Private Chef in Charleston, SC

Decades ago, then-Charleston Mayor Joe Riley often outlined his vision of public access along the entire waterfront of the southern peninsular city, from Calhoun Street on the Cooper River to the baseball park on the Ashley River that ultimately would bear his name. While in office, he helped realize large chunks of this vision, from the Ashley River Walk along Lockwood Drive to Waterfront Park (which also bears Mr. Riley's name).

Still, there remain holes to fill before that laudable vision is fully realized, and it's worth celebrating the recent decision by Mayor William Cogswell and City Council to spend $2.75 million to buy the small waterfront parking lot at 10 Concord St. — and to do so without resorting to the heavy-handed, too-often-abused option of eminent domain.

Mr. Cogswell should task the city's Parks Department with remaking this property, which currently is a surface parking lot, into a southern extension of Waterfront Park that the public can access and enjoy.

The sale price for the 0.157-acre parcel might raise a few eyebrows; it is significantly more than the $1.48 million restaurateur Martin Sprock spent to purchase it four years ago, though the sum is identical to the 2022 sale price for 6 Prioleau St., a nearby parking lot that's a little larger but is not right on the waterfront.

And city taxpayers' actual cost has been significantly offset by a generous contribution from Charleston businessman and philanthropist John Winthrop, whose office sits just across Concord Street. His contribution was key to bringing about this desirable outcome.

The city had planned to acquire the property several decades ago when it first was developing a new waterfront park where rotting old commercial wharves once stood, but for some reason that didn't occur, perhaps partly because it was only a small parking area at one end of the planned park. In recent years, however, its future became a source of controversy as Mr. Sprock twice asked the city, without success, to approve plans for a new house — a use allowed under its current zoning.

Preservationists and neighborhood leaders understandably fought against those house plans, which they considered too tall and too damaging to the surrounding neighborhood.

The recent purchase ends a lawsuit against the city over those denials and thankfully puts that controversy to rest. It also extends one of Charleston's most popular parks and moves the city a small step closer toward realizing Mr. Riley's longtime vision of public access around the water's edge. But it's equally important for the future, as the city's ownership can be expected to pay dividends as the city considers a new barrier around the peninsula to minimize damage from future storm surges.

Having a private residence at 10 Concord St. would create an especially challenging situation to work around in creating such a new barrier: It could have forced any new structure farther out into the marsh and river, possibly driving up environmental damage and the price tag.

Those are all reasons we supported City Council's 2021 decision to acquire the property, and urged the city to find a way to complete the transaction without condemning the property.

The acquisition of 10 Concord St. and its conversion into new waterfront park space might be one of the smallest steps the city takes to realize the vision of public access along the peninsula’s edge. The potential development of the Union Pier site to the north will be a much bigger, more significant action, but major accomplishments often require both large and small steps. And each one taken is worth celebrating in its own right.

With all-new material following the success of his first full-hour comedy special for Netflix, Workin' Man, streaming now, two-time winner of Charleston Comedy Fest, Dusty Slay, is adding a stop where it all began in Charleston, SC, on Saturday, October 5, 2024.

Tickets on sale Friday, April 5 at 10 AM EST at gaillardcenter.org. Gaillard Center Members receive presale access! To learn more about our Membership program, please contact our Advancement Office at info@gaillardfoundation.org or (843) 718-1578.

“We're having a good time,” Slay says, clearly in on the joke. “I've worked every job you can work, and going on the road and performing for audiences is by far the best one I've ever had. I hope it's a chance for folks who work hard to come out and enjoy a laugh on me.”

ABOUT DUSTY SLAY:

Long hair, tobacco, oversized glasses and a trucker hat, Dusty Slay is the self-effacing bourbon-voiced Southern comedian next door with a knack for observational, blue-collar humor and the nerve to say what everyone else is thinking. He grew up the son of a single mom in an Alabama trailer park and evokes laughs about everything from Cracker Barrel to his aversion to soap. The 40-year-old Nashville native is a mainstay on the country music scene, making his Grand Ole Opry debut in 2019 – the youngest at the time, and adding dozens of appearances in the historic Circle ever since. He has also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live, has a Comedy Central special to his credit, and just released his first hour-long Netflix special Workin' Man that he filmed about three hours from home, at the Bijou theater in Knoxville, Tennessee. With almost 20 years of eliciting guffaws through his laidback observations, comedic cadence, and conversational style, Slay is just getting started bringing his brand of relatable working-class comedy to audiences coast to coast having recently announced his 70-show “The Night Shift Tour” in support of the new special. More details can be found at DustySlay.com.

ABOUT THE CHARLESTON GAILLARD CENTER:

A leader in the performing arts in the Southeast, the Charleston Gaillard Center commissions, supports, and presents ambitious, multidisciplinary cultural programming and provides access to the best local, national, and global artists and companies on its stage. Deeply rooted in the community, the Gaillard Center committed to elevating local and regional voices and partnering with Charleston institutions to reflect the city's diversity, both on stage and off. Through programming on its public campus and extensive arts education initiatives, the Gaillard Center serves as a platform to participate in community building and essential dialogue.

Established as a nonprofit in 2015, its campus includes the 1,818-seat Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall, a 16,000 square-foot exhibition hall that is home to artistic activations, community and corporate events, and celebrations, and an adjacent park space that was recently activated for artistic presentations. Behind the scenes the Gaillard Center also fosters a culture of excellence and inclusion, employing a robust and talented staff, and providing opportunities for growth and engagement across the arts sector. Find more information and upcoming programming at gaillardcenter.org.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Top-seeded Jessica Pegula rallied from a set down and beat fellow American Amanda Anisimova 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) in a second-round match at the Charleston Open on Tuesday night.

Pegula had seven aces in the match and won despite capitalizing on 4 of 15 break points. Anisimova converted on 4 of 8 break points.

Pegula said Anisimova is tough to play because she is a great ball striker, and she can take the racket out of an opponent's hands.

“I just kind of had to buckle down, and I think I started being a little bit more active with my feet and pressuring her a little bit more and being able to move her and kind of scrap out a few points as well,” Pegula said. “So, yeah, I just kind of found a way today, but it was a really great match, I thought, especially the last set was super high level.”

Third-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece also advanced to the third round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria, while Magda Linette of Poland lost the first set at love and came back to beat No. 13 seed Dayana Yastremska of Bulgaria 0-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a second-round match.

Earlier in the day, Miami Open champion Danielle Collins and Sloane Stephens won first-round matches. Collins beat Paula Badosa 6-1, 6-4 at the clay-court tournament, while Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, defeated Magdalena Frech 6-0, 6-2.

Collins has disclosed this will be her finish season on tour. She has endometriosis, an ailment that affects the uterus.

“I’d rather like to go out with a bang, you know, than the other way," Collins said. "I know everybody has a different way of ending their professional career, and for me I want to go out playing my best tennis.”

Stephens is playing on her favorite surface.

“It's more athletic. It's more running, more sliding, just a lot more adversity I feel like, but in a good way,” she said. “When you think the point is over, it's never over.”

Other winners Tuesday included Taylor Townsend, Astra Sharma, Caroline Dolehide, Ashlyn Krueger and Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Pat Kelsey said the members of his now-former Charleston men's basketball coaching staff are "loyal as the day's long."

At least three will join his new Louisville regime, a source confirmed to The Courier Journal on Tuesday.

They are assistants Brian Kloman, Michael Cassidy and Thomas Carr.

The details of their contracts were not available Tuesday; because the hires had not been made official.

Kelsey has a $2.1 million salary pool to build his staff, according to a signed copy of his Memorandum of Understanding with the U of L Athletic Association obtained by The Courier Journal via open records request.

Over the past two seasons, Kelsey & Co. have guided Charleston to a 58-12 record and back-to-back conference tournament championships to secure automatic bids to March Madness. Both trips ended in first-round losses.

When asked during his introductory news conference about the possibility of staff members following him to the Cardinals, Kelsey credited them for his 2024 Coastal Athletic Association Coach of the Year award.

"(They're) why we win," he said. "Culture is the machine behind the scenes."

He later added, "You don't have to be the smartest in the room; but you better have the smartest room."

Last January, the NCAA expanded men's and women's basketball coaching staffs from three to five on-court assistants.

Kelsey's two other on-court assistants at Charleston were Mitch Johnson (director of basketball operations) and Jermaine Ukaegbu (director of player development).

Judging by the former making a Louisville logo his header photo on X, formerly Twitter, it appears he'll be headed to the 502 soon. Others are likely not far behind.

And Kelsey said he's considering adding "someone, or a couple, from the outside."

Here's what to know about the first three additions to his staff — Kloman, Cassidy and Carr:

Brian Kloman

An Asheville, North Carolina, native, Kloman has worked with Kelsey for 10 seasons.

They joined forces in 2014, during Kelsey's nine-year stint at Winthrop, and have since compiled a 227-92 record, six regular-season conference championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances.

At Charleston, Kloman spearheaded the Cougars' defense — serving in a "coordinator" role, Kelsey said.

Kelsey has called Kloman "the prototype assistant coach" and "an elite relationship builder.

"He uses this special gift to be a great recruiter; but, more importantly, he uses it to build special bonds with our current players. The key to retention is the investment of time into players. You have to love them. He is the best I’ve ever seen at this."

Klo is ☝️ of ☝️. ❤️ https://t.co/3l66nyEjBa

— Pat Kelsey (@patkelsey) February 20, 2024

Before linking up with Kelsey, Kloman worked as an assistant at Tennessee Tech and North Carolina Central. Other stops on his coaching journey include Pikeville College, Daniel Webster College and Pfeiffer University.

In 2008, he founded the now-defunct RecruitingRumors.com, which became a well-known source of information among coaches.

Kloman graduated from Tennessee in 2002. His father, Chris Ferguson, works as a college basketball consultant after a coaching career spanning three decades.

Michael Cassidy

Hailing from Canberra, Australia, Cassidy teamed up with Kelsey ahead of the 2021-22 season, his first at Charleston, fresh off a stint as an assistant on his country's U19 national team in the FIBA World Cup.

Cassidy's bio on the Cougars' official website says he was "instrumental in designing" an offense that has ranked among the top 100 on KenPom.com in terms of adjusted efficiency from 2022-24.

"Michael is one of the brightest young minds in the game, in my opinion," Kelsey said in a statement for Charleston Athletics. "He brings unique elements to our staff both from a recruiting and basketball standpoint."

Before joining the Cougars, Cassidy worked for five years as a staffer at the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence, which has produced NBA players such as Andrew Bogut, Joe Ingles and Patty Mills.

He also has ties to the NBA Global Academy, the National Basketball League and the Australian Basketball Development Camp.

One of the players following Kelsey to Louisville is Reyne Smith — an Aussie sharpshooter.

Thomas Carr

Carr, a Toledo, Ohio, native, just finished his second season on Kelsey's staff.

He joined Charleston after a two-year stint as athletics director at Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina; during which he also worked as a scouting director for Your Fourth Assistant and on the AAU circuit for Team Loaded NC.

Prior to that, Carr spent 14 years coaching, primarily on former Louisville assistant Kevin Keatts' staffs at N.C. State, UNC Wilmington and Hargrave Military Academy. Other stops on his journey include East Tennessee State, Chipola College and George Washington High School.

Kelsey has called Carr "the total package" and "a terrific human being that believes that shaping the lives of young people is a coach’s biggest calling.

"This not only makes him what I believe one of the nation's top recruiters but also someone beloved by players, coworkers, and members of the community," he said in a statement for Charleston Athletics.

Carr played at Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, North Carolina. In 2021, he made headlines for coaching an AAU game in full uniform; which he said was intended to energize his team for an 8 a.m. tipoff.

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Pat Kelsey's Louisville basketball staff to include 3 from Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — College of Charleston has hired former Louisville coach Chris Mack as its men’s coach after its last coach in Pat Kelsey left to take the Cardinals job last week.

Athletic director Matt Roberts said Tuesday that Mack agreed to a five-year contract to take over the program.

Mack will receive $1.1 million per year through the 2028-29 season. He is also eligible for a range of performance bonus, from $150,000 for winning the NCAA Tournament to $5,000 for an NIT appearance.

Should Mack leave his position in the first two seasons, he would owe the school $1.5 million. That figure decreases to $1 million in his third season and $750,000 in his fourth season. He would owe nothing if he departs in his final season.

The school would owe Mack 100% of what remains on the deal should it dismiss him.

Mack also earned a $35,000 signing bonus, earmarked in the contract for moving expenses and temporary lodging.

Mack made the NCAA Tournament nine times in 12 full seasons as coach at Xavier and Louisville. Mack’s time with the Cardinals ended in January 2022 when he was dismissed with the team at 6-8. Mack had been suspended the first six games of the season by Louisville, which said he violated school guidelines in his firing of one-time Cardinals assistant coach Dino Gaudio.

Mack has not coached since then.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be the next men’s basketball head coach at the College of Charleston,” Mack said in a statement. “I’m more motivated than any coach in the country, and Cougar Nation is going to get my absolute best.”

The Cougars went to the past two NCAA Tournaments as Coastal Athletic Association Tournament champions under Kelsey. They fell in the opening round to Final Four bound Alabama, 109-96.

Kelsey, on social media, called it a “great day for the College of Charleston as a new era arrives.” Kelsey said he and Mack are lifelong friends, “and I know the city will absolutely love him. He is a phenomenal basketball coach and a connector.”

Roberts said school leaders wanted someone who was a proven winner who shared the vision of championship basketball. “Chris Mack will undoubtedly continue the high level of success that our students, alumni, donors and community deserve,” he said.

Mack and Louisville were No. 1 for two weeks during the 2019-20 season, finishing 24-7 and 15-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

At Xavier, Mack’s teams reached four Sweet 16s and made an Elite Eight appearance in 2017.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness