State lawmakers return Tuesday for what is expected to be a brief session to focus on response to the coronavirus and its ongoing damage to the state’s economy, including in tourism-dependent communities.
News & Features
Earth Day, Coastal Education Go Online
Environmental and educational groups are providing ways online to celebrate Earth Day 2020 Wednesday and learn about the coastal environment while maintaining social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Ten Years After: Deepwater Horizon Disaster
Environmental advocates say the 10th anniversary of the the largest oil disaster in U.S. history serves as a warning against the Trump administration’s push to drill off the East Coast, but industry folks say safety has improved.
Water Plant Operators On Seven-Day Stays
Cape Fear Public Utility Authority officials is stationing staff at its water treatment plants for weeklong periods and provided campers for their long stays to protect the safety of operators and Wilmington’s drinking water.
Lab Staff Use Printers to Equip Responders
Amid the pandemic, researchers and educators at Carteret County institutions are using their labs’ 3D printers and plans available online to meet the expected need for personal protective equipment for first responders and health care workers.
Legislative Error Wipes Out Bond Program
An apparent error in a bill that became law in 2019 revoked local government authority for a special type of bond financing that’s been used for beach renourishment projects and other types of municipal projects.
Professor’s Graphic Simplifies Disinfecting
Rachel Noble, a professor of public health microbiology at the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences, has created an infographic to provide to the community accurate information about disinfecting at home with readily available materials.
GenX: Looking Closer At Chemours’ Plan
While Chemours says it’s in compliance with state laws and a 2019 consent order, comments collected by NCDEQ show many are unsatisfied with the response by the company responsible for PFAS contamination in the Cape Fear region.
State Bars CPI From Discharging Bottom Ash
In a win for concerned area residents, CPI USA North Carolina is subject to new restrictions and monitoring and reporting requirements as conditions for renewing the national discharge permits for the company’s small power plant in Brunswick County.
Outer Banks’ Gen Z Responds to Lockdown
Young people on the Outer Banks who may have once thought they would be unaffected by the pandemic are now coping with disruptive changes in their formerly highly social lives, just as they were set to graduate or begin careers.
Seafood Available, Buyers Are Not: COVID
As the lockdown to stem the coronavirus pandemic appears more and more to be a long-term situation, those in the fishing and shellfish industry and related businesses are struggling to find markets for their catch.
Strapped Industry, Towns Plead For Relief
Legislative hearings this week in Raleigh on the impact of the coronavirus featured a litany of losses across all sectors of the economy, but none as quickly or deeply felt than in the areas of food service, hospitality and travel.
Federal Judge Throws Out Challenge to CRC
A federal judge has dismissed a Maryland couple’s legal fight against North Carolina regulators to replace a house destroyed by fire on the same site, one of the most rapidly eroding stretches of beach on the Outer Banks.
Coastal Governments Enact New Restrictions
As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rises statewide, coastal counties and towns are enacting new measures and restrictions to align with Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-at-home order and limit the virus’ spread.
9 NC Resiliency Projects Receive Millions
Nine coastal resiliency projects in North Carolina have been awarded funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Emergency Coastal Resilience Fund launched in August 2019.
Outer Banks Folk Prep for the Unknown
Outer Banks residents, seasoned by threatening storms, are no strangers to preparedness, but although there’s some familiarity in the new routine, the threat of COVID-19 is unlike anything before, and health care capacity could be tested.
