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For the last 23 years, Mount Pleasant’s annual ArtFest has created a gathering place where residents can connect, explore diverse art forms and support local talent. And this year promises the same experience.

ArtFest will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m on March 21 at Mount Pleasant Towne Centre, 1218 Belk Drive.

The free community celebration invites families, art lovers and curious visitors to spend the afternoon immersed in inspiration and imagination.

Throughout the day, attendees can enjoy live performances by area music and dance groups. Visitors can also wander the Art Walk lined with regional artists and makers of photography, jewelry, woodwork, candles, macrame and more. During the Plein Air Paint Out, artists will paint in various places throughout the venue to be judged and awarded during the event closing.

“Art in all its forms has the ability to transform and enlighten both the creator and the viewer,” said Nicole Harvey, community affairs chief with the Mount Pleasant Recreation Department. “We hope that festival participants will leave inspired to pursue their own possibly neglected creative sparks."

ArtFest will also feature a variety of interactive kids' activities. Young artists can try pedal-powered spin art with Good Clean Fun, have their faces painted and enjoy balloon creations and fairy hair styling.

Sweetgrass basket weaving demonstrations and additional craft stations will offer hands-on opportunities to learn about local traditions and artistic techniques. And come hungry, because vendors will be serving up goodies like gyros, chicken sandwiches, Italian ice and Bundt cakes.

“Events like ArtFest help strengthen community pride, encourage cultural appreciation and contribute to the local economy,” said Kathi Herrmann, Towne Centre's marketing director.

“For the local artists specifically, ArtFest provides a valuable platform to showcase their work, connect with new audiences and build relationships within the creative community,” she said.

MOUNT PLEASANT — An apartment complex off Ben Sawyer Boulevard must still pay a mother and daughter $1 million for black mold exposure that left them seriously ill, a court has ruled.

The S.C. Court of Appeals on March 4 rejected a Mount Pleasant apartment complex’s appeal of a 2022 jury verdict that found it negligent in its response to Karolina and Krista Richardson’s complaints about black mold in their apartment.

The mother and daughter lived at the Oyster Park Apartments at 1421 Shucker Circle complex for about four months in 2017 soon after it opened to tenants. At issue was how long it took for management to respond to their complaints about the presence of mold and how long they knew about it, according to court records.

The two began reporting the symptoms and the presence of black mold in late May 2017 after they were moved to a new unit due to flooding. It wasn’t until they made several requests for mold testing for a month did management hire a lab on July 10, 2017.

The results confirmed what the mother and daughter already knew because of their history of asthma and other conditions that made them sensitive to mold exposure.

The family was moved to another unit. Their health problems related to mold exposure persisted until they left the complex in September 2017. According to the lawsuit, both contracted toxic mold disease as a result of their four months at Oyster Park.

Ninth Circuit Court Judge Jennifer McCoy presided over the 2022 trial. The apartment’s attorneys argued on appeal the judge erred in not providing a directed verdict. They also argued McCoy should not have found them in violation of evidence disclosure rules after notebooks were released on the eve of the trial. McCoy ordered the apartment complex pay the Richardson’s legal fees as a result, according to court records.

An attorney for Oyster Park did not immediately return a request for comment. The appeals court noted that the complex did eventually remediate the mold.

During litigation, Clay McCullough, who represented the Richardson’s, presented several other complaints from residents at Oyster Park that had also struggled with mold and water infiltration in the newly opened complex.

“Our overwhelming hope is that the apartment will pay out what is owed so the Richardson’s can get on with their lives,” McCullough said.

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) — A convicted sex offender’s probation has now been partially revoked after Charleston County deputies say he failed to report multiple internet and social media accounts.

Travis Reed Gaye, 27, is facing charges associated with failing to register.

A judge has ordered Gaye to spend 180 days behind bars for his probation violations. Court records indicate he will then have his probation reinstated and wear an electronic monitoring device.

The Sex Offender Registry Unit completed an audit of Gaye and discovered three internet or social media accounts he had not previously disclosed, sheriff’s spokesperson Lexi Douglas said.

In November, Gaye pleaded down to six counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and was subsequently required to register as a convicted sex offender. Court documents state that, in 2023, Gaye had video of an infant being forced to commit sex acts.

At the hearing, Gaye was sentenced to five years of sex offender probation, placed on the sex offender registry and told he would serve 10 years in prison if he violated probation. Gaye registered nine days later and acknowledged in his contract that he must provide internet accounts and internet identifiers.

Live 5 Investigates first followed accusations of Gaye violating probation and the registry on Feb. 23, where he stood before a judge following an arrest by South Carolina’s Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.

Gaye was arrested for two violations of his parole: allegedly possessing sexually explicit materials and possessing alcohol, both of which were violations of his parole.

An order of continuance was filed, which stated that the court received an email from the General Counsel at the Department of Probation, Pardon and Parole Services four days later.

At the hearing, Judge David Graham said he would have a decision by the end of the week, but that decision was not made by the time he was rearrested.

It went on to state, “the Department’s recommendation had changed from what had been presented at the hearing.” Originally, the state recommended GPS tracking, increased levels of supervision, and continued counseling, but did not recommend more time behind bars.

Gaye’s attorney, Charlie Condon, objected to the email and any consideration of the email without a hearing, records state. The matter of Gaye’s probation violation was continued to the next available court term.

Gaye currently lives in Mount Pleasant and his proximity to nearby parks and recreational facilities has raised concerns with neighbors. He is legally allowed to live within 1,000 feet of these locations because of loopholes in South Carolina law.

PRIOR COVERAGE: SC child sex offender arrested on probation violations, released same day

He remains booked at the Al Cannon Detention Center.