The historically significant site once saw significant river herring and shad fishing, back-breaking work done almost exclusively by enslaved and free Black laborers.
Spotlight
Ocean Isle Beach may test hay, pine straw bales to trap sand
The Brunswick County town has been granted a variance to use hay and pine straw bales as an alternative to sand fencing at six areas on the eastern end of the island.
Landowners find Black lifesaving hero’s forgotten grave
Retired Coast Guard Cmdr. Gavin Wente and his wife Renee didn’t know when they bought their property last year that it included the unrecorded gravesite of Capt. Lewis Wescott, who participated in one of the most daring ocean rescues in Outer Banks history.
Public meetings set on draft Clean Transportation Plan
Open house meetings on the coast will take place the evening of March 1 at First Christian Church in Elizabeth City, and Leland Cultural Arts Center in Leland.
Real Estate Commission grants petition for flood disclosure
The North Carolina Real Estate Commission last week agreed to move forward on a petition filed by a coalition of advocacy groups to add flood-related disclosure requirements.
College aquaculture lab turns nursery as octopus eggs hatch
The aquaculture program at Carteret Community College recently welcomed tens of thousands of tiny, wiggly bundles of joy, an unusual success — so far.
Wording matters when talking about climate change: Study
The public’s perception of certain terms and phrases can influence how they perceive and respond to information about climate change, according to new research.
Taste of Core Sound program returns to Harkers Island
The fundraising event with a family-style dinner, program and auction is Feb. 24 at the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center.
Scientists dispute claims behind call for wind moratorium
Researchers say there’s no evidence that offshore wind development surveys contributed to the recent deaths of whales along the Mid-Atlantic coast, where officials have called for a moratorium.
Coastal Resources Commission to consider septic tank rules
Proposed changes would tighten permitting for the repair, replacement and relocation of wastewater treatment systems and septic tanks.
Groups may intervene in Chemours lawsuit against EPA
The judge ruled that the organizations and advocates showed “a sufficient interest in the litigation” brought on by the chemical company that sued the federal agency after it established a health advisory for GenX.
Riverkeeper blasts state’s public notice of hog waste spill
Riverkeeper Kemp Burdette calls a press release put out last week by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality “pathetic.”
To move a manatee: Museum catalogs skeletal specimen
Getting an 800-pound manatee that stranded in 2021 in Kill Devil Hills to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, where its bones are being catalogued for researchers, took a lot of collaboration — and dirty work.
Cape Fear River Ghost Trees: What stories could they speak?
Guest commentary: The Cape Fear River and its historically important and scarce resources are rapidly being lost or adversely altered forever.
New chapter begins for Black teachers’ old meeting space
Officials broke ground Friday for the renovation of the more than 5,300-square-foot building at Hammocks Beach State Park where Black educators convened during segregation.
Topsail Island panel to lobby for terminal groin funding
North Carolina law bars state money for terminal groins, but the Topsail Island Shoreline Protection Commission has made it a goal this year to change that law.
