In my blog of Feb. 7 about a meeting between local reporters and the new Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent Barclay Trimble, I wrote about the issue of ownership of the beach in areas where there has been erosion since the park was established. Trimble said that the National Park Service considers that it retains […]
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House subcommittee sets hearing on Jones bill to overturn ORV plan
The U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulative has scheduled a legislative hearing on Thursday, March 14, at 10 a.m. in the Longworth House Office Building, 1334 Hearing Room. Three bills will be considered, including House Bill 819, which was reintroduced by U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., on Feb. 26. The […]
Seashore News | Full Article
Homeowners’ insurance rate hike agreement will slam coastal counties
Homeowners’ insurance rate hike agreement will slam coastal counties The North Carolina Department of Insurance announced earlier this week that Commissioner Wayne Goodwin has signed a settlement agreement with homeowners’ insurance companies, allowing an overall statewide average rate increase of 7 percent, varying by territory and form, beginning July 1. The insurance companies, represented by […]
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We can overcome even the latest economic setback
Apparently, sometime before midnight, President Obama will sign into law the forced, automatic budget cuts, known as sequestration. It?s a safe bet that, no matter what your political persuasion, you are disgusted that Congress, which no longer settles political differences by compromising, went home for the weekend and let this happen as planned today. Members […]
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More details on impacts of forced spending cut on the seashore
Deputy Superintendent Darrell Echols today filled in some of the details of the effects that forced federal spending cuts, also know as sequestration, will have on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The spending cuts are scheduled to go into effect on Friday, March 1, if Congress cannot make a deal by then, and the possibilities […]
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National Park Service preparing for sequestration cuts
The National Park Service has been planning for months for cuts to the parks’ budgets if mandatory across-the-board spending cuts in federal funding, called sequestration, become effective on Friday. The cuts are expected to happen unless Congress passes legislation before Friday that would stop them. Thus far, neither Congress nor the President seem inclined to […]
Seashore News | Full Article
Court approves scheduling on CHAPA lawsuit to stop park’s ORV plan
The parties to a lawsuit filed a year ago by the Cape Hatteras Preservation Alliance against the federal government to stop the seashore’s new off-road vehicle management plan and final regulation have agreed to a schedule for proceeding, which has been approved by the court. The lawsuit was filed last February in the U.S. District […]
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Jones reintroduces bill to overturn both Park Service final rule on ORVs
U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., today reintroduced a bill in the House of Representatives that seeks to overturn both the National Park Service’s final rule for off-road vehicles on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and a court-approved consent decree that settled a lawsuit filed against the Park Service by environmental groups. The Preserving Access to […]
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Reflections on Obama’s nominee for Interior secretary
I?ve spent some time this week reading up on Sally Jewell, President?s Obama?s nominee to replace Ken Salazar as secretary of the Interior. As Interior secretary, Jewell, 56, would oversee some 500 million acres of federal lands ? from national parks, seashores, and monuments to wildlife refuges. The department also administers the Endangered Species Act, […]
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Mainland ferry routes return to normal, Hatteras-Ocracoke may be running Friday
The Swan Quarter-Ocracoke ferry route reverted back to its normal schedule this morning in anticipation of the start-up of an alternate route for the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry as early as tomorrow. The schedule for ferries between Ocracoke and the mainland, effective through May 20, is as follows: Swan Quarter to Ocracoke: 10 a.m., 4 p.m. […]
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