Property

Every journey of a thousand miles, the adage goes, begins with a single step. Last week, a state Senate committee took a small step toward protecting our region against the devastation that can be foreseen as the sea keeps rising. Voting 5-0, Republicans and Democrats on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee together passed Senate Bill 78, which would require that state-funded infrastructure projects near the coast be preceded by a sea-level impact studies.

CHIMANIMANI, Zimbabwe - The Latest on the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in southern Africa (all times local):

Thousands of people remain without food or shelter days after the storm made landfall on the coast of Mozambique. As communities struggle with the scale of loss, neighboring countries have pledged humanitarian support.

MANATEE FL - The Manatee County Tax Collector’s Office refuted claims that it might be leaving money on the table when it comes to collecting tourism taxes from short-term rentals.

The Trump administration has announced plans to overhaul the federally subsidized National Flood Insurance Program, increasing policy premiums to more accurately reflect flood risk and home values starting in October 2020. The decision comes in the midst of historic flooding that has displaced thousands of people and destroyed homes, farms, and infrastructure across parts of the U.S. Midwest.

It’s been six months since Hurricane Florence made landfall in the Wilmington area, and John Pike and his family are still not living in their home.

As coastal Louisiana continues to degrade, communities are left increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic storm flooding. The coastal wetlands, a century ago treated as disposable and often dredged for canals or drained and leveed for agriculture, grazing, or development, are actually an ecologically crucial habitat which acts as a natural buffer against extreme flooding. Restoring these coastal wetlands is imperative to protect Louisiana’s coast from further decline due to manmade and natural causes.

Climate advocates say an overhaul of the nation’s flood insurance program being unveiled by the Trump administration will spur communities around the country to better plan for extreme weather, but could drive up costs for some homeowners.

Buyer Beware: Oceanfront Homes Keep Going Up Despite Rising Seas

YORK, Maine -- Of Maine’s entire 3,500-mile coastline, only 12 percent is publicly held. The remaining 88 percent, which includes beaches in Kittery, York, Wells, Kennebunk and beyond, is in private hands, with rights to the beach down to the low water mark.

When I was in elementary school in the early ’90s, there was already a clear understanding of climate change and its causes amongst educators — but these individuals weren’t necessarily part of serious political or industry discussions. In any case, there wasn’t serious action taken to address the problem.

Codes, zoning and infrastructure are more impactful than government-supported insurance policies, according to panel of economists and real estate experts

While hotels pour money into marketing to try to boost their business, they are acting like they are unaware of the greatest challenge to their business model their industry has ever faced: the conversion of single-family houses into commercial short-term rental “mini-hotels.”

MIDDLETOWN — The salty patches were small, at first — scattered spots where soybeans wouldn’t grow, where grass withered and died, exposing expanses of bare, brown earth.

With only two-and-a-half months until hurricane season and with most people in the Florida Panhandle still grappling with the damage left over from last year, it’s almost time once again to check preparation kits, stock up on batteries and plan evacuation routes.

Nova Scotia is proposing legislation that would set rules for coastal construction and protect features such as salt marshes and dunes as sea levels rise in the future.

Airbnb Inc. and Expedia Group Inc.’s HomeAway failed to persuade a U.S. court of appeals to strike down a Santa Monica law that makes the companies liable for illicit rentals in the Southern California beach city.

As they have for several years, state lawmakers are again looking to amend The Shore Protection Act, which designates the extent of the state’s influence on private property near the beach.

A study to determine which homes in Southwest Coastal Louisiana will qualify for voluntary relocation or elevation recently received funding after much back-and-forth between parish officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

How much of Lake Michigan's beaches are public — and what you can do on them — is the subject of two bills currently making their way through the statehouse.

TALLAHASSEE — After spending more than $1 billion in the almost five months since Hurricane Michael ripped through a large swath of the eastern Panhandle, state lawmakers say it’s clear that the cleanup, recovery and cost of one of the nation’s worst storms is far from complete.

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — The Nature Conservancy is acquiring nearly 6,270 acres of rolling, cream-colored dunes, criss-crossed with low vegetation and pocketed with pristine tidal flats on South Padre Island, where critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles crawl ashore each spring to lay eggs.

This year's hurricane season is not expected to be any milder than the previous year’s, according to the lead seasonal hurricane forecaster for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Around half of the global population now lives within 62 miles of the coast, and coastal cities are among the fastest growing population centers on the planet. As these urban communities grow, however, so does the potential for damage.

Accomack residents weighed in recently about the impact sea level rise is having on their lives. The Eastern Shore of Virginia lies in one of the nation's most vulnerable coastal regions, where scientists say sea levels are rising at three to four times the global average and storms are intensifying.

From rising sea levels and crop failures to dying forests and fish, Washington state is struggling

Climate change and a potentially vulnerable insurance market could combine in a disaster that starts in South Florida but hits the entire globe.

BOSTON – A day after the Conservation Law Foundation warned in a report that 37 acres of open space in Boston will face flooding risks due to climate change, Boston’s environment commissioner described it as a “very useful contribution” that echoed many of the city’s findings.

An exclusive golf course has fenced off over two hectares of public conservation land. Farah Hancock reports on what the locals and the Department of Conservation say about the fence.

The threat of flooding has driven some buyers away and caused losses in property values

High-tide flooding is eating away at the coastal property tax base just when communities need it most to adapt to climate change and repair the damage.

This past Tuesday, the Parkview Library along with the Smithsonian’s Water/Ways Exhibit, hosted a talk about the book “Bayou Farewell” and how it relates to today’s coastal erosion and its effect on the economic development of the area.