The history of radio and the presidency seems to center entirely on Franklin Roosevelt’s famous “fireside chats’ beginning in 1933 in the depths of the Depression. But the first president to address the nation from the White House over the infant broadcast medium was, ironically, “Silent Cal.” President Calvin Coolidge spoke to a coast to coast audience on the occasion of George Washington’s birthday in 1924, and his words were carried over just 42 stations. That year, there were 530 …
Local Schools Delays for Friday
Crossroads Christian School – Delayed 2 hours Franklin County Schools – Delayed 2 hours Kerr Vance Academy – Opens at 11am Vance County Learning Center – Delayed 2 hours Vance County Schools – Delayed 2 hours Vance Granville Community College – Opens at 10 am Warren County Schools – Delayed 2 hours This list is up to date as of our writing, please check your local to get the latest information. You can also see a list at www.wral.com/weather/closings
Film crews gear up for productions across the state
Film crews are gearing up across the state for a number of productions even as the NBC series Revolution resumed filming in Wilmington and surrounding communities. Crews are gearing up for CBS’ Under the Dome, a miniseries based on Stephen King’s best-selling 2009 book that’s expected to begin filming in early March in the Wilmington area. The drama will follow the inhabitants of a small New England town, who wake up one day to find themselves shut off from the …
Gasoline prices could hit record highs
Gasoline prices typically rise heading into peak spring and summer driving seasons. But 2013’s runup is earlier and faster than in previous years. How much more can gasoline prices climb? Another 20 to 50 cents a gallon – a level that could propel the cost of gasoline, now $3.75 a gallon, to all-time highs, some experts say. Gasoline prices typically climb from February to Memorial Day on expectations of rising consumption and costlier summer-blend gas. But so far this year, …
Travel Outlook: Positive outlook for tourism in 2013 even as economy faces uncertainties
The U.S. economy expanded just over 2 percent in 2012, after a nearly 2 percent increase in 2011. While the compromise deal over the fiscal cliff reduced risks to the economy, the sequester is scheduled to go into effect on March 1, unless Congress comes to an agreement over the long-term budget, according to the most recent U.S. Travel Outlook. While the specific impacts of the sequester are unknown, the U.S. travel industry is likely to be hit hard, according …
North Carolina Weekend
For the week of Feb. 21 on UNC-TV’s North Carolina Weekend, take in a show by the Festival Stage in Winston-Salem. Enjoy a tour of Havelock. Get your toes a-tappin’ during a live broadcast of WPAQ’s Merry-Go-Round radio show in Mount Airy. Tempt your tastebuds during the Taste of Core Sound in Harkers Island. And try to decide between – or sample both – Catch & Phun Restaurants in Wilmington. (Please note: listings are subject to change.) North Carolina Weekend …
Thursday Open Line
“Only Nixon could go to China” is a metaphor for a person of an established reputation to defy all expectations by acting in a contrary fashion. That phrase was born on this date in 1972. President Richard Nixon, an established cold warrior, surprised everyone by his visit with the Chinese leadership. This led to expanded contacts between the U.S. and that nation. Full diplomatic relations, broken off in 1949, were restored on January 1, 1979. Today, China is a major …
Larry Elman: Fraudulent Speed Traps (out of State)
Different subject. Do any of you know what website one goes to in order to complain of a FRAUDULENT police force with respect to tickets? If so, let me know! Now that I have your attention, we were travelling through MO approaching St Louis. We were in the Left Squeeze Lane, and were being passed at very high speed by a car and a pickup truck in the Hammer Lane and in the Right Squeeze Lane. We were UNDER the …
Public Worries on Latest Henderson Crime
Our contacts are lighting up with concerns from area residents on the recent string in crime in Vance County. We have not yet received any notice from the police department or sheriffs office to publish. As soon as we do, it will be put up here, but for now we have nothing special you haven’t already heard. WRAL has an article Carjackings, rapes have Henderson on edge of what has been released so far if you haven’t heard from your …
NCDA&CS adds more safeguards for gun shows at State Fairgrounds, Western N.C. Ag Center
RALEIGH — People who bring firearms to sell at future gun shows at two N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services facilities will have to park in designated areas and use a separate entrance to the events. Authorities proposed these and other safety measures after three people were injured in a shooting accident at the Dixie Gun and Knife Show at the State Fairgrounds in January. The new precautions will be used at gun shows at the State Fairgrounds in …
White House: These Automatic Budget Cuts Will Hurt the Economy
Just 10 days from now, Congress might allow a series of severe and automatic budget cuts to take place that will hurt our economic growth, add hundreds of thousands of Americans to the unemployment rolls, and threaten military readiness. But, as President Obama said this morning, these cuts don’t have to happen — Congress has the power to stop them. In 2011, President Obama explained today, Congress passed a law saying that if they couldn’t agree on a plan to …
Wednesday Open Line
In the early days of the telephone, knowing who had one and what the number was quickly became a problem. The first telephone directory in the U.S. was published this week in 1878, in New Haven, Connecticut. It wasn’t a big list — there were only 50 subscribers. A little later, a directory also came out in San Francisco, with about 170 names. Now, there are over 21,000 retail establishments in the U.S. selling landline and cellular phones, with annual …
Community-Wide Meeting on February 26 For Citizen and Youth Safety Ideas
The public is invited to attend a community-wide meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 26, in the auditorium at E.M. Rollins Elementary School in Henderson to discuss community safety and protection of youth in Vance County. The meeting is being sponsored by the Vance County Board of Education. The meeting will be a one-hour session for open discussion about how to make our community a safer place for our citizens and our youth. Local school administrators and students will …
Approved Boating Safety Course “About Boating Safely” (ABS)
“About Boating Safely” (ABS) is an 8 hour course which is taught in two 4-hour classes of instruction. It is the law that anyone under age 26 must attend these classes for boating and jet skis. It is a beginner boating class with 8 topics of discussion. ABS is a NASBLA approved course that will meet the requirements of the new NC Boating Law G.S. 75A-16.2 APPROVED BOATING SAFETY COURSE “ABOUT BOATING SAFELY” (ABS) Offered by U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, …
State Public School Superintendent June Atkinson Applauds New Career Technical Education Law Signed Today
State Superintendent June Atkinson today praised the General Assembly and Governor Pat McCrory for the new Career Technical Education law, which the Governor signed today. Her complete statement is below: “This new law adds value to the hard work of students who choose to focus their high school studies in a technical field. These students often go above and beyond the current high school graduation requirements in order to prepare for a technical career. “The new law, by providing diploma …
VGCC Backyard Chicken class rescheduled
A new Vance-Granville Community College Personal Enrichment course on raising chickens has been rescheduled. The one-day “Backyard Chicken Craft” class is now set to be held on Saturday, March 2 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. (including a one-hour lunch break), with a classroom component at VGCC’s Main Campus in Vance County and a hands-on component at instructor Mike Holland’s farm on Lickskillet Road in Warren County. Holland will help participants understand if keeping chickens in their own backyards is …
Attorney General Roy Cooper: Postcard promises gift, delivers a scam
Several North Carolina consumers have reported getting postcards in the mail in the past month that say they’ve been “selected to receive $100.00 in gift rebates good at Wal-Mart, Target, and more.” Consumers are told to call a toll-free number to learn how to claim their reward. If you call the number, you’ll be asked to provide your credit card number, supposedly to cover shipping or processing fees of $6.95 or less. But once you’ve shared your credit card number, there’s little …
Board keeps 2013 N.C. boll weevil assessment at 70 cents per acre
RALEIGH — The board of the Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation of North Carolina voted to keep the boll weevil assessment rate at 70 cents per acre of cotton for 2013. That amount is the same as it was for 2012. The fee supports the foundation’s efforts to monitor cotton acreage for any re-introduction of the boll weevil, which was eradicated in the state in 1986, and to respond promptly with eradication treatments if necessary. “Eradicating this pest was the first …
Tuesday Open Line
On this date in 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued an executive order requiring Japanese-Americans living along the Pacific Coast to be relocated inland. This order affected some 77,000 citizens and 43,000 resident aliens. The internment lasted throughout the war, and the camps closed by early 1946. The dislocation caused by the internment order singling out an ancestry group came to be widely regretted and led to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, formally apologizing for the action and offering financial …
Michael Bobbitt: Federal Rental Assistance Programs in Henderson and Vance County
As a reminder, this inquiry into our county’s and city’s “Section 8” housing started with a request from mingo and Elmwood. Before starting my inquiry I posted six questions that I would seek answers and mingo added a question about inspections. Several weeks ago our intrepid editor submitted a list of eight suggestions for the County Commissioner’s to consider during their annual retreat. One of those suggestions was to establish a county housing authority. At the annual retreat a summary …