CoastLine

Active shooter situations are, by nature, unpredictable and evolve quickly. That’s the first observation officials with The Department of Homeland Security make before offering what tools and resources they have. In many cases, DHS officials say, there is no pattern or method to the selection of victims by an active shooter. According to the New York Times , on average, there have been about five school shootings each month since 2014. That includes episodes not classified as mass shootings. The

So much of Michelle Rhinesmith’s journey so far was not part of the official plan. From capturing the attention and becoming the mentee of a well-respected NPR veteran to counseling people diagnosed with potentially terminal cancer to grappling with her own bouts – yes, that’s plural – bouts with cancer – to losing her mother in December, her beloved dog, Chloe on February 15 th and her grandmother the very next day, the ride has been anything but predictable and smooth.

North Carolina’s latest child health report card, just out this week, gives the state an ‘F’ in “Housing and Economic Security” due to the high percentage of children living in low-income homes and neighborhoods. Children from families that are not financially secure, according to NC Child, fare worse in almost every indicator of health, including birth outcomes, access to care, health-risk behaviors, and mortality. Early childhood experts – doctors, educators, therapists – have known for

Archaeologists have determined that 900 graves lie unmarked at the John N. Smith Cemetery in Southport. This African American Cemetery, located on Leonard Street in the heart of Southport, has stories both known and many that are yet to be uncovered. The oldest headstone, with a date of death in 1874, belongs to John N. Smith himself.

The prospect of drilling off the coast of North Carolina for oil and natural gas is a real one. Last month, President Donald Trump proposed the opening of nearly all American waters to offshore drilling. This new five-year plan is scheduled to start in 2019. So far North Carolina’s elected officials are split on whether to support drilling off the coast.

Seventy-seven people killed their intimate partner in North Carolina last year. 62% of those people used a firearm. That’s according to the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a statewide nonprofit organization.

This year’s flu is the worst in nearly a decade. So far this season, 63 elderly people have died in North Carolina alone from the flu. 25 people between the ages 50 to 64 have passed from the flu -- and four deaths fall into that low-risk category of people ages 25 to 49. The total death toll in North Carolina from flu this season: 95.

If you’ve listened to WHQR for any length of time, you probably know Philip Gerard as one of the regular commentators. But those three-and-a-half minute pieces are comparable to an amuse-bouche. The other courses Philip Gerard serves up include his work as a Professor of Creative Writing and Creative Non-Fiction at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in both the BFA and MFA programs.

NASA ranks 2017 as the second hottest year on record behind 2016. The National Climate Assessment, a report published by the federal government in November of last year, states unequivocally that humans are causing climate change and the time to act is now. While there are no policy recommendations in this federal report, many state and municipal governments are taking their own steps to curb the impacts of climate change. Just this past July, the City of Wilmington adopted a measure to curb

A third of the population in New Hanover County pays more than they can afford for housing. That’s true for both homeowners and renters, but in the rental market, it’s worse. Nearly half -- about 46% of people who rent in New Hanover County pay more than a third of their income for housing. Some community leaders call that a clear sign of a shortage of affordable housing. Often what comes to mind with the term “affordable housing” are images of bleak, run-down, tenement buildings with high crime

Gentrification is a loaded word. It typically connotes a rise in property values in a traditionally low-income neigborhood. Wealthier people move in. Those who’ve lived there and are already struggling to pay bills from month to month can no longer afford to live there due to rising rents and property taxes. Affordable Housing is an equally loaded – and according to the old-school understanding of it -- stigmatized term. It used to mean public housing and conjure images of an economically

The way judges wind up on the bench in North Carolina is changing this year. For one thing, elections will be partisan thanks to the passage of House Bill 100 last March. Governor Roy Cooper vetoed that bill, and the legislature easily overrode the veto the next day. Supporters contend partisan races give voters more information; opponents say they further politicize the court. The GOP-dominated legislature is also redrawing judicial districts. The current districts have been in effect since

Update: On Thursday, January 18th, the Supreme Court granted a stay so that legislators do not have to meet the lower court's deadline. The Court is considering two other gerrymandering cases in Wisconsin and Maryland and offered no reason for its ruling. North Carolina State legislators were facing a tight deadline to redraw congressional districts. The late January deadline came from a ruling earlier this month by a three-judge panel that found North Carolina’s congressional districts to be

Men are taking on more responsibility in the household today than they did a generation ago. But according to the Pew Research Center, women are still doing the majority of the domestic work. That’s true across the spectrum – including couples in which both people work full-time outside the home. So what does this mean for a career professional who is female? While moving up the ladder, women also struggle with what sociologists call the “double bind”. It’s a pervasive cultural attitude, often

New Hanover County, following the trend of many other states and municipalities, filed a lawsuit last month against opioid manufacturers and distributors. In the suit, the county alleges not just negligence by these huge drug companies; the county accuses them of unfair and deceptive trade practices, civil conspiracy, fraud and racketeering. Also in December, Brunswick County Commissioners passed a resolution indicating they might file their own suit in which they would seek damages from these