“3 things happening in NC” is Cardinal & Pine’s weekly guide to the people, storylines, and events driving the news this week in North Carolina. Here’s what you’ll find this week:
- Outer Banks communities begin recovery after nor’easter
- Jury selection begins in notorious Faith Hedgepeth murder case
- Smithfield honors legendary actress Ava Gardner and her time in Spain
It was just five years ago that my family began making the trek to the Outer Banks from Charlotte rather than Ocean Isle, where we had vacationed since the 1990s.
Previously unfamiliar with NC’s most iconic coastal area (save for a grade school field trip from which my only memory was running full speed down Jockey’s Ridge until I finally took a face full of sand), I have come to love the area of South Nags Head where we stay.
In that short time, however, I’ve witnessed the impacts of climate change and rising sea levels. Beach restoration efforts mean we arrive at a new beach each year, wondering how long until that one is turned into a cliff and a new beach is needed.
That’s nothing compared to what the people of Rodanthe and other northern parts of Hatteras Island have experienced. Watching as more cottages are pulled into the Atlantic each year feels like something that would be on television in the background of an apocalyptic film.
I don’t have any solutions to put forward, only the same helpless feeling that we all feel as we see the things we’ve been warning our more skeptical neighbors about for decades come to pass.
I would say that something has to give, but it feels like it’s already giving. The residents of Hatteras Island are left to clean up after each storm and see what comes next.
This week, that’s where we’ll begin “3 Things Happening in NC.”
Outer Banks communities begin recovery after nor’easter
Over the weekend, a nor’easter (which has since become Hurricane Erin) left some Hatteras Island residents and visitors unsure how to leave. At last, the state reopened a temporary replacement of NC Highway 12 on the north end of Ocracoke Island Sunday afternoon.
Ferry service also resumed between Hatteras and Ocracoke on a limited schedule.
Parts of NC 12 were washed away by the storm, as can be seen in this photo from meteorologist Rocky Matthews, and it will take some time to fully recover.
Construction crews will be working on the most heavily impacted areas—Rodanthe, Ocracoke Island, and Stumpy Point, among others—throughout the week, putting down a rock road and employing temporary sand dunes for the short term.
Meanwhile, one lawmaker is setting his sights on the long term. US Rep. Don Davis posted to Facebook on Sunday calling for real solutions.
“Emergency ferry service, first responders, emergency management, and the North Carolina Department of Transportation are very much appreciated,” Davis wrote. “However, residents have overwhelmingly said they would most appreciate a real commitment to a permanent solution for N.C. Highway 12.
“The vulnerability of N.C. Highway 12 has been part of years of discussion and the Task Force’s work, as many in our coastal communities continue to seek assistance,” he continued. “Band-Aid fixes can be costly over time and must not be viewed as the solution. N.C. Highway 12 is vital for connecting residents to their homes, healthcare, and livelihoods.”
To that end, state and local leaders formed a N.C. 12 Task Force in 2021. Two years later, the group released a report calling for new bridges at several “hotspots,” the most critical of them being the Pea Island area, which is a gateway to Hatteras Island and Ocracoke.
The task force called bridges “the most sustainable long-term solution in all areas,” urging further study to develop a more precise plan and timeline.
In the meantime, stay tuned to the NC Department of Transportation website for updated information on ferry times and road construction in the aftermath of this weekend’s storm.
Jury selection begins in notorious Faith Hedgepeth murder case
Fourteen years after UNC-Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth, 19, was murdered in her off-campus apartment, jury selection is set to begin in the trial of her accused killer.
In 2021, nearly a decade after Hedgepeth’s murder, police charged then 28-year-old Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares with the crime.
As reported by several local outlets, much of the argument will revolve around DNA evidence that reportedly ties Salguero-Olivares to an empty bottle of Bacardi rum that was found near Hedgepeth’s body and is believed to be the murder weapon.
His attorneys, however, are raising questions about two bloody thumbprints found on the neck of the bottle that are said to belong to neither Hedgepeth nor Salguero-Olivares.
Salguero-Olivares has been held in the Durham County jail since 2021.
The trial is expected to comprise weeks of testimony, with true-crime influencers and podcasters descending on Durham to join reporters in analyzing each day’s events.
Smithfield honors legendary actress Ava Gardner and her time in Spain
In 2000, the Ava Gardner Museum officially opened in Johnston County’s Smithfield, moving items over from a seasonal attraction that had been housed since 1981 in a building where Gardner had once lived in Brogden.
According to the museum’s website, the unique collection spans Ava’s entire life, from her humble beginnings in rural North Carolina to her relaxed final years in London.
“Our vast repository of Ava’s personal and professional artifacts includes photographs, jewelry, costumes, memorabilia, papers, ephemera, and much more,” the site reads.
Each year, Smithville celebrates the starlet of the Golden Age of Hollywood with the Ava Gardner Festival. This year’s festival takes on a cultural bent, celebrating Gardner’s life in Spain from 1955 to 1966 and the independence that venture brought.
“Join the Ava Gardner Museum in celebrating Ava’s international legacy through live flamenco performance, movies from her esteemed filmography, and never-before-seen artifacts at the 2026 Ava Gardner Festival,” the website beckons. “It reminds us, once again, how timeless Ava remains.”
