Rachel Keith

The New Hanover County school board voted to send a resolution to the state legislature asking it to pass a budget and approved a new advisory committee to work on employee bonuses and retention efforts. The audience was sharply divided on a Biblical program, LifeWise, that would operate off-campus during the school day. Even more contentious, though, was an intense disagreement between board members Pat Bradford and David Perry, who posted some harsh words online after the meeting.

A new university accreditor called the Commission for Public Higher Education, or CPHE, is on track to get a stamp of approval by the federal government next year — and it could include several North Carolina universities as its first cohort. So, how does UNCW fit into this conversation?

Question: What’s going on with law enforcement training on CFCC’s North Campus?Answer: We know there are many taking place, but – to be honest – it’s been hard to get more information.

In New Hanover County, the Black-White maternal health disparities are worse than the state average on several indicators.

There is a wide disparity between maternal health outcomes for Black and White moms in New Hanover County, so WHQR asked experts in the medical field about why this gap persists and what to do about it.

On this special edition of The Newsroom, we’re telling the story of the Black Rock Plantation House. At first glance, it’s a mid-19th-century farmhouse. But dig deeper, and it sits at the intersection of multi-generational stories — including the families of enslavers and enslaved people.Over the last few months, WHQR’s Aaleah McConnell and Rachel Keith traveled with descendants of those families as they work to understand their history — which is also the history of America. It is, at times, an ugly history that’s hard to confront, but it’s also an inspiring story of resilience. Now, 250 years after the founding of our country, it seems more appropriate than ever to tell it.

Close to 1,400 more New Hanover County voters came out for the 15-days of early voting in 2026 (14,271) than in 2022 (12,880), the last midterm election year. Turnout skewed heavily toward Democratic ballots, perhaps because of the contested primary for county commissioner.

March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month, and physicians say it's important to talk about this disease because it is actually one of the few cancers that can not only be screened for, but with proper care, doctors can often prevent it. But physicians say, unfortunately, far too few people take advantage of proactive testing.

When people see something in their neighborhood — it might be improper use of dirt bikes or noise disruptions — they often wonder whether to call 911 or the non-emergency line. For WHQR’s Ask A Journalist, reporter Rachel Keith spoke to Wilmington Police Department Lieutenant Greg Willet about what options neighbors have.

WHQR's Ben Schachtman and Rachel Keith dig into our recent candidates forum for the New Hanover County school board. Five Republicans and six Democrats are running for four seats in each party.