On today's show, WHQR's Rachel Keith talks to Ray Funderburk, who was thrown off the Cape Fear Community College board of trustees during a high-profile public hearing. Funderburk had spent less than a year on the board, but he’d been the sole voice of dissent on several college decisions. That included a significant raise for college president Jim Morton — a decision that trustees and staff started pressuring Funderburk to support before he was even sworn in.
Not long after, he was removed as a trustee, Funderburk filed a lawsuit, claiming the college had violated his rights to free speech and due process. Now, three years later, the college has settled with him.
And, WHQR's Kelly Kenoyer sits down with Mouhcine Guettabi, UNCW’s regional economist, about one of the thorniest infrastructure projects in southeastern North Carolina — a replacement for the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge. Despite years of cautious optimism, it’s becoming increasingly likely that a new bridge will have a toll. Without doubt, that will be unpopular with residents — but what would it look like through an economic lens?
Links:
- Former CFCC trustee Ray Funderburk gets $265,000 settlement, three years after being ousted
- CFCC Board of Trustees announces settlement with former President Ted Spring (WECT)
- Local reporting on CFCC 2016-2026
- Private company submits unsolicited bid for tolled replacement of Cape Fear Memorial Bridge
- Ask a Journalist: What’s going on with the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge replacement?
