That will be tonight, the last day of November, when the popular Nags Head sports bar that featured 43 TVs tuned to the games of the day closes its doors for the last time. For the last time at its present location anyway. Sammy and fellow investors have sold their Nags Head building to Dirty Dick’s Crab House, which will move from its current location in Kill Devil Hills.
Except for food stores, most stores were closed on Thanksgiving Day but a few here were open in hopes of getting a jump start on pre-Christmas shopping. That began Friday, Black Friday as it’s called, when retailers hoped to raise profits from red ink to blue with pre-Christmas bargains – many at drastically reduced prices.
There were fears that in view of the economy Black Friday might be blue for many retailers. But that wasn’t the case at Tanger Mall in Nags Head where manager Debbie Moore was quoted as saying things were “crazy busy” from midnight, when it opened, until 3 a.m. Debbie herself was outside helping direct traffic when we called.
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At 6 o’clock Friday morning, when Kmart in Kill Devil Hills opened, there was a crowd outside waiting to get it. “I’m very encouraged,” said store manager James Dygan. “It’s been going better than we expected.”
The smiles were not isolated. At 5:30 in the morning, when the doors to Wal-Mart in Kitty Hawk opened, the line outside was “unbelievable,” according to store manager Max Dutton. “It took about 45 minutes to get inside.”
“It’s been an outstanding morning,” he said. “So far, I’m very pleased.” The same thing in Manteo, where Ace manager Sheila Varner said, “We’re very busy.”
Traditionally, the post-Thanksgiving shopping season accounts for up to 40% of annual retail sales. Those who keep track of such things had predicted that this season could be the worst since the early 1990s, with November sales down 2.2% compared to the 4% growth of November a year ago.
Friday morning’s story was not the full one, of course. Final reports are yet to come. But from all indications Black Friday 2008 was not blue, as predicted. And that was indeed heartening as we roll on toward Christmas and the “Season of Light.”
ECU Pirates overwhelm UTEP, 53-21, next a conference championship game Two ambitious politicians cost state major role in recovering $18 million
Greenville (AP) - East Carolina had already locked up its spot in the Conference USA championship game and had little to gain in Friday's home finale against UTEP.
Still, the Pirates sure didn't look like a team playing a meaningless game.
Brandon Simmons (left) ran for three scores and had a touchdown catch to help East Carolina beat UTEP 53-21, giving the Pirates plenty of momentum and confidence heading into next week's league title game.
East Carolina must wait to find out who it will face in next weekend's C-USA title game. Houston, Tulsa and Rice are all tied at 6-1 atop the West Division heading into the weekend. The West Division winner will host next Saturday's game.
That is the amount a federal judge says North Carolina has at stake in attempting to recover money on behalf of 820,000 pensioners in the suit against failed mortgage backer Freddie Mac. But squabbling in Raleigh has been costly.
The culprits: state Treasurer Richard Moore and state Attorney General Roy Cooper, who have continually jostled one another for ‘face time’ in their quests for recognition and higher office. The story...
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Park Service employees and volunteers have been busy rounding up and trying to save the unusually high number of sea turtles, small and large, washed up on Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches this month.
(Virginian-Pilot photo)
So far, there have been some 40 strandings – double the number of last November – apparently due to a sudden drop in ocean water temperatures. Sea turtles do not adapt well to water below 50 to 60 degrees, according to an expert on the scene who said most of those in trouble had been feeding in warmer waters of the Pamlico Sound. More...
Dare County home sales hit new low, foreclosures now total 170
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The nation’s ailing economy continues to impact Dare County as evidenced by foreclosures and also home sales, which slowed to barely a trickle during the past week. “We hit an all time low again,” reported Mike Ross of Southern Shores Realty.
And he wasn’t just speaking about that company’s sales.
Of 2,814 properties in Multiple Listings (excluding Hatteras Island and the Dare mainland), only 135 were under contract. That’s a sales ratio of 4.7%. “A healthy market,” Ross said, “should be 25 to 35%.”
During the recent real estate boom years on the Outer Banks, the ratio rose to 50& or more “and that’s unhealthy,” Ross added. “It makes prices shoot up. Right now, prices are about where they were in 2003.”#2.jpg)
Supply and demand account for that. Further, Ross noted, more foreclosures at discounted prices are “coming on the market, including high-priced properties on the soundside and Martins Point.”
In August of this year, a new North Carolina law was enacted giving property owners 45-day notice before proceedings can begin. Still, Dare County had 36 foreclosures last month, according to RealtyTrac, a national service that promotes the purchase of foreclosed properties at discounted prices.
Kill Devil Hills suffered the most foreclosures in October, 12 (including a $760,000 home), followed by Kitty Hawk (10), Manteo (8), Nags Head (4) and Waves on Hatteras Island with two.
RealtyTrac, in its most recent report, listed 170 foreclosed properties in Dare County, 144 of them bank owned. Currituck County had 173, 72 of them bank-owned. But Currituck had only one new foreclosure in October, a property in the Grandy area.
Home sales throughout North Carolina declined 29 percent during the month of October compared to a year ago and are now down 25 percent for the year, according to the North Carolina Association of Realtors.
Things to See and Do:
* Now thru Dec. 29: The Christmas Show, presented in Kitty Hawk by The Outer Banks Musical Showcase. Call for tickets: 252-261-7505
* Dec. 5 - 6: 11th Annual Rockfish Rodeo, Roanoke Island Festival Park, Manteo. Registration, 2-8 p.m., Friday; fishing and awards, Saturday, Dec. 6.
* Sunday, Dec. 14 - at the Dare County Regional Airport: the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation’s restored aircraft, The Spirit of Freedom. The plane that flew between the divided sections of Berlin during the Cold War of the 1950s will make exhibition flights and be open to the public. 2 p.m. on: reenactment of candy drops to children in East Berlin; Santa will arrive and greet local children.
* Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 15-16: The Spirit on public display.
Avalon Fishing Pier Reports
Cape Hatteras Fishing Reports
Oregon Inlet Fishing Reports
Golf Courses, Conditions
N.C. Lottery Results
Links:
Currituck County
Dare County
- Animal Shelter and Adoptable Pets
- Confederate Fortification Markers
- Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum
- Lighthouses
- N.C. Aquarium on Roanoke Island
Hyde County
N.C. Fishing and Hunting Licenses
OBX Alert documents
Outer Banks Free Press
Outer Banks History Center
Outer Banks Marinas
Topix - Kill Devil Hills
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