A Jan. 25 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled against plaintiffs who were seeking compensation from Dare County for denying non-resident property owners access to their homes during the 45-day COVID closure in 2020. The Court of Appeals, by a unanimous 3-0 decision, affirmed a September 2020 dismissal […]
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Our number one priority is workforce housing
January 26, 2023 | Local News | By: Mark Jurkowitz | From The: Outer Banks Voice
In wide-ranging State of the County, Woodard criticizes “naysayers” battling local housing projects In a roughly one-hour State of the County presentation, Dare County Commissioners Chairman Bob Woodard alternated between exhortations and congratulations. But he seemed at his most passionate when talking about the county’s frustrating quest to generate several hundred units of essential and […]
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‘My goal is to find out where the struggles are’
January 24, 2023 | Local News | By: Mark Jurkowitz | From The: Outer Banks Voice
Supt. Basnight on the issues facing our schools and his unlikely return to Dare County The November 2 selection of Steve Basnight as Dare County’s new superintendent of schools marked a homecoming for an educator who had spent nearly three decades in the Dare Schools system before moving on a decade ago to continue his […]
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Bateman and Euler face off in only contested Dare Commissioner race
November 3, 2022 | Local News | By: Mark Jurkowitz | From The: Outer Banks Voice
Of the three seats on the seven-member Dare County Board of Commissioners that are on the ballot this election, only one race is actually contested. Incumbent Republicans Jim Tobin (District 1) and Rob Ross (District 2) are running unopposed. The race where voters have a choice is the At-Large contest between first-term Republican incumbent Ervin […]
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Dare Board to address pay boost for county workers
October 31, 2022 | Local News | By: Mark Jurkowitz | From The: Outer Banks Voice | 2
Overall, employees now earn about 18% under market rate After receiving a salary study presentation showing that Dare County employees are being paid about 18% less than market rate salaries for public sector jobs, the Dare County Commissioners will consider a plan to try and address that imbalance at their upcoming Nov. 7 meeting. The […]
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Congressman Murphy proposes jetty feasibility study for Oregon Inlet
August 22, 2022 | Local News | By: Mark Jurkowitz | From The: Outer Banks Voice
On the day that Dare County welcomed the arrival of the dredge Miss Katie, District 3 U.S. Congressman Greg Murphy announced that he had filed legislation to authorize a feasibility study on constructing a dual jetty system to address chronic shoaling problems at the Oregon Inlet. In his Aug. 19 remarks at the Dare County […]
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Still no timetable for ‘Jug Handle’ Bridge open
July 12, 2022 | Local News | By: Mark Jurkowitz | From The: Outer Banks Voice | 1
On June 8, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) announced there was another delay in the anticipated imminent opening of the Rodanthe ‘Jug Handle’ Bridge. NCDOT explained that the delay was due to the fact that recently installed pavement markings earlier in the week did not meet NCDOT specifications for quality or reflectivity. The […]
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Dare’s housing costs, Hyde’s poverty rate highlighted in new report
June 29, 2022 | Local News | By: Mark Jurkowitz | From The: Outer Banks Voice
More than half of Dare County renting households spend more than 30% of their income on rent. More than one-fifth of Hyde County residents live in poverty. And there is one mental health provider in Currituck County for roughly every 2,000 county residents. These are just some of the findings from the new “county economic […]
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‘The impacts of tourism are both positive and negative’
May 19, 2022 | Local News | By: Mark Jurkowitz | From The: Outer Banks Voice | 1
Lee Nettles on plans to manage OBX’s exploding visitor business According to its Executive Director Lee Nettles, the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau is embarking on a number of initiatives at this moment. One of them, “Careers Beyond the Counter,” is designed to encourage local students to pursue rewarding vocations in the tourism industry. On June […]
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Bateman, Sanderson, Cruden, Moreland win primaries
May 18, 2022 | Local News | By: Mark Jurkowitz | From The: Outer Banks Voice
Gaskins to face Murphy in 3rd Congressional District contest Incumbent Dare County Commissioner Ervin Bateman will return for another term while the county’s current state senator, Bob Steinburg, was defeated in a redrawn district in the May 17 Republican primary election. At the same time, two Dare County Republicans were defeated a three-way race to become […]
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