Chimney Sweep in Isle of Palms, SC

Are you ready for some football? Whether you’re looking for a spot to watch the game that provides some delicious snacks or looking for some fellow fans to cheer your team to victory — here are some of the spots around town you told us you love to catch a game.

Newsletter Editor Callie here. I’m a huge football fan on Saturdays, you find me in garnet and black, cheering on my alma mater, the Gamecocks + on Sundays, I’ll be in the black and gold rooting for my Pittsburgh Steelers. Tell me your favorite teams?

Red Palm Tavern | This spot stands out for its vintage tavern style, featuring a wood-fired menu, and has a patio, billiards, and darts for you to enjoy during halftime.

Fam’s Brewing Co. | Readers say they enjoy catching the game here because all you need is pizza, beer, and football... right?

Islander 71 | Enjoying the game with waterfront views is always a good idea — this IOP spot boasts several TVs and an extra-large screen.

Kickin’ Chicken | Cheer on your team at any of its locations. There are plenty of screens and outdoor seating, and the Bobby Fries might just be the best thing ever.

Hunley’s Neighborhood Grill | This West Ashley neighborhood bar and grill is a great choice, offering a range of TVs and a menu filled with soul food, sandwiches, and wings.

Mex 1 Coastal Cantina | The Sullivan’s Island location features a projector screen, along with a gameday menu.

Uptown Social | This spot has TVs throughout its two-story bar and rooftop, and promises to air every game while serving up crowd-favorite bites and drinks.

Share House | Don’t miss the menu of bites made for gameday, while you enjoy watching games in its breezy indoor-outdoor space.

King Street Grille | This is the place to catch all the action. We’re eyeing the menu, and the buffalo chicken sandwich is calling our name. Pro tip: The Mount Pleasant location has a kids’ patio.

Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint | Smoked wings, burgers, ribs, and all the fixin’s — what more could you need for a football spread?

The Brick | It’s no surprise our readers love this tavern; while it’s a home base for Hokies and Brown fans, all fan bases are welcome.

Home Team BBQ | We’re not surprised this local favorite made the list; their gameday menu includes wings, various sandwiches, BBQ nachos, and pimento cheese. Is your mouth watering yet?

Lamar’s | While this spot is Charleston’s first reservation-only nightlife experience, you can walk in to catch the game — just make a reservation for large parties.

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCSC) - Isle of Palms is working to find a solution to traffic concerns on the island.

The city council is considering a traffic study to improve transportation throughout the island and the Isle of Palms Connector.

Jan Anderson, councilmember and a former registered professional engineer with 40 years of experience conducting these types of traffic studies, said the council should pump the brakes on the about $29,500 proposal from one company to conduct the study.

“I’m going to propose that we take a step back and we set up a request for proposal for a more in-depth study that we can do next season, and we now have time to tee it up correctly,” Anderson said.

Anderson said May through September traffic issues are the most challenging on IOP. The busy season is long, with the most traffic on the Fourth of July and Memorial Day weekends. She said it would be best not to start collecting data in the middle of the busy season.

She added that the goal of the study would be to figure out what happens when a gridlock occurs and how it can be cleared faster. She’s also advocating for a traditional traffic study focusing primarily on the intersection of Palm Boulevard and the IOP Connector. It is the only signal intersection on the island, and Anderson said the South Carolina Department of Transportation is on board with re-timing it, since it is under its control. They could also look at reconfiguring the intersection and long-term improvements. As for the IOP Connector, there could be another option.

“South Carolina DOT will occasionally make allowances or give permits for what are considered emergency or short-term conditions, where, possibly, we could use the shoulder lane on the outgoing side of the connector for a second lane of traffic across the connector. Of course, what happens on the other end of the connector is up to Mount Pleasant, so we would have to coordinate something with them,” Anderson said.

All of that and more would be considered in the in-depth study, and coordinating with SCDOT and neighbors like Sullivan’s Island and Mount Pleasant is the goal.

Amy Ballard lives on the island and said she supports a traffic study, adding something needs to be done, but doesn’t know what.

“It’s hard to get through from one place to the other anytime in the summer. Especially to make dinner plans, you can’t make reservations or anything because traffic is so bad,” Ballard said.

As for Jim Gaughan, who also lives on IOP, he said you just have to plan your day around avoiding busy hours on the road.

“I don’t have a strong feeling that we have a problem that is affecting my quality of life,” Gaughan said.

While the level of inconvenience varies per person, the benefit of living on the island may outweigh the problem.

“If the island wasn’t such a great place, we wouldn’t have a traffic problem,” Gaughan said.

Even still, Anderson said there’s always room for improvement.

“We can have viable improvements people will actually notice,” Anderson said.

Anderson said even if the council postpones the study until next year, the time to choose a company to do the study is now.

The city council meets Tuesday night and will discuss how they plan on moving forward.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Earlier this week, a national research group released its 'Safe for Swimming?' report regarding water quality at beaches across the U.S.

“All too often there is bacteria at our beaches," said John Rumpler, Clean Water Director for Environment America, the authors of the report. "We compared it to a safety threshold which has to do with the risk of swimmers getting sick. And we found that all too often many of South Carolina's beaches exceeded that safety threshold for bacteria last year.”

It is important to note that the group's safety threshold differs from the one upheld by the state Department of Environmental Services.

In the report, Sullivan's Island is noted as being potentially unsafe for swimming, however SCDES says the water is up to the state's standard.

"That beach was only tested on 12 days last year. Of those 12 days, it exceeded the safety value for fecal indicator bacteria on four of those days, or about one third of the time," said Rumpler.

SCDES says it conducts tests every two weeks on Sullivan's Island between May 1 and Oct. 1.

"The EPA recommends that coastal states' beach monitoring programs use the standard for Enterococcus bacteria of 110 MPN/100 mL. However, SCDES uses an even more conservative standard: 104 MPN/100 mL. This means that South Carolina's beach monitoring program is even more protective of people's health," SCDES said in a statement.

In Environment America's report, the safety threshold measures as the strictest of the three groups, at 60 MPN/100mL.

SCDES said "The Environment America’s assessment approach doesn't align with South Carolina's or the EPA's recommended standards for ocean water monitoring."

Andrew Wunderley, Executive Director of Charleston Waterkeeper, says water quality varies with the weather.

"Bacteria levels spike after rains and floods. And so, what's happening during those events? You have sewers overflowing, you have septic tanks that get washed out, dog waste, pet waste, wildlife, all that gets washed into the water. And when that happens, the bacteria level spike and swimming and other recreational activities can be a risk to your health," he said.

Charleston Waterkeeper shares a weekly Swim Alert with results of bacteria tests from local waterways.

Both Wunderley and Rumpler say infrastructure issues contribute to higher levels of bacteria in water.

"There are communities across the country that are investing in upgrading and fixing their sewage infrastructure, replacing leaky pipes, fixing sewage treatment plants or expanding their capacity, helping homeowners to replace or repair leaky septic systems and also using what we call green infrastructure," said Rumpler.

"We need really resilient, well maintained, well operated, and well upgraded sewer treatment systems," said Wunderley. To reduce levels of bacteria in waterways, Wunderley encourages people to make sure they're cleaning up after their pets and properly maintaining septic systems.

"Nobody wants to go swimming in the water with their family and then have their kid's getting diarrhea and rashes and ear infections. That's just no fun for everybody," said Rumpler. "So, let's pull together and invest in fixing our water infrastructure so our water can always be safe for swimming."

Before you head to the beach, Wunderley suggests people check current available data about the location's water quality online. Both SCDES and Charleston Waterkeeper post bacteria test results online.

If the bacteria level ever exceeds the state’s threshold, SCDES will issue either a long-term or short-term swimming advisory in the affected area.