skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

NC Land Trusts Play Their Parts for Prime Eclipse Viewing

play audio
Play

Thursday, August 17, 2017   

HIGHLANDS, N.C. – Monday may be the closest thing to time standing still, as thousands of people flock to parts of North Carolina that are in the path of totality for the solar eclipse in the afternoon.

Sunset Rock at Ravenel Park in Highlands is one of the top spots for eclipse viewing. That's partly because of geography, but the unspoiled area created by the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust also has a lot to do with it, says the land trust's executive director, Gary Wein.

"One of the issues with the eclipse, of course, is going to be light pollution and so, through conservation easements, we can oftentimes negotiate or mandate that landowners will have lighting around their homes that do not 'brighten up' the night sky," he points out.

Wein says because of limited parking at Ravenel Park, the town of Highlands is helping to limit access to car traffic and asking people to walk to the location.

Local law enforcement is bracing for increased crowds and traffic, and some businesses are closing for the day.

Katie Onheiber, communications and marketing manager at Conserving Carolina, says the total solar eclipse is a great example of how everyone benefits from the long-term planning involved with conserving land.

"We're really lucky a lot of the lands that we have worked to conserve are in the path of totality of Transylvania County,” she states. “It's really the hard work of people that have a passion for nature, for the outdoors, for protecting and conserving our natural resources."

Wein says his land trust is leaving the crowd management to local law enforcement, but will use Monday's event as a means to educate visitors about the benefits of a land trust.

"For us specifically, these people will come and go, they don't live here,” he says. “Down the road, those people may come back and then, they'll be important to us. But we're going to advertise who we are at our site."

Wein adds even when there isn't a big event like an eclipse, North Carolina's land trusts allow the unobstructed views that just aren't available in other parts of the country where there's more development and pollution.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021