails, a swimming area and beach with lifeguards, an open-air pavilion and picnic shelters.
  • Charleston County has just opened the 67-acre Old Town Creek County Park in West Ashley, with walking trails, boardwalks, a playground, an arboretum and interpretive signage.
  • Also last month, the S.C. Forestry Commission dedicated the new 1,643-acre, multi-use Old Beech Hill State Forest east of the Edisto River in Dorchester County. Once open to the public, it will provide opportunities for biking, hiking, hunting and wildlife viewing, in addition to use for timber production and wildlife management.
  • Business owners, teenagers and youth rejoice! – A state law legalizing pinball for minors passed recently, after nearly 70 years of prohibition (with no real enforcement).
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers invited public input - via public meetings and submission of formal comments - last month as part of the development of an Environmental Impact Statement for its long-term operation and maintenance of Charleston Harbor’s shipping channel.

In Medical and Health Care news...

  • Expansion of Roper St. Francis’ Berkeley Hospital in Summerville is now complete, having doubled its bed count and both expanding and adding new specialized services.
  • Novant Health opened its new Center for Women’s Health at East Cooper Medical Center, consolidating multiple women’s health specialties.
  • HCA Healthcare has started construction on an emergency care facility in Cane Bay in Summerville.

We finish this month’s news post featuring three more Local Stars. 

  • Charleston resident “Bombshell” Caleb McDaniel joined Season 8 of Peacock’s “Love Island USA” reality dating show last month and was single there as of June 23rd.
  • Hector Garate – Charleston Pitmaster and Palmira Barbecue owner – will compete in “Pitmasters”, the Food Network’s new series that premiers mid this month.
  • Charleston City Council recently honored locally raised entertainer and talk show host Stephen Colbert by proclaiming June 16, 2026 as Stephen Colbert Day in recognition of his strong ties with the Lowcountry.