Shooting The Breeze

The North Carolina Beach Buggy Association (NCBBA) is a statewide organization with deep Hatteras Island roots. Founded in 1965, just two years after the Bonner Bridge linked Hatteras Island with the rest of the world, the NCBBA had more than 5,000 members at one point, from more than 30 states. The NCBBA’s membership peak coincided [...] Editor's Blog |  Full Article

Since the Island Free Press (IFP) was launched 17 years ago, it has become an annual ritual to look back on the stories that grabbed attention or left a permanent mark. Started by our co-founder and original editor, Irene Nolan, it’s a tradition that we’ve been proud to carry on since she passed away in March 2017. [...] Editor's Blog |  Full Article

The December Dare County Board of Commissioners (BOC) meeting marked the beginning of a new era, as county commissioner Mary Ellon Ballance was sworn in as Hatteras Island’s District 4 representative after winning the November 5 General Election. Ballance is taking the reins from Danny Couch, who retired in 2024 after serving as the island’s [...] Editor's Blog |  Full Article

The last few weeks of 2024 marks the end of an era and the start of a new one when it comes to Hatteras Island representation on the Dare County Board of Commissioners (BOC). On November 4, Danny Couch attended his last BOC meeting as Hatteras Island’s County Commissioner after announcing his retirement a year [...] Editor's Blog |  Full Article

Some ideas to improve Hatteras Island tend to occasionally float to the surface over the years as attention ebbs and flows. The building of a new movie theater (or even a bowling alley), a new apartment housing complex, or a new hotel have all popped up sporadically into local conversations before disappearing due to languishing [...] Editor's Blog |  Full Article

On September 1, 2023, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CHNS) issued a temporary closure for a small stretch of Buxton Beach after two offshore hurricanes eroded the shoreline, and exposed leftover infrastructure from a 1956-2010 military base, as well as sporadic but strong petroleum smells. Since then, the closure has been expanded slightly, from two-tenths [...] Editor's Blog |  Full Article

Our co-founder and editor, Irene Nolan, had a tradition of posting an annual list of beach etiquette guidelines for new visitors around the first few weeks of summer. First published decades ago when she was the editor of the former Island Breeze, Irene’s guide was a smart and timely list of the dos and don’ts when [...] Editor's Blog |  Full Article

Back in March, Island Free Press published an FAQ guide to explain the complicated background and current issues that were occurring at Buxton Beach. Nearly two months later, a lot has changed and there has been a mild increase in progress and a major increase in community involvement. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) [...] Editor's Blog |  Full Article

On Sunday, March 24, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore sent out a widely-circulated press release after a closed section of Buxton Beach was expanded from two-tenths to three-tenths of a mile, due to reports of petroleum odors and sheen on the ocean waters. Though not a large increase, the expansion effectively closes the new-in-2019 Buxton [...] Editor's Blog |  Full Article