North Carolina was recently ranked as having the seventh-worst feral swine problem in the country, but state officials say there is no solid estimate of how many of the intelligent, free-roaming, disease-carrying hogs are here.
Spotlight
Paid summer internship program applications due Jan. 8
Rising juniors, seniors and graduate students attending the state’s historically Black colleges and universities and minority institution of higher education have until Jan. 8, 2024, to submit their application for the summer internship through the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Interactive online tour shows Green Swamp’s need for fire
Emma Gwyn, an intern with The Nature Conservancy in Wilmington has created an interactive online StoryMap that illustrates how a wildfire earlier this year has already benefited the Green Swamp Nature Preserve.
State on ‘aggressive’ timeline to meet PFAS water standards
North Carolina environmental regulators are expediting a plan to meet proposed federal limits on PFAS in drinking water and reduce related costs to consumers by addressing upstream discharges.
Crystal Lloyd new Carolina Beach State Park superintendent
The former superintendent at Falls Lake State Recreation Area in Durham and Wake counties fills the role after longtime superintendent Chris Helms’ retirement in April.
Cahoon reelected Coastal Resources Commission chair
The 7-4 vote to reinstate Renee Cahoon came after new commission member Jordan Hennessy’s motion to delay a vote on the chair until after the entire board had been seated.
NC State’s sourdough research unlocks microbial mysteries
North Carolina State University’s Wild Sourdough Project is contributing to a global collaboration to better understand the world’s various sourdough starters and the natural microorganisms that give rise to flavor.
Coastal Resources Commission meets Thursday
The meeting is set for 9 a.m. at the Beaufort Hotel, 2440 Lennoxville Road. A public comment period is scheduled for 11:45 a.m.
Navy base’s wretched reminders not just petroleum in soils
Recently exposed petroleum contamination at the old site of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, where the Navy and later the Coast Guard formerly operated, is but one nasty aspect of the abandoned installations’ environmental legacy.
‘Catastrophic crisis’: Imported shrimp flood US market
Shrimp imports are overwhelming domestic shrimp producers and driving prices for locally sourced shrimp to record lows, prompting demands that the federal government declare a fishery resource disaster.
Scuttled Confederate ship had served both sides in Civil War
The steamboat scuttled at Cobb Point near Elizabeth City by its Confederate captain during winter 1862 had previously served as a Union vessel.
Offshore speeds reduced Nov. 1-April 30 for calving season
Vessels are required to reduce speed to help reduce the threat of collisions with endangered North Atlantic right whales, of which NOAA says there are fewer than 350 remaining.
James City first site of new African American Heritage Tour
The tour, still under development to highlight the region’s African American heritage, is a partnership of the nonprofit Eastern Carolina Foundation for Equity and Equality and the National Park Service.
Events set to commemorate 1898 Wilmington massacre
Numerous events are scheduled in the coming weeks to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Wilmington Massacre of Nov. 10, 1898.
Pace of cyclone strengthening has doubled since 1971
A study from Rowan University in New Jersey has drawn a connection between the number of rapidly strengthening tropical Atlantic hurricanes in recent years and documented increases in ocean temperatures.
Navy lab funds Durham firm’s airborne power generator
Windlift has a five-year, $30 million contract with the Naval Research Laboratory to develop its autonomous tethered Navy and Marine Corps operations.
