If you take a walk around Greenfield Lake, or any spot alligators tend to frequent in the Cape Fear, you may notice many have orange markings on their heads.
A state prison administrator racked up at least 2,800 unaccounted miles during a three-year period, paving the way for potential misuse, a report released by North Carolina State Auditor Beth Wood on Tuesday found.
Want to get top dollar for your home this spring? Or are you looking to buy your first home? NerdWallet gives tips for those on both sides of the equation.
More than two and a half years after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Yahweh Center Children’s Village is still mired in litigation, and court documents indicate the mismanagement of the nonprofit’s finances may have been going on for decades.
The addition of eight filters to remove man-made chemical compounds in the water at the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant is part of the 10-year capital improvement plan approved by the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority Board on Wednesday.
As part of its strategy to address compounds in surface water and biosolids, state environmental officials are requiring towns in the Cape Fear River Basin to monitor emerging compounds beginning this summer.
Officials are concerned that a man repairing chimneys in and around Wilmington is doing dangerous modifications, and putting people at risk. The handyman posted dozens of videos of his repair work online the president of a nationwide chimney sweep group says the work is so faulty it's dangerous.
Commissioners voted 3-2 at a meeting Monday night to appeal Superior Court Judge Charles Henry’s decision that the previous H2GO Board of Commissioners’ decision to dissolve the authority and convey its assets to the Town of Belville is “unlawful, void and of no effect.”
The deaths of hundreds of children because of abuse or neglect goes unnoticed every year by agencies that protect kids. Congress and a 45-year-old law are largely to blame.
When children die because of abuse or neglect, child protection agencies are often blamed – they are underfunded and overworked. But there are many other culprits who failed children.
Carfax experts say there are potentially more than one million cars on the roads with false odometer readings - meaning their mileage has been rolled back to make the vehicles look like they have less wear and tear.
Documents subpoenaed from Duke Energy shed new light on concerns that acting Columbus County Sheriff Jody Greene may not have lived in the county prior to his election as required by state law. The documents also indicate there has been an address change on the account.
As development continues, the stormwater system will be subjected to greater and greater pressure, and experts say the importance of intentional management will have long-term effects on both the environment and quality of life for city residents.
CFPUA is welcoming Senate Bill 518, a newly introduced piece of legislation that would set new standards for Gen X and other similar compounds in the state’s water supply.
On March 27, CFPUA sampled finished water at three wells — two serving the plant and an emergency well that doesn't provide drinking water — in an effort to monitor potential movement of PFAS compounds that have been detected in and near an aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) well.
The CFPUA board unanimously approved a resolution Wednesday that authorizes Executive Director Jim Flechtner to complete design and permitting for the project as well as obtain bond funding and construction bids.
“It is Mr. Campbell’s position that, due to the N.C. State Board of Elections position that Mr. Green’s [sic] election was never certified, Mr. Green was without legal or actual authority to either demote or terminate Mr. Campbell.”
The Uniform Crime Reporting Act of 1988 requires federal law enforcement agencies to submit information about their cases to a federal database maintained by the FBI; however, those agencies are currently not submitting data, including information about hate crimes.
In the midst of unprecedented confusion in Columbus County over who should be serving as sheriff, some deputies have been terminated from their job. While North Carolina law generally gives sheriffs broad latitude to fire at will, pending legal challenges bring the recent firings under scrutiny.
The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority wanted the money to pay for new granular activated carbon (GAC) filters meant to filter GenX and other PFAS compounds out of drinking water.
Exactly six months after the White Oak Dike breached and sent floodwaters spilling into the community of Kelly, the small community’s residents took their local elected officials to task.
Capt. J. Dixon with the Holden Beach Police Department said in an email Tuesday afternoon that the investigation into Judy Brock’s disappearance is ongoing.
New Hanover County is filtering out per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFAS) at its landfill, according to sampling results from the NC Department of Environmental Quality.
After election fraud put the national spotlight on Southeastern North Carolina, WECT Investigates took a look at how other Cape Fear area counties fared in 2018.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau provides information about financial institutions, including complaints. But NerdWallet and InvestigateTV have found examples of complaints that don't show up in the database.
The permit incorporates the requirements of a consent order signed Feb. 25 to install the oxidizer by Dec. 31 and reduce all PFAS emissions by 99 percent beyond the 2017 baseline.
WECT has uncovered millions of dollars in additional payouts by New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington to settle lawsuits and claims, raising the grand total spent by local governments to at least $16.6 million.
Results released this week show 1,4-dioxane of 1.8 parts per billion (ppb) in raw water on Feb. 13 and 0.54 ppb in the finished water treated at the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant on Feb. 14.
The Department of Justice has issued subpoenas for a federal grand jury investigation into allegations of election fraud in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District.
While some agencies went to great lengths to comply, an attorney for New Hanover County strategized with her colleagues about minimizing what they’d provide in response to our request. Some claimants were also ordered not to talk to the media about the terms of the settlement funded by taxpayers.
WECT has learned that most NC school districts, even some of the largest ones, opt to contract with outside attorneys on an as-needed basis rather than hire an attorney to serve on staff. While some feel the in-house attorney is an asset, others said they think it's an obstacle.
A Hibachi restaurant in Wilmington was closed indefinitely last week and its permit revoked after county health inspectors found nearly 30 violations at the business.
The former two top officers of the union representing thousands of workers at Smithfield Foods siphoned off hundreds of thousands of dollars in union funds for personal use.
Documents unearthed through a subpoena appear to show contradictory information about when Columbus County Sheriff candidate Jody Greene lived in that county. Greene's residency is the subject of an ongoing challenge to his legal eligibility to serve as sheriff.
This four-degree difference applies to restaurants, cafés, school cafeterias, grocery stores, gas stations, caterers, hotels, and any other type of food service facility requiring health department inspection.
The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority is reconsidering its motion against Chemours after the chemical company filed a revised legal agreement with the state Department of Environmental Quality on Wednesday.
The updated agreement will now require Chemours to report monthly GenX air emissions, analyze PFAS buildup in river sediment, and provide filtration systems in certain public buildings for drinking water fountains and maintain them for 20 years.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality will hold a public meeting and hearing Monday on a draft air permit for Chemours to install and operate a thermal oxidizer/scrubber system for emission control at their Fayetteville Works Facility.
Hate crimes across the country have increased by 17 percent from 2016 to 2017, according to the FBI. Locally, though, the Cape Fear area hasn’t seen the same trend. Numbers have consistently fluctuated between seven to nine incidents each year.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections will take up the query into alleged fraud in the state’s 9th district and beyond on Monday, Feb. 18, but the road to the Raleigh hearing has been long and winding.
According to government reports, there is evidence that the main oversight agency for seafood, the Food and Drug Administration, has failed to meet new mandates to increase inspections at foreign food facilities.
On Tuesday, Feb. 12, parties on both sides of the aisle submitted their final argument briefs for consideration, as well as a list of witnesses attorneys intend to call.
WECT investigates the history of the White Oak Dike, and how decades of miscommunication put hundreds of people at risk during and after Hurricane Florence.
Email from State Board of Elections attorney Joshua Lawson to Columbus County attorney Amanda Prince raises questions about the Columbus County Board of Elections' handling of a protest filed in the sheriff’s race.
Jody Greene was stationed in Columbus County and claimed to live there on property in Cerro Gordo. Oddly, he routinely filled up in neighboring Robeson County, well across the county line and nearly 30 minutes from his alleged residence.
The New Hanover County School Board has declined a request for an independent investigation into its handling of serious issues, including concerns their inaction helped sexual predators prey on students.
The driving records of tens-of-thousands of North Carolinians are incorrect in the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles’ computer system, internal documents obtained by WBTV show.
WECT has learned the interim president of the college also works for the firm hired to conduct the college’s presidential search, a fact that isn’t sitting well with some college employees.
Under Facebook's policies, convicted sex offenders are not allowed on the site; however, InvestigateTV identified multiple offenders who appeared to have recently active profiles.
Acting Columbus County Sheriff Jody Greene has posted a $25,000 bond to keep his seat as sheriff, for now. Wake County Superior Court Judge Graham Shirley ordered Greene to pay that bond as part of an ongoing legal dispute over who is the rightful sheriff of Columbus County.
WECT first uncovered the unusually high rental rate during a series of investigative reports. The VA was paying nearly $300,000 a month to rent the clinic from a private landlord. Recently released correspondence indicates the VA will work to recover any improper payments if fraud is confirmed.
Just a few hundred yards from where the Pier 33 apartment complex is preparing to break ground, a long-running dispute between the City of Wilmington and a waterfront developer continues.
A former New Hanover County high school science teacher is facing new charges in an ongoing criminal investigation into inappropriate relationships he had with his students and other minors. Mike Kelly was recently charged for sex crimes that happened a decade ago against a newly discovered victim.
Topping wrote an elaborate post on his own website, attempting to discredit his accusers, and telling readers that “WECT Can Not Be Trusted,” after our report detailing the growing number of customer complaints about his company, DTopp.
The North Carolina Attorney General’s Office is investigating a downtown Wilmington business accused of taking customers’ money and not providing promised services. WECT has received complaint after complaint about this business.
Race could have been a factor in the sexual assault and murder of a 5-year-old girl in a rural Pender County community, according to court documents unsealed this week.
A legal battle over whether the city of Boiling Spring Lakes should have to compensate a couple whose property flooded because of a city project is nearing an end, more than four and half years after the couple sued the Brunswick County community.
