Local

Despite the chilly, gray January weather, it’s actually a decent time to see winter birds that don’t make their home in the Cape Fear region year-round.  We explore which birds are moving through the area…

Trust in the federal government is in the low double digits.  That’s according to a September 2018 Gallup Poll.   It’s not a sudden phenomenon, though.  

The cost of affordable housing in the Cape Fear region keeps on rising. Average rental prices jumped more than 5 percent in Wilmington last year, according to rental aggregator Apartment List. That’s above the rest of the state, and the country. The Cape Fear Housing Coalition addressed the issue at its annual housing and legislative breakfast this morning.

There is a new sand mine in the works in Castle Hayne. Construction in the area needs sand. This project would create a lot of it. But the location of the mine has people concerned.  There is push back from residents on the proposal.

Most Americans believe they are discriminated against for their race, gender, or sexual orientation.  

Jews in Scotland are talking in greater numbers about leaving the country over a rise in anti-semitism there.  The Director of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities told the Australian Herald Sunday that “Many Jews actively discuss leaving Scotland because they feel alienated, vulnerable and not at home.”

UPDATE: Council is now expected to vote on the resolution at the Jan. 22 meeting. The Wilmington City Council is expected to take up the Chemours – Department of Environmental Quality consent order at their meeting this week.  The agreement was announced just before Thanksgiving.  It requires Chemours to pay a $12 million dollar fine and $1 million in fees to cover investigative costs for DEQ.  Opposition to the plan is growing.   

Bullying is a public health problem.  According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the working definition of bullying is “unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.”  It can occur in-person or through technology.

This week the deadline passed for applying for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA, in the wake of Hurricane Florence. They have closed their support center at the Independence Mall. But the agency is still active in the region.

A Wilmington man released from prison, after serving nearly three decades for a 1988 murder, will receive $7 million from the city. The New Hanover County Superior Court convicted Johnny Small in 1989 for the robbery and murder of a local pet shop owner. 

New Hanover County Commissioners passed a unanimous Consent Order Resolution – as a companion of the original Consent Order agreement between Chemours and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. 

Cape Fear River Watch and an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center this week addressed their decision to join a proposed consent order between Chemours and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. They answered questions from citizens during a meeting Wednesday at UNCW’s Lumina Theater.  

Walking around the Cape Fear region can be tricky – even downright dangerous in some areas.  For example, the Gary Shell Cross City Trail in Wilmington runs from Wrightsville Beach to the University of North Carolina Wilmington before making a half-loop, passing the Cameron Art Museum, and in the process linking at least four city parks.  

If you believe the holiday movies, songs, and Charlie Brown Christmas specials, the holidays are a time for rejoicing, for family and friends, and for introspection.

But it’s also a time for over-the-top consumption.  

Today environmental groups sued the federal government to prevent seismic airgun blasting in the Atlantic Ocean. The process is used to search for oil and gas deposits deep below the ocean’s surface, and is the first step toward offshore drilling.  Scientists find it can also be quite harmful to marine life.

Cape Fear Public Utility Authority officials say they welcome the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent Draft Toxicity Assessment for GenX and PFBS in the Cape Fear River. But, they also say the EPA’s work doesn’t go far enough.

Jose Sartarelli, Chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, took the helm three years ago – in 2015. 

The University of North Carolina Wilmington plans to launch a new school – thanks to the largest gift in the history of the institution.  The highest donation amount so far was $5 million -- given last year by Dr. Yousry and Linda Sayed.  

The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners now has new leadership. The Board voted unanimously for Jonathan Barfield Jr. to replace Woody White as board chairperson, with newcomer Julia Olson-Boseman winning a split vote for vice-chair. The majority has changed. What does that mean for the county? 

The five-member New Hanover County Board of Commissioners is now controlled by Democrats for the first time since 1991. Incumbent commissioner Rob Zapple and Julia Olson-Boseman took the most votes in that race. They are joined by Jonathan Barfield Jr. and Republicans Woody White and Patricia Kusek, while Republican Skip Watkins lost his seat.

The first six months of 2018 saw 126 reported cases of human trafficking in North Carolina.  That’s according to Polaris. 

One in five women will be raped at some point in their lives.  One in 71 men will face that level of sexual violence.  That’s according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. 

For women of multiracial backgrounds, the risk of assault is higher – 45%. 

The Chemours Company might be buying water for families in perpetuity. That’s according to one official from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.  But not everyone is on board with the proposed consent order agreed to by DEQ, Chemours and Cape Fear River Watch. 

High school junior Zaida Marquis researched the importance of arts education in schools for her graduation project at Isaac Bear Early College. She is the first student, of what we hope will be many, to create an audio product as part of the graduation project. 

There are several major developments this month involving the Chemours Company, the Environmental Protection Agency, and a consent order that is awaiting approval by a Bladen County Court.

Cabbage casserole.  Does it conjure images of comfort food and yummy smells?  Or does it remind you of the cringe-worthy dish from Aunt Gertrude that made the house smell like Uncle Leo’s indigestion?