Woody White, the former Republican state senator and New Hanover County commissioner left his last elected office in 2020 — but he's remained influential, particularly in conservative circles. Though not for the first time, he recently published a forceful call to end DEI in North Carolina's state university system and other government bodies. However, White has been apparently unwilling to discuss his comments — and few in his spheres of influence seem eager to engage with his critique of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has prepared and submitted a human health risk assessment of 1,4-dioxane in drinking water, as directed by the General Assembly.

May is National Bike Month, a celebration of cycling in the United States and a month of advocacy to protect cyclists from dangers on the road. WHQR reporter Kelly Kenoyer interviewed Adrienne Harrington from the local nonprofit the Terry Benjey Bicycling Foundation about cyclist safety and Vision Zero in the Cape Fear Region.

The city of Wilmington is set to re-do its regulations around Accessory Dwelling Units in May. The new guidelines mean more housing availability with less disruption to the character of residential neighborhoods.

Back in 2019, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality had to be forced into regulating Chemours after it was caught dumping forever chemicals into the Cape Fear River. But the tenor of the relationship between DEQ and Chemours has remained cozy. WHQR’s Kelly Kenoyer brought environmental advocate Dana Sargent into the studio to discuss the issue.

Welcome back to the Cape Fear Rundown. This week, Kelly joins us to talk about a joint city and county homelessness meeting, and then Ben joins us to go over diversity, equity and inclusion and it's potential fate locally.

On this episode, Ben Schachtman and Rachel Keith sit down with John Biewen and Michael Betts, writers and co-hosts of Echoes of a Coup — the sixth season of the Scene on Radio podcast from Duke University’s Kenan Institute for Ethics. The five-part series takes a deep dive into Wilmington’s 1898 coup and massacre.

Keenan Jones worked for Cape Fear Community College for over 27 years. Jones started his tenure teaching heating and air-conditioning technology, where he learned he liked changing lives. He recently retired, and spoke with WHQR about his experience working at CFCC and his concerns about the college's future.

Late last year, Cape Fear Community College was put on 'warning' by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), which currently accredits the college. Email and personnel records show that this warning followed the removal of key employees who worked on SACS compliance — and concerns that top administrators were asking for fabricated information to help complete a key report for SACS. The college denies these allegations.

Following the EPA’s new regulations for PFAS in drinking water, utilities across the country are wondering what it might cost to filter forever chemicals. But new technologies might make it less expensive.