Sara Wood

When North Carolina signed on to meet a set of national education standards, it stopped requiring cursive writing in the classroom. Instead, the standards focus on encouraging digital proficiency. But a bill moving through the state house could bring cursive back into public schools.

Tonight the North Carolina House of Representatives will vote again on Senate Bill 10. The bill has made partisan waves and put House Republicans at odds with Senate Republicans. The bill eliminates several boards and commissions, and significantly cuts into term limits for current members. Board continuity is a major concern of both opponents and supporters.

Starting Monday, military veterans in the Coastal Carolina region will be able to seek medical treatment closer to home. The new Wilmington Health Center, located next to the airport, will enhance and expand health care for as many as 18,000 veterans.

Veterans requiring specialty treatment falling outside the capacity of smaller outpatient clinics in Wilmington and Brunswick County endure long trips to Fayetteville to receive care. Fred Roche, the administrator of the new Wilmington Health center, says much of that travel time will now be alleviated.

North Carolina Republicans are making last-minutes fixes to a bill that would reject Medicaid expansion. The expansion could provide health coverage to hundreds of thousands of uninsured people across the state. Governor Pat McCrory is expected to sign the bill and if he approves the legislation, it could send hospitals across the state bracing for the financial impact.

Last night the Wilmington City Council unanimously approved a resolution that could offer Castle Branch financial incentives to expand its local headquarters and bring 400 news jobs to the area. The resolution to potentially give the company $250,000 dollars mirrors a decision New Hanover County commissioners made earlier this week.

One aspect of the federal Affordable Health Care Act aims to expand state’s Medicaid coverage. Last week, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory and some members of the General Assembly advanced legislation to decline Medicaid expansion. But a recent study commissioned by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services shows expanding Medicaid would have positive impacts on the state’s economy.  WHQR’s Sara Wood recently talked to Scott Nystrom, an associate economist with Regional Economic Health Models, who prepared the study.

The Office of the Inspector General at Camp LeJeune released a list of businesses considered to be off limits to marines stationed at Camp LeJeune and Cherry Point. The list includes a range of establishments deemed to have negative impacts on marines.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s announcement to lift the combat ban for women serving in the military came as no surprise to author Kirsten Holmstedt. The Iraq War started while she was working on her MFA in creative writing at UNCW in 2003. She heard about women serving in the line of fire and decided to collect their stories first-hand. 

A number of volunteers recently visited shelters, camps and other hard-to-reach areas in Pender, Brunswick and New Hanover counties to collect a 24-hour snapshot of the region’s homeless population. The data collected from this annual Point-in-Time Count will be used to determine funding to help expand housing opportunities.