Rachel Lewis Hilburn

It was January of this year that WHQR brought together about a dozen people, diverse in age, ethnicity, and political affiliation.  Our objective:  to see how the tone and quality of the group’s conversation changed over the course of the year.  And to find out whether these people could come to value spending time together. 

Fereydoun Nasseri will celebrate his 82nd birthday in March 2020.

He’s a Wilmington resident and business owner who escaped to United States almost 40 years ago (1981)  from the second-largest country in the Middle East:  Iran.

La Cage Aux Folles, roughly translated, means cage of the mad women.  But it’s better known as a musical by Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman that opened in 1983 on Broadway.  

Lauren Collins has investigated the precise number of roses that go into a bottle of Chanel No. 5.  More recently, she covered the gender pay discrepancy scandal that has rocked the BBC and spurred new questions around salary secrecy and reporting requirements in the UK, Iceland, and other parts of the world. 

It was the early 1990s when an American creative writing professor set about publishing his second novel.  The pivotal event in his book:  a 19th century bloody failure of democracy.  

The public transit system in the Cape Fear region is facing criticism from the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County – the two local governments that created it.  Last week, County Commission Chair Julia Olson-Boseman declared at a press conference that it’s time for a reboot as she has no confidence in Wave Transit’s leadership.  But one Wave official says the Board had no notice of the briefing or its content. WHQR speaks with Wave Transit Vice Chair Steven Kelly about a communication gap that has spanned years.

That gap between what happens in the brain and what comes out as behavior is the field of clinical neuropsychology.  Its application can range from diagnosing and treating military personnel to people suffering from Multiple Sclerosis or dementia. 

If you’re a person of color or ethnic minority, LGBTQ, a veteran, or a person with a disability, you might face a more dire cancer prognosis or struggle more with chronic disease than someone not in these groups.

Public transportation in the Cape Fear region is about to get a reboot.  That’s the word New Hanover County Commission Chair Julia Olson-Boseman used to describe the revision of the Wilmington / New Hanover County joint WAVE agreement.  

Sonny Liston, heavyweight boxing champion in the early 1960s,  died near the beginning of 1971.  The reason listed on the death certificate:  natural causes.  But nearly 50 years later, the question of whether he was murdered is an open one for some.  It’s a question Shaun Assael set out to answer with his book, The Murder of Sonny Liston:   Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights. 

It’s the season of casseroles and pies and heavy meat dishes.  It’s the season to loosen dietary restrictions and enjoy the abundance.  According to a 2016 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine and reported by MSN, the average American's weight increases by almost half a percent over Christmas and just two-tenths of a percent over Thanksgiving.   

It’s only problematic, according to researchers, because most people don’t lose the weight – and so each year, the scale ticks up. 

Frank Stasio has hosted The State of Things, WUNC’s public affairs program, since 2006.   

It's 1934, the middle of the Great Depression in America. The federal government sends hundreds of jobless World War I veterans to the Florida Keys for a work program. On its face, it's a great idea – pay these men to build a highway between Miami and Key West as part of a New Deal construction project. The men have jobs live in a mild climate and are out of public view, but the plan doesn't take into account a major hurricane.

The impeachment proceedings on Capitol Hill, new indicators of a warming climate, the battle over a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, the handling of migrants who’ve crossed the border, what will happen in the 2020 race for the White House:  these are all, arguably, worth discussion as the big stories of 2019.  But a great deal happened that impacts quality of life for residents in southeastern North Carolina.   

  Paul Gauguin, the French artist of the late 19th century, routinely had sexual relationships with children and painted nude portraits of his victims.  The New York Times reports that museum curators, other artists, and social activists have, over the last several years, asked the Woody Allen question about Gauguin:  can you abhor the person and appreciate the art? 

Eleven people diverse in age, ethnicity and political leanings are engaged in a year long experiment in civil discourse. Each month we bring you a conversation with members of the group. 

Whales are the largest mammals on earth.  They’ve also been around a long time.  According to the University of California, Berkeley’s Evolutionary Biology website,  the first whales evolved over 50 million years ago from a terrestrial ancestor. 

Consider the human – thought to have first appeared in Africa about 300-thousand years ago.  Although whales and humans have shared the planet since humans popped up, it’s striking how little we understand about these marine creatures.

It was a surprise to Wave Transit officials and to some fellow Commissioners when Julia Olson-Boseman, Vice Chair of the New Hanover County Board, made a motion to end the County’s agreement with Wave.  

Voters turned out in larger numbers for this year’s municipal elections.  Brunswick County saw a 2% increase compared to 2017.  In Pender County, turnout ticked up about a point and a half, and in New Hanover County, 19% of registered voters cast a ballot.   That’s the biggest jump – nearly four-and-a-half points compared to 2017. 

If you traveled to London and someone asked you to tea, would you know what the invitation meant?  What about an invitation to supper, cream tea, high tea, or afternoon tea? 

The City of Southport saw all its incumbents thrown out.  The same two mayoral candidates faced off for the third consecutive time – which turned out to be the charm for Challenger Joe Pat Hatem.  He unseated Mayor Jerry Dove by a very large margin – taking 63% of the vote. 

Brenda Bozeman has served as the Mayor of Leland for eight years – which means she’s served four terms.  Here's a look at what her fifth term could mean for Leland.

H2G0 could be back on track for its own reverse osmosis water treatment plant.  Brunswick Regional Water and Sewer H2G0, the utility that serves just over eleven-thousand people in Brunswick County, is embroiled in a legal battle over its assets and direction.  

This year’s election is the closest race Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo has seen in his 12 years at the helm of city government.  It's the first serious challenge since 2007 to a Mayor now embarking upon his seventh term. 

The Town of Burgaw had three open seats on its Board; all three incumbents won re-election:  Vernon Harrell, Red Robbins, and Bill George, will serve another four years. 

In the Town of Surf City, which stretches into Onslow County, the fiercely-fought battle between long-time incumbent Mayor Doug Medlin and current City Council Member Jeremy Shugarts ended with Mayor Medlin easily winning the seat again  with 67% of the vote.

Tuesday is Election Day for most municipalities in North Carolina.  And the prevailing sense among poll workers and voters is that more people are turning out to vote in municipal elections than in years past. 

This month's topic:  Donald Trump:  Impeach or Not?  It's a look at the qualities we seek in our leaders.