Rebecca Nagy

Jun 1, 2006

Healthy as a Horse

Imagine waking up early on a Saturday and spending all day plucking enough grass, blade by blade, to fill several gallon-size plastic bags. Sound bizarre? For Sue Stuska, a wildlife…

May 1, 2006

Hurricane Fran: Memories and Lessons

When Hurricane Fran slammed onto Topsail Island in September 1996, it destroyed the Medlin family's fishing pier, two restaurants and a motel. "It was the worst storm to hit the area since Hurricane Hazel," says Doug Medlin, the owner of the Fishing Village in Surf City. "There was so much damage that we didn't rebuild the facilities."

May 1, 2006

Morehead City’s Changing Waterfront

It's a slow day along the Morehead City waterfront. Near the landmark Sanitary Fish Market & Restaurant, Capt. Gilbert Mathis washes down a large fishing boat after a rough night of snapper fishing.

Mar 1, 2006

Beach Vitex: Kudzu of the Coast?

A coastal menace is creeping onto shorelines along the Carolinas. Like all crafty invaders, this plant travels well, conquers quickly and has a good disguise. It's seeds and broken stems float on ocean currents to root and colonize new areas. It grows rapidly, choking out native plants. And its beguiling purple flowers will turn heads this summer — some out of admiration for its unique blooms, others out of loathing for its tenacious assault on North and South Carolina dunes.

Mar 1, 2006

A Million Reasons to Love North Carolina

Now, leaders from across the state are rallying around the "One North Carolina Naturally" banner to help balance the integrity of natural systems with pressures of inevitable growth. Among the flag-bearers are supporters from local governments, state agencies, industry, land trusts and conservation organizations, military reservations, academia and citizen groups.

Dec 15, 2005

Strolling through Beaufort’s Seafaring Past: Holiday Walk Features Historic Sites

It is the mid-1800s again in the historic Josiah Bell house in downtown Beaufort. In a large yellow parlor with mauve woodwork, three women in Victorian-style dresses play the rich sound of "Oh Holy Night" on their harps.

Dec 15, 2005

Carteret Catch: New Marketing Project Promotes Local Seafood

The visit to the state-of-the-art seafood facility is one stop on an East Coast trip sponsored by a Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI) grant awarded to Carteret Community College. The project promotes local seafood through community and business partnerships.

Dec 1, 2005

The Freedmen of Roanoke Island: The Other Lost Colony

Crossing the bridge onto the northern tip of Roanoke Island, visitors can hardly help but stare at an 11-foot-wide sign announcing the birthplace of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the new world. Across the road, a simple street sign marks another of our nation's historic firsts. The thin strip of metal reads: "Freedmen's Colony Road." There is no room to explain that the Freedmen's Colony was a camp of ex-slaves that became a thriving colony — one that built schools, churches and homes during the Civil War.

Dec 1, 2005

Shrimp Economics: Coastal Tradition and Global Economy Converge

As domestic shrimp prices plummet to compete with imported supplies, and the cost of gas and insurance continue to rise, Hopkins and other North Carolina shrimpers are struggling to maintain tradition.

Dec 1, 2005

Learning from the Past: Old Maps Help Build A New Future For The Eastern Oyster

In the age of online mapping services, paper maps may seem obsolete — but try telling that to Eugene Ballance, an Ocracoke fisherman who is transforming 118-year-old survey maps of Pamlico Sound into blueprints for restoring the Eastern oyster.