The 2024 state MPO conference theme is “Gridlock to Green Lanes Transforming Urban Transportation.”
Spotlight
State wildlife officials seek volunteers to tally terrapins
With a little training, a kayak and a smartphone app, coastal North Carolina residents can join the 10th annual “Terrapin Tally,” a count that helps researchers assess the elusive marsh dwellers’ status.
Anti-regulation sentiment may be fueling insurance crisis
With the N.C. Homebuilders Association’s influence over the legislature, steps toward resilience that Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey and others say should be taken have been rejected, contributing to coverage chaos for property owners.
NC scientists receive tools for tracking new compounds
Researchers at North Carolina universities that are part of the PFAS Testing Network are now equipped to trace unregistered chemical pollutants back to the source of emission.
Author documents investment fraud involving Buffalo City
Buffalo City, a now-abandoned Dare County logging town notorious for moonshine production during Prohibition, also featured in a huge life insurance company fraud case in the 1910s, author and retired forester Bill Barber has revealed.
New law comes into play in North Topsail Beach dispute
A North Topsail Beach couple and their contractor cited for damaging dunes hope to settle the alleged violation through mediation, a process allowed under a new state law.
Homecoming: Portsmouth Island descendants set to gather
The Friends of Portsmouth Island and Cape Lookout National Seashore are expecting hundreds for the event that happens every two years and this year includes a celebration of the 1894 U.S. Life-Saving Station here.
Conditions prompt continued closure of NC 12 on Ocracoke
Closed since Sunday because of ocean flooding, N.C. Highway 12 on Ocracoke Island will likely remain closed for several more days.
Researchers work to improve compound flooding forecast
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill researchers have been developing a forecast model that will help predict in real time whether worst-case scenario conditions might occur in communities with multiple flood risks.
Academy aims to make living shorelines more accessible
The N.C. Living Shoreline Academy at Carteret Community College is translating years of research into practical application for waterfront property owners and marine contractors.
EPA steps in on Lear Corp. permit; DEQ adds time for input
The Environmental Protection Agency has informed North Carolina regulators it has invoked a 60-day extension to review the automotive textile and technology manufacturer’s draft permit to discharge compounds into the Northeast Cape Fear River.
Journalists society gives Black Hole Award to NC legislature
The Society of Professional Journalists has named the North Carolina General Assembly the recipient of its annual Black Hole Award “for acts of outright contempt of the public’s right to know” in exempting its members from the state’s public records law.
Southport board OKs land offer to NC Wildlife Commission
The Southport Board of Aldermen voted 4-2 last week paving the way for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission to purchase more than 400 acres in town for permanent conservation.
Cape Fear Creek Week to put focus on region’s waterways
Cape Fear Creek Week, March18-24, is a multi-organization educational effort to connect New Hanover and Brunswick counties with its creeks, rivers, and streams.
CRC adopts 16 rules to keep natural resources protected
The Coastal Resources Commission on Wednesday unanimously adopted the rules that temporarily replace protections axed last October.
As timber declined, Buffalo City loggers made ’shine
Recently detailed by “When Ghosts Made Moonshine” author Chris Barber, loggers in the remote, deeply forested northeastern region of North Carolina supplied highly regarded whiskey to speakeasies up the East Coast during Prohibition.
