News

Starting today, people with disabilities who have been getting supported to live at home will start losing their services. That's why Disability Rights North Carolina filed a federal lawsuit to stop the state service cuts from going into effect. 

Disability Rights head Vicki Smith says the cuts affect about 4,000 people around the state who need help with only 2 activities of daily living - such toileting or bathing - to stay at home.  Smith says if the cuts happen, these people will be likely to end up in institutions if they don't have family members available to help

 Republican leaders in the legislature have come up with a new budget they hope members of both parties will pass. 

The Public Works Commission of Fayetteville is reporting problems with thieves breaking into electric substations to steal copper wire. Spokeswoman Carol Justice-Hinson says they’ve had 12 break-ins since April.

Carol Justice-Hinson: "They’re cutting the fence and finding all kinds of creative ways to get in. This isn’t uncommon—I think what’s different right now is that we’ve had so many. For the last two months, its been one right after the other."

Economists say that the current recession ended two years ago, in June of 2009, but what about those soaring unemployment rates, the stagnant housing market and the growing divide between rich and poor? If this is the recovery, are we in bigger trouble than we thought? Host Frank Stasio talks with Mark Vitner, managing director and senior economist at Wells Fargo in Charlotte; David Zonderman, professor of American labor history at North Carolina State University; Alan Wolf, assistant business editor of The News & Observer in Raleigh; and Erika Bell, vice president of Strategy and Services at the Latino Credit Union in Durham. Listener call-in.

Officials with Wake County Schools are visiting high schools across the county this week. They are holding public hearings on two very different proposed student assignment plans.

North Carolina lawmakers discuss a proposal this week that would require consumers to get a prescription for medicines that contain pseudoephedrine. That's a key ingredient in methamphetamine. The number of meth labs has been on the rise lately as producers are finding more efficient ways to make it. Consumer advocates say the bill would make it difficult to buy medicine for common ailments like seasonal allergies. But Attorney General Roy Cooper says more restrictions would cut criminal activity.

Local business owners in northeastern North Carolina say the Dare County wildfire hasn't stopped tourists from coming to the beach. The blaze started more than three weeks ago and covers nearly 28,000 acres in and around the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. Forecasters say Dare County is still under heavy smoke and fog advisories for some areas. But Paul Charron says it was business as usual this weekend at his restaurant in Manteo. 

No State of Things broadcast today, instead: A one-hour special revisiting Steinbeck's iconic book, Travels with Charley, and journeying into today's America through the eyes of contemporary artists. Episodes in Sag Harbor, N.Y.; New Orleans; North Dakota; Spokane, Wash.; Humboldt County, Cal., and Monterey, Cal. Produced by John Biewen of Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and hosted by Al Letson of State of the Re:Union, a series you can hear on WUNC in July.

Two bonds being considered by the Raleigh City Council may end up on the ballot this fall. If passed, they would total $52 million for transportation and housing projects.

The transportation bond would be the largest, at $37 million. It would include the usual road paving projects, but for the first time, a transportation bond would also include money for greenways and bike lanes. Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker explained the need when he gave his state of the city address in March.

 Residents around the Triangle have been serenaded by the drone of 13-year cicadas for several weeks now. Among some, the orange and black visitors have inspired awe and sometimes devotion. 

After living underground for 13 years, the insects have crawled into tree tops where cicada males are serenading females. Caroline Christopher lives out in the woods north of Chapel Hill