By David Pendered May 11 – Baltimore or London? The choice is bogging down the lawsuit over liability of the ship that knocked down a bridge near Baltimore. The Dali, a Singapore-flagged container ship, crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024. The allision with the bridge that was part of the […]
Short Takes
Catching up with Sofia Talvik, singer-songwriterBy David Pendered May 5 – Sofia Talvik is the Swedish singer-songwriter I selected for a series of stories on how an artist was navigating the Covid pandemic. I caught up with her at her recent show on the Florida Panhandle. Time has enriched her voice and her lyrics. Talvik’s guitar skills remain top notch, […]
Short Takes
Pew surveys show: Press freedom important, AI poses threatsBy David Pendered May 11 – Most Americans continue to say freedom of the press is highly important and half of Americans think artificial intelligence will have a negative effect on the news they consume, new surveys show. These findings are among those revealed in the past two weeks in surveys conducted by the Pew […]
Environment
North Pacific right whales: Scientists find glimmer of hopeBy David Pendered April 21 – New federal reports have found cause for optimism for the endangered eastern North Pacific right whale, described by NOAA Fisheries as “among the world’s rarest and most mysterious great whale populations.” “I am very optimistic and hopeful about the future of these whales,” Dana Wright, NOAA Fisheries affiliate/University of […]
Short Takes
Enslaved shipbuilders highly valued in antebellum Eastern NCBy David Pendered Fort Macon State Park, NC – March 3 – An 1857 court ruling speaks to the value some slaveholders placed on enslaved people who were able to build the vessels needed deliver the region’s corn and wheat from farm to market in antebellum Eastern North Carolina. The ruling was cited in a […]
Environment
Georgia Power seeks to extend lifespan of coal-fired power plantsBy David Pendered Feb. 24 – Georgia Power wants to extend the lifespan of coal-fired power plants to meet Georgia’s energy needs, including the power-hungry electric transportation manufacturing sector, data centers and solar power manufacturing. Georgia Power proposes to extend the operation of Plant Bowen’s four coal-fired units and Plant Scherer’s three coal-fired units through […]
Women Sailors
French female sailor shatters glass ceilingBy David Pendered Feb. 15 – Violette Dorange crashed through the glass ceiling of the male-dominated world of blue-water sailboat racing when she became the youngest skipper ever to complete the Vendee Globe solo circumnavigation. The feat has pushed Dorange, 23, into the realm of rock stars in her home country, France, and around the […]
Environment
Biden administration punts on whale protectionsBy David Pendered Jan 20 – The Biden administration’s plan to preserve North American right whales was withdrawn because officials couldn’t made a decision during the past two-plus years, federal records show. The proposal was to expand the scope of speed limits in areas traversed by right whales. The plan drew fire from stakeholders including […]
Short Takes
Okefenokee selected over B’ham church bombings for World Heritage ListBy David Pendered Jan. 13 – The Okefenokee Swamp was chosen over the site of the fatal bombing at Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church and 17 other sites for nomination to the United Nation’s World Heritage List. Advocates of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge helped sway the site-selection committee, which is overseen by the US […]
Women Sailors
Heartbreak on high seas for woman sailorBy David Pendered Jan. 6 – Heartbreak came in the form of a mast that collapsed onto her racing sailboat nearly a thousand miles south of Australia. Now just five women are left to compete in the male-dominated 2024-25 Vendée Globe. “I don’t know what happened,” British skipper Pip Hare said in a video broadcast […]
