MT. PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD)- Professional tennis player Mia Horvit didn’t always want to play her sport.

“I got made fun of because my tennis outfit was too girly. I was like ‘Mom sign me up for something else,'” said Horvit.

But, that’s changed now.

“I fell in love with the game and I’ve been playing for 15 years now,” said Horvit.

After her time on the court as a junior and collegiate athlete, Mia has plenty of experience and trophies.

These days, she’s chasing the biggest prizes on the planet on the Women’s Tennis Association Tour. Through winning smaller competitions Horvit earns points to build her resume and make it to tournaments like the U.S. Open.

“Not only are you playing to do well and win, but there’s the money behind it. There’s the rankings, there’s expectations to yourself, to your coaches, to your family,” said Horvit.

While her game is getting recognized inside the lines, it’s what she does outside of them that sets her apart.

She’s competing for Miss South Carolina as Miss Mount Pleasant in 2023.

“I’m learning as I go what I’m doing in these grey areas that I’m not used to being in,” said Horvit.

Another side hustle is spending time on the sets of movies and television shows.

“I’ve been a background extra in Outer Banks. That will come out in February. I’m also in HBO’s Righteous Gemstones,” said Horvit “I was in Manhunt. That will be on Apple TV. Then I was in a movie called Suncoast.”

Her reason for having multiple careers is to set an example.

“I want to break the stigma of being more than an athlete,” said Horvit. “I think being able to open those doors gets you to see what else is out there.”

Her goals, if accomplished, aren’t just going to break the stigma, but shatter it.

“Top 50 in the world for singles and top 50 in the world for doubles. Playing a bigger role in a movie or a TV show that would be fantastic. Winning Miss South Carolina and to compete in the Miss USA Pageant,” said Horvit

MOUNT PLESANT, S.C. (WCBD) – Neighbors living in Mount Pleasant came to Town Hall Tuesday evening to hear details of phase one of the Mathis Ferry Trail Project.

The Town of Mount Pleasant is seeking the public’s input for a recently proposed walking and biking trail.

“Tonight,” James Aton, Mount Pleasant’s deputy director for transportation improvement projects, said, “we’re hosting the Mathis Ferry Trail Project that runs about a mile long from Fifth Street to Eagle Street along Mathis Ferry Road.”

The town is looking to secure funds for the trail through a program designated for enhancing greenspace throughout Charleston County.

“This is a required public meeting as part of the Greenbelt application process,” Aton said, “which is money that the county provides to local municipalities to purchase right-of-way for greenspaces such as trails or parks.”

Frequent bike rider and Mount Pleasant resident Robert Tibbetts believes the proposed trail would be very beneficial to the area.

“I have four small children and they like to bike,” Tibbetts said, “and I think it’s a chance for us to connect the communities.”

But, Tibbetts also understands those who have voiced their concerns about the project.

“I totally respect making sure that every person that has the path a part of their house and their property,” he said, “that they have a chance to make sure it’s done correctly and appropriately.”

Mount Pleasant town councilman Gary Santos attended Tuesday’s meeting and heard from those concerned neighbors.

“This is why we’re having these meetings,” Santos said. “We want people to come out and voice their opinions, their concerns on things so that while we’re designing it, we can follow and find out what are those concerns so that we can mitigate them, and really make this a bike path for all of our citizens.”

Santos says the addition of the Mathis Ferry Trail would be a great way to encourage people to explore the town, and reduce traffic in the area.

“Give our citizens opportunities to get out and get some exercise,” he said, “but not only that, but when you’re going down the street for something, you can take a bike or walk or run, without having to get in your car all the time.”

A survey has been posted on the town’s website for those who couldn’t make Tuesday’s meeting, and that survey will close on Friday, March 17^th.

The SC Ports Authority has voted to enter into contracts worth over $100 million to design and build a new facility at the old U.S. Navy base.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - The South Carolina Ports Authority has voted to enter into contracts worth over $100 million to design and build a new facility at the old U.S. Navy base in North Charleston.

The authority has broken ground on the $400 million railyard near McMillian Avenue, which is funded by the state legislature. The contracts the board approved Tuesday afternoon are the next step in moving it forward and ramping up construction.

“It has roadways so that the trains don’t interfere with passenger traffic,” SC Ports Authority President and CEO Barbara Melvin said about the facility. “It has an additional rail track. It has the facility itself, along with equipment. A lot of design has already occurred, and now we’re moving into construction, which is the really exciting piece of this as we see the project coming out of the ground, so it’s a big deal.”

When built, the facility will handle cargo from Norfolk Southern and CSX, which Melvin said represents 25% of their current business.

“We expect to be able to handle a million rail lifts, and as we move into phase two, which is the second part of the design, it moves to 1.3 million rail lifts,” she said.

Board members awarded a contract worth just under $120 million to Landmark Construction to build the site itself. This contract includes building sound walls, rail foundations, 11 processing tracks and four arrival and departure tracks.

They also unanimously voted to pay over $4.3 million to design around 15 miles of rail that would head south from the facility toward Charleston before wrapping back to North Charleston.

Juan Gordon, the president of Coalition 18, which represents around 900 truckers in the Lowcountry, said the facility could do some harm to local drivers who rely on a distribution system called rapid rail. This is a system designed to move cargo from ports to areas more inland.

“I’m against it because I know people who solely depend on that program,” Gordon said. “I know people who that’s all they do is rapid rail, and they have been doing it for 10, 20 years now.”

Gordon said he does not see the facility causing truckers to turn in their keys, adding that future projects could help offset the lost business.

“We’re such a huge port community here in Charleston,” he said. “I believe we’ll find a way like we’ve done so many times.”

Melvin said they are still on track to be handling their first trains at the facility in the summer of 2025.

“This is a next great step for us, as we are a very competitive top 10 port to become an import gateway for the United States as well as having our cargo reach further into land,” Melvin said.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCIV) — The season of joy and celebration is taking on new meaning for one Mount Pleasant firefighter.

Nick Putskey proposed to his girlfriend, Katey Young, a teacher at Westview Primary Elementary, Thursday afternoon surrounded by family and friends atop the USS Yorktown.

“We’ve been on the same page since day one,” Young said when asked about meeting Putskey. “It’s the true fairytale.”

The proposal was somewhat of a fairytale, as well.

“My battalion chief was actually the masterplan of the whole idea,” Putskey said. “He said, ‘what do you have as an idea as far as an engagement?’ He was just like, ‘well, hear me out, see if you like this’ and I was like ‘yeah, that sounds awesome.’”

The plan was to scale the USS Yorktown, a nod to Putskey’s time spent in the Navy, as well as both of Young’s grandfathers.

The perfect front? Claim it as fire station training.

“We had ‘high-rise training,’ if you will,” Putskey said. “So that’s where climbing the ladder came into play.”

Young’s family was also in on the plan.

“It was actually under the guise as Santa for all of the grandkids,” Young explained. “We were going to take a picture with Santa. He was supposed to be flying in on the Yorktown.”

There was no Saint Nick in sight, but Nick Putskey had the ultimate present in hand.

“I was clueless until he got down on one knee and I was like, ‘what are you doing?’” Young said. “I did say yes, it just took a second because I was like, ‘I thought Santa was supposed to be here, and he was like ‘no!’”

Putskey and Young admit emotions were high, and for Putskey, there were plenty of nerves.

“I’m afraid of heights, so climbing a ladder was not fun,” Putskey said. “My foot actually slipped though the ladder because I was just getting so nervous.”

But the mission was a success.

“It couldn’t have gone any better,” Young said. “It was a really special moment, for sure.”

Putskey said it was a moment made possible by the bond of brotherhood.

“They were exactly how I wanted them to be,” Putskey said. “They were just like my extended family and I’m really grateful for that. It is truly the brotherhood of the fire service.”

Mount Pleasant, S.C. (WCIV) — The week for the Lowcountry foodies is finally here.

Today marks the start of Charleston Restaurant Week. The decades long event hosted in the Tri-county area offers discounted prices to encourage people to come to support the Lowcountry's culinary industry during the slow season.

Owners say the event could help kick off the new year for many restaurants struggling.

The 10-day event is from Thursday to ends Sunday, January 22nd. More than 50 restaurants from downtown Charleston, West Ashley, and Mount Pleasant are participating in the culinary event.

One participant is Hall’s Chophouse. The steak house has participated in the event for a decade, and the owner says this week was crucial to keeping the doors open in the early 2010s, turning his restaurant into one of the premier steak houses in the area.

So Tommy Hall says he knows firsthand how the week can make a huge impact on some restaurants, especially those recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Typically, this January is a quiet time of year. The holidays ended, people are getting back to the routines of their life of school, their job, and the restaurants suffer. It's a hard time. So, restaurant week was there to spike the economic growth in January. It just, it's amazing what it does,” Hall said.

According to a survey by Charleston Food and Wine, restaurants in the Lowcountry saw a 42 percent decrease in revenue during the pandemic.

Take Ty’s Roadside Coastal Kitchen in Mount Pleasant. The owner, Ty Neal, has been in the restaurant industry for decades. But when he opened his restaurant in mount pleasant two years ago, in the middle of the pandemic, he even admits it was one of the biggest struggles of his career.

However, Neal says restaurant week helped give him a boost during times when customer flow was slow. Now the restaurant is one of the up-and-coming foodie destinations in Mount Pleasant, gaining attention for its open kitchen setup and hearty American cuisine.

Neal's restaurant is one of five in Mount Pleasant offering discounted three-course meals.

While Neal says tourism season was great for his staff, it’s events like restaurant week that gave him the boost he needed to keep the momentum going now.

“Make no mistake, it's a tough time for restaurants. Staffing is tough, and costs are up, so those challenges are many. But we love what we do. And so, we talk every day about beating the odds and building our fan base, and you know trying to stay viable as an inch as an industry,” Neal said.

Ty’s roadside Coastal Kitchen is offering a deal of three courses for $32 during restaurant week.

Click here to view restaurants participating in the event.