West Ashley Year-In-Review 2023
After two years of being in a pandemic-induced funk, West Ashley got its groove back in 2023 by Jenny Peterson | Staff Writer Leading into 2024, West Of Free Press took a look back at some of West Ashley’s biggest announcements, news, and shakeups from 2023. What lies...
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Defacing Darwin
On Friday night, someone vandalized one of West Ashley’s most beloved works of art — “Darwin’s Secret,” a mural, located on the outside back wall of Avondale Wine & Cheese in Alycia Alley. Now covered in bright red graffiti, the outcry from the local artist...
'Jived' Turky's
Saturday was supposed to be an opportunity to release some of the pressure that has built up, to give cooler heads a chance to weigh in on the proposed Turky’s Towing property and to create a better sense of community. City Councilman Bill Moody had arranged a meeting...
A True Heart Hero
Meredith Berlinsky was driving to a friend’s son graduation party in May when the left side of his chest and shoulder tightened. He shifted positions to ease the pain but it didn’t help, and within five minutes, Berlinksy hurt so badly that he couldn’t drive with his...
Mug Shots
The following were taken from actual incident reports filed last week by the City of Charleston Police Department. These are not convictions and the names of businesses, complainants, and suspects have been left off to protect the innocent. All suspects are innocent...
An Ill Wind Remembered
Listening to locals reminisce about Hurricane Hugo and its impact on West Ashley 25 years ago this week, it’s hard to remember that this part of the Lowcountry dodged a hurricane-sized bullet. On Thursday, Sept. 21, 1989. Hugo, a category-4 hurricane slammed into this...
End of Watch
Charleston County Sheriff’s Deputy Joseph Matuskovic, 43, was laid to rest on Monday. And 10 days after his tragic shooting there are still more questions than answers. Gov. Nikki Haley attended Matuskovic’s funeral and presented to his family a flag that had flown at...
Roaring Back
One of West Ashley’s most conspicuously empty pieces of commercial real estate was just purchased for $5 million. Mike Harper, a commercial developer for the downtown office of Gramling Brothers, confirmed Friday that his company has purchased the 50,000-square-foot...
Mug Shots
The following were taken from actual incident reports filed last week by the City of Charleston Police Department. These are not convictions and the names of businesses, complainants, and suspects have been left off to protect the innocent. All suspects are innocent...
When Did St. Andrew’s Parish Become West Ashley?
When did St. Andrew’s Parish receive the moniker of West Ashley? This is a recurring modern question and the answer can only be a speculation. The Church Act of 1706 created ten parishes in the colony of South Carolina. The land beginning along the western shore of...
Play. Full. Heart.
West Ashley resident Eddie Keating vividly remembers the day when the doctor and the social worker came into his wife Joan’s hospital room to give her the bad news about how far the cancer had spread. It was in her brain and the doctor was emotional. Eddie said Joan...
