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COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
Beaufort County can be held liable in jail strip search lawsuit Judge’s ruling clears way for trial over policy affecting thousands of female detainees By Delayna Earley The Island News A federal judge has ruled Beaufort County can be held legally responsible for a jail strip search policy that disproportionately affected female detainees, setting the stage for a trial that could expose the county to significant financial liability. The ruling was first reported by The Post and Courier Beaufort County. In a March 31 order, U.S. District Judge David Norton found the county may be liable under federal law because the policy in question was implemented by the jail’s director, who the court determined had final policy making authority over detention center operations. The ruling follows a bench trial focused specifically on whether the county could be held liable under federal civil rights law. The decision does not deter-
Linda Ferguson, owner of Laurel Bay Tailor Shop, mends a firefighter’s uniform. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
Out of necessity a passion is born
Linda Ferguson has been tailoring all kinds of uniforms in Beaufort for the last 30 years By Luke Frazier The Island News
T
he idea of being a “pillar of the community” is more likely to be associated with an elected official, someone who owns
a lot of local real estate, or perhaps a person with a high profile position at a large institution. What might be called big wigs. Consider instead that it might mean a person who has proudly served many thousands of military
and civilian customers for decades as a provider of a specialized service. This specialized service not only makes things fit but helps individuals feeling positive, even
SEE PASSION PAGE A7
SEE JAIL PAGE A8
ETV Lowcountry productions nominated for Regional Emmy Awards Jackson, Lewis recognized for their work
The work of ETV Lowcountry’s Holly Bounds Jackson and Rob Lewis is nominated for 2026 Southeast Regional Emmy Awards, presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Southeast Emmy Chapter. Amber Hewitt/The Island News
By Luke Frazier The Island News In our fractured world of broadcasting, with more streaming services than one can count and the ascendance of short and seemingly endless social media reels, places still exist to recognize quality long-form content. One such place is created by the Southeast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), who gives out
regional Emmy awards for television excellence. They recently announced their nominations for the 2026 awards and Beaufort’s public television station, ETV Lowcountry, snagged four nominations. Not bad for a station with two full-time employees. The dynamic duo consists of Holly Jackson, host and producer of the interview show “Books By the River” and Rob Lewis, photographer, editor and co-creator of the nature show “Coastal Kingdom.” ETV Lowcountry is part of the South Carolina ETV and Public Radio (SCETV) network, which received a record-breaking 15
nominations, the most ever for the organization. Evidently the death of public broadcasting has been greatly exaggerated, at least here in the Southeast. “Books By The River” received one nomination in the Interview/ Discussion — Long Form Content category for its episode on author Jeffrey Lofton, and Coastal Kingdom received three nominations: Environment/Science — Long Form Content for its episode titled “On Becoming A Naturalist;” another in the category “Photog-
SEE AWARDS PAGE A4
NEWS
SPORTS
VOICES
INSIDE
Former Gov. Sanford ends bid for SC’s 1st District.
Soccer notebook: Beaufort Academy’s Leslie taking last ride.
Dr. Martha Edwards: “Vaccines keep our children safe.”
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Lowcountry Life A2 News A2–10 Legals A10 Health A11 Sports A12–13
Voices A14–15 Military A17 Directory A18 Classifieds A19 Games A19
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