Stories by Kip Tabb | Outer Banks Voice

The reborn Pioneer Theater opens in Manteo

Andy Griffith’s A Face in the Crowd being shown on May 26
By Kip Tabb | Outer Banks Voice
The Pioneer Theater in downtown Manteo lives on. Full story

May 26


More summer worker woes predicted on OBX

Lack of housing cited as key reason for the shortage
By Kip Tabb | Outer Banks Voice
As the calendar closes in on the summer season, local business owners are expressing concern that the chronic staffing shortages that have plagued the Outer Banks for the past few visitor seasons will continue to affect customer service, hours of operation and revenues. Full story

May 23


Growing up Wawa: Bonnie Collins recalls her childhood on the Pennsylvania dairy farm

By Kip Tabb | Outer Banks Voice Before Wawa broke ground in Kill Devil Hills on their first North Carolina location; before they had more than 1,000 stores, before they opened their first store in Folsom, Pennsylvania, Wawa was a thriving dairy farm just outside Media, Pennsylvania. Full story

May 19


SELC won’t appeal Mid-Currituck Bridge decision to Supreme Court, project timetable uncertain

By Kip Tabb | Outer Banks Voice After several years of wending its way through the courts, the lawsuit filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) challenging the construction of the Mid-Currituck Bridge appears to have run its course. Full story

May 14


A walk in the woods  

Tracking life in the Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve By Kip Tabb | Outer Banks Voice Until 2011, Bo Dame was the Northern Sites Manager at Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve. That was when he began monitoring the animals that could be recorded and counted in the reserve. Full story

May 11


Wawa begins construction on first NC store

The OBX becomes a hot spot for convenience store expansion By Kip Tabb | Outer Banks Voice With shovels tossing sand from a pile of dirt and a blast of confetti, the first Wawa convenience store in North Carolina broke ground for construction on May 12. Full story

May 12


Currituck County Commissioners at odds over beach nourishment

By Kip Tabb | Outer Banks Voice In the wake of a three-year study of Currituck County beaches that was published in January, some county officials appear to be divided on what the next steps should be or even if additional steps are needed. Full story

May 1


Inside a trailer, students train for good jobs

The Be Pro Be Proud initiative comes to Dare’s COA campus
By Kip Tabb | Outer Banks Voice
It’s the morning of Monday, April 24 and there’s about 30 Manteo Middle school students in the Be Pro Be Proud trailer parked on the College of the Albemarle (COA) Dare County campus. The kids are really excited—and perhaps the best way to describe it is as organized mayhem. Full story

Apr 26


Great Weather and Fast Times for Flying Pirate Half Marathon

By Kip Tabb | Outer Banks Voice With temperatures in the upper 50s at the 7:00 a.m. start time, the April 23 Flying Pirate Half Marathon offered near perfect conditions for long distance runners. Full story

Apr 23


Construction on Kitty Hawk North Wind Energy Area slated to begin next year

By Kip Tabb | Outer Banks Voice
Located 27 miles off the coast of the northern Outer Banks, the Kitty Hawk Wind Energy Area (KHWEA) is being developed by Avangrid, an international energy development company. Full story

Apr 18


After two boom years, fewer OBX visitors in 2022

‘I think that suggests we’re normalizing,’ says OBVB’s Nettles
By Kip Tabb | Outer Banks Voice
The numbers tell the story. The double-digit growth in visitation and revenue that Dare County saw in 2020 and 2021 has come to a halt. Full story

Apr 13


Opening of Manteo’s federally qualified health center slated for June

By Kip Tabb | Outer Banks Voice
Following the April 11 meeting of the Manteo Healthcare Task Force, members toured what will be the county’s first FQHC (Federally Qualified Health Center) at 402 Budleigh Street in Manteo. Full story

Apr 11