Good morning, Mount Pleasant.

Shoppers across the Lowcountry celebrated National Thrift Shop Day by visiting Palmetto Goodwill stores where secondhand purchases help fund local programs.

Leaders said donations support efforts like I-CAN—helping people reenter the workforce and find job opportunities.

Campers at Chesterbrook Academy Preschool summer camp in Mount Pleasant raised over $500 for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Charleston—by hosting a bake sale and lemonade stand over several weeks to support local families and children.

Charlestonians have a chance to see & Juliet, a musical that reimagines Romeo and Juliet with a happier ending by mixing pop music with Shakespeare.

Tickets go on sale August 25 at 10 a.m. for eight performances in February at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center.

Local author Victoria Benton Frank released her second novel The Violet Hour on August 12th which tells the story of two friends dealing with grief and love in the Lowcountry.

She is on a book tour that will include a stop at Barnes & Noble in Mount Pleasant Towne Centre on August 23rd—she is also working on her third book partly set in Charleston.

Gas prices in South Carolina dropped 2.7 cents per gallon this week to an average of $2.72 at the pump — a decline of 8.0 cents from last month and 30.7 cents from last year as shown by a survey of 3,028 stations by GasBuddy.

South Carolina Ports Authority finished the final funding step in the Charleston Harbor Deepening Project when it received a $21.28 million reimbursement on Monday.

The project lasted 12 years and deepened the harbor from 45 feet to 52 feet—letting larger ships use the port while Senator Lindsey Graham said his early backing will help keep the harbor competitive.

The S.C. Court of Appeals ruled that a judge wrongly dismissed the lawsuit filed by the parents of Duffy McElmore after he drowned at James Island County Park on May 14, 2016—sending the case back to circuit court for further review.

The suit claims that county park officials did not address safety concerns and will continue as the family seeks answers.

Incumbent Mayor Will Haynie is seeking a third term — he will face challenger Curt Thomas, a U.S. Air Force veteran running for his first office, in the Nov.

4 election. Several council seats will also be contested as incumbents John Iacofano, Gary Santos, and Mike Tinkey run for re-election.

Mount Pleasant’s incumbent mayor Will Haynie faces one challenger in the November election after Curt Thomas, a veteran and former lawman, filed on Aug.

18 when the filing window closed — Haynie seeks a third term.