Sequestration imposed a 5 percent budget cut on all National Park Service facilities. That has resulted in a reduction of $123,417 to Cape Lookout National Seashore’s budget of nearly two-and-a-half million dollars. Because of the cut visitors will see some changes in Seashore operations. The Harkers Island Visitor Center will close on weekends beginning this Sunday with all Ranger-led interpretive programs at Harkers Island and the Cape Lookout lighthouse discontinued. The Seashore will also stop taking ticket reservations for climbing the lighthouse with tickets now available on a first-come, first-served basis. I’m George Olsen.
George Olsen is a 1977 Havelock High School graduate. He received his B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of South Carolina in 1982 where he got his first taste of non-commercial radio working for their student station WUSC. After graduation he worked about five years in commercial radio before coming to work at Public Radio East where he has remained since outside of a nearly 3-year stint as jazz and operations coordinator at WUAL in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the early 1990s. On his return to eastern North Carolina he hosted classical music for Public Radio East before moving into the Morning Edition host position and now can be heard on All Things Considered. He also hosts and produces The Sound, five hours of Americana, Roots Rock and Contemporary Folk weekday evenings on PRE Public Radio East News & Ideas, and is a news and feature producer for Public Radio East.