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One shark expert recently described these sea creatures as the most poorly-understood mega-fauna, not just because of popular culture with the movie Jaws in its canon (never mind Shark Week), but because the travel patterns of sharks cover great distances.

On this edition of CoastLine, we, yes, de-bunk some of those pop culture myths – but more importantly, we learn about what kind of shark research is taking place in and around the waters of North Carolina. 

More than 300 people turned out for a community forum on GenX and drinking water at the Coastline Convention Center on Wednesday. The meeting was organized by Cape Fear River Watch, and featured six panelists on the topic. 

On last week’s CoastLine, Cleve Callison interviewed New York Times best-selling author, humorist and columnist Celia Rivenbark. Among the topics they discussed, with help from callers, was Celia’s recent decision to make her columns more political, and the resulting fallout, both personal and professional…

The City of Wilmington saw a rash of urban fires in the 19th century – making the surviving buildings that much more precious.  Urban renewal in the mid-20th century had a similar effect on some of Wilmington’s historic legacy, but heritage tourism is booming.

The Wilmington City Council approved the 2017-18 budget Tuesday. The $217 million fiscal year budget includes a small property tax decrease. Before tackling the budget, the council heard from several speakers on the topic of GenX, which is why close to 200 people crowded into council chambers. 

New Hanover County Commissioners adopted a resolution Monday calling on Chemours to stop production of GenX. Brunswick County Commissioners adopted a resolution the same day -- asking Chemours to stop the discharge of the GenX chemical into the Cape Fear River.  That’s largely because  there is still a lot about GenX that we don’t know. It’s all about chemistry. Which means for many of us, it can be somewhat difficult to grasp.

New Hanover County Commissioners met Monday night to vote on the 2017 – 2018 county budget, which takes effect July 1. Not everyone in attendance was happy with the outcome.

The North Carolina Fisheries Reform Act will be 20 years old this August.  As we learned last week, that policy came to be after extended and heated debate from stakeholders on all sides of the issue.  Most of those involved at the time describe it as better than nothing – but most definitely a compromise.

On Monday the state began taking water samples along the Cape Fear River, to determine the current levels of GenX in the water. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality will sample water from 12 locations. A lab in Colorado will then do the analysis. Once those levels are determined, scientists hope to determine what, if any, health effects GenX has had or could have on the citizens here.

Our CoastLine guest on Thursday, June 15, 2017 was New York Times best-selling author, columnist, and now playwright Celia Rivenbark. Her column is syndicated nationally, but she lives right here in Wilmington and we're lucky to have snagged her as a guest.

New water collection and testing of the Cape Fear River will begin next week. That was one of the results of yesterday’s meeting between Chemours, the company that produces known toxin GenX, and city, county, and state officials. A state investigation by NC DEQ and NC DHHS is now underway as well. 

Officials from Chemours, the company that produces GenX, were in Wilmington Thursday for a 90-minute meeting with city, county and state officials. One thing that was exposed was that since 1980, Chemours had a vinyl ether process operating at its Fayetteville Works site up the Cape Fear River from Wilmington. It is a process that produces GenX as a byproduct. After the closed door meeting, local officials met with the media, but Chemours did not.  

On Thursday representatives from Wilmington, the counties of Pender, Brunswick and New Hanover, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, and the state’s department of environmental quality and department of health and human services, will meet behind closed doors with the Chemours Company. That’s the company behind GenX, a chemical reported to be in the region’s water supply. 

This morning, New Hanover County released a statement from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, on the possible health effects related to GenX. It says that GenX levels detected in tests three years ago in the Cape Fear River, would be expected to pose a low risk to human health. It added that there are no U.S. regulatory guideline levels for GenX. Also on Tuesday, Gov. Roy Cooper addressed the issue.

The chemical compound GenX and the region’s water supply remain on the minds of many. Late Monday New Hanover County officials confirmed a meeting this week to learn more about GenX, and what needs to be done. 

We continue our coverage on GenX, a chemical compound discovered in the region’s water supply. The story was first reported by the StarNews. Today we explore what state and federal agencies are doing about this potential health hazard.

GenX. No, we don’t mean Generation X. GenX is a chemical compound we first reported on yesterday. That’s when the StarNews reported on this toxic contaminant that has been found in the Cape Fear River. It’s a key ingredient in Teflon, linked to cancer. It gets into the river at a plant 100 miles upstream. 

Many of us have heard that playing Mozart for a baby in utero can help with brain development.  We’ve heard that plants do better when classical music is played vs. hard rock. 

It’s the time of year when municipalities and counties are putting the finishing touches on their budgets for the next fiscal year. 

The StarNews has broken a story about a potentially-cancer-causing chemical in southeastern North Carolina’s drinking water supply. According to a piece published by Vaughan Hagerty at starnewsonline.com, a chemical replacement for a key ingredient in Teflon linked to cancer and a host of other ailments has been found in the drinking water system of the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority. 

The 2017 North Carolina Republican Convention in downtown Wilmington brought the state legislative leadership to the floor Saturday morning. 

Lara Trump is in charge of President Donald Trump’s digital campaign strategy.  The Wrightsville Beach native says the Trump Campaign for 2020 is already in high gear.

Kellyanne Conway, Counselor to President Donald Trump, spoke to a room of about a thousand people at the 2017 North Carolina Republican Convention this weekend.   During her speech, she encouraged potential candidates to ignore naysayers.

There was one basic theme at the state’s GOP Convention over the weekend, one point not to be denied.  There was one name not to be taken in vain at the GOP convention. That name was Trump.

The state’s Republican Party wrapped up their annual convention Sunday in Wilmington. They re-elected their party chairman, and reaffirmed their platform.  

Robin Hayes will serve another two-year term as the party’s chairman. The former Congressman was re-elected Saturday afternoon.

More than 1,000 Republican delegates attended the GOP Convention this weekend in Wilmington. Also, around 40 protestors gathered to express their view. 

The North Carolina State Republican Convention got underway today at the Wilmington Convention Center. 

Earlier this week, more than 30 people, including North Carolina NAACP President Reverend William Barber, were arrested at the State Capitol for demanding that the Republican-led legislature expand Medicaid. 

As lawmakers in Washington wrangle over exactly when and how to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with something else, state-level officials are scrambling to anticipate the fallout. 

At the same time, auto insurers in the state are seeking a nearly 14% hike in rates from the North Carolina Rate Bureau which, if approved, would go into effect this fall.