JZI, Love Where You Live
06 / The journal

Notes from the island.

Longer reads from JZI, Love Where You Live: neighborhood intel, island history, where to eat and where the farms grow. New posts land with the monthly refresh, so check back often.

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Top stories.

The island's biggest local stories stay pinned at the top of the journal so they are easy to find, while newer posts land below.

Aerial view of bridge construction with heavy equipment on Johns Island
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November 3, 2026

Three yeses for the island: Charleston County tax referendums pass

Johns Island voters joined Charleston County in approving all three tax referendum questions on November 3, 2026.

  • 1 Question 1 renewed the half-cent transportation sales tax with 63.9% of the vote, reversing the measure's 2024 defeat. The tax runs for up to 25 years or until it raises $4.25 billion, funding road, bridge and drainage improvements, CARTA transit, and greenbelt and conservation projects. Funded work on Johns Island includes the Maybank Highway "southern pitchfork" improvements and roundabouts. District 3 Councilman Jim McBride was a leading voice for the measure, and Johns Island stands to see major road funding, roughly $225 million in city priorities including the Maybank widening and the Maybank "southern pitchfork" roundabouts.
  • 2 Question 2 passed with 64% approval, allowing the county to borrow up to $300 million against the tax to build projects sooner.
  • 3 Question 3 renewed the one-cent education sales tax with 68% approval for another six years (2029-2034), expected to raise about $1.25 billion for school construction, renovations and technology.

Results are unofficial until certified by the county election board.

Meet your District 3 councilman →
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Jim McBride, Charleston City Council District 3

Local leader

Jim McBride

Charleston City Council, District 3

Jim McBride represents Johns Island on Charleston City Council. His District 3 seat covers Johns Island and part of James Island; he was elected in November 2023 and sworn in January 2024. McBride was one of the referendum's most visible advocates, writing commentary urging voters to extend the transportation sales tax and helping shape the city's priorities that directed funding to Johns Island road projects, including the Maybank Highway "southern pitchfork" and roundabouts.

Visit votejimmcbride.com See the referendum results above →
Roads & infrastructure

November 15, 2026

Jim McBride's road updates: what's underway on Johns Island

Jim McBride represents Johns Island on Charleston City Council. His District 3 seat covers Johns Island and part of James Island, and he was elected in November 2023. Since taking office he has tracked traffic on the island's busiest routes and given updates on road projects through news coverage, a town hall and city council meetings. Here is where each project stands, with every fact attributed to its public source.

Maybank Highway street sign on Johns Island with a traffic signal and trees behind it
  1. 1

    The traffic snapshot

    McBride has tracked traffic data for roughly 15 months using a Google-based program across four routes feeding the River Road and Maybank Highway intersections. Overall travel time has gotten about 30 seconds worse per four-mile stretch, Live 5 News reported in September 2025.

  2. 2

    Maybank Highway's fourth lane

    Charleston County is funding a fourth lane on Maybank Highway from River Road to the Stono River Bridge. The Post and Courier reported in January 2026 that roughly $10 million was reallocated from the Mark Clark Expressway Extension toward the project. At the October 2026 State of Our City meeting, Mayor Cogswell said the fourth lane is funded and moving forward, with the county widening the road from River Road to the Stono Bridge, according to TideLines' recap of the meeting.

  3. 3

    Main Road / US 17 interchange

    The interchange project remains on schedule for completion in September 2028, ABC News 4 reported from the October 2026 State of Our City meeting.

  4. 4

    A roundabout on the corridor

    A new roundabout opened on Johns Island in fall 2025 and has aided the busy River Road / Maybank Highway corridor, Live 5 News reported in its September 2025 coverage.

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    The February 2026 town hall

    McBride hosted a Johns Island town hall in February 2026 where he gave updates on infrastructure projects, including progress on the Maybank Highway lane and the county transportation sales tax, ABC News 4 reported.

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    Growth versus infrastructure

    In a November 2025 presentation to Charleston City Council, McBride documented how the island's population growth has outpaced infrastructure on the island's two-lane state roads, per Citizen Portal's coverage of the meeting.

“Maybank is the main street of Johns Island.”

Jim McBride, in his November 2025 presentation to Charleston City Council
A Maybank Highway street sign on Johns Island

2026-11-13

Maybank Highway Widening: New Design Saves the Oaks

The city's revised plan widens Maybank Highway from River Road toward the connector bridge while saving more of the island's grand live oaks.

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Warm holiday string lights strung between live oak branches over a market pathway at dusk

2026-11-13

Holiday Season on the Island: Bazaars, Parades and Night Markets

From a Homegrown Holiday Bazaar to a farmers market night market and the island's Christmas parade, December is packed on Johns Island.

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Aerial view of a community recreation center with a pool and playground in a Lowcountry neighborhood

2026-11-13

The Island's First Recreation Center Is Coming

Site clearing is underway for Johns Island's first recreation center at Maybank Highway and Main Road, a $65 million city project with construction set to start in late March 2027.

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Aerial view of a coastal Lowcountry subdivision with single-family homes, a pond and marshland

2026-11-12

Sweetgrass Preserve: First Closings by Summer 2027

Sea Island Habitat for Humanity's 50-home Sweetgrass Preserve on Johns Island is targeting its first six home closings by summer 2027.

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Aerial view of farm fields and rural landscape on Johns Island

2026-11-11

Where the Island Grows: Farms and Markets

Farming is Johns Island's oldest industry, and it is still the best reason to live here. A working list of growers, markets and farm stands.

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A rustic restaurant dining room with warm wood tables and chairs

2026-11-11

Island Eats: The Local Short List

From a celebrated Italian room on Maybank Highway to the tomato shed cafe on Main Road, here is where the island actually eats.

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The Angel Oak on Johns Island, with people gathered beneath its sprawling branches

2026-11-11

The Angel Oak: 400 Years on the Island

The island's most famous resident is a Southern live oak estimated at 400 to 500 years old, with a canopy that shades nearly 17,000 square feet.

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Moss-draped live oaks arching over a dirt road on Johns Island

2026-11-11

Welcome to the Johns Island Guide

A local hub for the island's neighborhoods, events, farms and businesses, refreshed every month by a Realtor who lives and works here.

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A tidal marsh and creek on Johns Island at golden hour, with marsh grass and a small skiff at a dock

2026-11-09

A Conservation Hub for Betsy Kerrison Parkway

Charleston County weighed more than $500,000 in greenbelt funds to help the Conservancy of the Sea Islands buy about three acres on Betsy Kerrison Parkway for a stewardship hub.

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A grass walking trail winding between mature live oaks with a small wooden bridge over a tidal creek

2026-11-05

A Greenbelt Trail Between Humbert Road and Old Pond Road?

Charleston County Council took up a more than $1 million greenbelt request from the Lowcountry Land Trust to buy land for a proposed trail between Humbert Road and Old Pond Road.

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The red brick facade of a school building on Johns Island

2026-11-04

What the Education Tax Renewal Means for Island Schools

Voters renewed the one-cent education sales tax on November 3, and the district's capital plan includes a building addition at Johns Island Elementary.

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The journal grows every month alongside the events calendar and business directory. Want to see a topic covered? Suggest it.