Coastal Observer

01/10/2026

The U.S. Department of Justice has offered the Georgetown County School District an option to move away from a desegregation order that has provided more than 50 years of federal oversight.

Read the rest about the possibility of the district moving toward unitary status here: https://coastalobserver.com/justice-department-offers-to-lift-school-oversight-after-52-years/

01/09/2026

A settlement in lawsuits over Pawleys Island’s 2020 beach renourishment project will provide $4 million to relocate Pawleys Inlet and restore the eroded beachfront across the inlet at Prince George. A 13-page agreement is designed to let the town and Prince George property owners keep the inlet from migrating in the future.

Read more on the settlement at https://coastalobserver.com/4m-legal-settlement-will-relocate-pawleys-inlet/

A settlement in lawsuits over Pawleys Island’s 2020 beach renourishment project  will provide $4 million to relocate Pawleys Inlet and restore the eroded beachfront across the inlet at Prince George. A 13-page agreement is...Read More

01/07/2026

Georgetown County plans to add extra protection for wetlands through an ordinance that would establish buffers and setbacks and require permits for any disturbances, but it won’t add to the planning and zoning staff that will administer the ordinance.

“I don’t have any promises for new staff,” said Holly Richardson, the county planning director. “We are going to rely a lot on wetlands professionals.”

Read more about the proposed wetlands buffers at https://coastalobserver.com/wetlands-ordinance-raises-questions-about-county-staffing/

01/06/2026

Waccamaw High sports teams are scheduled to compete in Class 2A for the next two school years.

The move down from Class 3A, where the Warriors currently compete, is part of a realignment by the S.C. High School League that was announced last month.

Amondre Johnson, Waccamaw’s football coach and co-athletic director, said the move to 2A will come with “some adjustments,” but also a chance to compete against new opponents.

“We look forward to new challenges and still high level competition as Class AA has several great teams, some old and some new to the class,” Johnson said. “It’s exciting to travel to other schools and compete against some really good programs that we may otherwise not have had the opportunity to compete against.”

Read more comments from WHS coaches about the change here: https://coastalobserver.com/state-leagues-realignment-drops-waccamaw-high-from-3a-to-2a/

01/05/2026

A request for city approval to build a 75-foot tall building on the Georgetown waterfront was withdrawn at the end of December, the developer said.

The proposed variance to the 45-foot height limit was a “hill too high to climb,” said Trent Crowley, the developer with Palm Development Group who applied for the variance.

Read more about the decision at https://coastalobserver.com/developer-withdraws-request-for-75-foot-high-building/

01/03/2026

A pizza party for the homeroom class that collected the most nonperishable food items was only an incentive, not the end goal, for Waccamaw Middle School’s canned food drive that gave 13,302 items to the Baskervill Food Pantry last month.

Read more about the donation here: https://coastalobserver.com/students-holiday-food-drive-continues-to-hit-new-heights/

01/02/2026

Here’s a look at how our community wrapped up the holiday season. What are your hopes for 2026? Let us know in the comments below.
🥳⭐️

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas from the Coastal Observer newsroom to your home. 🎄

12/23/2025

🎁⛸️☃️ Happy Holidays from the Coastal Observer family to yours!

Local subscribers — keep an eye on your mailboxes tomorrow to watch for the Dec. 25 edition. This week’s edition went to press early to accommodate Christmas printing and postal schedules.

Can’t wait for the mail? Don’t forget all subscribers have access to the digital version of the newspaper online at www.coastalobserver.com.

Please note the office will be closed Dec. 23 through Jan. 1.

12/22/2025

To keep pace with rising sea level, a drainage plan for Pawleys Island calls for raising the roads – 6 inches at a time over the next 15 years. Coupled with maintenance and new infrastructure, that’s a $31 million undertaking at today’s prices and nearly 50 percent more with inflation factored in.

And that’s only the start.

Read more about the drainage plan at https://coastalobserver.com/drainage-plan-calls-for-raising-towns-roads-to-stay-above-rising-water/.

12/21/2025

The Georgetown County School Board wants to attract and retain more teachers while reducing the district’s reliance on outside consultants.

Superintendent Bethany Giles led the board through a budget retreat this month, looking at the district’s operating budget and its capital spending for the next year. The board moved forward this year without the cushion of federal COVID relief funds that expired in 2024.

“Everything’s a need. It’s not just a want. A tough job you all have, under our direction, is putting it all together with the available pocket of funds,” she said.

Read more about the board’s budget priorities at www.coastalobserver.com.

12/20/2025

No matter how hard they try not to, students at Waccamaw Intermediate School end up cracking a smile once they see TK the Elf, who oddly resembles principal Travis Klatka.

“Most schools don’t do this, and it’s really cool to see that,” said Paxton Mitchell, a sixth-grader.

Even the students who were unfazed by the elf’s antics caught a glimpse of TK as they made their way to class after breakfast.

Read more on the holiday tradition at the intermediate school at the 🔗 in our bio.