Resort Towns Ask: Will There Be Summer?

Outer Banks beach.

Locally, the cities of Williamsburg and Virginia Beach rely heavily on tourism for a large part of their economy.  To the south in North Carolina's Outer Banks, dependence on tourism is even more significant.  With Memorial Weekend the weekend after next, the big issue facing businesses within the tourism industry is whether or not there will be a summer tourist season and, if there is, what will it look like. With over three weeks of paid vacation left of the year, the husband I find ourselves with no travel plans for the first time in years - our October cruise was cancelled - and left without two months of income from the husband's salon which just reopened under a whole new mode of operation: open more days, stylists working staggered schedules to keep the numbers of people in the place at any one time reduced to less than 10 people, constant sanitizing, and many client in-salon perks eliminated, with no one knowing how long this "new normal" will last. Will we travel this summer?  I honestly do not know.  In Virginia Beach hoteliers are facing an even more daunting scenario as they wonder who will visit the area given the economic stress so many unemployed people face and fears of exposure to the covid-19 virus.  A piece in the New York Times looks at the questions facing the tourism industry around the country.  Here are highlights: 

In summer resort towns across the United States, livelihoods for the year are built in the 15 weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day. It is during those 15 weeks that tourists from around the country and the world arrive to bask on the beach and gather for festivals and weddings. And it is during those three months that tour operators, hoteliers, innkeepers, restaurant employees and others earn the bulk of their income.

But this year, with Memorial Day — the kickoff for summer — approaching, there will be fewer guests to welcome and likely no sizable weddings or festivals to host. Business owners in resort areas, from Cape Cod, Mass., to Lake Chelan, Wash., say that as the start of summer approaches, they are having to face the difficult reality that little money will be made this year.

Between canceled trips and uncertainty about how willing and financially able people will be to travel once shelter-in-place rules are lifted, business owners say that even if summer travel starts late, it won’t make up for losses that have already been incurred.

Traffic to resort towns will likely consist of local visitors from nearby cities and towns for day or weekend trips, rather than for longer stays, business owners speculated. Many also said they expect to see few, if any, international visitors.

Public health is essential and should be prioritized, Ms. Rishel and other business owners said, but business survival is also important. And so resort towns are grappling with the cost-benefit analysis of reopening and potentially having the virus spread versus remaining closed and potentially shuttering doors.

In North Carolina’s Outer Banks, tourists will be allowed to return and stay in hotels beginning on May 16, but life will be different. Social-distancing rules will have to be followed; businesses will limit the number of people to 50 percent of their usual capacity; sanitizing stations will be at every turn; and staff at hotels will wear masks.

“Even if we can’t do 100 percent of our normal business, we are just excited to be back in business and have a chance at survival,” said John Harris, a co-founder of Kitty Hawk Kites, which offers adventure tours and sells and rents equipment for various outdoor activities. “Staying closed isn’t an option for a community that’s 90 percent dependent on tourism.” Mr. Harris said about 80 percent of his revenue is made between Memorial Day and the end of September.

In New Jersey, where beaches will be open for Memorial Day, with restrictions, and hotels will reopen on June 1, the mood among some innkeepers and hoteliers is also cautiously optimistic. . . . . Who will come and how many of them will come is the unknown at this point, but we’re getting calls for reservations and people are reaching out on Facebook, so it looks like we will have our summer.”

“I’m excited to see people, but I’m also being terrified because it’s too soon to reopen,” she said. “I don’t think the state has met all the standards they said we’d need to meet before we open. We are still seeing new cases, and the rules about how to operate just aren’t clear.”

Ms. Gutlon, as well as other innkeepers and owners in North Carolina, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Washington state, said that they are trying to figure out the rules for guest numbers, social distancing and serving food on their properties. For example, she said, no more than 10 people can gather, but the inn typically has about 16 guests in its eight rooms, in addition to staff — so would filling rooms be breaking the rules?

In Massachusetts, where short-term rentals (including hotels) have been banned since March, the lack of direction from authorities led 26 Martha’s Vineyard innkeepers and hotel operators to write a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker’s advisory task force earlier this month, asking for guidance about reopening.

Hospitality businesses are also thinking about how the industry has been fundamentally changed by the coronavirus. When tourists return, there will be no hugging and no touching; smiles will be hidden behind masks; turndown service likely won’t exist; and many travelers will be afraid of staying in hotels where they don’t control cleaning procedures or know who stayed there before they did.

“Will people want to pay hundreds of dollars to take their own sheets off their bed or to sit in their room and eat all their meals there?” asked Ms. Gutlon of the White Doe Inn in the Outer Banks. She and others said that those questions will also affect people’s willingness to travel from afar. Guests who usually book for more than just a few days have all canceled their trips this year, she said.

Carol Watson, one of the owners of the Captain Farris House, an inn on Cape Cod, said she is already feeling the loss of international visitors.

Memorial Day, Ms. Watson said, is the real kickoff for the summer season, and she would normally be preparing for a revolving door. Instead, she is spending her time on conference calls with other business owners and a marketing company, trying to stay on top of what’s going on and updating policies and cleaning and sanitizing procedures.

“Everybody is frustrated with where we’re at and we’re all worried about this summer, but we don’t want to see people sick,” she said. “We don’t want to see people dying.”

Could Dorian Be a Disaster for North Carolina?

click image to enlarge.

Like Virginia Republicans who talk about "repetitive flooding" rather than rising sea levels and climate change , North Carolina Republicans are climate change deniers and, as a result, a number of bad policy decisions have been made as scientific and climate experts are ignored.   With Hurricane Dorian likely to make landfall based on the latest track somewhere at the southern end of the Outer Banks, a piece in Slate argues the North Carolina GOP may have set the state up for disaster. Now, with a Democrat in the governor's mansion, some efforts are being made to bring the state's policies into line with scientific reality.  That said, bad decisions of the past by Governor Roy Cooper's predecessor and the GOP controlled legislature cannot be magically undone.  Meanwhile, Dorian may soon visit that state.  Here are article highlights: 

Puerto Rico has escaped the worst of Hurricane Dorian. And it looks like Florida might, too: On Saturday morning, the storm again shifted paths, and it appears likely to skirt Florida’s eastern coast instead of making a direct hit. That doesn’t mean the danger is over for Florida, and it does put the rest of the southeastern coast, especially Georgia and the Carolinas, in harm’s way sometime next week. South Carolina has already declared a state of emergency.

The stakes have grown much higher when a hurricane threatens to hit the coast. There are a lot of reasons for this. As I explained two years ago, “Some are psychological, others are practical, and many are self-inflicted.” Climate change is part of the problem, with warmer temperatures fueling deadlier, wetter storms. Rising sea levels increase the chances of coastal flooding. But it’s also the blind spots that North Carolina politicians have developed on climate change. While seas are rising, these lawmakers have encouraged building in low-lying areas, and in some cases discouraged state law from reflecting scientific realities.

The Carolinas are flanked by low-lying narrow barrier islands that have seen housing and tourist development during the past few decades “in places where it probably should not have been,” according to the Associated Press. Much of that development has been subsidized by a federal flood insurance program that shelled out $1.5 billion to cover flood claims in two dozen coastal counties even before Hurricane Florence struck. Last year, when Florence made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, it dealt the region $24 billion in damages and 53 deaths. The floodwaters breached hog lagoons and coal ash pits and threatened Superfund sites.

Unwise development isn’t the only problem. As in Florida, North Carolina politicians have also allowed climate change denial to dictate their decision-making.

In 2010, a panel of scientists advising the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission, which guides the state’s coastal development, issued a report projecting 39 inches of sea-level rise by the end of the century. The report triggered political backlash from developers and the Republican-controlled legislature, which preferred that the commission rely only on historical data. The state ended up passing a law requiring a broader range of projections to dilute findings that sea level rise would accelerate. Newer research has found that the sea level is rising even faster along the southeastern coast than global averages. Instead of considering the best science out there, the governor-appointed commission ultimately limited the science panel’s projections to 30 years into the future.

North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, elected in 2017, has begun to loosen these restrictions on how development plans incorporate the latest science. Last year, a month after Florence struck, Cooper issued an executive order to create an interagency climate change council.  In late September, the Coastal Resources Commission will look at updating the 30-year limit placed on the science advisory panel as it prepares a five-year update to its 2015 report, according to the News and Observer.

Of course, by late September, Dorian may have already come for a visit.

How Soon Will the 4th Circuit Ruling Impact North Carolina?

Christofascist supporters of HB2 at a "prayer vigil"

With North Carolina just 25 miles or so away and with a family wedding scheduled in the Outer Banks later in the year (we cannot get out of going), it is difficult not to focus on the batshitery happening across the border and the gyrations being engaged in by North Carolina Republicans who want to pander to their Christofascist masters and push for special rights for these knuckle draggers and their toxic religious beliefs.  This is especially true after the cataclysmic ruling of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals which indicates that a major piece of the anti-LGBT animus inspired HB2 is illegal.  Indeed, it suggests that public schools and universities like UNC at Chapel Hill will be putting their federal funding on the line if they comply with HB2.  A piece at CBS News looks at the possible time table for the 4th Circuit ruling to impact HB2.  Here are highlights:

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond sided Tuesday with a transgender teen's arguments that a Virginia school board violated Title IX by forbidding him from using the boys' restroom. The interpretation of the federal education law directly affects North Carolina.

The court's ruling imperils a provision in the North Carolina law - called HB2 - that requires transgender students in public schools and universities to use bathrooms corresponding to the gender on their birth certificate, said Maxine Eichner, a University of North Carolina law professor.

"We have the writing on the wall here how that will come out," said Eichner, an expert on sexual orientation and the law.

How quickly the ruling's effects are felt in North Carolina depends on several factors. Among them are possible appeals, a separate lawsuit still pending and interpretation by state lawyers.

Last month in North Carolina, a transgender student and employee in the state's university system filed a lawsuit arguing that the new law violated Title IX. Eichner said they could use Tuesday's ruling to win an injunction blocking the law's provisions on bathroom access in public schools.

"What the plaintiffs would be doing is saying: 'There are transgender kids out there that are experiencing harm as a result of HB2 and who are likely eventually to ... have their legal claims resolved in their favor.' And given that, a court should step in immediately and bar the application of HB2," she said, referring to the law by its legislative name.

Chris Brook, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who's leading the litigation challenging the North Carolina law, declined to discuss specifics about what his legal team's next move would be. Yet he said the appeals court's decision confirms one of their key arguments.

"Today's ruling makes plain what we've been saying since the day that HB2 was introduced in the legislature: that it violates Title IX," he said in a phone interview. "If you are a recipient of federal education funds you cannot discriminate."

The [Gloucester County, Virginia] school board could appeal the decision to the full appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court. David Patrick Corrigan, an attorney for the school board, didn't immediately return a phone message requesting comment.

Personally, I would like to see the members of the Gloucester County School Board have to pay all litigation costs personally since they have deliberately violated Title IX because of their cowardice and desire to appease a few anti-LGBT crackpots in their county.   Gloucester County is a truly backward part of the Hampton Roads region, but it nonetheless needs to grasp that it is now the 21st century, not the 19th century. 

Outer Banks Sea Levels Could Rise A Foot or More

Highway 12 washed out

Like their Republican counterparts in the Virginia General Assembly, North Carolina Republican officials refuse to admit that climate change is occurring or that seal levels are rising.  Indeed, they past legislation banning any effort to look at the problem until 2016.  Meanwhile, a new report indicates that sea levels along the Outer Banks - a tourism cash cow for North Carolina - may rise a foot or more over the next few decades.  Will the Republicans pull their heads out of the sand and face objective scientific reality?  Don't hold your breath.  A piece in the Virginian Pilot looks at the report findings and the continued GOP denial of reality.  Here are highlights:

A new 30-year report on sea-level rise shows wide variances along the North Carolina coast, from a possible rise of 4 inches at Southport to more than 12 inches on the northern Outer Banks.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported those numbers are part of a draft report by an advisory science panel for the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission. The commission requested the report after legislators rejected a 2010 study.

The 30-year projections will go through 18 months of peer review, public comment and possible revision. A 2012 law prohibits state agencies from taking any action based on the sea-level forecast until July 1, 2016.

East Carolina University geologist Stan Riggs, a member of the advisory panel, said state leaders should start dealing with the effects of coastal storms whose impact is magnified by the rising sea.
“If you’re going to build sewage plants or hospitals or highways, you’d better be thinking about the longer term,” Riggs said Wednesday.

If the rate of sea-level rise is unchanged over the next 30 years, the new report says the increases will include about 2.4 inches at Southport and about 5.4 inches at Duck. But the report says it’s unlikely the rate will remain static.

Frank Gorham III of Figure Eight Island, the Coastal Resources Commission chairman, rejected calls from critics to replace the original members of the science panel. He also reduced the scope of its new forecast to 30 years.

“We have to do a better job this time of listening to both sides, instead of just throwing it in the trash and saying it’s terrible,” Gorham said Wednesday. “Read the thing and listen to people.”

Two sea-level scientists from out of state will review the new draft report. They are Robert G. Dean, a former civil engineering professor at the University of Florida, and James R. Houston of Vicksburg, Miss., a former research director with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Then the commission chairman is expected to order a study of the economic and environmental costs and benefits of developing coastal regulations based on the sea-level forecast.

North Carolina and Virginia - A Study in Contrasts on Climate Change

Wherever Republicans are in control of state government, climate change denial is seemingly mandatory.  In the wake of the GOP takeover of the legislature and governor's mansion in North Carolina, politicians are going to great lengths to deny reality.  In Virginia, thanks to a Democrat governor and some Republicans who see the hand writing on the wall, a more sane approach seems to be taking root.  An editorial in the New York Times looks at the divergent paths being taken by the neighboring states.  Here are excerpts:

The politics of climate change are veering in starkly different directions in the neighboring states of North Carolina and Virginia. Foolhardy denial about the severity of rising seas is underway in North Carolina, where the Republican Legislature, prodded by tourism-dependent coastal counties and alarmed homeowners, ordered a state commission of experts to soften its estimate that coastal waters could rise 39 inches by the end of the century. The commission was told to revise its outlook, take into account dissenting views of climate change and produce a forecast of no more than 30 years — in hopes of keeping the estimated sea-level rise to no more than eight inches.

By contrast in Virginia, a bipartisan group of political leaders is forthrightly talking about the problem. Last week, they met to consider ways to adapt the low-lying Hampton Roads region in southeastern Virginia to science-based predictions that the seas will rise at least a foot in 30 years and five feet or more by the end of the century.

“The challenge is not theoretical,” said Representative Scott Rigell, an Eastern Shore Republican. Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, announced the creation of a new state commission on the ocean threat.

At the heart of the Hampton Roads area is Norfolk, home to the world’s largest naval base and a city that the White House warned in May is among the nation’s most vulnerable to rising sea levels. “This is a matter of national security,” Alice Hill, a senior adviser to the National Security Council, said at the Virginia meeting. 

The anxiety of commercial interests and homeowners along threatened coastal areas is understandable. But they are not helped by pandering politicians who choose to see no further than the span of their own careers — and are shirking the challenge of climate change.

Hurricane Season is Upon Us

Just a month into official hurricane season and Tidewater Virginia may have a visit from its first major storm as Tropical Storm Arthur - which is expected to strengthen - heads up the east coast.  As of 11:00 AM, this is what the National Hurricane Center has to say:

The National Hurricane Center has issued a tropical storm warning for parts of North Carolina as Arthur moves north off Florida’s coast, threatening Fourth of July plans for thousands of people.

The warning issued Wednesday stretches from Little River Inlet to the North Carolina-Virginia border. The warning means tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere in that area within 36 hours.

The hurricane watch is in effect for Dare County in the Outer Banks. 

Once again, the local media is hyping the story to the max and  setting the stage for a situation where many will ignore important forecasts simply because too often the media has blown actual facts all out of proportion.

Heading To The Outer Banks

This photo of Coquina Beach is courtesy of TripAdvisor

The boyfriend and I are headed down to the Outer Banks this morning for a few days. Friends are renting a condo and we will hit the road early this morning.   Later today the four of us will be going to Coquina Beach - pictured above - just south of Nags Head in the Hatteras National Seashore which is the closest thing to a gay beach in these parts. 

With our Obama campaign staffer living with us we have a built in house sitter which makes being away all the easier.  Being out of town, blog post volume may be down.  I'll try to put things up whenever I have a chance.

Brandon's Beacon of Hope HIV AIDS Foundation - OBX Pridefest's Featured Non-Profit

This past weekend down at OBX Pridefest offered the boyfriend and me a great time as we had the opportunity to meet new people and also socialize with numerous friends from Hampton Roads who likewise made the trip down.  We drove back this morning and had a wonderful time last night at the cabaret production put on by the cast of The Lost Colony , one of the sponsors of OBX Pridefest, as well as Dame Edna's show. As a group the cast from The Lost Colony included very talented young people and, yes, some of the cast are gorgeous - one young man bore a striking resemblance to Baptiste Giabiconi.  And our stay at the First Colony Inn was most pleasurable and I would recommend the 1932 era Inn without reservation to anyone considering a trip to the Nags Head, North Carolina area. 

But OBX Pridefest did have it's tear jerking moments.  Particularly when Diane Midgett (pictured below), the chairwoman of Brandon's Beacon of Hope HIV AIDS Foundation spoke early on in the Saturday festival portion of the event.  The organization is named for her late son, Brandon Keith Finley, who was born prematurely on February 17, 1983, and who underwent a great number of blood transfusions as medical personnel tried to save his life after his premature birth.  Sadly, through one or more of those transfusions, Brandon contracted HIV/AIDS.   After a heroic battle with little or no help from the federal government in terms of AIDS research and support, Brandon lost his battle and died on  April 15, 1984.  Diane is candidly bitter when she recounts the lack of support from the federal government in the early years of the AIDS crisis with Ronald Reagan avoiding even saying the word for far, far too long.  But, from her family's tragedy, she has vowed to make a difference and to see that Brandon's short life was not in vain.  She is truly a woman on a mission.  During her presentation, Diane stressed that not only is HIV/AIDS present in North Carolina but also the alarming infection rate among those 13 to 24.  That more isn't being done borders in my view on the criminal.  

In her quest to make a difference and to help the lives of others, Diane Midgett founded Brandon's Beacon of Hope HIV AIDS Foundation ("BBH") which was selected by the OBX Pridefest board as the recipient of the net profits from OBX Pridefest 2012.  OBX Pridefest described the non-profit's mission as follows:

[Brandon's Beacon of Hope] is working with the regional medical professions to offer absolute private services and assistance to victims of HIV-AIDS in the Northeast region of North Carolina.  Up until now, those needing assistance had to travel to metropolitan areas to receive care, and thus, the number of victims in Dare County and the surrounding regions has gone unreported.  We are trying to change that and we hope you can help.  Even though people are living much longer lives with HIV, the average cost to these people is $367,000 for the rest of their lives.  Your donation or sponsorship of OBX Pridefest, our biggest fundraiser of the year, will help us help BBH.  Any profits made from OBX Pridefest (after we have paid our bills) will be donated to BBH.

As long time readers know, in 1999 I nearly lost one of my children to bacterial meningitis.  As harrowing and devastating as that experience was, it pales compared to Diane's nightmare.  Moreover, my child recovered and, indeed, was written up as a miracle case by Children's Hospital of the Kings Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia.   Consequently, I truly cannot imagine what Diane and her family went through.  She is a real trooper and so is her youngest son  (also pictured below) - her gay son - who was born after Brandon's death.  As she recounts it, God had a plan for her and gave her a gay son to replace the child she lost.

Please check out BBH and consider making a donation.  Their plan is to be fully operational by fall and to have an operational website and referral service.

OBX Pridefest - Day One Update

The view from our table - click image to enlarge

Today was a gorgeous day and Pridefest attendance appeared to at least match last year's level.  The day was warm and sunny even if a bit windy.  HR Pride had a great booth to market Out in the Park on August 18th and there were assorted food vendors and other merchant booths.  Both HRC and Equality North Carolina also had good contingents.  We spent the day listening to music, a moving testimonial by Diane Midgett who founded Brandon's Beacon of Hope, the beneficiary of the net profits from Pridefest 2012, in honor of her late son Brandon.  (More on this story tomorrow when I'm less "cocktailed") and lazing by the pool with many other festival attendees.  A sizable contingent of friends from Hampton Roads are attending and shortly we will be headed to an ocean front beach house south of the First Colony Inn for an impromptu birthday party for one of our Hampton Roads friends.

A part of the package here at the First Colony Inn was a gift certificate at Pamlico Jack's restaurant across the by-pass road from the Inn.  Pamlico Jack's offers a panoramic view across Pamlico Sound towards Manteo Island to the west and breath taking sunsets (see below).  Better yet, as part of Pridefest, a great pre fixe menu was available this evening.  The food was wonderful as was our server, Erin, who truly went out of her way to make sure the dining experience was exceptional.

Tomorrow should be another good weather day and promises lots of fun and sunshine.  Those who did not make the trip down have missed out on something most enjoyable.

Sunrise at OBX Pridefest

We arrived in Nags Head last night without mishap and settled in to the First Colony Inn in a nice second floor room that faces to Ocean (the Inn is three stories).   The room has antique furniture, a small kitchenette, and a veranda on two sides that looks across the beach toward the ocean on one side and out across Pamlico Sound on the other.  Built in 1932 and renovated when moved from the encroaching ocean, the place has a real old-style beach feel to it.   The photo above is a sunrise view.

We arrived too late to catch the sunset cruise but did make it to Michael Walters' show "Show Tunes Made Me Gay" which was wonderful funny.  On Sunday, Walters will be doing his Dame Edna show which is supposed to be great as well.   The main Pride events begin today at 12:00 noon here on the First Colony Inn property which include spacious lawns and shade trees and a nice pool complex (see the aerial view below).  I will post more after the breakfast (eggs, bacon, waffles, cereal, muffins, English muffins, fruit, etc., etc.) included in the room charge.  BTW, it's a gorgeous sunny day!

Breakfast was good and the vendors are setting up. And in not too long the event will be underway.  We have a number of friends down from Hampton Roads and HP Pride will have a booth promoting "Out in the Park" on August 18th. 

Headed to OBX Pridefest

After work the boyfriend and I are headed down to OBX Pridefest in the Outer Banks of North Carolina for the weekend.  We have dog sitters/house sitters lined up and the weather forecast is great.  Last years event was great fun and we expect the same this year.  We will be staying at the First Colony Inn (pictured above and below) - a historic inn that was moved to save it - which is at the center of the Pridefest events.  The event represents more than just a beach party since net profits will go to support charitable organizations:

After receiving our 501c3 tax exempt status in February, the board of directors of OBX Pride, Inc. has announced our parnership with a local Dare County based HIV-AIDS assistance nonprofit called "Brandon's Beacon of Hope--HIV-AIDS Foundation".  BBH will become our 2nd charity recipient (last year it was the Outer Banks Hotline for battered spouses and children).  This group will be working with the regional medical professions to offer absolute private services and assistance to victims of HIV-AIDS in the Northeast region of North Carolina.  Up until now, those needing assistance had to travel to metropolitan areas to receive care, and thus, the number of victims in Dare County and the surrounding regions has gone unreported.  We are trying to change that and we hope you can help.  Even though people are living much longer lives with HIV, the average cost to these people is $367,000 for the rest of their lives.  Your donation or sponsorship of OBX Pridefest, our biggest fundraiser of the year, will help us help BBH.  Any profits made from OBX Pridefest (after we have paid our bills) will be donated to BBH.

I hope Hampton Roads readers and readers in Northeast North Carolina will consider driving down and joining the fun.   As noted in prior posts, Dare County was the only non-metropolitan, non-university related county in North Carolina to reject Amendment One.

I will be blogging over the weekend, although not at the usual rate in all likelihood.  Yes, we'll be posting photos and reporting on the festivities.

North Carolina GOP Seeks to Ignore Climate Change

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse BEFORE it was moved 1800 feet to save it from erosion and rising sea levels

In yet another example of today's Republican Party is the party of ignorance and backward thinking, Republicans in the North Carolina legislature are pushing a bill that would have that state ignore the realities of climate change and rising sea levels even though the state's Outer Banks region and areas on Pamlico Sound is constantly beset with a battle against the rising ocean levels.  The GOP simply wants to pretend the problem doesn't exist.  Just like they want gays to cease to exist.  Fear of change - especially changing demographics - seems to trump any and every logical approach to a changing objective reality.  A piece in Talking Points Memo looks at this head in the sand approach.  Here are highlights:

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are circulating a bill which would limit their state agencies’ ability to calculate sea-rise levels, a proposal that one member of the state’s Coastal Resources Commission science panel has termed “bad science.”

The bill has not yet been introduced, but the language in the version being circulated would make the Division of Coastal Management the only state agency allowed to produce sea-level rise rates, and only at the request of the Coastal Resources Commission, and then only under the following conditions:

These rates shall only be determined using historical data, and these data shall be limited to the time period following the year 1900. Rates of sea-level rise may be extrapolated linearly to estimate future rates of rise but shall not include scenarios of accelerated rates of sea-level rise.

In other words, instead of taking into account global warming to predict higher seas, as expected by most scientists, the bill would have the state rely only on the historical record. 

Rob Young, a geology professor at Western Carolina University and a member of the CRC’s science panel, told the North Carolina Coastal Federation (NCCF), an environmental advocacy group, that the bill runs counter to the findings of the National Academy of Sciences and “every major science organization on the globe.”  .   .  .   .  Young pointed out that other states are planning on a sea-level rise of at least three feet. 

According to the NCCF, the CRC’s science panel drafted a report in 2010 that advised the state to prepare for a sea-level rise of up to 55 inches by 2100. The report said that a 39-inch rise was likely. Those findings were disputed by NC-20, an advocacy group that represents businesses and coastal counties. NCCF reports that, using the standard of the proposed bill, the state would be anticipating a 12-inch rise in sea level by 2100.

Support OBX Pridefest and Gay Friendly Dare County, NC

As noted before, the organizers of OBX Pridefest have been concerned over the consequences of the Amendment One Vote on this year's Pridefest event.  Initial reports of voting results incorrectly put Dare County in the column of bigoted counties that had voted for passage of the hideously anti-gay Amendment One.  Final tallies, however, showed that Dare County - the only county not home to a major city or university - had in fact voted against  Amendment One.  The organizers of Pridefest hope the word will get out that their portion of the Outer Banks is gay friendly and that supporters will come down and support their event.  As I have noted before, the Boyfriend and I attended last year's inaugural event and had a wonderful time. And, yes, we will be attending again this year.  Information on OBX Pridefest can be found HERE.  An article in the Virginian Pilot looks at the Dare County vote and the hopes and efforts of the Pridefest Organizers.  Here are article excerpts:

The first thing David Miller did when he heard that Dare County had voted down Amendment 1 opposing gay marriage was head to Facebook.

"There is no reason to boycott Dare County, North Carolina!" wrote Miller, who co-founded the nonprofit entity that organizes the gay-pride event OBX Pridefest. "We are the progressive, free-thinkers in this part of the state."

Miller had particular reason to be worried about the publicity over Amendment 1, which changed the state's constitution to define marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman. After it passed overwhelmingly, receiving 61 percent of 2.1 million votes in North Carolina, Miller heard from visitors saying they were no longer coming to his June event, to show opposition to the voting results.  "There was a very emotional, knee-jerk reaction from a lot of folks up North," he said.

Miller said he now thinks the publicity could help the 2-year-old OBX Pridefest, with more visitors venturing to the Outer Banks to show solidarity with the gay community. He's expecting 2,000 people to attend, up from 1,500 last year, partly because of the attention the amendment has attracted. The event will be held June 15-18.

Beth Storie was proud of her county's vote, but not necessarily surprised by it. In the 35 years she's lived here, she said she's noticed an acceptance in Dare that doesn't exist in neighboring counties.

Storie, who is not gay, planted a sign reading "Vote Against Amendment 1" in the yard of her Manteo home. A neighbor down the street had one, too. She thought it would encourage a dialogue with those holding a different view, but she's gotten more messages of support than contradiction.

"Even if they don't agree with it, they still practice tolerance" of gay people, she said. An active arts community has helped attract people with more variety in points of view, she added.

I sincerely hope that readers within reasonable distance of the Outer Banks will consider visiting OBX Pridefest.  I hope to see you there.

Support OBX Pridefest - June 15 to 18, 2012

My first reaction to yesterday's vote on Amendment One - which relegates LGBT North Carolina citizens to the 4th class citizenship status that LGBT Virginians have lived for almost 6 years (I have more legal recognition of my ownership of my Chihuahua than to my relationship with my de facto husband) - was to totally boycott all of North Carolina.   Was I angry and seeking revenge?  Most definitely.

However, conversing with members of the OBX Pridefest committee, I've rethought my first reaction.  At least in certain instances.  Instances like OBX Pridefest next month in Nags Head, North Carolina.  As many of us as possible need to support OBX Pridefest and the businesses that are sponsoring the event.  Non-sponsor, go ahead and boycott them.  But PLEASE SUPPORT the event and the businesses that have rejected the bigotry of the 68% of Currituck County that supported Amendment One (immediately to the south Dare County's vote was very close to break even).

Check out the sponsors on the image above and also go to OBX Pridefest's webpage and make your reservations for rentals, lodging and restaurants accordingly.   The Boyfriend and I attended the first OBX Pridefest last year and had an wonderful time.  PLEASE attend this year's event if possible and support the LGBT supportive sponsors of the event.

The Pitifully Few Gay Friendly North Carolina Counties



Click Image to Enlarge



As the this map from WRAL-TV indicates, yesterday's vote on Amendment One confirmed that most counties in North Carolina are hostile to LGBT rights including neighboring Currituck County where 68% of the vote supported anti-gay bigotry (Currituck County includes part of the Outer Banks and the towns of Duck, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, and Nags Head).  I feel sorry for those putting on OBX Pridefest next month who now face an uphill battle convincing would be attendees that the area isn't outright hostile to LGBT individuals.  The boyfriend and I attended last years OBX Pride and had a great time. 

Bob Felton at Civil Commotion shared these caustic but accurate thoughts on yesterday's anti-gay vote:

In the cities, where the universities are, and the best educated work, and the ambiance tends toward cosmopolitan, Amendment One failed decisively. But out in the boonies, where banshees still flit through the trees at night and Holy Men are known to have magical powers, the numbers were almost exactly reversed.

In my own county, just outside Raleigh, Amendment One passed by a wide margin, and the vote tallies reveal that many people went to the polls and voted on only Amendment One. They cast no vote in the gubernatorial primary, that is, or the presidential primary, or their congressional primary; they bestirred themselves to go to the polls and outlaw those scary gays — and that’s it.

I never saw an advertisement advancing a public policy argument in favor of Amendment One. The pro-Amendment campaign relied exclusively on some notion of “God’s intention,” making the vote a religious referendum. This tells us two things: First, the average Tarheel knows next to nothing about his country’s founding ideals and, second, the average Tarheel knows next to nothing about his Bible.

North Carolina Adds Hate and Bigotry to Its Constituton

Sadly, North Carolina has joined the ranks of Christofascist states that have enshrine a foul and hate filled version of Christianity in the state constitutions.  Ironically, the boyfriend and I were scheduled to make two trips to North Carolina over the next several months, and I've decide that I am NOT going.  I he wants to go, he's going without me.  Let the bigots in North Carolina rot in fucking Hell before they will EVER see another dollar of mine.  I'd rather make a pile of money and burn it before I'll give it to businesses in an anti-gay state.  It's bad enough that I have to live in a bigoted sh*t hole state like Virginia - I certainly don't have to give my money to other nasty states.  Be assured that I will tell the local tourism bureaus why the trips have been cancelled. What is also disturbing is that six years after the toxic Marshall Newman Amendment passed in Virginia, Amendment One appears to have garnered an even higher percentage of the vote.

 Quote frankly, I'm to the point that when I hear the term "conservative Christian" the term for me is synonymous with hate, bigotry and outright lies and dishonesty.  If these people own the term Christian, I want absolutely nothing to do with it.  The backers of Amendment One launched a knowing and deliberate campaign of misinformation to dupe the ignorant and uninformed into to voting for Amendment One.  Who am I talking about?  People like Lynne Green of Cary North Carolina, in my opinion, might just as well wear a sign around her neck that states "I'm an ignorant moron" based on a story in the News and Observer that reads in part as follows:

Lynne Greene, of Cary, voted for the amendment, at the Fellowship of Christ Presbyterian Church polling site. She said she could support civil unions but not gay marriage. “I have an issue with the use of the word marriage,” said Greene, a Republican who is retired. “I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman.”

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/05/08/2051612/amendment-vote-keeps-stream-of.html#storylink=cpy

If Ms. Greene had bothered to inform herself properly before she voted, she'd have known that her vote would bar civil unions.  In my opinion, Ms. Greene and the countless others like her are no different than the self-satisfied, self-congratulatory Pharisees in the Bible who Christ condemned.  It apparently never enters the minds of the intellectually lazy and self-centered individuals that they have done grievous harm to countless same sex couples in North Carolina and, worse yet, to countless thousands of children in same sex couple headed families.  And all for no reason other than that these folks like to feel superior to others and cling to antiquated writings that have been forged and manipulated over the centuries.  If there is a God, I hope he/she/it holds Ms. Greene and her fellow bigots accountable for the evil they have done.  I cannot but believe that today's vote for bigotry will be the straw that pushes a number of LGBT teens and adults to simply decide that suicide is better than living in a society controlled by such hate and ignorance filled bigots.  

Here are highlights from the News and Observer on the horrible results from today;s vote:

RALEIGH -- North Carolina has become the 31st state to add an amendment on marriage to its constitution, with voters banning same-sex marriage and barring legal recognition of unmarried couples by state and local governments.  North Carolina is the last state in the south to add such an amendment, and supporters hoped for a resounding victory.

Incomplete returns show the amendment up 59.72 percent to 40.28 percent. Some large counties, including Durham and Mecklenburg have not reported results.
 
Money from national interest groups poured into North Carolina. The National Organization for Marriage contributed $425,000 to the Vote for Marriage campaign, according to the latest reports, and the Human Rights Campaign and its affiliates contributed nearly $500,000 to the opposition Coalition to Protect All N.C. Families.

Vote for Marriage raised more than $1 million, and the Coalition to Protect All N.C. Families raised more than $2 million.  The Rev. Billy Graham appeared in a full-page ad supporting the amendment, and others in his family recorded pro-amendment messages.  Vote for Marriage was preparing to celebrate its victory with a seven-tier wedding cake. 

As I said, I've set foot in North Carolina for the last time.  I only hope that others - including business being recruited to relocate to that state will reach the same conclusion and make it known why they are saying "No" to North Carolina.  Foul actions needs to result in painful consequences.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/05/08/2052643/marriage-amendment-latest-results.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/05/08/2052643/marriage-amendment-latest-results.html#storylink=cpy

Hurricane Irene - 8-27-11- Morning Reflections

The heavy rains have already started and woke me during the night. The boyfriend had to go out into it to move the Expedition up the street to friends' home on higher ground. This morning we have to complete preparing the first floor for the possible failure of the flood doors to keep all the water out in the event we get the storm surge being predicted. That means moving everything out of the lower shelves of the pantry closets, the lower kitchen cabinets, a closet where the boyfriend a/k/a "Martha Stewart" keeps his candle sticks, large platters and other items to make him a fabulous dinner party host. Likewise emptying the lower two shelves of the three floor to ceiling china cabinets. Despite all these efforts, we hope that the worse will not happen.

One thing that local readers need to check out is their hurricane deductibles on their home owners policies. Deductibles can range from 1 to 5% of the policy's face value. It can be a shocker and could leave many with a significant out of pocket outlay should they experience major damage. One other note, if you have damage, call your insurance agent - not your attorney. All I can do is tell you, call your insurance company! Here are some highlights from a Virginian Pilot piece on this issue:

Hurricane damage could cost you more these days, thanks to hurricane and windstorm deductibles that have become part of most policies in Hampton Roads and coastal North Carolina.

They require a homeowner to pay for part of any hurricane damage before their regular coverage kicks in. The deductibles typically range from 1 to 5 percent of a home's insured value. If a home has $200,000 of coverage and a windstorm or hurricane deductible of 5 percent, a policyholder must pay for the first $10,000 of the claim.

"Families will have to dig deeper into their pockets because insurers have been steadily increasing hurricane wind coverage deductibles and imposing other policy limitations," J. Robert Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America, said in a statement.

"Once your claim is reported, be sure to get your claim number and write it down," Hunter said. Also, start a notebook to document your contacts with the insurance company with the date, time and a brief description of the exchange, he said.

Several insurers, including State Farm, Nationwide, Allstate and USAA, have already notified policyholders with automated phone messages and email of ways to file any hurricane-related claims. USAA, which provides homeowners and auto coverage to members of the military, military retirees and their family members, is encouraging its policyholders to file claims via their mobile devices.

Again, thank you to readers who have been following events. The blog is setting records in terms of traffic. Knowing you all are out there is comforting. Sounds crazy, I know, but its true.

Hurricane Irene - 8-26-11 - Mid-Day Thoughts

It was starange driving across the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel ("HRBT")on the way to the office and looking towards the Norfolk Naval Base and not seeing any ships at all where there are usually at least one nuclear carrier if not more at bert, plus a number of other vessels in view from the HRBT. Traffic headed west - and out of southside Hampton Roads - was backed up about 6+ miles this morning and I suspect it will only get worse. I will head back to Hampton via the Midtown Tunnel and Monitor Merrimac Bridge Tunnel ("MandM"). Things at the office are almost wrapped up - computer equipment bagged in large lawn and leaf bags and sheet plastic utilized to cover the large copier and telephone system switching equipment. It seems many places are closing early in order to prepare for Hirricane Irene.

More evacuations are being ordered including in the cities of Hampton and Newport News. Here are highligts from the latest updates from WAVY-TV:

11:40 a.m. - Virginia Beach is issuing a voluntary evacuation of camp grounds and mobile homes starting at noon due to high winds.

11 a.m. - Gov. Bob McDonnell orders state offices to close at 3 p.m. Friday.

10:45 a.m. - Newport News has issued a mandatory evacuation for areas that would flood in a Cat. 1 hurricane effective 5 p.m. today. Those areas include City Line Apartments and the Salters Creek area.

9:20 a.m. - The Coast Guard has closed the Port of Hampton Roads to inbound commercial traffic because of expected gale force winds from Hurricane Irene. The Coast Guard said that vessels need special permission to enter the port.

9 a.m. - Hampton issues a mandatory evacuation for low-lying areas that would flood in a Category 1 hurricane. Those areas include neighborhoods in and around: Grandview/Beach Road, Harris Creek, Buckroe Beach, Southwest Branch of the Back River, Hampton River, Tidemill Creek, Indian Creek, Newmarket Creek, and as well as any other area prone to flooding. If you live in these areas and do not evacuate, the City will not be able to send rescue teams in during the storm.

Hampton readers can check out their flood zone here. Yes, the Hampton evacuation includes are home. The boyfriend and I will be staying nonetheless since while the house may end up flooding on the first floor despite our best efforts, it's built like a bunker and not going anywhere even in hurricane force winds.

I will post later as time permits. Now, I'm headed to Hampton to help move ome things into the salon's attic, then drop my car off at a downtown garage (on the second or third floor), and finally home where the work really begins.

Hurricane Irene May Be a Major Threat

UPDATED: The Virginian Pilot reports in part as follows concerning the approach of Hurricane Irene:

All Navy ships in Hampton Roads are ordered to prepare to get underway within 24 hours because conditions have been set to Sortie Condition Bravo.

"We learned last hurricane season with Hurricane Earl that we must be prepared even sooner to make the decision to sortie," said Vice Adm. Daniel Holloway, commander of the U.S. Second Fleet, in a news release. "If the decision is made to sortie the fleet, as prudent mariners we must ensure that our ships have enough time to avoid storm damage and transit out of the path of the storm, well ahead of it."

Locals always consider it a very bad sign when the fleet is sent to sea to avoid a severe storm. If the fleet is ordered to sortie, it will not make most of us feel very secure.

The weather forecast updates are not comforting even though much can change between now and the weekend. Apparently, some computer models have the storm striking the Carolinas and crossing south side Tidewater Virginia to emerge into the Chesapeake Bay still at hurricane strength. Timing, of course, would be important since if the storm passes through at low tide, we'd have a three foot credit against whatever storm surge might materialize. Obviously, I'm not relishing the thought of moving everything upstairs, putting the flood doors in place and then sand bagging all the doors of our home. Fortunately, my house in Norfolk is in an area that never floods although some surrounding areas (including where the office is located- thankfully on the second story) could get whacked. Here are highlights of what the New York Times is currently reporting:

Forecasters say the hurricane could grow to a monstrous Category 4 storm with winds of more than 131 mph before it's predicted to come ashore this weekend on the U.S. mainland. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami expected Irene to reach Category 3 strength on Tuesday, said spokesman Dennis Feltgen.

Officials could begin issuing watches for parts of the U.S. mainland later in the day. Because the storm is so large, Florida could begin feeling some effects from the storm late Wednesday.

Current government models have the storm's outer bands sweeping Florida late this week before it takes aim at the Carolinas this weekend, though forecasters caution that predictions made days in advance can be off by hundreds of miles. Georgia is also likely to be affected.

An updated forecast released Tuesday morning also showed that Irene could move into the Chesapeake Bay by Sunday at hurricane strength. That latest model showed Irene making landfall along the North Carolina coast. However, because the storm is still days away from the U.S., some models also show Irene remaining offshore along the East Coast.

Still, authorities on North Carolina's Ocracoke Island were taking no chances. On Tuesday, officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for visitors to leave starting at 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Irene could bring much-needed relief to a fire blazing in the Great Dismal Swamp on the North Carolina-Virginia line, however. If the storm stays on its current track, it could soak the smoldering fire that's consumed more than 9 square miles of swamp in both states.

Yes, it would be nice to see the fire in the Great Dismal Swamp extinguished - we've had days in Hampton where the smoke has been so bad we don't go outdoors - but a less drastic solution would be preferable.

OBX Pridefest - Day 3

It's another absolutely gorgeous day here in Nags Head. Today's Pride events begin at 11:00 AM at Coquina Beach which is a mile or two south of the beach house where we are staying. The accommodations have been like a return to my fraternity days in terms of the level of partying. There are some hurting dues this morning - including those who were singing "We're off to see the Wizard" in the wee hours of the morning. Yep, they were quite lit! Dirty Dick's Crab Shack is sponsoring the beach party. We will be mobilizing and heading over to the beach shortly.

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The boyfriend and I have to head back to Norfolk for a dinner engagement this afternoon. Tonight's headliner entertainment is Dame Edna who will be performing at the Outer Banks Brewing Station.