By Mark Jurkowitz  | Outer Banks Voice The three suspects charged with theft from a Manteo ABC store on the night of Jan. 27 are also facing charges involving larceny from the Ulta store in Nags Head as part of a reported spree that included a high- speed getaway attempt, responses from multiple law enforcement agencies and, ultimately, their being taken into custody around the OBX Bowling Center in Nags Head, according to police sources. Full story

By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice 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. Full story

In wide-ranging State of the County, Woodard criticizes “naysayers” battling local housing projects By Mark Jurkowitz |Outer Banks Voice In a roughly one-hour State of the County presentation, Dare County Commissioners Chairman Bob Woodard alternated between exhortations and congratulations. Full story

Supt. Basnight on the issues facing our schools and his unlikely return to Dare County By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice 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 career in Currituck and Hyde counties. Full story

By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice In a Jan. 18 release from President Barbara Marzetti, the Corolla Civic Association (CCA) outlined new efforts to reduce what it characterized as the increasing number of “mobs of kids engaging in atrocious, intolerable behavior,” during Beach Week, the period in early to mid-June when high school graduates flock there for a good time. Full story

By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice Dare County School officials are not revealing many details about a potential threat affecting First Flight Elementary School on Jan. 10 that was quickly deemed to have posed “no threat” after an investigation. Full story

Nettles suggests something of a return to the pre-COVID era
By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice
In his recap of the Dec. 15 Dare County Tourism Board meeting, Outer Banks Visitors Bureau Executive Director Lee Nettles said that the more recent lodging and restaurant collections data suggest a slowing in the major tourism boom of the last few years. Full story

Planning Board supports removing multi-family dwelling as permitted use By Mark Jurkowitz  | Outer Banks Voice At their Dec. 21 meeting, the Nags Head Commissioners scheduled a Jan. 4 public hearing on a zoning change that would remove the multi-family dwelling as a permitted use within the town’s C-2 General Commercial Zoning District. Full story

By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice Children who show up at the Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo on Sunday, Dec. 18 will get their Christmas-season candy drop treats – cupcakes, candy attached to parachutes and soft-drinks — as well as a visit with Santa. What they won’t get, unfortunately, is the iconic C-54 cargo plane flying in the skies above the airport dropping those parachutes with candy. Full story

By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice. After a discussion among the five members and a few comments from residents at their Dec. 12 meeting, a divided Kill Devil Hills Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 against a motion to reduce the speed limit from 25 miles per hour to 20 miles per hour on the west side of town. Full story

By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice In an interview with the Voice six months ago, Outer Banks Visitors Bureau Executive Director Lee Nettles said Dare County was committed to examining the issue of sustainable tourism and to trying to strike the right balance between the level of tourism needed to fuel the local economy and the level of tourism that brings adverse impacts, particularly to local residents. Full story

In an election when local Republicans were either uncontested or victorious, incumbent first-term Republican Ervin Bateman defeated Democratic challenger Heather Euler in the battle for the one contested seat on the Dare County Board of Commissioners. Full story