Our best Charleston features and links

Every day we look for the best stories, links, photos, guides, and more — some of those are more timelessly awesome than others. Below are the best of the bunch going back in time starting 365 days ago.

BILL GIRONDA JOINS BAKER MOTOR COMPANY AS VICE PRESIDENT Tommy Baker creates substantial new position in his 24-year-old company Tommy Baker, owner and president of Baker Motor Company in West Ashley and Mt. Pleasant, S.C. and Baker Cadillac in Mt. Pleasant...	Charleston binge drinks itself to number 12 in the country There's really no point arguing it, Charleston loves its beer, wine, cocktails, and dang near anything with a percent to it — and now we finally have some stats to back it up.In a list more anecdotal fun than medical...	An economic look back at Charleston in 2011 earns a thumbs up (Update: Look forward) Update January 4: After taking a look back, The Post and Courier is now taking a look forward to 2012.They take a stab at discussing 12 local business trends to watch: residential real estate, business...
The top Charleston year in review stories from 2011 (Updated) (Updates below inline.)Santa has come and gone and now his helper elf of year-in-review lists is here with a bounty of top local stories from 2011.To help make your life a bit saner, we'll update this post with links to...	Largely forgotten, the Cape Romain lighthouses dwindle in obscurity Up U.S. 17 near McClellanville and a few miles closer to the ocean, a pair of historic lighthouses haven't enjoyed the attention seen by other aging lighthouses, like the one on Morris Island.Over the years...	With winter here, 12 reviews of seasonal beers While the Christmas holiday has officially sailed past, the cold months (or should I say just "days" being as this is Charleston?) are just settling in, and that means seasonal brews abound.Over at the Charleston...
A new history book in town for Charleston tour guides (Update: Profile of the first) (Updates at the bottom.)Recall how would-be tour guides in Charleston must past a history test?Well, a new near-500 page tome — The City of Charleston Tour Guide Training Manual — is aiming to help keep...	By bike, a downtown Charleston Christmas light delight Head on over to Kristin Walker's Charleston InsdieOut for a fun and short photo tour by bike of some of downtown Charleston's better seasonal lights.	One man hopes to better North Charleston's fresh veggie options As citizens in North Charleston's Neck community continue to struggle for healthy grocery options — the area has only one grocery option, a Save-A-Lot — one 69-year-old Clay Hampton is hoping to better things...
Program gives books to kids for free in rural Charleston-area ZIP codes A couple years back, two Charleston retirees worked to start the Begin With Books program. Today, kids in six rural Charleston-area ZIP codes can receive a book each month free of charge.So far the program...	Checked, lost, and avenged: One woman gets her stollen laptop back Great story over at the Charleston City Paper about a woman who made the mistake of trusting a valuable in checked baggage (a laptop) while flying and through she lost it, diligence and Craigslist searching...	Merging Charleston-North Charleston into one economic powerhouse? Ed Pendarvis has a plan, and it's to merge Charleston-North Charleston into one economic powerhouse.It's a curious idea for an economic powerhouse that, by comparison, makes the chance for snow blizzard this year in the...
Video: Kiteboarding in Chucktown (Updated) (Update: We've re-published this as somehow the wrong video got linked, we've updated this post.)Remember a few months ago when we pointed out a short video of kiteboarding happening down near the S.C. Aquarium/Fort...	Photo of the Day: Bull's Island beach	In a vision of SoHo, a 'NoMo' takes shape on the upper Peninsula SoHo is a cultural hub for Lower Manhattan, and now forward thinkers see the Charleston Peninsula on the east side above Huger Street and transited by Morrison Drive as a cultural equivalent of free thinkers...