Rallying for the Rails
A project evaluating new intercity passenger rail lines across North Carolina is igniting new passion for an old form of transportation.
Investigations and Features
In-depth, highly researched features and investigative stories.
Feral hogs are hard to catch, trappers are trying to outsmart them
Ever since they were introduced, feral hogs have spread to 35 states. Now, farmers think of the intelligent pigs as a menace and trappers are trying to outsmart them.
Affordable housing is even harder to build with climate change-driven insurance hikes
In Sun Belt states like North Carolina, developers of low-income apartments are abandoning coastal areas. There, climate change has pushed up sea levels up nearly a foot over the past seven decades. From member station WHQR in Wilmington, Kelly Kenoyer reports.
Heirs' Property: How to lose a home in three generations
Dolly Rheddick-White has inherited portions of two houses in Wilmington — one from her parents on Nun Street — and one from her grandparents on 12th Street. Both couples passed away without wills, so their property was split among a host of different heirs. And both properties are currently vacant.
Earlier this year, though, an investor began buying segments of her grandparents’ property from her relatives. All told, the investor got 75% ownership of the 12th Street house.
Earlier this year, though, an investor began buying segments of her grandparents’ property from her relatives. All told, the investor got 75% ownership of the 12th Street house.
Gentrification in Wilmington Part II: The data, the struggle, and the solutions
Wilmington's downtown was once extremely segregated, with certain neighborhoods almost exclusively Black, and others almost exclusively white. That's changing, as waves of white residents move into Black neighborhoods — but the inverse isn't happening to nearly the same degree. Black residents are losing ground, and under the current housing crisis, it's almost a zero-sum game. So what is causing this economic pressure? And what could be done to change it?
Listen to Part 1: The changing face of
Listen to Part 1: The changing face of
North Carolina grapples with PFAS contamination: Here & Now Anytime
The Environmental Protection Agency now says there is no safe amount of the "forever chemical" PFAS in drinking water. WHQR's Kelly Kenoyer explains how the warning is playing out at a North Carolina chemical plant.
The Newsroom: A deep dive on the science and politics of PFAS
Newsroom guest host Kelly Kenoyer draws on months of reporting to present a closer look at what's going on with PFAS, the family of 'forever chemicals' that includes GenX and thousands of others. We'll tackle the history, science, and politics of the problem — and look at what can be done in the future.
Part V - WHA is plagued by mold and has lost its leaders. What can be done to fix the mess?
It seems like an avalanche of insurmountable problems: The mold plaguing the Wilmington Housing Authority, the numerous families stuck in hotels, and the lack of leadership remaining at the organization. But there are some options on the table that could help solve all of these
Part IV - Behind hotel doors, a look at the lives disrupted by WHA's mismanagement
One way to understand the mold crisis at the Wilmington Housing Authority is by the numbers: 78 families displaced, hundreds of thousands of dollars a month in rent and stipends to keep them in hotels around the city, and untold millions to repair their homes.
And those numbers make a point — but to be honest they also miss part of the story, the story of people, who had lives, families, careers, and dreams before they had to pack what they could in a suitcase and leave their homes, not knowing for how long.
Everyone's experience of displacement has been — and continues to be — different. For some, the hardest part is being away from their community and family, for others it's the isolation and claustrophobia of a hotel room, and for still others, it's the lack of answers from WHA.
And those numbers make a point — but to be honest they also miss part of the story, the story of people, who had lives, families, careers, and dreams before they had to pack what they could in a suitcase and leave their homes, not knowing for how long.
Everyone's experience of displacement has been — and continues to be — different. For some, the hardest part is being away from their community and family, for others it's the isolation and claustrophobia of a hotel room, and for still others, it's the lack of answers from WHA.
Part III - WHA is in 'a tailspin.' Residents are paying the price. Who's responsible?
The Wilmington Housing Authority is marred by institutional failures and opaque communication, and these systemic problems are now exacerbated by a power vacuum. What’s more, it’s difficult to ascertain the truth about who knew what and when, as the leadership that is likely to blame have all left the authority.
Inspectors and even community members outside WHA knew about severe mold problems in WHA housing projects as early as 2019.
Inspectors and even community members outside WHA knew about severe mold problems in WHA housing projects as early as 2019.
Part I - Wilmington Housing Authority's mold disaster: chronic mismanagement, soaring costs, and hundreds displaced
This is Part 1 of an investigative series on mold problems in the Wilmington Housing Authority.
Sonya Muldrow has lived in Creekwood for 9 years, but she grew up there too. After her mother got divorced, she moved in as a teenager. The public housing development is her community, and she’s planted down roots: including a couple of community garden beds in her back yard.
Sonya Muldrow has lived in Creekwood for 9 years, but she grew up there too. After her mother got divorced, she moved in as a teenager. The public housing development is her community, and she’s planted down roots: including a couple of community garden beds in her back yard.
Green energy or greenwashing? The wood pellet industry is the target of fierce debate
On a sunny Saturday morning on the Cape Fear River, dozens of climate activists climbed on board the Henrietta to shout down a business that works out of the Port of Wilmington.
The targets of their ire were two bulbous, inflated storage containers, filled to the brim with dried wood pellets.
The targets of their ire were two bulbous, inflated storage containers, filled to the brim with dried wood pellets.
The Newsroom Special Edition: The Northside Story - segregation, gentrification, and zoning in Wilmington
We’ll start with a close look at the Brooklyn Arts District — formerly known as Brooklyn Heights. That historically black neighborhood in Wilmington's Northside has seen just about every element of segregationist policy known to America… and now, it’s becoming integrated. Then, a conversation with two academics who know the ins and outs of zoning, housing, and segregation.
And finally, a look forward: to the proposed land development codes here in Wilmington, and what other cities and states ar
And finally, a look forward: to the proposed land development codes here in Wilmington, and what other cities and states ar
A System of Neglect
When last surveyed by DHS on Feb. 9, River Grove was out of compliance with more than a dozen Oregon Administrative Rules. The facility was understaffed, the staff was undertrained, and diet and hydration programs did not meet standards of frequency, nor did the facility meet sanitation standards.
Retirement homes are meant to be places where the elderly can live comfortably. But many facilities in Oregon are rife with abuse and neglect. Severe understaffing can set up caregivers for failure, and all it takes is one mistake to kill a member of this vulnerable community.
Retirement homes are meant to be places where the elderly can live comfortably. But many facilities in Oregon are rife with abuse and neglect. Severe understaffing can set up caregivers for failure, and all it takes is one mistake to kill a member of this vulnerable community.
Family reunited with local homeless man after 20 years of silence
On a bright Saturday morning in mid-October, Louis Carreiro anxiously waited for a car he wouldn't recognize, peeking out of his tent at every sound.
He had hardly slept that night, nervous and excited in equal measure for the arrival.
Carreiro hadn't seen his mother, or any of his family for that matter, in more than 20 years, but she was coming for a visit that day.
He'd been on the streets since the late 1990s, when methamphetamine addiction and stints in jail left him on the streets of Medford, his hometown. It took more than a decade for him to kick that addiction, and by then he had decided he wasn't worth his family's time.
He had hardly slept that night, nervous and excited in equal measure for the arrival.
Carreiro hadn't seen his mother, or any of his family for that matter, in more than 20 years, but she was coming for a visit that day.
He'd been on the streets since the late 1990s, when methamphetamine addiction and stints in jail left him on the streets of Medford, his hometown. It took more than a decade for him to kick that addiction, and by then he had decided he wasn't worth his family's time.
Brick By Brick
You’re standing on the corner of West Burnside and Broadway when it happens: The Cascadia Subduction fault line snaps. The fault has been straining underneath the Pacific Ocean for hundreds of years—and now centuries of geologic force are rumbling towards Portland. The ground starts rolling. Cars swerve into nearby buildings as you stumble across the splintering sidewalk. Dust from lurching buildings rises into the air. You grab a telephone pole and watch as bricks rain down from the Stewart Apartments building. The façade of Bailey’s Taproom falls onto the street, crushing several pedestrians below. You hear a tremendous crash as the Burnside Bridge collapses into the Willamette. After five agonizing minutes of the ground shaking, some of the buildings around you have completely collapsed.
Challenges of Blue Pool
Tamolitch Falls spills into a jewel of a pool in the midst of the Willamette National Forest.
The miniature lake there, popularly known as "Blue Pool" for its iridescent hue, draws tens of thousands of visitors each year. It's an hour from Sweet Home and just a bit further from Eugene, so it's an attraction that draws visitors from all across the region, and even from around the world.
But that popularity has led to some danger and some degradation, according to first responders and foresters.
The miniature lake there, popularly known as "Blue Pool" for its iridescent hue, draws tens of thousands of visitors each year. It's an hour from Sweet Home and just a bit further from Eugene, so it's an attraction that draws visitors from all across the region, and even from around the world.
But that popularity has led to some danger and some degradation, according to first responders and foresters.
CERTified Life Savers
Joining the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is a bit like going through the five stages of grief. You start, of course, with denial: There won’t be an earthquake in my lifetime!
And, if there is, it won’t actually be that bad.
And if it’s bad, I’ll probably just die and it’ll be fine (says the cynic).
And, if there is, it won’t actually be that bad.
And if it’s bad, I’ll probably just die and it’ll be fine (says the cynic).
Rx: Fire
It’s like something out of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 — firefighters set trees ablaze and fan flames across the grassland. This is the cutting edge in wildfire management and forest ecology: prescribing fires as medicine for sick forests.
Come Together to Survive the Storm
The stereotype of a disaster prepper is that of a man alone in the woods, hoarding cans of baked beans and bullets to fend off neighbors after the apocalypse. Few may know, however, that the best chances a community has for survival come from working together and looking after each other.
Eugene Public Library: The De Facto Day Shelter
It’s ten minutes before the doors open and more than 30 people have gathered in the entry garden of Eugene’s downtown public library. They are reading books, looking at their phones and chatting about movies. Some buy coffee at the Novella Café. They are in wheelchairs, in camo, in beanies. Some carry bags, one has a didgeridoo. There are fathers with babies, retirees, young professionals and sleepy-eyed women carrying crafting supplies.
A number of them are homeless.
A number of them are homeless.
