Local

By Catherine M. Welch

Wilmington, NC – Almost a dozen people crammed into Congressman Mike McIntyre's Wilmington office to thank him.

The visit was part of a coordinated event by the liberal online activist group MoveOn.org to support members of congress who voted for a resolution against the President's plan for a troop increase.

Group members left McIntyre a thank you letter and a plate of cookies with a yellow ribbon on top. MoveOn's Gillian Bergeron calls the visit symbolic.

By Catherine M. Welch

Wilmington, NC – North Carolina's Insurance Commissioner is cautioning Topsail residents about an unlicensed company selling flood insurance.

The Department of Insurance says because Continental Casualty Insurance Group is unlicensed, policyholders will lack protection if the company goes out of business.

Department of Insurance spokesperson Chrissy Pearson says it's rare to hear of unlicensed companies selling flood insurance.

By Catherine M. Welch

Wilmington, NC – The Horry County Sheriff's Department has turned over some of Anna Nicole Smith's personal items to investigators in Florida.

The Horry County Sheriff's Department says Smith stayed in a house in the Bahamas owned by a South Carolina man who returned from cleaning out his house in the Bahamas with a load of Smith's belongings.

Horry County Sheriff Phillip Thompson says the man didn't know what to do with the dead celebrity's belongings, so he brought them to Thompson's office.

By Catherine M. Welch

Wilmington, NC – Clear, plastic license plate covers are showing up on store shelves and city streets. Most drivers sporting these covers do so to spruce up their vehicle, but some drivers are covering their license plates to get out of a traffic ticket. WHQR's Catherine Welch has more.

By Megan V. Williams

Wilmington, NC – The Riegelwood Disaster Response Committee has the materials and the foundations, now it just needs the elbow grease to replace and repair homes devastated by last year's deadly tornado.

Many families displaced by the storm are still living in temporary housing, and Committee member, Bill Haddock, pastor of Wrightsboro United Methodist Church, says it's his group's goal to get these families back to normal life.

By Megan V. Williams

Wilmington, NC – The Cape Fear Museum's new exhibit captures scenes of ordinary men and historic moments in the Civil War.

Wilmington is one of only three cities to see the 50 original photographs that make ups this collection. This is the first time their home, the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia, has allowed the exhibit to travel.

According to Cape Fear Museum director Ruth Haas, her museum sought out the collection, which provides them with a rare chance to bring a significant historic exhibit.

By Catherine M. Welch

Wilmington, NC – State Senator David Weinstein has introduced a pair of bills extending lawmakers terms and boosting their pay.

The Robeson County democrat says the last election produced state senate races costing upwards of $300,000. And with lawmakers having to run for office every two years, he says the schedule has turned the campaign trail into a continual loop.

By Megan V. Williams

Columbia, SC – The ballroom was half-empty but the crowd enthusiastic as former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney introduced himself to voters in this crucial early-primary state.

In front of party activists, state politicians, and high school students, Romney introduced two words that are a theme of his campaign: "Innovation and transformation."

By Megan V. Williams

Wilmington, NC – Author Jane Blanks Barnhill had to crawl through weeds and prod into the earth to find fallen stones in many of the small cemeteries she explored for her book, Sacred Grounds: Gone But Not Forgotten.

Barnhill says she became interested in publicizing Lumbee cemeteries after discovering her own great-great grandparents' graves in a remote plot on private land.

By Catherine M. Welch

Wilmington, NC – Today's the day New Hanover County tax re-valuations go out to property owners across the county.

Numbers out of the county tax office show values went up 81% on average with coastal property going up even higher.

Officials report the average property value increasing 204% in Kure Beach, 190%in Carolina Beach, and 161% in Wrightsville Beach.

As the notices hit mailboxes, there's one key employee in the county tax office who isn't worrying about collecting all those taxes.