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What You Need to Know About North Carolina for September 3, 2015

What You Need to Know About North Carolina for September 3, 2015

Hello folks! This again is What You Need to Know About North Carolina. What we try to do here is to grab headlines from papers across the state so that you don’t have to. Also, we try to highlight things that don’t necessarily jump out you as a big deal, but end up being a big deal later, such as real estate changes, new roads and bridges and state government changes. Ok, maybe that last one’s already hitting you hard. We try to make sure it doesn’t hit you harder.

Now that I’m doing audio via Soundcloud and reaching a few different folks, I try to introduce myself more. I’m Kristen. You can find out more about me here and what this whole project’s about and why I do what I do.

But, enough about me and what we are doing here. Thanks to all my loyal folks who have listened and read for nearly a year and a half. Thanks for being patient with me through holidays and technical difficulties. And now, what you are here for, then news:

I really like this program that Alamance County has created for its students. Seven major employers, the Alamance County Chamber of Commerce, Alamance-Burlington Schools and Alamance Community College have created a career accelerator, that starts with high school juniors and ends with students receiving a journeyman certificate from the North Carolina Department of Commerce, a college degree and a guaranteed job. Alamance County is in between the Triad and Triangle areas, but still is considered rural and has been struggling with unemployment and a change in the economy over the past few years.

If you were curious about what mental health resources are available to inmates at the Guilford County jail, you don’t have to be anymore. Inmates are screened at intake to the jail, as well as given needed medications. They are not kept in separate facilities from the general jail population though.

Also in Guilford County, 89% of the students in the class of 2015 actually graduated high school, which is the highest percentage in the state. Yes, better than Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Wake County, the two largest and most well funded systems. And of course, this number is higher than the state average as well. Still, Guilford County students are struggling with their state test proficiency. In Guilford County higher education news, UNC-Greensboro has a over 19,000 enrolled students this fall, making it the fifth-largest university in the UNC system, with N.C. State University, UNC Chapel Hill, East Carolina University and UNC Charlotte rounding out the top five.

The Charlotte resident who scaled a flagpole at the South Carolina state capitol and took down the Confederate flag, talks about what that experience was like and why she did it.

Some anti-immigrant signs have shown up around Buncombe County schools and parents are not happy. A forum was held recently to discuss their appearance and what can be done about them.

The Charlotte mayoral candidates had another debate last night. In addition to stating all of their visions for the city, some conversation was heated over the streetcar. Also discussed: corporate incentives and marijuana.

One day I’ll stop talking about Belk. But today is not that day. The Charlotte Observer has several major ways that the Belk family has shaped life in Charlotte. You can thank them for a larger airport, UNC Charlotte, SouthPark Mall (yes, the whole thing, not just their store there) and your hospitals. They’ve also given money to pretty much every other Charlotte area school and of course, their name is on roads, theaters and football games. And they convinced a lot of those other major companies to move to Charlotte too.

If you are listening, you can’t see this, but if you are reading this, stop and click on this cute picture of an old Wilmington Dairy Queen. I worked at a Dairy Queen ten years ago. It was not this cute on the outside.

The Wilmington Star-News has compiled a sizable list of North Carolina’s alcohol drinking habits. You’ll learn that there is still one truly dry county in North Carolina, most liquor is still sold in bigger cities and that one county has 8 separate ABC boards. Yes, 8.

Lee County doesn’t want to be the trash can for coal ash and it continues to reiterate that point to Duke Energy.

A federal lawsuit has been filed against the N.C. Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem and Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte over Medicare reimbursements. The only plaintiff right now is a Winston-Salem lawyer who used to work for N.C. Baptist. The U.S. Justice Department has declined to be part of the lawsuit and the hospitals insist that they’ve settled some of the concerns of the lawsuit.

Two men who were wrongly imprisoned at the state’s Central Prison for a number of years, have now received a financial settlement for their hardship.

Not taking a break for Labor Day, our state legislators. They still have a budget to give us and so they’ll be working on the weekend.

And finally, Cackalacky is our word. Seriously. Slate Magazine has compiled an interactive map of each state and a word that’s unique to each state. Unfortunately, ours isn’t so creative, but if you check out the whole map, you’ll learn a lot about other states.

And with that, this is our last email/broadcast/blog until September 8th. You might have noticed we have a national holiday coming up and in honor of said day, where we celebrate of all things, labor, we are taking a few days off to to do just that. Be safe and see you next Tuesday.

Stay informed about North Carolina! Get this and other great facts and news about North Carolina in your inbox every weekday by clicking here.

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