Our Kip Tabb interviews journalist and science writer Andrew Lawler and reviews his new book “The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke.”
Our Coast’s History: Plans for Carteret Town
About 130 years after the original Lost Colony, a concentrated effort by the legislature to develop a Colonial port town on Roanoke Island never found success.
Our Coast’s People: Angie Wills of YouthBuild
Angie Wills of the River City Community Development Corp. YouthBuild Program in Elizabeth City has been helping young people discover opportunity in part by rebuilding oyster reefs and planting rain gardens.
Our Coast’s People: Nathan Richards
Nathan Richards, head of the Marine Heritage Program at the UNC Coastal Studies Institute, began his marine archaeology career in Australia. He and his team recently solved the mystery of the Pappy’s Lane shipwreck in Rodanthe.
Our Coast’s History: Drawing The Va-NC Line
The border between North Carolina and Virginia was delineated by an expedition of Virginians led in 1728 by William Byrd II, whose dim view of Tar Heels was made clear in a “secret” history.
Birth of Two Inlets: Accounts of 1846 Storm
Firsthand accounts provide vivid detail of the deadly storm in September 1846 that created Oregon and Hatteras inlets and brought dramatic changes to North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Our Coast’s History: Shell Castle Island
Shell Castle Island in Ocracoke Inlet wasn’t much more than a cluster of oyster beds, but for a couple decades in early U.S. history, the wharves and warehouses that stood here were the center of maritime trade for northeastern North Carolina.
Coastal Birding Trail Marks 10th Anniversary
Officials and about 100 attendees, including N.C. First Lady Kristin Cooper, recently celebrated on the Outer Banks the 10th anniversary of the North Carolina Birding Trail, a partnership project linking birding sites across the state.
Colington Island: The Other Lost Colony
An attempt in the 17th century to colonize Colington Island, which is due west of the Wright Brothers National Memorial, was met with failure.
The Failed Attempt to Reopen Roanoke Inlet
Many inlets have formed and filled in along the Outer Banks since the Sir Walter Raleigh’s colonists arrived, but the long-closed Roanoke Inlet was once so important efforts were made to reopen it.
Summer Recipe: How to Make An Algal Bloom
Not all algal blooms are considered harmful, but the right mix of warmth and nutrients can yield a funky blue-green slime that is potentially toxic to humans, their pets and marine life.
Can Hemp Take Root As Coastal Cash Crop?
Northeastern N.C. farmer Fen Rascoe is one of a few dozen in the state licensed to grow hemp, a once-important cash crop now legal again for the first time in decades.
Project Looks to Tap Gulf Stream’s Energy
The Coastal Studies Institute’s Renewable Ocean Energy Research Program is making headway in predicting the part of the Gulf Stream that’s the best resource for generating power.
How Will Offshore Wind Power Get to Grid?
The firm that recently offered the top bid for a wind-energy lease off Kitty Hawk faces big challenges in getting the electricity generated to the grid.
In Carova, Battle Rages Over Development
A family’s plans for commercial development on Carova Beach have led to a decades-old fight over zoning, property rights and how to protect a sensitive coastal area.
Part of N.C. 12 in Kitty Hawk Washed Out
Waves lap at a crumbled section of N.C. 12 in Kitty Hawk at low tide on Monday morning. Photo: Kip Tabb
