OBX Alert

Majority of N.C. House members likely to vote 'no' on Obamacare

Education in North Carolina:
Athletics should come first – Camden school superintendent
Because construction of a costly new high school in Camden is expected to occur in phases, the county school superintendent believes the best place to start the project is with athletic facilities.
– The Daily Advance

Outer Banks living attracts Southern Shores job applicants
So does the salary
The town with a population of 2,500 (summertime about 10,000) has had some 50 applicants in the past few days with more expected for the job of Southern Shores town manager at a minimum starting salary of $90,000 plus.

The position was officially advertised on Monday; resumés and references are being accepted until April 12.

The vacancy was created by the town council's forced resignation – firing – of Charlie Read in February. Police chief David Kole (right) was appointed interim manager and 'old trusty,' Web Fuller, was hired "to find the best manager possible to provide some stability," in the council's words.

Fuller (left), a former Southern Shores manager and before that a longtime Nags Head town manger, said Wednesday that in addition to North Carolina and Virginia, many of the applicants are from Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.

Some Dare County residents have applied as well, though none, he said, appear to have had the required town government experience.

Quite a few of the applicants, according to Fuller, have spent time on the Outer Banks or own property here. Asked about the high cost of housing, which in the past has been a deterrent to recruiting, the town's recruiter said, "This is a good time to buy. It's much better than it was two years ago. I'm optimistic about that."

And after a lengthy period of internal politics and tumult, normally peaceful Southern Shores is optimistic that it will find a town manager capable of restoring stability.

Former 'little governor' of N.C. accused of racketeering

Area men accused of bomb-making materials
The FBI is investigating two brothers renting a Shawboro house where Currituck County detectives found bomb-making materials, flight-training papers and poisonous plants that could be made into weapons of mass destruction.

Dare County sheriff candidate also faces charges in Currituck County

Phony distress calls cost three men $234,851
The ring-leader was 25-year-old Jeremy Fisher of Holly Ridge in the Jacksonville area of Onslow County who was fined $234,111 after admitting he made 22 fake distress calls to the Coast Guard over a two-year period.

Two friends were fined a total of $740.28 for aiding and abetting. The Coast Guard said in a new release Sunday the three are yet to be sentenced but could fail jail time and additional fines.

Threat of law suit prompts state action on gill nets
The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center at Topsail Island, aided by the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, has filed notice it intends to sue the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries for allowing the use of gill nets, which the Rescue Center says kill thousands of federally protected sea turtles.

Marine Fisheries chairman Rob Bizzel has warned that if the suit is ignored, "a judge (namely federal Judge Terrence Boyle) could order an injunction stopping all commercial fishing that could last indefinitely."

State regulators have rejected the idea of a total ban on large mesh gill nets but adopted other restrictions. However, the director of the state Division of Marine Fisheries, Louis Daniel, said he doubts the National Marine Fisheries Service will accept the limited ban. More from the Outer Banks Sentinel...

Feds increase fines for fishermen taking stripers

Fozzie goes home healthy
He's the harbor seal who was found on the beach at Carova in January, suffering from malnutrition, a broken rib and a bad case of pneumonia. Thanks to Jason Summerton of Carova Corner, who called rescuers, Fozzie was sent to the Virginia Aquarium Marine Animal Care Center.

All healed, healthy and 28 pounds heavier than when first photographed (right) by Summerton as a 42-pound pup, Fozzie was released Thursday at Virginia Beach. The happy ending to his ordeal was recorded by video as Fozzie, given freedom again, waddled back home for a swim in the ocean.

Dare County Tea Party plans April gathering in Kill Devil Hills

State jobless rate at record high 11.1%
North Carolina’s unemployment rate increased from 10.9% in December to 11.1% in January, according to statistics released Wednesday by the state Employment Security Commission.

Last month, the commission said the December rate was 11.1%. Why the different figure in the latest report? "Seasonally adjusted" rates, the commission says, and the fact that "in February of each year, monthly labor force statistics for all states are revised as required by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics."

County jobless rates for January will be released a week from Friday. The good news is that spring will arrive the following day.

Currituck County offers refunds to promote local labor
The county is offering building permit fee refunds to builders and homeowners who commit to using predominantly local labor and materials for any project of less than $250,000.

"We hope this program underscores our commitment to supporting the local construction and trades industry, which has been ravaged by the recession," said Economic Development Director Peter Bishop.

The program is to remain in effect for a year. To be eligible, contractors and homeowners must provide receipts to prove that at least 60% of labor and materials were sourced from Currituck County businesses and tradesmen. Only five refunds per applicant will be available.

Park Service proposes further restrictions on beach driving
The National Park Service made public Friday its long awaited – and long overdue – proposals for various ways to deal with beach driving at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in the interest of protecting nesting shore birds and sea turtles, and, the Park Service said, "to promote the safety of all visitors."

The various options published in the Federal Register as a "Draft Environmental Impact Statement" will not please many Hatteras islanders. But they and other Dare County residents, as well as those of Ocracoke and the general public, will have 60 days to respond, or sound off, before a final decision is made. That's due by the end of this year.

Outer Banks Park Service Superintendent Mike Murray (right), whose recommendations will carry the most weight, says ”the environmentally preferable" course of action is ORV restrictions "applied to larger areas over longer periods" than now apply under the 2008 federal court ordered consent decree.

Audubon North Carolina issued a statement objecting that "the preferred alternative" falls short of recommendations by Department of the Interior scientists and "sets aside only 16 miles of the 68 miles of seashore year-round as non-ORV areas for pedestrians, families, and wildlife."

See the Federal Register of March 5, pages 10307-8, for the Park Service filing. More detailed documents are here.

Ice Skating in Manteo?
Yup. The owner of The Ice Haus in Currituck County plans to open a center in the Pavilion at Pirates Cove this year. Rich Cubin of Coastal Sports and Entertainment told town commissioners he will open for business at Thanksgiving, and intends to offer ice skating from then until early March every year.
– From The Coastland Times

State privacy laws even hamper the state
North Carolina has one of the nation's most highly regarded public records laws. But the state's personnel law undercuts it by making secret of all but the most basic information about public employees.

Few if any states have such a restrictive personnel law, according to Raleigh's News & Observer. In fact, the paper says, the law has become such a barrier that even governmental agencies are being shut out.

"School districts cite the law in failing to share information about teachers who behave badly then quietly move to other districts, said Katie Cornetto, a lawyer with the State Board of Education. She said the result is known as 'passing the trash.'"

N.C. State bug collection gets federal stimulus money
The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was created in early 2009 to help create jobs and prevent an economic “catastrophe.”

A year later as the recession drags on, watchdogs at the John W. Pope Civitas Institute have accepted the invitation of a government website that says "Track the Money" and created what they call "The 10 Worst Federal Stimulus Projects in North Carolina." (Institute comments in quotes.)

1. Study of monkeys using cocaine: $71,623
Grant to Wake Forest University. "How does this study help revive the economy?"
2. North Carolina Dance Theatre: $50,000
...to retain four professional dancers.
3. Reducing hot flashes through yoga: $147,694
Another grant to Wake Forest University.
4. Collecting, researching and reporting on the stimulus act: $492,940
For "more propaganda selling the 'benefits' of the stimulus plan."
5. Create interactive dance performance technology: $762,372
Grant to UNC-Charlotte for the development of computer technology to digitally record the dance moves of performers. "This money could have saved 16 North Carolina teacher jobs."
6. American Dance Festival, Inc.: $50,000
"A graphic designer and archivist will retain their jobs thanks to this grant."
7. Construction of a new Town Hall in Bladenboro: $300,000
"Why are taxpayers from across the country forced to finance construction of a local government office? This is a classic case of earmark pork spending."
8. North Carolina Folk Life Institute:$25,000
...enables the Institute to retain its executive director. "Will this provide relief to North Carolina’s families?"
9. Preservation of an insect collection at North Carolina State: $253,123
10. Greensboro Symphony Orchestra: $50,000
"...used to retain the orchestra's director of marketing and education manager."