![]() In the Outer Banks of North Carolina, twenty years ago from June 17th, 1999 to July 9, 1999, the Cape Hatteras lighthouse was moved 2,900 feet farther inland from Hatteras Point. So you may be asking yourself, what would motivate anyone to move a historic lighthouse? Why? How? In fact, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse has changed over time with different styles of architecture leading up to its present design and location. The History And Older Versions Of The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse The first Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was built in 1803. The lighthouse was built of sandstone and was 90 feet tall. According to Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the 1803 lighthouse was too short and was not able to effectively warn ships if they were in danger or if they needed to know which way the shore was. Also, because the lighthouse was made of sandstone, it blended in with the color of the sand, so it was harder to see than you would expect. In 1853, the Lighthouse Board decided to add 60 feet to the height of the 1803 lighthouse making it 150 feet tall. It was then painted red and white making it easier to see during the day. However, people still complained about the effectiveness of the lighthouse. The construction of the 1870 Cape Hatteras Lighthouse started in October of 1868 next to the 1803 lighthouse. The 1870 lighthouse was completed in December of 1870 costing $155,000 which would cost millions in today’s dollars. The 1803 lighthouse was destroyed in February of 1871. The Moving of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse In 1999, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore decided to move the lighthouse because of the constant erosion of the shore. As you can imagine, moving a lighthouse is not very easy! As described by the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the whole original foundation was temporarily replaced by shoring parts and supports. After cross beams and main beams were set, the temporary supporting parts were then removed. Hydraulic jacks were built into the main beams and were used to make a 6-foot raise so that they could use roll beams and rollers to roll the lighthouse into position. The hydraulic jacks were retracted and they were then able to roll the lighthouse into its new location. It cost $11.8 million to move the lighthouse! Today, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is still used frequently to guide ships in the coast of North Carolina. It is no longer in danger of the eroding shoreline and has withstood many severe storms in the past 20 years. But with the shoreline continuing to erode, how long before they will have to move the lighthouse again? Story by Tate Lloyd ![]() On September 4th 2019, the company YouTube, owned by Google, was fined 170 million dollars. Why, you may ask? We'll, YouTube was fined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for a child privacy violation lawsuit. This lawsuit was put into motion because YouTube was “spying” on kids’ YouTube accounts. Now, the reason why they were “spying” was to put out specialized ads for children and to flag the videos that are most commonly watched by the children. To justify this, YouTube says they put this information into the YouTube Kids App to make it a safer and more efficient service to younger viewers. As a response to this lawsuit, YouTube has stated that it is going to completely stop the display of ads on videos related to kids and turn off the notifications and comments of children-related videos. This Privacy Violation Law is effective until a child is 13 years old. For anyone younger than the required age of 13, it would still be illegal for YouTube to collect data on them. Even though a fine has been paid and YouTube fully understands that it will pay for its actions if a violation happens again, many people still do not fully trust them. For example, Digital Information World said, “Despite the settlement and the new policies launched by YouTube, the majority of people still fail to trust YouTube and accuse it of violating Children’s Online Privacy for years. Even two members of the FTC also voted against the settlement.” YouTube, because of this lawsuit, has lost a tremendous amount of money. Much of this money has been either given to NewYork or to the FTC. The next big issue is the money. It has become very clear that Google and YouTube are going to be losing a tremendous amount of money. Now I’m sure you're wondering, where is all this money going to or who is it going to? Well Google will pay 34 million of it to New York and the other 136 million will go to the FTC. This is said to be the highest amount ever paid to settle a fine. This is also the biggest amount ever paid to the FTC for a case since the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act was formed in 1998. This case has vastly affected YouTube, many people now don’t trust it, but somehow Google’s stock has gone up by +4.10. Story by Hadley Wallace ![]() After demolishing the Bahamas, Hurricane Dorian made landfall on the Carolina coast on September 1st, 2019. It hit as a category 1 hurricane, it was moving at 21 miles per hour. The hurricane leaves 5 dead on the Carolina coast and 45 or more in the Bahamas. The hurricane brought heavy rains, bad winds and lots of flooding. It was quick-moving but the damage was still devastating. 100s of people were stranded on Ocracoke island. Ocracoke is/was only accessible by air or by water on normal days. The storm surge rose 5 to 7 feet in a matter of hours. As it moved north it started too split up over a wider area. Most of the homes that Dorian hit didn't have flood insurance. In only a couple of days, people have raised 10,000 dollars for recovery after the hurricane. Power has been restored to Dare county but much more is needed to be done. Trees began destroying roofs, and local tree companies in Manteo have already begun clearing trees. But trees are the only problem. Almost ½ of the pair is missing because of the storm. Almost 300 feet were ripped off. Our coast wasn't ready for this kind of devastation. A Virginia based rescue program rescued 21 dogs from Florence South Carolina. They were working to recuse another 40 dogs on the 7th. Most of the dogs will go into the foster families or will be at an adoption event in Washington. One dog has already been adopted. It brought the community closer even though it tore their town apart. Story by Chloe Summerlin SOURCES: Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas. “Hurricane Dorian Whips North Carolina's Outer Banks: Live Updates.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Sept. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/us/hurricane-dorian-updates.html Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas. “Hurricane Dorian Whips North Carolina's Outer Banks: Live Updates.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Sept. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/us/hurricane-dorian-updates.html. “Outer Banks Rallies to Recover after Hit from Hurricane Dorian.” WAVY.com, 10 Sept. 2019, https://www.wavy.com/weather/hurricane/outer-banks-rallies-to-recover-after-hit-from-hurricane-dorian/ “21 Dogs Rescued from South Carolina as Hurricane Dorian Continues On.” Newsela, newsela.com/read/hurricane-dorian-dogs/id/56787/. Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas. “Hurricane Dorian Whips North Carolina's Outer Banks: Live Updates.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Sept. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/us/hurricane-dorian-updates.html. “Outer Banks Rallies to Recover after Hit from Hurricane Dorian.” WAVY.com, 10 Sept. 2019, www.wavy.com/weather/hurricane/outer-banks-rallies-to-recover-after-hit-from-hurricane-dorian/. |