NEWPORT NEWS

Virginia's oyster harvest has grown tenfold in the past decade to 236,000 bushels in 2011 and a dockside value of $8.2 million, state officials announced Tuesday.

Gov. Bob McDonnell credited the rebound to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and its promotion of sanctuaries, targeted shell plantings in public oyster grounds and other measures.

BODIE ISLAND, N.C. A controlled burn will continue today in the Bodie Island District of Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The burn will include about 662 acres west of N.C. 12 to north of the Bodie Island Lighthouse access road to south of the Navy Tower access road, according to a news release from the National Park Service. Both secondary access roads will be closed during the burn.

By Julie Watson SAN DIEGO A federal judge for the first time in U.S. history heard arguments Monday in a case that could determine whether animals enjoy the same constitutional protection against slavery as human beings.

The U.S. House has approved a bill that would expand Corolla's wild horse herd to help maintain the herd's genetic viability.

SUFFOLK

For years, residents of the rural village of Hobson have known their drinking water, drawn from an aging community well, did not meet state or federal health standards.

Prospects for wind turbines churning out clean energy off the mid-Atlantic coast got brighter Thursday when federal officials unveiled safe areas where energy companies might build wind farms off Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.

By Alex Dominguez  BALTIMORE  Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says a recently completed review is a major step toward developing wind energy off the coasts of Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and New Jersey.

Virginia lawmakers in Washington again are pushing for oil and natural gas drilling off the state's coast, especially after President Barack Obama announced he wants more domestic production of fossil fuels on land and beneath the Gulf of Mexico.

VIRGINIA BEACH

Just off the sand of the resort strip, dark giants cruise the waters in unheard-of numbers.

They’re here because of the weather. An unusually mild winter has led to warmer-than-normal water temperatures, which prompted the bait fish to stick around, which attracted our bus-sized visitors – the humpback whales.

Driving along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in the Outer Banks of North Carolina will soon cost motorists $120 a year or $50 a week.
The National Park Service announced the amount of the fees Wednesday and said its staff will begin ticketing beach drivers March 15if they don't pay for a windshield sticker or a hanging permit.