Stories by Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice

Four more Dare towns join protest of state budget housing measure

By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice
Following in the footsteps of Nags Head and Manteo, leaders of the other four Dare County municipalities released a flurry of letters and resolutions on Sept. 21 voicing their staunch opposition to a provision inserted into the state budget that would curtail the towns’ ability to regulate housing developments. Full story

Sep 21


State budget housing provision angers Dare municipal officials

Measure would restrict towns’ authority to regulate housing projects
By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice

Meeting on the evening of Sept. 20, the Manteo Board of Commissioners approved a resolution opposing a provision in the pending state budget that would curtail Dare County municipalities’ authority to regulate affordable housing developments funded by $35 million the state gave the county for that purpose. Full story

Sep 20


Dare Board adds $1.5M for new housing project

Plan is for Woda Cooper to build 57 units at unspecified site
By Mark Jurkowitz  | Outer Banks Voice

Meeting in special session on Tuesday, Sept. 19, the Dare County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to appropriate another $1.5 million to help its essential housing partner, Woda Cooper, proceed with an effort to build a 57-unit development in the county. Full story

Sep 19


Dare County to try again on Woda Cooper housing proposal

By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice
Two weeks after its proposal was unanimously rejected by the Manteo Board of Commissioners, the Dare County Commissioners will be looking for a way to move forward on a planned Woda Cooper housing development when they meet on Tuesday, Sept. 19, in special session. Full story

Sep 18


Charter and Disney announce deal, restore programming to Spectrum customers

By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice
Right before the 8 p.m. kickoff of the Aug. 31 Utah-Florida college football game on ESPN, Charter Spectrum cable viewers saw something strange. The screen went completely dark. Full story

Sep 1


Charges pending in Aug. 10 Manteo shooting 

Victim has been released from hospital   
By Mark Jurkowitz  | Outer Banks Voice
Manteo Police Investigator Tony Corbin says that charges stemming from an Aug. 10 shooting that hospitalized one woman “are being finalized,” and that the investigation includes the “possibility of multiple arrests.” Full story

Sep 11


 ‘We’re looking at expanding opportunities for students’ 

Dare County Schools officials seek state’s approval to open early college 
By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice

Right now, Dare County is one of 17 of the 100 counties in North Carolina that does not have an early college school option for high school students. That may not be the case for long. Full story

Sep 7


Judge, DA, and defense assail social media’s role in LeeAnn Fletcher case

By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice
In a Sept. 1 release issued a day after a plea deal was reached in the murder trial of John “Jay” Tolson, District 1 District Attorney Jeff Cruden stated that “this was a difficult case from the very beginning,” noting that first responders found the victim, LeeAnn Fletcher, “unresponsive without any obvious signs of external trauma.” Full story

Sep 2


Tolson takes voluntary manslaughter plea deal in death of LeeAnn Fletcher

By Mark Jurkowitz  | Outer Banks Voice
Four days after the start of John “Jay” Tolson’s second-degree murder trial in the July 2020 death of LeeAnn Fletcher, the two sides reached a plea agreement on Thursday, Aug. 31 that carries a sentence of 56-80 months for voluntary manslaughter. Full story

Aug 31


In Day Two of the Tolson murder trial, opening statements and prosecution witnesses

By Mark Jurkowitz  | Outer Banks Voice
Moments after the prosecution’s first witness—former Dare County dispatcher Raven Brown—took the stand on Day Two of the John “Jay” Tolson murder trial, the courtroom heard his 911 call on the morning of July 22, 2020, describing LeeAnn Fletcher’s condition. Full story

Aug 29


Jury seated on Day 1 of Tolson murder trial 

Defense, prosecution battle over admissible evidence
By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice

The long-awaited murder trial of John (“Jay”) Curtis Tolson, arrested for the July 2020 death of LeeAnn Fletcher, got underway on the morning on Aug. 28 in Courtroom A of the Dare Justice Center. Full story

Aug 28


NCDOT says Colington Rd. project is 75% complete

Work expected to end in late fall 2023
By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice

There is a light at the end of the tunnel for the $20 million Colington Road project that began in late January 2022, and is on track to be finished late this fall, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). Full story

Aug 22