N.C.  Appeals Court rules
on waterfront land dispute 

SWANSBORO (AP) — The North Carolina Court of Appeals has overturned a decision that could have led to expansion of the Hammocks Beach State Park near Swansboro.

The Daily News of Jacksonville reported the court overturned a decision that the state Board of Education should be trustee for the nearly 300 acres of land next to the park.

The court awarded the property to the grandchildren of the late John and Gertrude Hurst, who had challenged the state’s claim to the property.

The State Board of Education had expected to turn the land over to the Division of Parks and Recreation, probably to expand the state park.

David Pearson with Friends of the Hammocks says he hopes the state will appeal the case to the North Carolina Supreme Court.

 

Feds to explain test of
N.C. coastal wind farms 

WILMINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is holding public meetings as it gauges commercial interest in wind farms off North Carolina’s northern Outer Banks and Cape Fear.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is holding a meeting Wednesday in Wilmington. A similar meeting was held Monday at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head.

The government said last month it wanted to hear who would be interested in leasing blocks of ocean to build and operate offshore wind farms in three potential areas. One area is six miles off Kitty Hawk, while the other two are seven miles and 13 miles at sea south of Wilmington.

Federal officials picked those spots because they are attractive for commercial offshore wind development while also protecting natural resources and minimizing conflicts with military operations, shipping and fishing.

New Hanover schools
to undergo safety review 

WILMINGTON (AP) — The New Hanover County Board of Education will spend up to $200,000 for a security and safety review of all 47 buildings in the district.

That review comes after last month’s deadly attack at an elementary school in Connecticut. It will include looking at issues including the handling of crisis communications, school vulnerability and staff training. It will also look at safety risks in the buildings.

The board on Tuesday also agreed that sheriff’s deputies can be posted at all elementary schools in the district through the end of the school year. The county commissioners earlier this week approved money for the officers. County officials estimate it will cost about $600,000.

 

Greensboro police say
mom was shooter 

GREENSBORO (AP) — Greensboro police say a woman shot and killed her son and injured her daughter and boyfriend before killing herself.

Police say statements from the survivors indicate that 47-year-old Sandra Lyn Palmer shot and killed 14-year-old Maurice Edmonds II and wounded her daughter and boyfriend before shooting and killing herself Monday.

Palmer’s daughter, 18-year-old Danielle Jameison, and Palmer’s boyfriend and Edmonds’ father, 46-year-old Maurice Eugene Edmonds, were wounded. Police Chief Ken Miller said Edmonds and Jameison had improved to stable condition and their stories confirmed the forensics evidence.

Police say the family was involved in a dispute early Monday, though investigators did not say what sparked the dispute. Police say Palmer left the room and returned with a gun.

Autopsies were planned Tuesday but the results were not immediately available.