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Lowcountry Lowdown: Dominion tree-cutting clears view of power-line clutter. August 11, 2026 By Lolita Huckaby Some folks have spent so much time recently staring up at the trees to gasp at the latest damage done to the local trees by dear Dominion Energy, they're noticing another related man-made blight to its landscape. Power lines. Multitudes of them. They're not new - well, some of them are thanks to the arrival of Sparklight which took over Hargray Communications in 2021, and its competitor Brightspeed, both of which are working to replace older lines with fiber broadband options. All in the name of faster internet. Take a look at those sagging wooden poles along some of the town's major thoroughfares. Some are carrying as many as 10 power lines connecting services to people. And now that the tree limbs have been hacked back it's even more obvious Beaufort has a plethora of overhead power lines. It's reached the point that city officials are hearing the complaints. City Manager Scott Marshall, in one of his recent weekly newsletters, "The Bridge Report," said the building codes staff is working with the utility companies and Dominion to enforce a city ordinance which requires outdated lines to, at least, be removed. At least one of its local utilities - Verizon - is expanding its service, erecting wireless cell phone poles in several locations, such as in front of Beaufort Memorial Hospital and Dominion Energy offices on Robert Smalls Parkway. For years, some folks have been urging city officials to push its sole-service-provider Dominion Energy, and before that, its predecessor S.C. Electric & Gas, to put lines underground. Anyone who's followed this debate knows there are pros and cons to underground wires. But every time the electric utility company undertakes its scheduled tree trimming, in the name of preventing outages, the cry for underground lines goes up. It's not impossible. In 2014, as part of the $33 million Boundary Street renovation project, city officials worked out a deal with the utility companies - at that time, S.C. Electric & Gas, Hargray and CenturyLink - to place 35 miles of overhead lines along one mile of Boundary Street. The bundles of wires, 24 miles of which belonged to the electric utility alone, were placed in huge underground duct banks. The negotiations, under the guidance of then-city manager Scott Dadson, special projects coordinator Neil Pugliese and Mayor Billy Keyserling, took time. Part of the delay was establishing whose lines were on those Dominion-owned poles since some of the utility companies were no longer in existence,... but their lines were. Cost of the underground placement was close to $3 million, paid for by a 7 percent special franchise fee that was collected from the utility customers along that part of Boundary Street. The redevelopment project itself was paid for by a federal grant matched by an earlier penny sales tax approved by county voters. An agreement on the utility lines was ultimately reached and the entire Boundary Street project, which included planted medians and a reworked intersection at Robert Smalls Parkway, was finished in 2018. No doubt, city officials these days have a big bag of "fish to fry" with the ongoing stormwater update project downtown, the future of the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, negotiations with Safe Harbor over their lease agreement of the Downtown Marina, and more improvements to the Southside Park, all big-ticket items. BUT there is an election coming up. With two city council seats on the ballot. Maybe, just maybe, the future of overhead power lines will be an issue. County committee hears Flock cameras moratorium request, discuss data centers. BEAUFORT - In addition to power lines multiplying all over the county, the number of Flock cameras being installed by law enforcement had reached 70. The County Council's Natural Resources committee last week, among other things, heard a citizen's request for a moratorium on the Safety Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR), commonly called Flock cameras because of the manufacturer. The individual cited concerns about the invasion of privacy. While the committee took no action on the request, another committee - Community Services and Public Safety - did ask the planners to work on zoning revision which would regulate construction of data centers which are increasingly important to the provision of wireless service for features such as the Flock cameras. Although there has been no plans for one of the controversial centers announced in Beaufort County, neighboring Colleton County is looking at one on the outskirts of the protected ACE (Ashepoo, Combee and Edisto) river basins. Talking about 'planning' not unlike watching Nero fiddle. BEAUFORT - Believe it or not, Beaufort County officials as well as those from its five municipalities spend a lot of time planning. In these dogdays of summer, it's time for Beaufort County and the city of Beaufort folks to pull up to the proverbial table to review and update their comprehensive master plans which are required by state law if they're going to have legal zoning regulations. (You know, those regulations which say things like you can't build a landfill next to a residential community... unless you get a variance or know someone... but that's another column.) In June, Beaufort County planners held two public meetings to discuss the most recent update of the county's comprehensive plan which was adopted in 2010 but designed to direct county growth until 2040. There was an online survey for residents to review the established goals and 230 did before the Aug. 7 deadline. The County Planning Commission will next take a look at the document and there will be more discussion before County Council, which has an election to get through, blesses it. Across the street in the city, the municipal Planning Commission has mapped out a plan for presenting its 2021 comp plan to the public and "stakeholders," groups like the school district, Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority, Palmetto Breeze, the Beaufort-Jasper Housing Trust, the Beaufort Housing Authority, etc. The Commission is just finishing its two years of work to review and update its development code which still must be finalized by the City Council. In the meantime, as Your Island News talk about planning and how Your Island News'd like to see the community look, the area keeps changing and growing. Lolita Huckaby Watson is a community volunteer and newspaper columnist. In her former role as a reporter with The Beaufort Gazette, The Savannah Morning News, Bluffton Today and Beaufort Today, she prided herself in trying to stay neutral and unbiased. As a columnist, these are her opinions. The Rowland, N.C. native's goal is to be factual but opinionated, based on her own observations. Feel free to contact her at [email protected].

Back to Newsroom July 27, 2026 High-Speed Fiber Internet progress ramps up in Rock County, WI. Media contact Brightspeed bringing multi-gig-speed, 100% fiber-to-the-home internet to families and small businesses in Milton CHARLOTTE, N.C. - July 27, 2026 - Faster internet is officially on its way to Rock County! Brightspeed, the nation's third-largest fiber broadband builder, is advancing its plan to build its multi-gig-speed fiber internet network for nearly 4,400 homes and businesses in Milton. Right now, construction is underway for roughly half of those locations. This expansion is just a portion of the company's broader effort to connect roughly 213,000 locations across the state to the nation's fastest internet (highspeedinternet.com).* Brightspeed's fiber network expansion in Wisconsin is roughly 30 percent complete. Brightspeed is also building fiber for more than 1,000 homes and businesses in the neighboring community of Footville. What Rock County Can Expect During Construction As construction continues, residents may notice its trucks, crews and increased activity in their neighborhoods. Crews may dig, bore underground or work on existing utility poles to connect Milton to Brightspeed's state-of-the-art network, which has a 4.4-star rating on Trustpilot and more than 19,650 five-star reviews,** to more communities across the state. Brightspeed know construction can be disruptive, but this investment is designed to deliver long-term benefits: faster internet speeds, reliable performance and the bandwidth and capacity needed for online working, learning, streaming and multi-device connectivity. Its teams will be clearly identifiable, and efforts will be made to keep residents informed as work progresses. Once construction is complete, families and business owners can meet directly with Brightspeed representatives, who will be in the area to spread the word about the availability of Brightspeed Fiber Internet. Check Availability & Get Connected For Milton and surrounding areas, this investment represents more than just speed. It's about creating new opportunities for families who have historically been left behind. Brightspeed offers various internet speed plans to choose from. Residents and businesses in Wisconsin can check if Brightspeed Fiber Internet is available in their area by visiting www.brightspeed.com. [*The fastest internet based on the average download speeds measured by highspeedinternet.com speed tests (5/19/26-5/18/27). **As of 7/1/2026 on Trustpilot] About Brightspeed Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. and with assets and associated operations in 20 states, Brightspeed provides broadband and telecommunications services through a network platform capable of serving more than 7.3 million homes and businesses. Its nearly 4,000 employees are committed to building a future where more communities benefit from a more connected life, deploying a state-of-the-art fiber network and a customer experience that makes being connected as simple as it should be. For more information, please visit www.brightspeed.com.