Brent Wolfe

Officials with the state Division of Water Resources say a new report shows great improvement in groundwater levels over a 15-county area in eastern North Carolina. According to state officials, deep-well, freshwater aquifers in the coastal plain have to stay above full capacity to keep from mixing with saltwater.  If they were to mix, cities would have to spend money to filter out saltwater to make their water is safe to drink.

Rundown for WUNC-FM’s Overall Excellence Entry

This entry contains examples of the best work of WUNC-FM. Some of the stories are excerpted in order to meet the category’s time limit.

0:00-4:46         Coverage of the DNC in Charlotte

Children's advocates say poverty continues to be a problem when it comes to kids' health. The non-profit Action for Children North Carolina is out with its annual Child Health Report Card. The state scored a D in child poverty, with more than 25% of children under 18 living in poverty. Action for Children's Laila Bell says that affects the health statistics.

School can be hard -- and often it's not the academics that makes it so challenging. As a part of our weeklong American Graduate series of stories about education -- we hear from Patty Chase of Durham. In this story told live at The Monti, she remembers one life changing moment from elementary school.

This week public radio stations across the country are taking part in American Graduate Week. It's a Public Media initiative that looks at the drop out crisis and other issues in the public schools. As a part of our coverage, WUNC partnered with the performance story-telling group The Monti for a series of stories about school. Our first one comes from Bill Kenyon -- he's a teacher from Hillsborough -- he told his story, without notes, in front of a live audience at The Monti.

Doctors at UNC Chapel Hill want to improve the physical health of patients with severe mental illness. U-N-C's Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health has received a grant from the Duke Endowment to create a "health home" for patients with mental illness. Director John Gilmore says people with serious mental health issues like schizophrenia sometimes have trouble tending to their physical health. Gilmore says psychiatrists treating patients at the center will look out for other problems as well.

An experimental flood forecasting system will get a test with Hurricane Irene. Scientists have been experimenting with computer models since Hurricane Floyd produced heavier than expected flooding in 1999. The models are designed to predict how fresh water stream flow, ocean tides, and storm surge will interact. Suzanne VanCooten is a research hydro-meteorologist with the National Severe Storms Laboratory. She says one thing that's different this year from the lead-up to Hurricane Floyd is that many eastern North Carolina counties have been in a drought.

The American Red Cross is moving equipment and personnel into place to help people who may be affected by Hurricane Irene. Timm Heisey with the Red Cross says 45 emergency response vehicles are being staged in Raleigh. He says many Triangle residents signed up to be volunteers after the April tornadoes.

Former State Auditor Ralph Campbell has died. He was the first African-American elected to a statewide executive office in North Carolina.