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Wave of rural nursing home closures grows amid staffing crunch
The problem could deepen as pandemic-era government assistance dries up and care facilities struggle to compete with rising wages offered by other employers, industry leaders and analysts predict. Many care centers that have managed to remain open are keeping some beds vacant because they don’t have enough workers to responsibly care for more residents.
Fayetteville City Council approves new restrictions on future halfway houses, now community reintegration centers
Future halfway houses will now be called community reintegration centers and have the number of residents limited depending on their proximity to residential housing.
Reporting on ARPA
Journalists and engaged community members gathered virtually on Thursday, Jan. 26 for an hourlong review of the incisive and community-focused reporting that Carolina Public Press undertook during 2022. The recording of the event…
The uncertain future of old-growth forests
Old-growth forests are essential tools in the fight against climate change, but some want to harvest them.
NC Connection:
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Keep up with all of our in-depth, investigative news and the public interest issues that matter most in North Carolina.
Carolina Public Press launched the Eastern North Carolina news bureau in January 2022. Based in Fayetteville and Cumberland County, CPP East provides local and regional nonpartisan journalism toward strengthening accountability and democracy. Visit the page.
SPECIAL REPORTS
The uncertain future of old-growth forests in North Carolina
This four-part series focusing on the Southside Project, a recent initiative by the U.S. Forest Service, to make the national forest more resilient and sustainable.
Social services in NC may be in the hands of people who don’t meet minimum qualifications.
Why and how it happens, and how other states avoid the problem.
How climate change affects North Carolina’s fisheries
and the people who rely on them for a living.
The importance of sexual assault nurse examiners
and the difficulty of locating them in North Carolina
Justice elusive for NC sexual assault survivors
Climate change is causing erratic weather events and altering ecosystems in the forests of Western North Carolina’s mountains.
What these changes mean and the challenges they pose for managing the forests.
How and why North Carolina counties decide to build
or expand jails, the costs of those decisions
and possible alternatives.
Inconsistency and inequity in child welfare policies across NC
Struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic in state’s prison system
Is one of North Carolina’s main systems
for housing those with mental illness failing?
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MORE STORIES
Editor’s notebook: The ‘doing’ of collaboration for reporting
The word “collaboration” in our newsroom is a verb. We understand it best in the doing, working, producing or creating of something that often has an outcome that is greater than any one member of the group.
Cumberland County Board of Commissioners concerned about how federal funding is being used to invest in affordable housing
The commissioners approved a preliminary plan Tuesday to use American Rescue Plan Act funds to invest in affordable housing, despite concerns from some on the board about how the county has approached the issue in the past.
‘We are not thought of’: The true impact of Western North Carolina’s maternal desert on rural women
This story is a collaboration between Carolina Public Press and The Daily Yonder. The Daily Yonder provides news, commentary and analysis about and for rural America. By: Shelby Harris and Sarah Melotte As her husband drove through Western North Carolina’s winding mountain roads in December 2018, Katlyn Moss repeated instructions to him in case something…
In North Carolina, more people are training to support patients through an abortion
North Carolina groups that train doulas said they’ve seen an uptick in people wanting to become abortion doulas in the months since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Native American roots run deep in Hyde; much is unknown
“The history of the Mattamuskeets and their descendants may be typical of small fragmented triracial groups in other areas of the eastern United States,” archaeologist Patrick H. Garrow said.
The uncertain future of old-growth forests in North Carolina, part one
The recent decision to harvest 26 acres that encompass an old-growth patch of forest on a 3,500-foot mountaintop – the Southside Project – underscores what some say is the widening incongruity between the U.S. Forest Service’s mission, climate change crisis and the public’s will.
Crime & Justice
North Carolina allows ‘anonymous’ sexual assault kits. What does that mean, and how do you get one?
If you’ve been sexually assaulted in NC, you can get a rape kit immediately and later decide whether to report to law enforcement. The DNA in your kit will be preserved. There is no statute of limitations on sexual assault in the state.
Economy
What Charlotte could learn from Philadelphia’s fight to preserve affordable homes
A group in Philadelphia is training residents to invest in fixing homes, in the name of affordable housing. In doing so, it has helped preserve nearly 500 affordable units as a result.
Education
NC students fell behind in required vaccinations during the pandemic. Some – not all – are catching up.
In one NC county, more than 73% of high school seniors don’t have required immunizations. But state health officials are optimistic overall.
Environment
The uncertain future of old-growth forests in North Carolina, part four, finding a path forward
In part four, the last in the series, CPP reports on the objections and responses to the recent decision to harvest 26 acres that encompass an old growth patch of forest on a 3,500-foot mountaintop — the Southside Project.
Health
Telehealth brings expert sexual assault exams to rural patients
TeleSANE services are expanding across the country in rural, sparsely populated areas. Research shows SANE programs encourage psychological healing, provide comprehensive health care, allow for professional evidence collection, and improve the chance of a successful prosecution.
Politics & Government
Moore v. Harper: What is it, what’s happening now and why is it important?
Moore v. Harper, currently being argued in the country’s highest court, challenges the N.C. Supreme Court’s power to override congressional maps drawn by the state legislature.