Despite its growth, Bluffton is still that idyllic small town we all fell in love with. Helping to keep it that way are the men and women of the Town of Bluffton, your neighbors and friends. There...
Meet Your Team: Town of Bluffton
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Talk Of The Town
Here to Help: Spotlight on the Town of Hilton Head Island’s Team
The Town of Hilton Head Island isn’t just a singular entity. It’s a team of people who live and work here just like us. Each one brings their unique spirit, determination and specialty to their field, the culmination of which is an organization that keeps our green spaces beautiful, ensures our citizens have access to the best services, and welcomes millions of visitors each year.
“We Fell in Love Here for a Reason”
Alan and Kathy Perry have been a part of our community’s fabric for decades. As Alan is sworn in as mayor, we introduce you to a couple that you most likely already know.
That is a Big Deal: How a little podcast about some notorious Lowcountry residents became one of the biggest things streaming.
It’s hard to believe it’s been just under a year, but so it was that on June 7, 2021, Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were found dead. The layers of intrigue, scandal and deception that have been peeled...
What’s Happening in Our Neck of the Woods
The eyes of the world fell on Hilton Head Island when TODAY show came to town. Not to be immodest, but we looked pretty good.
For Marc Orlando, Rebirth is the Master Plan Behind His Return
Many of his peers saw the move as inevitable, but for a guy who has made a career out of high-level planning and thinking five steps ahead, Marc Orlando truly...
Streaming the Truth
Since the beginning, FITSNews.com’s Mandy Matney has been knee-deep in the most explosive case to ever hit Beaufort County. Her new podcast digs deeper into the facts.
Heather Price: The Community Connector
Heather Price isn’t running a typical business. For most of her life, she has been in the business of helping people and connecting folks both with each other and with resources to make their lives better.
Meet the Turtle Trackers
It was during the 2015 nesting season and, like any other day on sea turtle patrol, I was answering the same basic questions about our activities on the beach. Inquiring bystanders want to see the eggs if we are moving them and understand how they got there.
Got $100 and an Hour to Spare? Join 100 Men Who Care and discover a simple but powerful opportunity to make a difference right here at home
What can you buy for $100? The answer might depend on where you shop. But for many of us, $100 slips through our fingers fairly quickly, and we often have little to show for it. What would that same $100 do for a local charity? What would $10,000 do for that same organization?
The Thin Blue Line: Meet the men and women behind the badge who are keeping the streets of Beaufort County safe.
As you make your way around Beaufort County, their reassuring presence is everywhere. Not just behind the wheel of a police cruiser, you’ll find the men and women of law enforcement walking the streets, engaging the community and fulfilling their promise to protect and serve.
Sure, you may not be so glad to see them when you get caught playing fast and loose with the speed limit; we’ve all been there. But when you need them the most, it’s comforting to know how seriously our police officers take their sworn duty.
And for them, that’s exactly what it is. Not just a job. Not just a calling. Theirs is a vow to guard over our community, risking life and limb every day they walk out the door. On behalf of our entire community, it is a privilege to spotlight a few of our finest.
A Note from Mayor Sulka
Get in the Loop: Join the Don Ryan Center for Innovation
A Note from Our Mayors: March 2021
Our Comprehensive Plan a Reflection of Excellence I was thrilled to hear that our recently adopted comprehensive plan earned the 2020 Outstanding Planning Project, awarded by the South Carolina...
A Note from Lisa Sulka: Business as Usual with a New Normal
Although Town Hall remains closed for the public for safety precautions related to the current pandemic, town staff is still doing business as usual, with a new normal. Town staff continues to review plans and permits, conduct site inspections and conduct Zoom meetings.
A Note from John McCann: New Town Manager Comes with Local Knowledge and Experience
Hilton Head Island Town Council voted in December to offer the Hilton Head Island town manager position to Marc Orlando, who most recently served as town manager for Bluffton. Our action represents one of the highest duties of Town Council in employing a manager and determining what skills, experience, and personality are best suited to meet the needs and opportunities of the Town of Hilton Head Island.
A Note from Lisa Sulka: Secret to Success
Have you ever noticed when someone paints a house, the actual painting doesn’t seem to take very long? What takes the most time is getting ready to paint. We call it “the story of the blue tape.” You know that blue tape that comes off really easily? When someone is going to paint a house—if they are going to do it right—they spend a lot of time with that blue tape. They put that tape everywhere. They cover up everything that could cause a problem down the road. Every window is wrapped in plastic and taped with that blue tape. I bet if it takes a week to paint a house, five of the seven days are spent on the prep work. That’s where the time is spent.
A Note from Mayor McCann: Town Council Workshop Kick’s Off New Year
Welcome 2021. I say this with an abundance of caution after the year we had in 2020 and with hope that this year will be better for all of us. As we continue dealing with COVID-19, I’m hoping that the vaccines now available will bring the level of protection we need for our health. It would be great to return 100 percent to the normalcy we had before COVID-19 entered into the picture.
Beaufort Memorial opens Okatie Medical Pavilion
Finding high-quality healthcare is about to get easier for residents of southern Beaufort and Jasper counties. This month, Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH) will open its long-awaited Okatie Medical Pavilion, offering a wide array of practices and services from basic primary care to complicated cancer treatments.
A Note from Mayor Sulka: Welcome Police Chief Stephenie Price!
Bluffton’s new police chief was sworn in on Monday, October 12, and on behalf of Town Council, Town Manager Marc Orlando and all the men and women who serve the Bluffton community, we are thrilled she is here. Chief Price was the former assistant chief of police for Savannah, Georgia, and she plans to make Bluffton her new home. Her conviction, compassion and dedicated to best practices made her shine among the more than 100 candidates who applied for this position.
A Note from Mayor McCann: 2020-2040 Comprehensive Plan Guides the Way
You may be familiar with Benjamin Franklin’s quote, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” What I know for sure is our town is never planning to fail, and we never fail to plan. Planning is synonymous with all of our actions, and we rely on the planning process to guide our path forward to the future.
A Note from Lisa Sulka
Greetings from Bluffton! The business of Bluffton continues unabated despite the pandemic. Here’s a look at Bluffton’s trajectory into the remainder of 2020. Despite this year’s economic...
A Note from Mayor McCann
Your Taxes Already Pay for Law Enforcement, So Why the Extra Fee? As mayor, I want to bring you up to date about an ongoing situation between Beaufort County and the Town of Hilton Head Island...
Jesse Blanco Eat It and Like It … Undressed
Jesse Blanco is, no doubt, one of the Lowcountry’s most popular media personalities. In fact, Blanco and his show, Eat It and Like It, have become synonymous with food in the region. But what you might not realize is the diversity and point of view he offers his followers.
Building a Better Sandbox Children’s Museum
A beloved island institution turns the page on COVID and readies for its next chapter.
A Note from Lisa Sulka
At the Don Ryan Center for Innovation, we are continually working on ways in which we can best serve the Bluffton community. Among our entrepreneurial programs and business development endeavors, we choose to focus our efforts on improving the program, which is most beneficial to individuals living in the Bluffton community: Membership!
A Note from John McCann
Before the end of this year, Hilton Head Island’s Town Council will have fulfilled its most important role: the selection of a new town manager. When current town manager Steve Riley announced his retirement in June, council gathered to choose an experienced firm to guide us through the recruitment and selection process. This is the first time in 26 years that our town council has been through the hiring process for its top employee, so you can imagine what a huge responsibility we have before us.
Island Winery: The journey continues with new facility under construction
Dreams have a funny way of finding us and are often hatched in unexpected places. On a cold February morning in 2005, traveling down the highway from their home in New Jersey to Hilton Head Island, Loren and Georgene Mortimer began mulling over a plan that would soon change the course of their lives.
A Note from Mayor McCann
Reinvesting in Ourselves: Our Focus for 2020 and Beyond
Editor’s Note: February 2020
This issue covers three of my favorite topics: pets, Star Wars, and an ode to the single life. It’s a love letter to myself. Just kidding. But not kidding.
The Single Life
This month, we recruited local singles to model looks from our Lowcountry boutiques—and had them share their thoughts on their idea of a perfect first date, what traits are deal-breakers, and how dating has changed since the dawn of the digital age.
4 Things You Didn’t Know about HGTV’s Dream Home on Hilton Head Island
Before you claim your prize and win this lavish marsh front home, here are a few secrets.
Odds are good that by now you’ve read all about HGTV’s latest iteration of its Dream Home, a spectacular Windmill Harbour house that has once again brought the world’s eyes to our island. Beyond the excitement of seeing our hometown on TV (again), the home itself is a masterpiece of coastal design. Famed designer and host Brian Patrick Flynn tapped local firms Shoreline Construction and Court Atkins Group for the build, lending authenticity to a home designed to reflect the Hilton Head Island aesthetic. And while the photos here show the gorgeous results of their hard work, there’s far more to the HGTV Dream Home than meets the eye. Before it makes its television debut, here are a few things you might not know about the home and how it was built.
A Note from Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka and HHI Mayor John McCann
Local Governance Matters on Business Licensing and Local Taxing Authority
Welcome to the new year, one we hope brings much prosperity for the communities we are fortunate to serve. As elected officials, we’re charged with using our platform as town council bodies to govern our community and meet the needs of our residents—from addressing affordable housing, economic development and stormwater issues to protecting our waterways and maintaining and adding to our parks. With the support of local businesses, we strive for a healthy economy and jobs our residents can depend on for their livelihood.