Data Logger Blog

Ever get tired of reading about politics? Every blog has an opinion. Bill is busting on the new Reef and Wings megastores (and rightly so). Kevin is taking time to memorialize his thoughts the War in Iraq, while 5-Oh (aka OBR, aka HWNIcP aka oo0oo, hereinafter referred to as Man Offering Name That Insightfully & Clearly Exhibits Large Lack of Orginality or MONTICELLO for short)is busting on the North Carolina environmental movement and Paula is politicking for NEO and the new blog template. Ronnie is warning about mortgage scams and helping the folks at Village Realty keep you posted on traffic cams While Peter is sharing thoughts on the fate of Corolla's wild horses.*
Opinions and speculation are rampant in the blogosphere what we need here is some good old fashion data. Hard cold facts, numbers, readings, input or maybe just some accurate information.
I was biking on the beach road today and I happened on just that, real hard data. I noticed 3 technicians from Johnston Inc. working on a big white box with a solar panel attached. The box was perched above the Curlew St. stormwater drainage culvert across the street from the outfall where the drainage basin empties into the ocean. I stopped and spoke with Vincent Bryant, Eastern NC sales rep for Johnston, who was as heading up the installation of the box. He explained the unit was one of nine data loggers that were being installed to monitor the quality of the water in the drainage outfall system. Eight of the units will be installed on ocean outfalls, with the ninth located near RV's at Sugar Creek where the Whalebone Junction drainage basin empties into the sound.
The data loggers are being installed as part of a project funded by NCDENR and implemented by the Coastal Studies Institute. The project stems from commitments made by NCDOT during the negotiations over the purchase of Jennette's pier with grant money from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund. The short version is that DOT committed to getting the Whalebone outfall out of the sound. Only it didn't commit (if you believe DOT) or do it (if you can believe that). Through the good efforts of a lot of people including State Senator Clark Jenkins and then NH Manager Webb Fuller, the outfall project developed into a DENR project. The first phase off the project was to talk about what to do, for about 2 years. The next phase (the current phase) is set up to determine what is actually going on with the outfalls. How much water flows through them during what type of rain events. What direction it flows (yes, they are tidal and can actually flood the beach road when the ocean level rises ). What the quality of the water is, what types of pollutants are in it and at what levels. All good things to know if you want to plan to mitigate the impacts of the outfalls but facts, data, information that has been virtually non-existent prior to the installation of the data loggers.
The next phase will to develop Best Management Practices for each drainage basin. Some may be as simple as installing rip-rap or flow breaks in drainage ditches to slow the rate that water passes through them. Other areas may see solutions as sophisticated as irradiation of the storm water to kill pathogens (germs) in the water. A full explanation of the project and possible BMPs can be found at the Coastal Studies Institute website.
One thing the data loggers can't test for is germs. Samples will continue to be drawn by hand from each access on regular schedules. The samples will be tested for contamination, probably the pathogen entrococus, the state's standard for testing for fecal contamination. The samples will also be tested to determine the origins of any pathogens found. This will indicate the source, leaking septic tank or animal waste. This is extremely important since prior studies have shown that much of the contamination in stormwater has come not from human sources but from animal sources. Nags Head has been doing ground and surface water quality testing for the last 5 years. There is strong circumstantial evidence that much of the surface water pollution found, particularly in the SNH ditch came from animals. The ground water around the ditch is not polluted but the ditch is, go figure.
One solution I don't expect to see is the elimination of the outfalls. The volume of water they handle is simply too large to manage in any other economical manner. It would take too much land to hold the water and then infiltrate it back into the ground. It would also serve to raise the water table in much of Nags Head by a couple of inches and a couple of inches would cause a lot of areas to flood that are currently dry.

The installation of the boxes should be completed by next week, then the long hard process of collecting and analyzing the data will begin. It will be interesting to see what develops. If I hear or see any reports I will pass them on.
One thing this project does do is show the farce that is represented by the warning signs posted at each outfall. Several years ago the NC Dept. of Health and Human Services decided that each outfall should have a warning sign posted saying that it was dangerous to swim near the outfall. Not because of the physical danger from the pipe but because the water coming out of the pipe was contaminated. There was just one tiny little problem. Yeah you guessed it, no data. There was absolutely no evidence, no good science, no facts, no findings, no reports that actually showed the water coming out of the outfalls was contaminated. In fact the existing data from both the state and the Town showed the opposite, that the water around the outfalls was no different than the water elsewhere on the beach. The discussions around this issue led to some of the most incredible bureaucratic double-think that I every experienced in my career in government (remember besides 20+years at Nags Head, I have 30 years working for the Post Office). At one point the State was arguing that signs should be installed at each access and left up all the time since that would solve the problem, then they wouldn't have to test for pollution since the warnings that the water was polluted were already posted. The problem it would solve is that it would inform people there was a risk of swimming near the outfalls, whether it was true or not. The town's position was to put the signs up when testing indicated that there was pollution, then to work to identify the source of the pollution and eliminate it. The State never could quite get to that point, to them the problem wasn't the pollution, it was the sign. They were required to have a program to deal with this issue. If they put up a sign they could tell the Feds they had implemented a program even if the program did nothing to resolve a problem that no one could say with any certainty even existed. Confused? don't worry, that was their goal all along. State "scientists" basically saying don't bother me with data, I know the answer now just get out of the way.
All this brings us back to our new data loggers. 4-5 years after the discussions I described above somebody finally realized that there is not enough data to know what role the outfalls play. They also found the money to actually collect the data and analyze it. That's a very good thing and that's a fact.

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* I hope I got everyone some love. Each time we link to each other our collective SEO pops up. You all have been sending me some; thought I would share some back.

You don't see this every day

There are thirteen cars in this picture. That's thirteen cars parked at one house. Even more remarkable is that all but 2 of the cars can be moved without any other car moving. The 2 cars that are blocked (one under the house and one second tier right side) require only one other car to be moved in order to exit. I ride my bike on the beach road just about every day. I have spent years looking at and talking about the parking arrangements at rental cottages. To put it politely, it was an issue. I don't recall every seeing this particular feat of engineering. 8-9 cars are not unusual, nor is it unusual to see long lines of cars parked in. This hope this combination of quantity and quality is a harbinger of a good summer season.

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This is a picture of a car stuck in the sand. Not particularly unusual except that nowadays it is. 30 years ago this was a common sight. There were few beach accesses and lots of undeveloped oceanfront property. To go to the beach visitors (and locals) just pulled off the beach road and walked over the dunes. The uninitiated, the inexperienced and the unlucky ended up like this guy, stuck and waiting for a Samaritan to come pull them out. I suspect that this may even have been used by certain young women to meet young men, if you can imagine such a thing. Its trite to say but Nags Head and the Outer Banks were a different place. One big difference, a lot less grass and shrub on the side of the road. This is due in large part to the long term effect of the creation of the frontal dunes in the 1930's. As the dunes were established, ocean overwash stopped and grasses started to stabilize the loose sand. Development has enhanced the situation but the basic effect can be seen on aerial photos of Jockeys Ridge. 30 years ago the area from the bypass to the back ridge was open and contained a few seasonal ponds. Now there is vegetation spreading across the flats. The increase in beach access and in ocean front development have channeled parking to lots and limited the need to park in the loose sand. It still happens along Hwy. 12 on Hatteras Island but even there the road shoulder is much more stable than it was a few years back.
Lucky thirteen and an unlucky driver, two things you just don't see every day.

Arlington Cemetery - National Geographic Magazine

The VA. Pilot ran a feature on Arlington National Cemetery on the front page this morning. It was from a larger feature originally published in National Geographic Magazine. The well written history of our national cemetery is supplemented by great photos, 3 excellent videos, an interactive map and a page of additional resources.
The poignancy of the topic is beautifully illustrated by the photographs and videos. NG sent 6 world class photographers to Arlington for this assignment. You can read their story and see more photos in this excellent article in American Photography.
Memorial Day is a time for remembrance and reflection. Arlington is a good place to start. You can't help but be moved by the beauty and tragedy of the cemetery. You can help but be reminded of the sacrifice and sadness each grave represents. The Ocracoke band Molasses Creek just issued a new album. On it they begin the anti-war folk song "The Strangest Dream" with an a capella chorus of an old CSN&Y tune. That chorus seems appropriate way to close this piece. With the thought that at Arlington we truly:

Find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is an important holiday in any year, but this year it seems even more important that we take time to honor those who have fallen in our country's wars. There are two events on Monday dedicated to that purpose.
The Town of Nags Head will hold its Memorial Day ceremony in front of Town Hall. It will start at 11:00 am and feature Commander Edward F. Cole, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.) as the featured speaker.
The second ceremony will take place in Manteo. The Pea Island Pea Island African-American Heritage Center at Collins Park will be dedicated. The program will begin at noon and feature a salute by the Coast Guard to the men of the Pea Island Lifesaving Station. If you are not familiar with this story it is a fascinating one of courage and bravery. Pea Island Station was the only Life Saving Station manned by an all African American crew. The men of this station received countless medals and citations for bravery in the face of danger. The US Coast Guard Historian has a section on the history of this station.
The Maneto ceremony will take place at Collins Park at Sir Walter Raleigh and Bideford Streets
in Manteo.
There usually are other observances on Memorial Day but I can't find any reference to them on the web or in the paper. If you know of any please add a comment for the benefit of others.
I hope that each of you will take time on Monday to pause and reflect on what has been sacrificed in the name of our country and how we can work to reduce the need for such sacrifices in the future.

The Outer Banks Republic: Apologies (Without Being Sappy)

To HWNIcP
Welcome back.
I came to praise you not to bury you.
I wanted to be Marc Anthony not your Brutus, even though I am an honorable man.

As you wisely said: "let's move on and have some fun!!!!"

Va Pilot: Basnight cooks up a quick turnaround after fire (The Virginian-Pilot - HamptonRoads.com/PilotOnline.com)

The Virginia Pilot catches up with a story we broke on Mon. Interesting comments from Town officials about how the speedy approval was accomplished. Interesting comment from Starco on my initial post.

Apologies and an Announcement

I want to apologize to Ray Midgett and to the individual who posts as Overwash. Last Sunday I deleted a comment from Overwash. After deleting the post I added a comment which stated in part:

I just deleted a comment from Overwash, whom I believe to be Ray Midgett. I could be wrong but I doubt it.

While I qualified my comments I want to make this clear: I do not know who Overwash is therefore I probably should not have speculated. It seems that speculating about identities on this blog just causes problems for people. Therefore I formally apologize to both Overwash and to Ray Midgett. Overwash I won't make you responsible for Ray's actions. Ray, I won't hang OW's stuff on you. Please accept my sincere apology.
This whole deleting posts thing has caused me a lot of concern. I don't like censorship and don't want to practice it. Therefore I have established a new blog. It is called Deleted Posts. I will publish, without comment, any comments sent to this blog that I choose not to publish. This way I have not denied the author the right to be read. If there are other bloggers who wish to use this blog for the same purpose please contact me and I will explain how to post.
I have already shared this blog with members of the Yahoo OBX bloggers group and it appears that some of them may have already begun to participate.
To test this blog I have added some deleted posts and a couple that were not deleted but that I wanted to at the time.

newsobserver.com | Seawall up for vote in Senate

I received this letter which has been sent to the N&O in response to this article.
newsobserver.com | Seawall up for vote in Senate
We read your 23 May article "Seawall up for vote in Senate" with interest. We are very tired of the Coastal Engineer community condemning everything while offering nothing constructive. They say we'll have beaches for generations if we do nothing - this is simply not true - our coastline is no longer natural, it is developed, and unless we are willing to relocate every home and business within 25 miles of the coast that will not change. While we have no opinions about the two instances in the article, we do suggest, as an example, the state's no-groin policy has caused more harm than good around Oregon Inlet, the beaches to the north, and the Bonner Bridge.

The coastal engineering community is becoming irrelevant because they offer no realistic options to state and local governments to these questions:

• How can we realistically protect our coastline, environment, economy, and communities?


• What should be the vision for 5, 10, 20, 25 years from now?


• What options should the state be pursuing to achieve that vision?

We need a viable coastal policy that addresses reality in a way that will preserve our coastal way of life for generations to come.

/signed/
John & Annette Ratzenberger
Nags Head, NC, 27959

Planting Pilings at Basnights Lone Cedar

Planting Pilings at Basnights Lone Cedar originally uploaded by BOBXNC
The first pilings are going into the ground as Basnight's Lone Cedar Cafe begins the long process of rebuilding. The site plan was approved last Wed. night by the Nags Head Board of Commissioners. The Coastland Times reports that the plans call for approximately 500 sq. ft. more customer space and 5 more parking spaces. You can read the NH Planning staff report on the site plan at the agenda for the BOC meeting it is item E.
Lets hope this project moves forward quickly. More photos are available in gallery at photo.jockeysridge.com
It looks like the Osprey who was nesting behind the restaurant is in good shape.
Osprey at Basnights buidling site. originally uploaded by BOBXNC

To OBR

I am very sorry that you decided to close down your blog. I am doubly sorry, if my failed attempt at satire contributed your decision. You are absolutely right, I do know why you chose to blog anonymously and why you chose not to accept comments. I have supported and I continue support those decisions. I do not however believe that you can realistically expect people not to comment on what you write and speculate about who wrote it. Your blog is not Jericho. Many of us anticipate each new post. I hope you will reconsider your decision and continue sharing your thoughts with us in this forum. Take a deep breath, take some time off or write something really cathartic, just don't leave, please.
Reading that request I realize how selfish it is. Do what is best for you. I read the stress in your response to my screed. I was trying to find a way to respond that didn't add to that stress. It guess its too late.
Bye, sorry to see you go. Hope you come back soon.

No Comment

I just realized that my last post did not accept comments. I have changed this. Apparently, I set a switch on blogger to restrict comments. I did that by accident. No other purpose or intention. Sorry. The end.

President. Bloomberg??

Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert cartoon and blogger extraordinaire, suggested 2 days ago that NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg would be a good candidate for President. Today, I find a piece on Yahoo indicating that His Honor is openly considering it. Moderate Republican Senator Chuck Hagel (R. Neb.) met with Bloomberg in NY recently. The two seemed to hit it off.

"Hagel openly hinted about joining the mayor on a high-octane, third-party ticket that could reshape the political landscape and jolt the traditional U.S. two-party system.

'It's a great country to think about -- a New York boy and a Nebraska boy to be teamed up leading this nation,' Hagel said earlier this week on CBS."

Given the dearth of viable choices on either side, this pairing looks interesting. This is something more than just a Naderesque tilt at national windmills. Bloomberg has the money to mount a national campaign on his own, without accepting a dime from anybody. The guy is worth a billion bucks, that would buy a lot of TV time.. Keep an eye on this one. It could really mess with the heads of the party front runners.

Another interesting development in presidential politics was a little noticed bill that pass the NC Senate last week. The bill would require the state's electors to cast all the state's electoral votes for the candidate who received the majority of the popular vote nationwide, short-circuiting the now outdated constitutional purpose of the Electoral College. This is part of a national campaign to change the face of presidential elections, to force candidates to campaign nationally rather than limiting their appearances and positions based on a political formula for capturing votes in the Electoral College.
If this process had been in place in 2000, the Supreme Court would not have decided the election, the voters would have. This sounds like an idea whose time has come. Lets hope so.

OBR -Who Are You? WHO CARES!!

To drink: How about some hemlock, Plato tells us it was good enough for Socrates. Maybe the author of our Outer Banks Republic could benefit from it as well.
To listen: Without a doubt this one calls for the Rolling Stones, Sympathy for the Devil. You know the one that starts of:"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste". Sure you are! Just ask you.
To eat: Most any soft cheese, a brie perhaps or maybe some Velveeta.
To sleep: Perchance to dream.


If nothing else you have to admire the sheer chutzpah (thats a Yiddish word, in Spanish the concept is cajones, in parts of Brooklyn they talk about "stones") of a writer who tells you what to drink or listen to while you read their work. But chutzpah doesn't even begin to describe the eccentric ego of anyone who thinks people care what they think or worse yet a writer who thinks that people want to read about their political philosophy. The author of the Outer Banks Republic blog chose to do just that in recent post. This anonymous coward calls himself "ooOoo". What is up with that? Since I have no idea how to pronounce "ooOoo" I will call him "He Whose Name I can't Pronounce" or HWNIcP for short. HWNIcP is both fascinated with and fearful of his anonymity. Pontificating in this post he posits the premise that:

Since I have chosen this to be an anonymous blog, perhaps its only fair to include some insights into my political beliefs, at the very least, since those opinions seem to draw some "fire".

Spare me pleeease. HWNIcP is fixated on this whole man of mystery thing. Well, I am going to fix that little problem for you dear reader. At the end of this post I will tear the mask off the cowardly cur. I will reveal, for the first time, who HWNIcP really is and how I have penatrated his preposterous pose.
Before I shine the light of truth on HWNIcP lets take a minute to deconstruct the pearls of wisdom that HWNIcP casts before our collective snouts. He says that he has read two books. Ouch. What makes it worse is the fact that the first book HWNIcP tells us has read may be the worst book ever written. Let see how HWNIcP describes Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand "the plot and story line of the novel leaves much to be desired". No kidding, but that's not the worst thing about this book. Here is what one of my favorite authors says about the woman who formed half of HWNIcP's "polictical beliefs":

All this abstract,ideological, the-free-market-is-God, Ayn Rand piffle is doing cruel things to real people-Molly Ivins "Bushwacked" [Try reading her some time dude, she gets it right and she's a lot funnier than your Ayn Rand]

Ayn Rand wrote the gospel of capitalism unbridled. The kind of capitalism that brought you the Tea Pot Dome Scandal, the Great Depression, Love Canal, the Corvair, Enron, Haliburton, $4.00 a gallon gas and the list gets longer every day. This book preaches that everybody should just get out there and compete, competition is good and government interference in competition is bad. Competition creates jobs, competition rocks and don't let anything get in the way of the market. This book preaches that there is no role for government in the marketplace, no clean air standards, no safety standards, no minimum wage, no... Oh, sorry, thats right, this is a rant about HWNIcP not about Ayn Rand. Let me get back to our subject.
You can see how dangerous it is if a person reads only two books and one of them is Atlas Shrugged. At least HWNIcP actually read this book, I'm sure of that and here's why. In her books Ayn Rand feels it necessary to explain her political philosophy directly, apparently realizing that her writing is so bad that her readers won't be able to figure it out from the context of her work. Sheesh, are we seeing a pattern here? Rand explains herself so HWNIcP has to do the same. This guy makes Oedipus look normal. Just so you don't think I'm making this up, here is a quote I found in the Wiki that HWNIcP so kindly linked to:

My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute."-Ayn Rand Appendix to Atlas Shrugged

As you can see the words "much to be desired'"describe this book perfectly and not just in plot and story line.

Now heres where it starts to get really worrisome. HWNIcP says he's read two books, the first one is a dangerous pack of lies designed to enslave workers and destroy society and the second one HE HASN'T EVEN REALLY READ. I know this is true and I can prove it. Here's the deal. With the possible exception of Melanie Griffith no one has actually read Alexis de Toqueville's "On Democracy In America". I was enrolled at an effete eastern educational enclave and exited with a degree in Political Economics and I've never read Alexis de Toqueville's "On Democracy In America". I know HWNIcP hasn't either. Don't beleve me OK, here is a link to an e-copy of the entire book , both volumes, all 8 gazillion pages of it, go ahead, download it and read it. Go ahead, I'll wait............. Didn't do it did ya. Point proved. NO ONE has actually read Alexis de Toqueville's "On Democracy In America" ipso facto HWNIcP couldn't possibly have read it.
I will give HWNIcP credit, he at least found the Cliff notes or maybe the Wiki. He has the basic premise of this book pretty straight (or at least what my Cliff Notes present as the premise [remember you can't argue about the premise 'cause I know you never read the book either]). The premise is that democracy, as practiced in early 19th century America is good. Government by the people is good, small government by the people is even better. Which leaves us with a paradox. Rand - "government is bad" de Toquevile "government is good". A paradox, a conundrum, in Marxist terms a dialectic. Two concepts that appear to contradict one anther. Call it what you want, I know a word for it fuzzy thinking hypocrisy (OK that's 3 words, you get my point). HWNIcP is simply a very confused and cowardly guy. He doesn't know what to think or even who he is. His mind has been trashed by the one book he has actually read (I told you it was a dangerous book) and he is compelled to belch out this relentless raft of ravings about political philosophy that serve only to demonstrate the inherent contradictions of his entire life.
HWNIcP (also known to his mother as oo0oo)(how does she pronounce it?) tries to reconcile these contradictions with allusions to terms like "Tyranny of the majority" "representative democracy" and "property rights". All great terms if you actually read the books that explain them but useless since I have proven that he hasn't. He wants us to believe that small towns in Dare County meddle in peoples lives, that our 6 God given municipalities (OK, not God but the NC General Assembly, same thing) our 6 state created dominions are not the best form of government on the entire face of the earth. Now I know this guy is over the edge. I helped create the concept of "meddlesome local government" and have spent most of the last 25 years finding new and more creative ways to trample on people's property rights. For HWNIcP to be right my life has been a lie, a fraud, a failure. Well no not a failure, I guess HWNIcP actually thinks I may have been too successful, (not sure, doesn't matter, we'll argue that out later).
HWNIcP wants us to believe that elected leaders should make decisions based on their view of what's right and best for their community as opposed to being driven by what they think their constituents want. Maybe if this guy actually read a book written in the last 20 years he would have learned that leadership is dead. The concept of building a community through values and long range planning is as long gone as the town squares the de Toqueville admired so much. Maybe if this guy read a paper he would find out the one truth of 21st century politics. He who shouts loudest (and meanest) wins.
HWNIcP wants us to believe that taxation without representation is wrong. I thought we resolved that long time ago, like in Dubbya's first term. Governments should do what they want, when they want and don't let the facts get in the way. The nerve of this guy, if non-resident property owners want a vote let them regi.... (let me try that again). If non-resident property owners want a vote so they can have say in how the millions they render in taxes are spent let them go to .... Hmm not really sure where that is but I know for sure it's not in Dare County. If non-resident property owners want a say in how their money is spent they should read Alexis de Toqueville's "On Democracy In America". There they can learn about the "tyranny of the majority" or as HWNIcP more accurately analyzes: "the tyranny of the minority" This won't change anything but at least they'll have the satisfaction of knowing more than HWNIcP.
HWNIcP shares all this philosophy with us so we don't actually have to know his name. That's probably the only smart thing he has done. If people knew who he was they might lynch him for his confused and misguided ramblings. The stuff this guy writes is downright dangerous. Heaven help us if he actually reads a third book (or is it really a second book..Oh never mind just get to the good part).
This is where I reveal who HWNIcP actually is. Using the science of heuristics, kineseology, metallurgy and demography I pierced his veil. Extensive Google searches and a stint in rehab have led me to the simple fact that HWNIcP is someone named Bob. How did I determine this you ask, OK thats fair. Look at this nom de plume (that's French for fake id, in parts of Brooklyn they say AKA). That "oo0oo" he uses to sign his posts. See the small Ohs in front and back. I think that this is a clue. We all know that criminals leave clues when the choose aliases. Like on Perry Mason when the killer, lets call him Don Smith, checks into the hotel as David Stick. DS-DS, both names of Mayors of TTWIcGttB (see below) big clue, Perry solves the case. Here the clue is in the ohs. If you stack them on top of one another you get something that vaguely resembles a capital "b" That would make the name B0B, sound familiar, we are looking for a not too bright blogger named Bob. He lives on the Outer Banks, drinks some, thinks he funny and lives with the delusion that people care about what he thinks. There is only one person who fits that description (drum roll please) Bob Muller. It must be. Bob Muller is HWNIcP. Case closed, thanks Perry, go directly to jail, do not pass Go and all that stuff.
You know that would be great if it were just that simple. Reveal that I am HWNIcP and drift off into the sunset except that I know that I ain't. Oh, it's possible. Like HWNIcP, I can't go to the beach in Southern Shores (hereinafter to be referred to as "The Town Where I can't Go to the Beach" or TTWIcGttB for short) but I don't write as well as he does and I surely wouldn't have listed Ayn Rand as the only book I ever read, no matter how badly I wanted to throw you off the trail. No, I am pretty sure that I'm not HWNIcP. Which leaves us with the question, "Who is?" Personally, I don't care but since he does and you most certainly do or you wouldn't have read this far, I will reveal what the rest of my phrenological research has indisputably determined.
Lets go back to our one clue. The name used to sign this poser's pontifications, "oo0oo". See that zero in the middle that looks a lot like a capital O? What words are capitalized? Why last names of course,. That's it, we're looking for a balding, overweight male about 6 ft. with the initials BO (probably short for B0B O). There it is, game set and match. The Outer Banks Republic Blog is written by Bobby Owens, Bobby Outten and Bob Oakes, with technical help and refreshments provided by former Dare County Water Services Director Bob Oreskevitch (currently hiding in Fla. for his part in the missing $82 million).
Now I know you may be skeptical dear reader, but believe me, I have checked with the Martins Point guard gate and confirmed it with sources deep inside the Dare County ABC Board. I even called Mayor Don Smith of TTWIcGttB. He agreed with my analysis. (I didn't really call Mayor Smith, that would have been rude, but what good is a piece about HWNIcP without the obligatory Don Smith sighting). This triumvirate have run the county for years, they all hold the odd idea that placing compatible dredge material on our most valuable economic resource is a wise idea (this is an oblique reference to Beach Nourishment [AKA The Issue that Shall NOT be Mentioned or TItSNbM for short]). Now this trio are trying to take over the OBX blogosphere as well.
Hopefully, by sharing this truth with the world we have made Dare County a better place. A place a one can blog in peace and HWNIcP can get on with his life, swill some beer, listen to some music (check out Gretchen Peters) and maybe even read a book. Again, I recommend Molly Ivans, her observations will laugh that Ayn Rand stuff right out of you.
Well kind reader that ends this post. I am going to add about 5 paragraphs copied directly from Alexis de Toqueville's "On Democracy In America". This will serve 2 purposes. First, it will keep those of you who skipped to the end of the article to discover the identity of HWNIcP from getting the truth without reading the entire piece. Secondly, if you read what remains of this post you can say, "I read Alexis de Toqueville's "On Democracy In America" and be telling the truth, and truth, my friends, is in short supply these day.
Keep your powder dry, thanks for staying til the end. Alexis de Toqueville's "On Democracy In America" starts now:

THE thirteen colonies, which simultaneously threw off the yoke of England towards the end of the last century, had, as I have already said, the same religion, the same language, the same customs, and almost the same laws; they were struggling against a common enemy; and these reasons were sufficiently strong to unite them to one another and to consolidate them into one nation. But as each of them had always had a separate existence and a government within its reach, separate interests and peculiar customs had sprung up which were opposed to such a compact and intimate union as would have absorbed the individual importance of each in the general importance of all. Hence arose two opposite tendencies, the one prompting the Anglo-Americans to unite, the other to divide, their strength.

As long as the war with the mother country lasted, the principle of union was kept alive by necessity; and although the laws that constituted it were defective, the common tie subsisted in spite of their imperfections.1 But no sooner was peace concluded than the faults of this legislation became manifest, and the state seemed to be suddenly dissolved. Each colony became an independent republic, and assumed an absolute sovereignty. The Federal government, condemned to impotence by its Constitution and no longer sustained by the presence of a common danger, witnessed the outrages offered to its flag by the great nations of Europe, while it was scarcely able to maintain its ground against the Indian tribes, and to pay the interest of the debt which had been contracted during the War of Independence. It was already on the verge of destruction when it officially proclaimed its inability to conduct the government and appealed to the constituent authority.2

If America ever approached (for however brief a time) that lofty pinnacle of glory to which the proud imagination of its inhabitants is wont to point, it was at this solemn moment, when the national power abdicated, as it were, its authority. All ages have furnished the spectacle of a people struggling with energy to win its independence, and the efforts of the Americans in throwing off the English yoke have been considerably exaggerated. Separated from their enemies by three thousand miles of ocean, and backed by a powerful ally, the United States owed their victory much more to their geographical position than to the valor of their armies or the patriotism of their citizens. It would be ridiculous to compare the American war to the wars of the French Revolution, or the efforts of the Americans to those of the French when France, attacked by the whole of Europe, without money, without credit, without allies, threw forward a twentieth part of her population to meet her enemies and with one hand carried the torch of revolution beyond the frontiers, while she stifled with the other a flame that was devouring the country within. But it is new in the history of society to see a great people turn a calm and scrutinizing eye upon itself when apprised by the legislature that the wheels of its government are stopped, to see it carefully examine the extent of the evil, and patiently wait two whole years until a remedy is discovered, to which it voluntarily submitted without its costing a tear or a drop of blood from mankind.

When the inadequacy of the first Constitution was discovered, America had the double advantage of that calm which had succeeded the effervescence of the Revolution, and of the aid of those great men whom the Revolution had created. The assembly which accepted the task of composing the second Constitution was small;3 but George Washington was its President, and it contained the finest minds and the noblest characters that had ever appeared in the New World. This national Convention, after long and mature deliberation, offered for the acceptance of the people the body of general laws which still rules the Union. All the states adopted it successively.4 The new Federal government commenced its functions in 1789, after an interregnum of two years. The Revolution of America terminated precisely when that of France began.

Note to those readers who jumped directly to the end of this post to find out who HWNIcP really is:Did you really think that I was going to let you get away without reading the entire piece? Huh? No that won't wash. You can just go back to the top and start reading again. Its in there but you have to find it for yourself. In fact as punishment for not reading the entire piece you really should go back two posts and start reading here.

$82 Million redux

OK, before we were so rudely interrupted (see the last post) I was explaining how Dare County finds itself with an $82 million unfunded liability for its "generous" (their words not mine) retiree health insurance benefit. The County budget proposes to establish, but not fund, a trust fund that would eventually be used to pay the expenses associated with this commitment. The plan also recommended that the County change its policy (isn't that brilliant) and only provide health insurance for retirees who have worked for the county for 20 years. This change would apply to new employees and anyone who has worked for the county for less than 5 years. Why 5 years? Because current legal thinking says they aren't required to fulfill their commitment to employees who have worked for the county for less than that length of time. Employees are vested in retirement benefits after 5 years. If the employee is not vested the employer can change the rules. This bit of legal wisdom is credited to the Local Government Commission and the Institute of Government (expect the courts to get involved on this point somewhere in the down the road)
This response sounds like the right thing to do. Start planning and immediately change the plan to reduce future costs as much as possible. It sounds right but I think its wrong on both counts, not entirely wrong but wrong none the less.
First, lets start funding the trust. A one cent increase in the county property tax raises about $1.6 million, if my math is correct. I suggest bumping the tax rate up 2 cents and putting that money in the fund. Every year the liability is unfunded it will grow. That's how these things work. If you start saving for college now you it will cost you less than if you wait until the expenses are due, same principal. Start reducing the long term cost by starting to pay for it now. It will save tax dollars in the long run.
Second, honor the county's commitment to its current employees. This will increase the liability slightly but it absolutely is the right thing to do. When these people were hired they were told what the rules were. They accepted the job based on that deal. It may be legal to change the rules after the fact not but its not fair.
I suggest adopting a policy for new employees that provides access to health insurance for anyone who retires from the County. Phase in a county contribution depending on how long the retiree has served. Have you tried to get private health insurance, its hard and VERY EXPENSIVE, By providing access to the County's group coverage they would play a small part in solving a major national crisis.
The County needs to treat its employees fairly. Fair treatment builds morale, increases productivity and increases worker longevity. It means that we get better service for the taxes we pay. It will pay off in the long run and its the right thing to do.

LOL @ OBR

Now this is funny. Kudos to ooOoo (I do hope that I am pronouncing that correctly) at Outer Banks Republic. I hate it when the coffee spurts out my nose. You got me!

$82 Million

What would you say if I told you that Dare County ran up an $82 million dollar debt, due over the next 30 years and no one did anything about it? Don't believe it? Believe it!
Hidden at the very end of Mary Helen Goodlow-Murphy's excellent Coastland Times article about the proposed County budget was a paragraph noting that the proposed county budget included a change to a long standing policy on retiree health care benefits. It stopped me in my tracks and sent me running to look at the budget document. For years, Dare County has offered paid health care to anyone employee who qualified for paid retirement. That meant that if you worked for the county for 5 years and were 65 you could retire with a small pension and the county would provide your health insurance for free - forever. The budget message describes this policy as "generous", something of an understatement. The policy has made the county a very attractive place for older employees looking for access to health insurance after a very short tenure and it carried a big price tag.
New accounting rules (GASB 43 & 45) require local governments to project the long term cost of these benefits and to include them as liabilities on their balance sheets. Its a great idea, these expenses can mount up rapidly. How rapidly? The county's budget message pegs the county's liability at (you guessed it) $82 million. Thats a lot of money.
The county's solution is two fold. First it will establish a trust fund to meet its long term obligations. It will also institute a new policy that will provide retiree health benefits after 20 years of service, a pretty dramatic shift. These two strategies will reduce the liabililty by about half when they are fully implemented (the budget message povides for "future partial funding" of the trust fund).
This is an issue the county could have addressed some time ago but chose not to. Frankly it looks like the policy is changing only because of the changes in the accounting rules, not because its was the wrong policy, that's unfortunate. Lets hope the county goes ahead and addresses the issue.
Now you know about the problem. Next I'll tell why the county's solution is the wrong one as well as some other thoughts on the county budget.

Outraged

I have at something in common with Southern Shores Mayor Don Smith; I'm outraged. Southern Shores Town Manager Web Fuller has proposed a town budget that would increase taxes this year. The Coastland Times (Thurs. May 6,2007) quoted Mayor Smith as saying:

"I'm just outraged," ...He related the town had already increased taxes 25% and this increase, at 15%, would create a 40% tax increase over the last 4 years.

Tax increases are certainly a good thing to be outraged about, especially if your paying them. Mayor Smith has a long and loud history of opposing taxes, any taxes, anywhere. There in lies my rub.
There are 2 ways to develop a budget. One way is to take a tax rate target and spend money until you get to the target level then stop. This method makes for great rhetoric and bombast, but it makes for lousy budgets. When revenues are rising money gets spent freely. When there not, important things can get cut.
The second way to develop a budget is to lay out the services that the you need to provide. Set a level for each service; we'll pick up trash once a week, pave 3 miles of roads each year and provide 2 police officers on duty 24 hours a day. Those are standards that are measurable and meaningful. Once the standards are set you project the expenses necessary to meet those service levels; add in your capital projects and commitments and you know how much money you need. Next, you calculate what revenue you can expect from the taxes you don't control. Sales, occupancy and land transfer taxes make up a large share of local budgets so its important to get them right, next you add in fees and miscellaneous revenue and make any adjustments necessary. Finally you calculate the gap between the your expenses and revenue from sources other than property tax. That number generates a tax rate. The services set the target not the tax rate.
This is the hard way, but it is the right way. Using the second method insures continuity in services and actually serves to hold taxes down. You spend only what you need to spend to provide the services that taxpayers want. When shared revenues drop, as they have this year, taxes will go up.
The first method leads to bigger tax increases over time. The CT reports that Southern Shores has been using non-recurring revenues for regular expenses. This is like spending a one time windfall to pay your mortgage. It works fine for a while but eventually the money runs out and the bills come due. It sounds like this may be what is happening in Southern Shores. The budget proposed by Manager Webb Fuller was actually smaller than the budget the Southern Shores Board adopted last year.
Don Smith is outraged about taxes. I'm outraged about leadership. Maybe the CT reporter left out the part of the discussion where Mayor Smith said he would look carefully at the proposed budget or outlined what in the spending plan he thought could be cut. I doubt it, but its possible. No, I believe the CT reported the full extent of the Mayor's remarks, from the hip and off target. I'm outraged that Don Smith would rather provide political theater than good government to Southern Shores.
Mayor Smith didn't vote to adopt the budget last year and my bet is he won't support the budget this year. He will leave the heavy lifting to the rest of his board. Good budgeting makes for good government but good budgeting is hard work. It's a lot easier to be outraged.

Note to self: Find out if Nags Head is planning a resolution demanding a rebate on shared revenues if SS raises taxes.

Nags Head Woods Fun Run

Leader of the pack originally uploaded by BOBXNC
I had a chance to get over to the Nags Head Woods 5K Run this morning. I took part in the 1 mile fun run (walk), maybe next year for the 5K. Saw a lot of friends and it look like everyone was having a great time. A few images of participates and friends at Images from the Ridge

The Making of Mayberry on the Outer Banks - New York Times

A very nice piece on Manteo in the New York Times. Mayor Wilson is featured prominently, as well he should be.

John Wilson, a ninth-generation Roanoke Islander, has been focused on Manteo’s revitalization since 1979, when he began a successful campaign for mayor at age 27. When Mr. Wilson took office, the five-square-block downtown held a diverse cast of multigenerational families who waved from the oak-shaded porches, net-strewn fishermen’s cottages, brick bungalows and Victorian mansions. But the waterfront was pocked with closed businesses.

I am not a big fan of Manteo politics, this tail wags the dog just a little too often but I give them every credit for implementing a long term vision for their community. Of course the $XX million dollars the state has poured into Festival Park and the Roanoke Corridor have played a role but both of those came after the first Manteo visioning experience.
Kudos, Mayor Wilson(John), Lee, Kermit, et.al. The compliments from the the NYT are honestly earned.
Disclaimmer: Many years ago I recommended the Town of Manteo hire Kermit Skinner as Town Planner . I take responsibility for that action but the fact that he is still there is their fault.

Va. Pilot- Bonner Bridge news

Bonner Bridge

originally uploaded by jennyk325.

The Va. Pilot NC section reports this morning that NC DOT has endorsed the short version of the Bonner Bridge replacement plans. More specifically they endorsed a strategy suggested by the Bush administration that the bridge be built first then strategies for dealing with erosion on Pea Island would be developed. This step shouldn't surprise anyone. The state has little choice. It can't afford the one billion dollar short term price for a long bridge. The state also realizes that the bridge needs to be replaced--NOW. I have some differences with ooOoo, author of the Outer Banks Republic blog (I hope I pronounced that correctly) but he got it right when he wrote:

Dare County (yes, the entire county) needs the Bridge repaired, and we need it NOW. So, write letters, donate money to this cause, buy a yard sign or a bumper sticker. Raise hell. Raise money. Raise your voice. Avoid tweaking the noses of those who didn't help us back in the day. If Hatteras truly becomes an "island" the resulting economic loss will be nothing short of a catastrophe.

Unfortunately I expect that we are still in for a long struggle over the replacement. The environmental groups involved in issues surrounding Oregon Inlet have a history of intransigence and legal wrangling, don't expect them to go accept any answer except the long bridge, ever. Whatever you think of the plan for stabilizing the inlet its clear that environmental opposition blocked the plan with a mix of lobbying and regulatory tom-foolery. They will do the same to the short bridge. The Pilot reported these comments from the opposition:

"It makes the refuge a continual construction zone for 20 years," said Noah Matson, the director of the national refuge program for the Defenders of Wildlife.
Matson said that in the long run, the series of bridges would limit access to the refuge, he said, and erosion would create an emergency that would force the refuge to allow the road to be moved. And ultimately, it would cost a lot more than a long bridge....
Sidney Maddock, northern Outer Banks field technician for Audubon North Carolina, said he found it ironic that just a day before DOT announced its decision, N.C. 12 was closed in Rodanthe because of ocean overwash.
"It's just amazing that DOT is going to do this," he said. "It's just a ridiculous idea."

From Nags Head spending $1,000,000,000 for a bridge you could build for a quarter the price is ridiculous. Yes, there will be additional costs but all these issues will become immaterial when the bridge collapses and Hatteras Island is cut off. Lets hope that the opponents of this plan find a way to meet DOT part way, accommodate the short bridge and develop the best plan to keep Hwy. 12 open. that is the only way we will avoid a tragic end.
For my part I will add the "Build the Bridge" logo to this blog later today and I encourage everyone who reads this to do the same. Lets send a message that, to paraphrase John Donne, 'no island is an island'. We need a bridge and we need it now. DOT has taken a small step in that direction, lets show our support.

Today Show - Hate junk mail? Follow these steps

The Today Show had an excellent piece on stopping unwanted mail. They laid out the reason for concern quite concisely.

The less access you provide to your name and address, the more secure you will be. Each year, more than three million Americans discover that false credit accounts have been opened in their name. Of these, at least 400,000 can be attributed to the theft of incoming mail."

The web link includes both a video of the original piece plus the all important addresses, websites and phone numbers you can use to limit the amount of unsolicited mail you recieve. I have worked for the Post Office for nearly 30 years and I have never heard of some of these options. Even if you like catalogs, my wife is a catalog queen, you may want to limit credit card solicitations or stop some specific catalogs or mailings. Methods for both are detailed in the article.
Note to self: Postage rates go up on Monday. Buy two cent stamps. First Class letter is 41 cents. You can see a summary of the prices at the USPS website or download the .pdf file

Oute Banks Blog Summit a Success

The first Outer Banks Blog Summit was held at Kill Devil Grille, kicking off at 11:30 this morning. The eleven attendees came from all stages of blogging from novice to seasoned veterans. Ronnie Roach of the Outer Banks Real Estate blog moderated a lively discussion focusing on implementing and developing a blog. The group decided to stay in touch through the formation of the Outer Banks Bloggers Group.
From my perspective it was great to hear others talk about some of the same issues of site design, audience development and editorial control that I have been struggling with. My personal thanks to everyone who participated for taking time from your busy schedules and to Ronnie for doing such a good job of keeping the session productive.
Invitations to the join the group will be going out this afternoon but the group is open to anyone interested in helping develop the blogging community on the Outer Banks.

Stars fell on North Carolina

Stars fell on North Carolina, originally uploaded by BOBXNC.

I knew there was a reason that I went walking this morning, not biking. The beach was littered with starfish. thousands of them. The recent storm must have torn them loose from their habitat and washed them up. It was a grand morning. More photos at Images from the Ridge

Meet BOBXNC

I have adopted a new screen name on this blog and for my Google account. You will notice this posts now show posted by BOBXNC. This screen name is consistent with my screen name on a number of other sites including Flickr. My profile still shows my name and will continue to do so.
Thanks for your patience and for visiting the site or reading the feed.

Government Goes Green or (where's the stormwater?)

Nice article in the VA. Pilot about the green trend in public buildings. Congratulations to the governments involved for taking steps (small steps) in dealing with our stormwater problems. The renovations at the Kitty Hawk Fire Station, KDH's regional beach access at Colington Rd. and the new pavilion at Nags Head's Harvey Sound Access all deal with storm water in innovative ways. Public buildings on the Outer Banks have long been used to make demonstrate new technologies and point the way forward for the larger community, The Kern Pitts Center in Southern Shores demonstrates the best in hurricane resistant design and construction, Nags Head's Town hall uses a thermal (water to air) heat pump system that has saved taxpayers thousands of dollars over the years. The newest trend is to address the handling of stormwater. Each building takes a slightly different approach but all offer good examples for commercial and residential development. Additional photos are available at Images from the Ridge. There is also a Flickr set that has descriptions and commentary of the images.

The KH Fire Station has installed a cistern system and a gravel parking field. Storm water from the building is channeled to an underground storage area then used to fill fire trucks and flush toilets. The parking area features gravel over a sand base with a rigid plastic webbing embedded in the surface. The plastic helps keep the gravel in place and presumably traps some water keeping it from draining across the surface. Parking spaces are marked with concrete dividers and the handicapped spaces are all concrete.

This looks like a good way to slow runoff from a parking lot and avoid the sheet draining that comes with asphalt or concrete lots. There do appear to be some drawbacks. The site is already showing signs of wear. Gravel is missing in patches and clearly going to take a fair amount of maintenance to keep the surface functioning smoothly. I also noticed that erosion had already washed out sections on either side of the entrance apron. Both of these issues are common for gravel surfaces and both of these issues can be addressed by frequent maintenance, a common need of sand and gravel parking areas. Finally, you won't see anyone in spiked heels (not common firefighter footwear) on the parking area, Like open face paving block, another popular eco-friendly paving surface, the fashion conscious will get the heels stuck in the sand if they aren't careful.

Kill Devil Hills added a cistern to its new to its rebuilt bathhouse and Ocean Rescue facility at the ocean end of Colington Rd. Nice touch. The water will be used for irrigation and gray water uses around the building. The parking lot stormwater still drains on to the beach road since the changes to the site were limited to the building. The Pilot article indicates the new building also has solar panels.

Nags Head's new Harvey Sound Access is an environmental tour de force. The improvements were dedicated Sat. with though the new building has been in use for almost a year. The site retains 100% of its stormwater. The water is retained in two retention basins that have been planted with native and locally adapted varieties. These plants serve to purify the run off before it goes into the sound. Rainwater from the building goes into a cistern and is then used for irrigation and other gray water uses including flushing toilets. The building also has a solar panel to provide some of the power used at the site. The only element missing is a wind turbine like the one at Coquina Beach, another new green government installation.

The dedication of the Harvey Access featured remarks by Dr. Nancy White, Director of the UNC Coastal Studies Institute and one of the drivers of this new government environmental consciousness. Her stormwater committee recommended many of the improvements the governments have incorporated. Solving local stormwater problems through site design was a major thrust of the committee report. This philosophy was reflected in KH Fire Chief Lowell Spivey's comments in the Pilot article:

Before the new 15,260-square-foot fire station was built, the nearby road tended to flood in rainstorms, Fire Chief Lowell Spivey said.

So when the building went up, three vast tanks were installed underground. Rain travels from gutters to tanks to fill fire engines, water lawns and help flush toilets. The only impermeable pavement is the bay driveway, and trench drains catch and filter runoff.

By joining two pockets of wetlands - which eventually empty into the sound - water doesn't stand on the property as long, Spivey said.

This type of construction isn't cheap. In fact it costs more than the standard building practices required by code and zoning ordinances, much more. Most towns have no standards for residential stormwater, adding standards has been resisted by the building community and elected officials who aren't inclined to make new homes even more expensive to build than they are already . Additionally, many of the initial recommendations from the public to deal with residential flooding conflict with other core values like protecting structures from ocean and sound flooding. The governments have taken a first step and set a good example. The next step will be to find ways to encourage these improvements in new residential and commercial construction. As the brief history of Duck's tree preservation ordinance demonstrates its not so easy being green.

It will get even harder for governments to be green with fiscal pressure from declining land transfer tax revenues. Don't expect to see another round of eco-add-ons until the tax coffers are overflowing again. Elected leaders love the environment as long is at doesn't mean raising taxes. Go enjoy the new buildings then make sure you tell somebody that you think its a worthwhile way to spend money and it should become to norm for private as well as public building. You will be helping us all in the long run.

Tags: Outer Banks, OBX, storm water, environment, green design, runoff

Random Thoughts

Started this post this morning but it got blown away. Just some items of interest over the last few days

• Get ready for Sail Virginia 2007. Tall ships, small ships, all variety of wooden ships will converge on Norfolk June 7-11. The Silver Chalice from Manteo (Elizabeth II' s little sister) will be part of the event.

• I have been using Google Docs recently as a substitute for creating documents in MS Office then circulating them via e-mail. The interface is pretty simple, the results look like any other document, and opportunity for shared editing in unsurpassed. This is a great tool for anyone who wants to work on reports, letters, spreadsheets with in a cooperative environment.
• From the Coastland Times - Dare Health and Hospice will have "Memory Walk" Sunday, June 3rd from 2-5pm. It will be at a beach access in Nags Head. You can make a donation and have a memory flag placed on the walk route. The proceeds support the excellent work of Dare Hospice in the county. Having seen the role of hospice in my mother's final days, I now realize just how important this work is. Great cause. For info contact Fran Veihmeyer 475-5028.
• The devastation caused by the Greenburg Kansas tornado is staggering. The storm was over a mile wide with winds over 200 mph. Pictures show that virtually no structures survived. These folks had about 10 minutes warning before their town was obliterated. The most amazing thing is that only 9 people died. While this is 9 too many, it is a remarkably small number considering this was a town of 1,800. Thoughts and prayers to all.
• The Va. Pilot had two articles in the Monday tech section a piece on Flickr and one on Picasa. I use both and love both The reviews really don't do either justice. They miss what I see as the benefit of each. Flickr is not just a photo sharing and printing web site, it is a community with a group interested in just about everything photographic and a lot that isn't. I asked the group that uses the same camera I do for birthday gift suggestions and got some good ones. Picasa is the best simple photo cataloging and editing software available. It puts everything else to shame. If you want a simple way to crop and fix your favorite photos then print them and share them on the web get Picasa, you won't regret it.

S. Nags Head update

Another northeaster impact. This just came across my e-mail. Not on the Town website yet, I'm sure updates will follow from the Town.

Town of Nags Head Announces Water Service Disruption on Surfside and
Limulus Drives

NAGS HEAD, North Carolina - Monday, May 7, 2007 - Homes in the vicinity
of Surfside and Limulus Drives in south Nags Head are without water
service after high surf damaged water valves in the area. Affected
addresses include the 9900 block of Surfside Drive and the 100 block of
Limulus Drive. The Town hopes to restore service to this area as soon
as the storm abates.

Please call Nags Head Public Works at 441-1122 if you need further
information.

###

Hatteras Island update.

A little update from Dare County on my previous post.

Portion of Highway 12 on Hatteras Island to Remain Closed to Traffic - NC Highway 12 on Hatteras Island between the Oregon Inlet Bridge and Rodanthe is closed to all traffic due to blowing sand and ocean over wash. Southbound traffic on Highway 12 is being turned around at the north end of the Oregon Inlet Bridge. NC DOT advises the road will remain closed today, tonight and into Tuesday, May 8.

Check the county website for further updates.

A Windy Day in May

A northeaster blew up the coast last night and should hang around through tonight. These photos and a larger set posted at Images from the Ridge were taken between 10:30 a.m. (Soundside) and noon (south Nags Head)on Monday May 7th.

Sea foam was washing over at Conch St. (Brew Thru in front of Jockeys Ridge). There was ocean overwash across Hwy. 1243 in south Nags Head. If you ride down that way be careful. This is not something you want to drive through. You can go around the overwash site using the service road. That's not always the case but it is here.

As of 2:00 p.m. Dare County reported:

Portion of Highway 12 on Hatteras Island Closed to Traffic Highway 12 north of Rodanthe is closed to all traffic due to water and sand on the road.

Check the county website for updates on the status of Hwy 12.

As much as the ocean was up the sound was blown out. I took the trail from the Nags Head park on Barnes St. through Nags Head Woods to the sound. This is a great walk for a windy day since the trees block nearly all the wind. The sound was exposed about 50 yards out, not the farthest I've ever seen but pretty far out. Another great location to see this effect is at the end of Soundside Rd., just south of Jockeys Ridge or at the state park's soundside access itself.

What do you say to the Queen?

There has been a lot of coverage in the Va. Pilot of Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Tidewater. Much of that coverage and the associated commentary has focused on what could , would or should have been said by the select few who actually had a chance to exchange pleasantries with her royal highness. The choices have seemed rather bland to me. One suggested playing on her love of sorgi dogs or perhaps horses. Another chose to demonstrate his knowledge of English royal history citing Queen Anne's use of the royal veto. The topics were all of type, bland and uncontroversial.

For my part, I can think of only one message I would share with the Queen. "That my thoughts and prayers are with you and your grandson as he goes off to fight in our terrible mistake in Iraq". Her position and the pomp that accompanies it distract us from the simple fact that this 81 year old woman has a grandson getting ready to go to war. While I suspect she supports his choice of the military as a career more than most extremely wealthy grandmothers might, she still must have misgivings about sending her grandson into harms way. I suspect also that she shares the nearly universal view in her country that the war was a mistake, and the british lives lost there were squandered needlessly.

That sad theme of young lives needlessly - senselessly taken, was reinforced yesterday by the photos from Kent State in 1970. Perhaps it was the juxtaposition of Kent State and Virginia Tech that made me think of concerns for Prince Harry that his grandmother must have. His deployment has been delayed . He did not fly to Iraq on Friday with rest of his unit, but he will. There is no way I can see that his country can not send him and I believe he wants to serve with his mates. He chose his path, he understood the possible outcomes and he seems to accept them.  No fault in that and it must make is grandmother proud and concerned.

I will watch the Kentucky Derby this afternoon, so will the Queen. I will enjoy the race and relax for a while from the few petty problems that plague my life. I hope the Queen gets a chance to enjoy the race and relax as well. Maybe it will take her mind off the one thing that would be on mine. I hope so, and hope all our sons and daughters and grandsons and granddaughters get to come home soon.

Art on the OBX (but not the web)

In today's edition of the Coast, John Harper notes that the 10th Annual Mollie Fearing Art Show kicks off on Sunday with a reception at Festival Park from 4:00-6:00 pm. This show is one of the premier venues for local talent and there is plenty of it. The show will run from Monday May 7th through the 29th. If past shows are any indication this will be a treat worth taking time to see.
Also in the Coast (pick one up anywhere since I can't easily link to their web version), mention of the Seaside Gallery in Nags Head's exhibition of miniature art. I have not seen this show before but after looking at the pictures I plan to stop by and check it out.
Local art is a lot like the beach. We all know that its there but we stay so busy that we just don't take advantage of it the way we should. I have resolved to do better on both fronts this year. We will see how it works out.
(Rant warning) OK so there's a lot of really good local art and this exhibit is pretty special. Think you could find it on the web? Not really. There is no link in this post for the Mollie Fearing show because the sponsor, the Dare County Arts Council, doesn't even acknowledge its existance on their web site. They have a page about the 2005 show but nothing more recent. The web site for Festival park does have a calendar entry for the show --on a page with the titled 2003 Art Galley Schedule. Just a little distracting. The arts in Dare County (and the art in this show) deserve a lot better presentation. (end of rant)

The OBX is filled with wonderful galleries, two of my favorites are the KDH Cooperative Gallery Julie Moye and her posse have created a laid back place to see and buy the work of some exceptional local artists. There is also a special place in my heart for Glen Eure's Ghost Fleet Gallery. 30 years ago Glen did a quick sketch and gave it to Mom on her first visit to her son's new home. It helped her understand the special people and place that I had decided to call home. Glen's gallery continues to host wonderful exhibits, featuring enormously talented artists and Glen's own unique vision of our world.

Expanded list of Blogging links

I have posted a web page that incorporates links in the last nights post and sites suggested by others at Outer Banks Blogs and Tips

Thoughts on off shore drilling (grin)

Read that Dept. of Interior is again debating off shore drilling.
I get a daily e-mail from The Good Clean Funnies list.
Todays fit tthe topic to a tee.

Blogging resouces.

In advance of the Outer Banks Blog Summit I thought I would put together some links for those interested in either starting a blog or learning more about blogging basics. Please feel free to suggest other sites in the comments. I will update and repost periodically.

Truly free blogging sites.

Blogger. com Home of Google's free blogspot.com blogs
Wordpress.com Home of free wordpress blog and blogging software.

Blogging basics, HTML, CSS and blog design info

w3schools.com CSS Tutorial An excellent site for an introduciton to Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) the new way to format HTML This site also has tutorials on HTML, Java script and other web building tools.
Photoshopsupport.com Blog design tutorial witth an excellent set of tips and web sites that can help with blog design and graphic design in general.
Technorati Blogging 101 Great tips from the foremost blog monitoring site
Blog Writing: How to Write a Blog from about.com

Legal and conduct issues

Electronic Frontier Foundation EFF offers a series of brief pieces that can help you understand the legalities of blogging from libel to copyright law. Bloggers have rights. Bloggees have rights as well. Be informed.
Code of Conduct Bill O'Reilly's suggested CoC for bloggers and particularly for anonymous comments.

Outer Banks Blog Summit

Ronnie Roach of the Outer Banks Real Estate blog has issued a call for an Outer Banks Blog Summit. Sounds like a great idea.
I just received a message confirming the meeting will be held next Thurs. May 10 at the Kill Devil Grill on the beach road across from the John Yancey motel. The time has been moved up to 11:30 a.m when they open to ensure seats for all who want to attend.
Please post comments and questions to Ronnie at the link above.

NC Power vs. KDH The grudge match

The Sentinel includes a brief story noting that the NC Utilities Commission (NCUC) will hearing a complaint by NC Power against the town of Kill Devil Hills today. The article hints at the long and expensive history of the dispute but avoids any mention of the complexity of the legal issues involved.
The issue has roots that go back to the early 1980's. NC Power (then called VEPCO) needed to install bigger power lines for the Outer Banks. In particular lines that served parts of Nags Head and extended across Oregon Inlet to Hatteras Island needed to be enlarged. The power company got involved in a dispute with Kill Devil Hills that the town eventually lost. The utility wanted a corridor along the sound and the Town didn't. The NC Utilities Commission sided with the power company. You can see the result as you drive along Bay Dr. in Kill Devil Hills. The tall transmission lines are not popular in Kill Devil Hills.
Jump ahead to 2003, NC Power is planning to construct an additional transmission line to augment the line built in the 1980's. They want to install the line along Rte 158 from Kitty Hawk, through Kill Devil Hills and into Nags Head where it will meet the existing line as it comes over from the sound (just south of the YMCA). Kitty Hawk seems amenable and Nags Head has no input because NC Power does not need any easements from NH, the line will run in easements granted by the state or existing easements from the Town.
Kill Devil Hills however does have both objections and some leverage. The KDH Board of Commissioners is not at all interested in seeing a second transmission line becoming a major feature of its visual landscape, especially when they already have one on the soundside. NC Power also needs an easement from KDH in order to access a substation located on the KDH west side. It quickly becomes apparent that the Town's price for the easement is too high for NC Power. The town proposes either that the new transmission lines be put underground or colocated with the existing lines on the sound. Further the town wants a plan to put distribution lines underground town wide. NC Power says no way. The message was: It's too expensive to go underground and we don't have enough right of way on the sound. Looks like a stand off until NC Power comes up with a plan that bypasses the KDH substation and stays entirely in state owned rights of way. This puts Kill Devil Hills in much the same boat as Nags Head - no leverage.
By this point the Kill Devil Hills board had already taken the bit in a big way. They hired consulting engineers to help them understand all the NC Power engineering claims and plans. They became increasingly convinced that underground lines or colocation were viable options even if they couldn't compel NC Power to go this route.
Let me digress for just a little and take about how utilities are regulated in North Carolina. Generally, uilities are regulated by the North Carolina Utilities Commission. The Commission's job is to make sure that the monopolies granted by the state to the utilities are not abused. That the companies operate in a manner that provides good service to the entire state and allows some return on investment (profit) for the company. It is a system that has been in place for many years and is used by many, if not all, other states. Municipalities can enter into franchise agreements with utilities to allow the utility general access to the Town's rights of way. The towns receive a franchise tax collected by the state each year in return for not having broad power to regulate utility operations. Town's have the power to regulate construction generally within their limits and the job to ensure the "health, safety and welfare" of their citizens. This duty takes the form of ordinances, most commonly zoning ordinances, with lay out what can be built where and what standards must be used. Generally towns have little say over what utilities do in within their limits except for control of town rights of way. A good recent example was the struggle between the beach towns and the new natural gas franchise. The towns wanted some guarantees about the appearance of utility facilities and some help with training for fire departments dealing with emergencies related to gas mains. The utility wanted franchise agreements from the towns but wouldn't budge on zoning issues etc. Eventually the towns simply caved in because they had no leverage. The Utility had the easements they needed from the state and just went ahead without any agreement with the towns. The towns were powerless to stop it.
This is the position KDH found themselves in last spring. However they were not ready to give in. They decided to try a different route to impact the power company plans. After a series of public hearings and meetings the Town adopted a zoning ordinance that established a single aboveground corridor for power lines. Citing the traditional zoning values the Town made the installation of overhead power lines a conditional use. In other words NC Power couldn't proceed without a permit from the Town. In passing the ordinance the Town wrote

...the Town confronts peculiar challenges with respect to the use of land. One such challenge is balancing the need to transmit electricity the entire length of the town against the recreational, historical and esthetic values of this barrier island community. The Kill Devil HIlls Board of Commissioners find that establishing a single corridor for all above ground electrical transmission lines within the Town accommodates these competing factors.

The ordinance goes on to site

• Preserving senic views
• Preventing the proliferation of unsighlty overhead transmission lines
• Encouraging the co-location of overhead transmission lines
• Protecting the environment,
• Safeguarding property values and protecting public and private investments
• Preserving and protecting the unique identity of the Town and the Town's economic base
• Ensuring a clearly defined procedure for utilities to follow when locating and relocating overhead transmission lines.

NC Power's response was twofold, they filed suit in District Court seeking to strike down the oridinance or have the case decided solely by the NCUC and they petitioned the Utilities Commission for relief. NC Power ask the NCUC for 3 findings.

1. A "Certificate of Environmental Compatiblity and Public Convenience and Necessity
2. That the NCUC set aside the KDH zoning ordinance and
3. The NCUC provide a method to NC Power's KDH customers for the costs of complying with the KDH zoning ordinance.

The power company cited a host of reasons for their request. They claimed that the ordinance interfered with their ability to provide "reliable service at reasonable rates, not just in Kill Devil Hills but elsewhere on the Outer Banks". Further they claimed the ordinance was an unlawful usurpation of the NCUC authority to control the utility and that the ordinance would "Impose on the Company and its customers unnecessary and excessive costs..."
Kill Devil Hills; lawyers answered the complaint saying the zoning ordinance was lawful and NC Powers claims were not valid. At this point the NCUC made its first finding in the case. It declined to provide NC Power with the certification the company had requested. They stated that a certification was not required for this size project because it was not large enough to meet statutory threshold for such certificates. Further they stated that NC Power wanted the certification fo use as evidence in the rest of their case against KDH and that the NCUC would decide that case on its legal merits without any findings about the proposed project. A very nice piece of footwork by the Commission.
This leaves the two parties with their basic arguments intact, KDH saying they passed a valid zoning ordinance and NC Power saying they overstepped their bounds. Both sides have filed extensive legal briefs and motions and provided sworn testimony . You can find all the filings at the NCUC website under docket number E-22 Sub 437 . Some of it actually makes interesting reading. Kill Devil Hills Mayor Ray Sturza offered testimony about the importance of the ordinance and the Town's consulting engineers point fingers at NC Power for not planning far enough ahead and not considering all their options. NC Power basically says hogwash, we did what we needed to do and you don't know what you are talking about.
I guess the big question is who is going to win? Usually, the utility has a huge leg up in battles like this. They are more familiar with the law and the Commission. The commission deals with engineering issues not zoning law and should tend to discount those issues. Finally state boards and commissions tend to guard their turf. KDH is competing with or at least impinging on their authority to regulate the power company and state boards usually don't stand for that type of competition.
KDH is not without its advantages as well. First and foremost the ordinance is very well crafted. It was drafted by the best municipal attorney in the county, Bobby Outten, no doubt with help from utility law specialists from the firm representing KDH before the Commission. The ordinance is comprehensive in intent, simple to understand and doesn't prevent the power company from installing additional overhead lines. All elements that are going to be necessary for the Town to prevail. The Town has at least 2 commission members who are very familiar with the Town in Bobby Owens and Bill Culpepper. I don't expect that either Owens or Culpepper will hear the case for just that reason nor do I think they would decide it favor of KDH unless that was the correct decision but those relationships help in dealing with staff and in general discussions about the course the town chose. NOTE: All this is speculation on my part based on my experience. I have no knowledge of any discussions between the Town and the Commission and I am confident that all parties would act ethically and in the state's best interest.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the case is NC Power's request to impose extra costs on their KDH customers if the ordinance is allowed to stand. You have to think that this is the last thing NC Power really wants to do. It would require substantial additional processing for bills, rate setting etc. It just isn't really practical. They have to ask for it both as a lever with the Town and to protect themselves in the event they lose. Expect the Commission to deny that request if they uphold the ordinance. All NC Power really wants is the ability to tell the rest of its customers the Commission made us raise your rates.
As tough as it is to predict a winner, its equally tough for me to pick a side. I like the look of the transmission lines in Nags Head. They are tall, almost out of sight when you are driving and they have done away with the clutter of the lower distribution lines. On the other hand, I respect the Town's right to zone their town the way they want and it doesn't seem too much to ask that NC Power pick one site or the other to run its transmission lines. Final answer, good luck Kill Devil Hills. Final prediction NC Power will prevail.





Links to documents at NCUC website