Barrier islands
The recent collapse of oceanfront homes in Buxton, N.C., is heartbreaking — but it isn’t surprising. The Outer Banks are barrier islands, not beaches connected to the mainland such as Virginia Beach, and that distinction matters.
Barrier islands are long, narrow sandbars that sit offshore, separated from the mainland by sounds and marshes. They are nature’s shock absorbers — designed to move. Over centuries, these islands slowly migrate southward and landward as wind, waves and storms reshape them. This movement is natural and necessary for their survival.
Rising sea levels and stronger coastal storms are now speeding up that migration, compressing centuries of change into decades. Building permanent homes on constantly shifting land is, quite literally, building on borrowed sand.
Beach nourishment, sand pumping and seawalls can slow erosion, but only temporarily — and at enormous cost. These projects often run into hundreds of millions of dollars and must be repeated again and again.
Meanwhile, debris from collapsing homes is already harming our waterways and endangering boaters and wildlife. It might be time for North Carolina to step in and safely remove unstable structures before they cause further environmental damage.
Barrier islands cannot be frozen in place. Acknowledging that isn’t giving up on the coast — it’s respecting how nature works.
Scott Meredith, Virginia Beach
Data centers
Re “Energy bills could see dramatic spike” (A2, Oct. 12): The article makes a single quick mention of data centers as one of three factors that are predicted to drive energy prices over the next 15 years.
This feels like an odd choice, since those data centers are predicted to make up almost half of the total increase in energy bills. Additionally, the article does not include any information about why data centers are going to increase residential electricity bills. This is not the case everywhere. Other states have passed laws to bill data centers separately from residents, so that the exorbitant energy usage by data centers does not get paid by ordinary people.
Data centers in Virginia are used to allow internet traffic throughout the country and the world. Why should Virginia residents be footing the entire bill? This is a huge issue, and everyone should be calling their representatives at the state and federal level demanding that data centers pay for their own energy costs.
Thomas Shevis, Norfolk
Comparison
Let me ask the letter writers comparing Democratic Attorney General candidate Jay Jones’ musings (in texts) about killing a political opponent and his wife and young children with that of President Donald Trump’s rhetoric. When exactly did Trump say he wanted to kill anyone? I’ll wait.
Sam Jackson, Newport News
Chesapeake sheriff
The November election for Chesapeake sheriff presents a well-qualified incumbent sheriff and a police officer with no work experience at any level of the sheriff’s office. Under the leadership of Sheriff David Rosado, Chesapeake is a safe city with a low crime rate, has well-qualified sheriff’s deputies, and is a great place to live.
While his opponent, Wallace Chadwick, may have been a good Marine, and currently a MAGA-loyal Republican, he is not qualified or suited to be sheriff.
Rosado has more than 23 years of direct experience inside the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office, successfully running jail operations, managing staff, and overseeing civil processes and court security. Rosado is a certified community service officer, and he expanded the school resource deputy program to increase school safety. Chadwick has no experience managing a jail, a large department, budgeting and planning, civil processes or courtroom security, all of which are critical responsibilities unique to the sheriff’s role.
The late writer James Baldwin said “ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy of justice.”
Let us keep Chesapeake safe by electing a sheriff with proven experience and integrity.
George F. Reed, Chesapeake
