Latest news with #Buc-ees
CNN
5 days ago
- CNN
Interstate lights by Georgia's biggest Buc-ee's are leading baby sea turtles astray, experts say
During the first week of July, the popular travel center and gas station chain Buc-ee's opened its largest location in Georgia, just off coastal Interstate 95. But it's not the beaver-branded merchandise or the smell of barbecue that's attracting Georgia's sea turtles — it's the harsh glare of towering high-mast lights. Under normal conditions, the soft glow of moonlight guides newly hatched loggerhead sea turtles from the beaches of Little St. Simons Island to the ocean. But this summer, brighter and taller lights are disrupting that instinct. Instead of heading toward the sea, the hatchlings are being drawn miles inland, where they risk falling to predators or dying from exhaustion before they find the water, said Scott Coleman, ecological manager of Little St. Simons Island. The loggerheads are the only sea turtle species to regularly nest on Georgia's barrier islands, including the Golden Isles. St. Simons Island, the largest of the isles, has long struggled with hatchlings losing their sense of direction and becoming what's known as 'misoriented,' largely due to the artificial glow from beachfront homes and vacation rentals, according to Catherine Ridley, vice president of education and communication at One Hundred Miles, a nonprofit working to conserve Georgia's coastal habitats. The problem has only intensified in recent months. A previously dark stretch near I-95's Exit 42 in Brunswick, Georgia, is now flooded with intense, artificial light from the high-mast light fixtures illuminating the Buc-ee's exit. The lights were there before the proposal and construction of Buc-ee's, according to Brittany Dozier, Glynn County's director of communications. Buc-ee's itself is not responsible for the lights. The county is choosing to keep them on 'for the safety of the motoring public,' Dozier said. However, the set up casts light far beyond the highway, extending onto beaches even 12 miles away, including Little St. Simons and Sapelo. 'It's more than sky glow — you can see the light from the actual bulbs shining directly onto the beach,' Ridley said. 'When you have unshielded artificial lights shining brightly onto the nesting beach, it can override the natural cues the turtles use to find their way to the ocean, and we see misorientations as the result.' A brightness crisis Georgia's Department of Natural Resources monitors sea turtle nests and misorientations on Little St. Simons Island. In 2024, 11% of nests had more than 10 misoriented hatchlings, according to a report from the department's Wildlife Resources Division. On average, each loggerhead nest has around 120 hatchlings, Ridley said. However, it's not just hatchlings at risk from artificial lighting. Nesting females also avoid brightly lit areas, reducing their options for safe nesting grounds along the coast, according to Coleman. The turtles typically nest on the same beaches each season from late May to mid-August. Although conservationists monitor nests closely, rescuing misoriented hatchlings is not always an option. 'We never really know exactly when the nests are going to hatch, and in any given nesting season we are monitoring 75+ nests, and often more than 100 nests,' Coleman said in an email. 'When hatchlings emerge and crawl in the opposite direction of the ocean, they are much more vulnerable to predators.' Little St. Simons Island and Sapelo bear the brunt of the problem sitting closest to Exit 42. If these types of high-intensity lights continue to expand, even underdeveloped parts of the isles like Jekyll Island — home to the greatest population of nesting turtles along the coast — could see serious long-term consequences for their turtle populations, Coleman warned. The rise in artificial light has been impacting threatened species of sea turtles all along the Southeast coast. In North Carolina, light-polluted beaches sometimes cause turtles to return to the sea without laying eggs, the National Park Service says. In Florida, there were more than 10,000 loggerhead turtle misorientation events from 2020 to 2023 alone, and that number only accounts for the turtles tracked by the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Across the country, light pollution continues to soar. Based on measurements from citizen scientists, the average night sky in the US increased in brightness by 9.6% each year from 2011 to 2022, the National Park Service reported — equal to doubling the brightness of the sky every eight years. Experts urge quick fixes with hatching season underway The Georgia Department of Transportation owns the high-mast lights, but by agreement, Glynn County is responsible for ensuring the lights are operational, said Dozier, the county's communications director. The same high-mast lights exist at three other I-95 interchanges in Glynn County, according to Dozier, and the lights near Exit 42 do not violate any county ordinance. The county's public works department said the county and state transportation department discussed turning the high-mast lights off after street lights were installed at roundabouts, according to emails between Glynn County Public Works and a Georgia Department of Natural Resources biologist in May and June, shared with CNN by Ridley. The standard streetlights have since been installed, Ridley said, but the towering high mast lights remain in use as of late July, except during maintenance. Despite pleas from conservationists to dim or turn off the lights during the loggerhead hatching season, which began on July 15, county officials have not committed to shutting them off, Ridley said. Dozier told CNN on Wednesday the 'lighting installed at the roundabouts or near Buc-ee's was never meant to replace the high-mast system that serves the interchange.' The Georgia Department of Transportation is currently evaluating the installation of an alternative lighting system, she said. CNN has also reached out to Buc-ee's for comment, though they are not responsible for building, operating or maintaining the high-mast lights. In the meantime, conservationists are pushing for temporary fixes to protect this year's hatchlings. 'It's hard to understand why anyone needs lights that blindingly bright to begin with, but in the short-term, we'd be open to even temporary fixes that lower the risk to turtles this season, (such as) adding shields so they point in a downward direction,' Ridley said. These turtles are also beloved by residents and visitors alike, the nonprofit leader noted. 'I speak to tourists and residents every day on the beach that have moved here or have vacationed here for decades, all in hopes of seeing one (turtle) in person,' Ridley said. 'But if we're going to put sea turtles on billboards and magazine ads, we need to hold up our end of the bargain.'
CNN
5 days ago
- CNN
Interstate lights by Georgia's biggest Buc-ee's are leading baby sea turtles astray, experts say
During the first week of July, the popular travel center and gas station chain Buc-ee's opened its largest location in Georgia, just off coastal Interstate 95. But it's not the beaver-branded merchandise or the smell of barbecue that's attracting Georgia's sea turtles — it's the harsh glare of towering high-mast lights. Under normal conditions, the soft glow of moonlight guides newly hatched loggerhead sea turtles from the beaches of Little St. Simons Island to the ocean. But this summer, brighter and taller lights are disrupting that instinct. Instead of heading toward the sea, the hatchlings are being drawn miles inland, where they risk falling to predators or dying from exhaustion before they find the water, said Scott Coleman, ecological manager of Little St. Simons Island. The loggerheads are the only sea turtle species to regularly nest on Georgia's barrier islands, including the Golden Isles. St. Simons Island, the largest of the isles, has long struggled with hatchlings losing their sense of direction and becoming what's known as 'misoriented,' largely due to the artificial glow from beachfront homes and vacation rentals, according to Catherine Ridley, vice president of education and communication at One Hundred Miles, a nonprofit working to conserve Georgia's coastal habitats. The problem has only intensified in recent months. A previously dark stretch near I-95's Exit 42 in Brunswick, Georgia, is now flooded with intense, artificial light from the high-mast light fixtures illuminating the Buc-ee's exit. The lights were there before the proposal and construction of Buc-ee's, according to Brittany Dozier, Glynn County's director of communications. Buc-ee's itself is not responsible for the lights. The county is choosing to keep them on 'for the safety of the motoring public,' Dozier said. However, the set up casts light far beyond the highway, extending onto beaches even 12 miles away, including Little St. Simons and Sapelo. 'It's more than sky glow — you can see the light from the actual bulbs shining directly onto the beach,' Ridley said. 'When you have unshielded artificial lights shining brightly onto the nesting beach, it can override the natural cues the turtles use to find their way to the ocean, and we see misorientations as the result.' A brightness crisis Georgia's Department of Natural Resources monitors sea turtle nests and misorientations on Little St. Simons Island. In 2024, 11% of nests had more than 10 misoriented hatchlings, according to a report from the department's Wildlife Resources Division. On average, each loggerhead nest has around 120 hatchlings, Ridley said. However, it's not just hatchlings at risk from artificial lighting. Nesting females also avoid brightly lit areas, reducing their options for safe nesting grounds along the coast, according to Coleman. The turtles typically nest on the same beaches each season from late May to mid-August. Although conservationists monitor nests closely, rescuing misoriented hatchlings is not always an option. 'We never really know exactly when the nests are going to hatch, and in any given nesting season we are monitoring 75+ nests, and often more than 100 nests,' Coleman said in an email. 'When hatchlings emerge and crawl in the opposite direction of the ocean, they are much more vulnerable to predators.' Little St. Simons Island and Sapelo bear the brunt of the problem sitting closest to Exit 42. If these types of high-intensity lights continue to expand, even underdeveloped parts of the isles like Jekyll Island — home to the greatest population of nesting turtles along the coast — could see serious long-term consequences for their turtle populations, Coleman warned. The rise in artificial light has been impacting threatened species of sea turtles all along the Southeast coast. In North Carolina, light-polluted beaches sometimes cause turtles to return to the sea without laying eggs, the National Park Service says. In Florida, there were more than 10,000 loggerhead turtle misorientation events from 2020 to 2023 alone, and that number only accounts for the turtles tracked by the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Across the country, light pollution continues to soar. Based on measurements from citizen scientists, the average night sky in the US increased in brightness by 9.6% each year from 2011 to 2022, the National Park Service reported — equal to doubling the brightness of the sky every eight years. Experts urge quick fixes with hatching season underway The Georgia Department of Transportation owns the high-mast lights, but by agreement, Glynn County is responsible for ensuring the lights are operational, said Dozier, the county's communications director. The same high-mast lights exist at three other I-95 interchanges in Glynn County, according to Dozier, and the lights near Exit 42 do not violate any county ordinance. The county's public works department said the county and state transportation department discussed turning the high-mast lights off after street lights were installed at roundabouts, according to emails between Glynn County Public Works and a Georgia Department of Natural Resources biologist in May and June, shared with CNN by Ridley. The standard streetlights have since been installed, Ridley said, but the towering high mast lights remain in use as of late July, except during maintenance. Despite pleas from conservationists to dim or turn off the lights during the loggerhead hatching season, which began on July 15, county officials have not committed to shutting them off, Ridley said. Dozier told CNN on Wednesday the 'lighting installed at the roundabouts or near Buc-ee's was never meant to replace the high-mast system that serves the interchange.' The Georgia Department of Transportation is currently evaluating the installation of an alternative lighting system, she said. CNN has also reached out to Buc-ee's for comment, though they are not responsible for building, operating or maintaining the high-mast lights. In the meantime, conservationists are pushing for temporary fixes to protect this year's hatchlings. 'It's hard to understand why anyone needs lights that blindingly bright to begin with, but in the short-term, we'd be open to even temporary fixes that lower the risk to turtles this season, (such as) adding shields so they point in a downward direction,' Ridley said. These turtles are also beloved by residents and visitors alike, the nonprofit leader noted. 'I speak to tourists and residents every day on the beach that have moved here or have vacationed here for decades, all in hopes of seeing one (turtle) in person,' Ridley said. 'But if we're going to put sea turtles on billboards and magazine ads, we need to hold up our end of the bargain.'
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pueblo mayor pitches sales tax increase, changes to half-cent criteria for 2025 ballot
Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham advocated for a grocery tax several months ago, but she acknowledged during a July 21 Pueblo City Council work session that the proposal to generate more revenue has not been popular with city voters. Instead of a grocery tax, Graham is now advocating for a ballot initiative that would increase the city sales and use tax rate from 3.7% to 4.7%. The city estimates a 1% sales tax increase would generate over $26 million annually — more than twice the estimated revenue of a grocery tax. Funds generated by a sales tax increase would alleviate a multi-million dollar budget shortfall while funding city programs, infrastructure maintenance, new amenities, pools, public safety, roads, and "quality of life services," according to a July 21 presentation by Graham and City Attorney Carla Sikes. The sales and use tax rate increase was proposed with another ballot initiative to change the city's half-cent sales tax criteria ordinance, which Graham said could help bring new amenities like a Buc-ees, Costco, or aquatic center to Pueblo. The updated criteria ordinance would add economic catalyst projects, projects to prevent economic leakage, and place-making projects to the list of initiatives eligible for funding through the city's half-cent sales tax. According to Graham and Sikes' presentation, economic catalyst projects are projects that substantially increase city sales tax revenue from "outside dollars"; projects that prevent economic leakage are those that attract businesses that city residents currently leave town to patronize; and place-making projects are those that "improve quality of life" while also bringing in revenue from outside the community. Pueblo City Council previously had the opportunity to enact changes to the criteria ordinance without approval of a ballot initiative on June 23, but rejected it in a 4-3 vote. Dennis Flores, Roger Gomez, Joe Latino and Regina Maestri were the four Pueblo City Council members who voted against changing the half-cent sales tax criteria. "We heard from PEDCO (the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation), our economic development partners, that the criteria ordinance was being changed a little bit too much," Graham told council members. "You wanted to see it go to the vote of the people, so here it is." If approved by city council, the 1% sales tax increase and changes to the half-cent sales tax criteria are scheduled to be on the November 4, 2025, ballot. Council's next regular meeting is on July 28. The Slab reopens: 'The Slab' is back. Here's what to know open the upcoming re-opening ceremony in Pueblo Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@ Support local news, subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Why a sales tax increase could be on the 2025 ballot in Pueblo Solve the daily Crossword
New York Times
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Brett Cooper Is Spreading Conservatism, One Celebrity Drama at a Time
Sitting in a parked car outside a Buc-ee's somewhere between Dallas and Austin, Brett Cooper made her first appearance as a Fox News contributor. She was meant to be sitting in an air-conditioned studio, chatting live with the Fox host Will Cain. But she had blown a tire on the sizzling Texas freeway and missed her window. She offered to record a greeting on her phone instead, somewhat sheepishly explaining her absence. Unceremonious as her debut last month seemed, it suited Ms. Cooper. She is a 23-year-old influencer. Filming herself comes as naturally as breathing. On Instagram, where she has 1.3 million followers, Ms. Cooper's life is a picture of young, domestic bliss. Married and pregnant, she tends to her farm in an oversize plaid shirt and a high, high ponytail. (This spring, she had 10 cows, 10 chickens, five pigs and three ducks.) On YouTube, where nearly 1.6 million people subscribe to 'The Brett Cooper Show,' she publishes twice-weekly monologues about celebrity and trending news with a conservative bent. She uses headlines about stars like Katy Perry or Simone Biles to argue against feminism and abortion rights, or the 'trans craze with young people.' Ms. Cooper, whom Fox News signed in late June, represents a new evolution of Republican commentators: an entertainer playing by the internet's rules, rather than the established customs of right-wing media. Her speech is quick and jocular, like a red-state mash-up of BuzzFeed and 'Gilmore Girls.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Where do things stand with the Buc-ee's planned for Oak Creek? Here's the latest.
Buc-ee's is trying to build in Oak Creek but there's a delay in the final approvals for 'the Disneyland of gas stations.' Angela Janik, project coordinator for Buc-ee's, made the "Disneyland" comparison during an early meeting for the proposed 74,000-square-foot store which includes a fueling plaza of 120 gas pumps. It would be constructed on nearly 30 acres near West Elm Road and South 27th Street, just west of the interstate. Here's what to know: Buc-ee's is hoping to open its 24/7 store and fueling plaza in early 2027 and is expected to employ between 175 and 225 full-time workers. The City of Oak Creek put out a timeline for when various approvals for Buc-ee's were up for discussion. These dates have come and gone: Jan. 28 the Plan Commission passed resolutions to change the property to commercial use from business park in the city's comprehensive plan. It was also rezoned from primarily agricultural to B-6 Interchange Regional Retail District. March 18: Oak Creek's Common Council voted in favor of amending the city's 2020 comprehensive plan land use for the three properties and a rezoning application for retail use. May 20: Following the Plan Commission's recommended approval in April, a conditional use permit for the fueling plaza and convenience store was approved by the Oak Creek Common Council. The council also approved a certified survey map for the project combining the three parcels into two lots and an outlot. Oak Creek City Administrator Andrew Vickers told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on July 2 the city's timeline for local reviews and approvals was to conclude June 10 with a site plan and building review in front of the Plan Commission. However, the timeline hit a speed bump with a traffic analysis. 'This final, public step has been delayed as (the Wisconsin Department of Transportation) and Buc-ee's continue working toward what the Traffic Impact Analysis will require for road improvements,' Vickers said via email. He noted city staff will create an agenda for the Plan Commission meeting once the DOT accepts the traffic impact analysis. Vickers said the city doesn't anticipate any issues with the analysis, noting "those traffic data exchanges and iterative engineering processes are mostly between DOT and Buc-ee's." Some neighbors who are opposed to the proposed project have decided to band together as Oak Creek Neighbors United and sue the city. The lawsuit was filed April 11 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court and alleges the rezoning and comprehensive plan amendment were only to benefit the property owner and called it 'illegal spot zoning.' The plaintiffs want a declaratory judgment that the 2020 comprehensive plan amendment approval and rezoning be voided by the court, according to the lawsuit. The suit is ongoing with the city filing a motion to dismiss the case and Oak Creek Neighbors United having until Aug. 4 to reply, according to online court records. Contact Erik S. Hanley at Like his Facebook page, The Redheadliner, and follow him on X @Redheadliner. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Here's the latest on the proposed Buc-ee's in Oak Creek
