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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

Southern Economic Commission on the Horizon

By Michelle Bliss

Wilmington, NC – North Carolina's unemployment rate is on par with the nation at 6.7% and economists and legislatures are gathering in Raleigh today to discuss forming an economic commission.

The Southeast Crescent Regional Economic Commission will include governors from seven southern states who will work to bring new jobs to areas hit hard by the economy.

Congressman Mike McIntyre helped get federal approval for the commission and says it will be modeled after the Appalachian Regional Commission.

"The mountains of North Carolina faced severe poverty, poor infrastructure, terrible roads and highways, and a pretty bad business atmosphere. Things have dramatically changed in western North Carolina. We need that kind of focus here in eastern North Carolina."

In the Cape Fear Region, Brunswick County has the highest unemployment rate of 7.1%.

Do you have insight or expertise on this topic? Please e-mail us, we'd like to hear from you. news@whqr.org.

After growing up in Woodbridge, Virginia, Michelle attended Virginia Tech before moving to Wilmington to complete her Master in Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. Her reporting and nonfiction writing have been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, within the pages of Wrightsville Beach Magazine, and in literary journals like River Teeth and Ninth Letter. Before moving to Wilmington, Michelle served as the general manager for WUVT, a community radio station in Blacksburg, Virginia. She lives with her husband Scott and their pups, Katie, Cooper, and Mosey.