Commercial Roof Repair in Charleston, SC

One month before its debut, the long-awaited Charleston center acknowledged problems with humidity and temperature controls. It will open later in 2023.

The International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., has building issues that will delay the eagerly awaited center’s opening until later in 2023, museum leaders said.

Last week, the leaders said that the January opening was postponed because of faulty humidity and temperature controls required to protect its exhibits and artifacts, which tell the stories of the passage of thousands of enslaved Africans to the United States. The International African American Museum is at the former Gadsden Wharf, once a large port where nearly half of all enslaved Africans arrived; remnants of the wooden wharf were found by archaeologists in 2014 during an exploratory dig for the museum site.

“We regret this turn of events and any inconvenience to our loyal members,” Tonya M. Matthews, the museum’s president and chief executive, said in a Dec. 16 letter to donors. “We foreground the responsibility to ensure the highest standard of safety and preservation for our most sensitive objects, art and artifacts that honor the journey of our ancestors and tell the critical stories of our nation’s history.”

Officials had planned the museum’s opening for the weekend of Jan. 21, after Martin Luther King’s Birthday; however, they now expect the inauguration ceremony to occur sometime within the first six months of next year.

The delay was the latest in a series of postponements that have bedeviled the museum since the $120 million project was first proposed more than 20 years ago. The architect Henry N. Cobb worked with the landscape designer Walter Hood and the exhibitions designer Ralph Applebaum to fill the 100,000-square-foot space with nine galleries; a genealogy center for visitors researching their own ancestries; and a memorial garden with a tidal pool.

Matthews arrived at the museum last year amid a period of churn, which a former museum executive described in a memo to trustees, obtained by The Post and Courier, as a result of a “toxic” and “siloed” work environment. However, the center has continued to grow to meet demands of the project and now has more than 30 employees.

There had been recent signs of trouble with finishing the museum. In April, leaders asked the City of Charleston for an extra few million dollars to account for unforeseen challenges in finishing the center. Officials blamed supply chain issues and other construction costs like roof repairs, design changes and extra insurance.

“We broke ground in the fall of 2019, and then we hit the very trying period of Covid-19,” Matthews said in an interview Wednesday. “We were a bit hampered, but we did continue to plow through.”

During an interview with a local news channel Monday, the museum’s chairman, Wilbur Johnson, said the board knew of the climate issues inside the building for a while and had been working to solve them. They were “not yet fully resolved” and he added that he considered the institution’s role in telling history to be “a sacred obligation.”

Matthews said that museum officials are using the delay to refine a special exhibition, which has not been announced. The museum is also waiting for some artworks to complete its program, which has a permanent collection of nearly 300 works of art and historical artifacts telling the story of African Americans. This includes pottery by the enslaved artist David Drake, images from the Malian photographer Seydou Keita and an original copy of “Things Fall Apart,” the 1958 novel by Chinua Achebe. Visitors will also encounter “Seeking,” a short video by the filmmaker Julie Dash that uses the coming-of-age traditions of the Gullah Geechee, descendants of West Africans brought to the American Southeastern coast, to describe a narrative of resilience.

“I was as excited about this opening as everyone else,” Matthews said. “I am an overachiever and I am ambitious. I honor and respect things like deadlines, but this is a huge responsibility and we will do what we need to make sure that we present this museum and the stories we tell in an extraordinary light.”

Steve LaPrad resigned as Ft. Dorchester High School's head football coach on Wednesday, then as the school’s athletic director on Thursday.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - For the first time since resigning as the head football coach at Ft. Dorchester on Wednesday, then resigning as the school’s athletic director on Thursday, Steve LaPrad has broken his silence.

In a 25-minute video released by LG Alliance Productions, the company that handles the teams’ videos, LaPrad mentions that a recording was taken of him in the team locker room speaking to his players when some of them were talking about transferring to another high school in the district. In response, LaPrad noted that he said some “unkind things, things I probably shouldn’t have said. I used profanity, if my mom was still alive she probably would have washed my mouth out with soap. I probably would have deserved it.”

The former coach said he was trying to explain to the team that they should stay together and not let anything break them apart.

LaPrad spends a majority of the video that was released Friday thanking people from the start of his career at Summerville High School through his time at Fort Dorchester including his former players, assistant coaches and his family.

“I do take pride in the good dads that have come out of my program. The doctors, the lawyers, the guys I see on the street, that’s what I do is all about,” he said. “I guess the good thing for me is I didn’t break any laws, I’ve never taken money...that part for me, I can be at ease knowing I’m ok as I go into another chapter in my life. If I did it over again, I don’t know how much I would change.”

The coach ended the video saying, “It’s always been about my kids, it’ll always be about my kids. Those players are my kids, that passion will never change. I’ll always fight to the end for them and I’ll always fight to the end to keep them. With that being said, goodbye.”

LaPrad resigned after 20 years as the head football coach on Wednesday. He won more than 170 games in his tenure and a state title in 2015. He led the Patriots to the state title game in 5-A this past season.

Dorchester County District 2 officially listed the job openings for head football coach and athletic director, now separate positions, on their website on Friday.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Happy New Year — again! Today is the start of the lunar calendar, thus the first day of a Lunar New Year, a tradition most popularly celebrated in East Asian and Southeast Asian cultures. While much of the world celebrated the solar new year on Jan. 1, there are still many things to do (and eat) to celebrate the new lunar cycle.

“We do these deep cleans before the Chinese New Year to kind of get the bad luck out,” said Kelly Chu, co-owner of Chinese fusion Red Orchid in West Ashley. “You want to get all the bad juju out before the new year starts.”

And once you’ve done all the cleaning, you can indulge in foods rich with luck for the new year ahead of you.

“We try to have fish every year because phonetically it means you have plenty of abundance,” she said. “Chicken symbolizes a phoenix (a symbol of rebirth) and shrimp means dragon (a representation of strength and health). Orange and apples mean prosperity and safety, so those are usually things that you want to have on a platter. Oh, and spring rolls or egg rolls, because they symbolize gold bars, or financial security.”

Chu added that anything with red is also a sign of good luck.

Each new year is represented by an animal of the Chinese zodiac, and 2023 is symbolized as the year of the rabbit. Setrini Sison, owner and chef of Bok Choy Boy, said, “The rabbit is a symbol of intellect and cautiousness, longevity and peace.”

Ring in the new year with red, rabbits and special dishes at these restaurants and pop-ups around town.

Bok Choy BoyAt Charles Towne Fermentory809 Savannah Hwy. (West Ashley)(854) 213-8646@bokchoyboyfood on Instagram

With its new residency at Charles Towne Fermentory, Setrini Sison is raking in the new year with a White Rabbit Candy Cake Pop, made with red velvet cake, White Rabbit candy glaze and gold sprinkles. “White Rabbit Candy is a popular candy in the Philippines, China and Southeast Asia,” Sison said. “It has a sweet and milky taste. I used to eat a whole bag of these.”

Jackrabbit Filly4628 Spruill Ave. (North Charleston)(843) 460-0037jackrabbitfilly.com

Jackrabbit Filly is celebrating the new year with its weekly Sunday dim sum brunch. Bring friends, family or maybe even someone who you disagree with to break bread and enjoy a prosperous new year.

Little Miss Ha915 Houston Northcutt Blvd. (Mount Pleasant)(843) 388-7251Littlemissha.com

Though the Vietnamese restaurant will be closed on Lunar New Year, it will still celebrate the holiday from Jan. 23 to Jan. 28 with a special T?t (Vietnamese New Year) menu. The menu is yet to be disclosed, but keep an eye out @littlemissha on Instagram from the special upcoming dishes.

Old Li’s Restaurant1662 Savannah Hwy. (West Ashley)(843) 640-3994Oldlisrestaurant.com

Though Old Li’s doesn’t have any known specials to celebrate the new year, it serves Chinese cuisine, but not the standard Chinese American takeout dishes like General Tso’s. Instead, Old Li’s offers more adventurous meals like squirrel fish and griddled pork intestines. Of course, you can also stick to some favorites like pork fried rice, Yuxiang (or shredded) pork and Kung Pao chicken.

Red Orchid1401 Sam Rittenberg Blvd. (West Ashley)(843) 573-8787Redorchids.com

A winner of Best Chinese in Charleston City Paper’s Best Of awards, Red Orchid is serving up a special new year menu for the remainder of January. Start the year with financial security by chowing down on some pork and cabbage egg rolls or indulge in strength and rebirth with the Happy Family meal of pork, chicken, beef, shrimp and veggies in a black bean sauce. Other specials include Ants Climbing a Tree (mayi shang shu) with pork, bell peppers, onions and glass noodles and Wong Wong pepper with your choice of meat and long hot peppers.

Seol-Ah’sAt Lucky Luchador35 Hanover St. (Downtown)@seol_ahs on Instagram

From 4-10 p.m.., Seol Ah will take over the kitchen at Lucky Luchador on Hanover Street for a special new year dumpling menu. Crack open a cold one and pair it with at least four pork and beef dumplings or vegan Rabbit dumpling special, made with kimchi, vermicelli and vegetable puree. If you’re not feeling the dumplings, Seol Ah’s will also have K-Pop chicken, twice-fried chicken bites tossed in a gochujang sauce. The dumplings are only available until sold out, but the regular Seol Ah menu is available until 10 p.m.

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Percentages: FG .397, FT .720.

3-Point Goals: 10-27, .370 (Dunn 4-7, Lusane 2-5, Pal 1-1, Sinani 1-1, Vaistaras 1-5, Dell'Orso 1-6, Clemons 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 4. Team Turnovers: None.

Blocked Shots: 2 (Pal 2).

Turnovers: 10 (Lusane 3, Vaistaras 2, Clemons, Dell'Orso, Dunn, Grant, Pal).

Steals: 4 (Clemons 2, Pal 2).

Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .508, FT .571.

3-Point Goals: 8-22, .364 (C.Harris 2-4, R.Johnson 2-5, Chavez 2-7, Knox 1-2, Bryan 1-3, Berry 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 2. Team Turnovers: None.

Blocked Shots: 4 (Dodd 2, Clinton, R.Johnson).

Turnovers: 10 (C.Harris 4, Clinton 2, Kelly 2, Chavez, Dodd).

Steals: 5 (R.Johnson 2, Bryan, Clinton, Kelly).

Technical Fouls: None.

A_875 (881).

BOSTON —

This might not be the best time for No. 18 Charleston to be taking a week off.

Sure, the Cougars could use the rest after playing four games in eight days. The players need to catch up on missed classes. And coach Pat Kelsey wouldn’t mind seeing some of his recruits play — or his own kids.

But after winning 20 straight games — the longest winning streak in the nation — it might be better to just keep playing.

“I think we’re up to 20 now, but it’s always the next game,” said guard Pat Robinson III, who came off the bench Saturday to score 14 points and helped lead the Cougars to an 87-61 victory over Northeastern.

“Two or three months, we’ve got the winning streak,” he said. “But it can be gone in a day — or in a few hours. So we really try to just be about the next thing, keep stacking wins on top of wins and just don’t be complacent.”

Ben Burnham scored 15 points off the bench for Charleston, which held Northeastern scoreless for more than four minutes late in the first half while turning a two-point deficit into a 36-21 edge. The Cougars (21-1, 9-0 Colonial Athletic Association) have not lost since the second game of the season, to then-No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 11, climbing to their highest ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 since 1999.

“It’s awesome for our program. It’s awesome for our institution. It’s awesome for our city. Awesome for recruiting. But we have a really mature team that doesn’t get caught up in it,” Kelsey said. “They just stay very even keel. And that’s what we’ll continue.”

Chris Doherty had 11 points and 13 rebounds and Jared Turner also scored 11 for Northeastern (8-11, 4-4). The Huskies haven’t beaten a Top 25 team since 2015.

Charleston opened an early 10-point lead before Northeastern cut it to 21-18 on Doherty’s layup with about eight minutes left in in the first half. It was 24-22 when the Cougars ran off the next 13 points – getting three baskets inside by Robinson before back-to-back 3-pointers from fellow reserves Burnham and Raekwon Horton.

The Charleston backups outscored Northeastern’s 23-3 in the first half, and 47-30 overall.

“Guys off the bench, I thought, gave us a huge boost,” Kelsey said. “I just think they really raised the level of play when they came in. We made a big burst in the first half. Those guys came in and just played with crazy energy.”

It was 48-32 early in the second when Charleston ran off 11 of the next 13 points to make it a 25-point game. The Cougars led by as many as 33 points, 87-54.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Cougars are the only ranked CAA team and have a chance to pile up wins in the conference as they eye the postseason.

BIG PICTURE

The game was just the third time Northeastern has hosted an AP Top 25 team at Matthews Arena, which was built in 1910 and was the original home of the Boston Bruins and New England Whalers. Top-ranked Michigan State visited in 2015 and No. 20 Duke played here in 1995.

UP NEXT

Charleston: Will go for win No. 21 in a row at home next Saturday against second-place Hofstra (13-8, 6-2).

Northeastern: Visits Towson on Thursday.

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25