Category: News

Brace yourselves—nature’s tiniest divas are on their way. Yes, hummingbirds, the sugar-fueled aerial acrobats of the bird world, are migrating north again. After wintering in sunny Central America (where they no doubt sipped nectar out of coconuts and flexed their wings on the beach), these feathered dynamos are flapping their way back to our neck […]

We have all seen pieces of plastic and other garbage floating in the water near our boats or washed up on our beaches. There are many regulations that apply to dumping of garbage, sewage, and oil waste. This column addresses a few of those and discusses the Coast Guard’s participation in pollution prevention. The same […]

While the rest of the world relies on fiber optics and satellite links, the police in the coastal state of Odisha, India, still look to the skies for a more ancient form of “wireless” communication. Known as the Odisha Police Pigeon Service, it is believed to be the only functioning carrier pigeon corps left in […]

As I told you, last Tuesday, as you were reading Crystal Beach Local News, we were on our way to Tishomingo, Oklahoma, to pick up our little Merry Girl. We had reservations at a quaint little boutique hotel in Tishomingo, a little three-room place on Main Street! As we arrived and parked out front, we […]

This week in American history saw the official adoption of its National Anthem and the first sessions of the U.S. Congress, alongside the somber events of the Civil Rights Movement, such as the “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma. These seven days reflect a country constantly defining its identity through law, protest, and artistic expression. March […]

For many, the end of the road on the Bolivar Peninsula isn’t just a geographical point; it is a destination. At the heart of that destination sits Stingaree Restaurant and Marina, a staple of Southeast Texas hospitality approaching its 40th anniversary. We sat down with owner Brad Vratis to discuss the transition from corporate shoes […]

Filmmakers Tim and Russell Laman have captured the hidden world of our most common neighborhood visitors in their new video series, “Backyard Birds Revealed.” This 5-part series, produced in collaboration with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, uses cutting-edge technology to transform a split-second visit to a bird feeder into a cinematic event. While the Laman […]

If you think the most impressive thing a horse can do is jump a fence or pull a carriage, you haven’t visited the windswept shores of Oostduinkerke, Belgium. Here, a group of rugged fishermen and their massive, four-legged companions are keeping a 500-year-old tradition alive: shrimping on horseback. It is exactly as majestic—and slightly absurd—as […]

America is a country defined by movement. Since the invention of the automobile, the road trip has become a central part of the national identity. From historic trade routes to neon-lit boulevards, certain stretches of asphalt have transcended their utility to become cultural icons. However, the modern journey is about more than just the destination. […]

“TheFog” is a 1980 American supernatural horror film directed by John Carpenter. It tells the story of a strange, glowing fog that sweeps over a small coastal town in Northern California, bringing with it the vengeful ghosts of leprous mariners who were killed in a shipwreck there a century before. This isn’t the only movie with a heavy fog as the main […]