Category Archives: Triangle/Local

Salvia: A colorful, hardy favorite for Carolina gardens

Salvia: A colorful, hardy favorite for Carolina gardens

Everyone should have some type of salvia in their landscape. Sage advice, I must say, if you like puns that is! Salvia also is known for its medicinal qualities for oral health, digestion problems and cognitive issues. I for one have never considered eating salvia. Sage is, of course, considered a culinary herb, so I suppose I have eaten some over the years. There are over a thousand salvia species and just as many cultivars and hybrids. Just like several plants I have in my yard, salvia is part of the mint family. Most salvia flowers don’t have fragrance, however their foliage does. Salvia is also a pollinator favorite.… Continue Reading

Rushing floodwater from heavy rain kills 2 in North Carolina

Rushing floodwater from heavy rain kills 2 in North Carolina

SPRING HOPE, N.C. (AP) — Two people were found dead in central North Carolina after rushing floodwaters pulled them from their submerged car. Another cluster of storms was dumping rain on the region Thursday, the day after the two bodies were found. Authorities say a 24-year-old woman and 55-year-old man from Louisburg were swept away while attempting to escape their vehicle. Flooding had swept the vehicle from the road into a ditch in the town of Spring Hope. An officer who tried to save them was swept into the floodwaters too before escaping unharmed. The storm’s pathway follows Tropical Storm Chantal’s flooding in parts of the region last month.… Continue Reading

North Carolina residents can now seek state aid after Tropical Storm Chantal

North Carolina residents can now seek state aid after Tropical Storm Chantal

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Residents in several central North Carolina counties affected by last month’s Tropical Storm Chantal can now apply for state-funded financial aid. This assistance follows a state disaster declaration issued Tuesday by Gov. Josh Stein. The storm brought several inches of rain, causing record-breaking river levels and significant damage. At least six storm-related deaths occurred. Stein has also requested a federal disaster declaration to speed up federal aid for rebuilding infrastructure. Public assistance damage estimates have exceeded $42 million. Residents can seek aid for housing, property replacement and medical expenses at local disaster recovery centers.… Continue Reading

Funeral held for Dr. Greg Brannon, North Carolina tea party favorite and ex-Senate candidate

Funeral held for Dr. Greg Brannon, North Carolina tea party favorite and ex-Senate candidate

CARY, N.C. (AP) — A funeral has been held for Dr. Greg Brannon, a North Carolina physician and former figure in state Republican politics. A funeral home confirmed that Brannon died July 27. Brannon was 64. He was known for his involvement in the tea party movement and his runs for the U.S. Senate and House in the 2010s. He was an OB-GYN for 27 years and later founded a hormone replacement therapy company. Brannon is being remembered for his medical work, especially with challenging pregnancies. The funeral took place last Saturday in Raleigh. He is survived by his wife, seven children, and two grandchildren.… Continue Reading

Trump says he doesn’t trust the jobs data, but Wall Street and economists do

Trump says he doesn’t trust the jobs data, but Wall Street and economists do

WASHINGTON (AP) — The monthly jobs report is already closely-watched on Wall Street and in Washington but has taken on a new importance after President Donald Trump on Friday fired the official who oversees it. Trump claimed that June’s employment figures were “RIGGED” to make him and other Republicans “look bad” yet provided no evidence. The firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics director followed Friday’s jobs report that showed hiring was weak in July and had come to nearly a standstill in May and June. Economists and Wall Street investors have long considered the job figures reliable. Friday’s revisions were unusually large, and the surveys used to compile the report are facing challenges from declining response rates. But that hasn’t led most economists to doubt them.… Continue Reading

College isn’t in the plans for many rural students despite stepped-up recruiting efforts

College isn’t in the plans for many rural students despite stepped-up recruiting efforts

PERRY, N.Y. (AP) — America’s rural high school students are less likely to go to college than their urban and suburban peers. Students in the most sparsely populated regions often face obstacles to attending college, including having to travel far to get to campus, a lack of public transportation, and inconsistent broadband access that limits access to online courses and financial aid. Family dynamics also often factor in, including a lack of exposure to college because parents didn’t attend and an underlying doubt about the value of a college degree and curriculum. Some colleges have stepped up efforts to recruit rural students.… Continue Reading

Trump administration freezes $108M at Duke amid inquiry into alleged racial preferences

Trump administration freezes $108M at Duke amid inquiry into alleged racial preferences

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is freezing $108 million in research funding to Duke University as the federal government accuses the institution of racial discrimination in the form of affirmative action, according to a person familiar with the matter. The National Institutes of Health halted the funding to the private university in North Carolina, said the person who spoke Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Earlier this week, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Education Department sent a joint letter alleging racial preferences in Duke’s hiring and admissions. Duke did not immediately comment.… Continue Reading

Lantana: The sun-loving, pollinator-friendly powerhouse

Lantana: The sun-loving, pollinator-friendly powerhouse

I have grown to love lantana. I never really had anything against it. It’s just the fact I haven’t had a lot of sun areas in my landscape and lantana can take up a fair amount of room if it is happy. Most of North Carolina is hot throughout the summer and we certainly have drought periods. Lantana is made to order for these conditions. Lantana is in the verbena family and is sometimes called “shrub verbena.” It comes in various sizes from 1 to 6 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide according to my friends at the Cooperative Extension Service. It loves full sun, moist, but well-drained soil to fully perform. Lantana grows particularly well in the piedmont and thrives on the coastal plain and coast of North Carolina. It is even salt tolerant.… Continue Reading

Record-breaking heat wave scorches Southeast US

Record-breaking heat wave scorches Southeast US

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Residents in the Southeast U.S. are no strangers to hot weather in the summertime, but the sweltering heat this week set at least one record, and forecasters urged residents to limit being outside if possible and to hydrate. The all-time high temperature record at Tampa International Airport was broken on Sunday when the thermometer hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The previous record had been 99 degrees Fahrenheit set in June 2020. The National Weather Service said Tuesday that the prolonged heat wave was expected to peak in the southeast U.S. at mid-week.… Continue Reading

Wiley Nickel exits North Carolina Senate race the day after Roy Cooper announces candidacy

Wiley Nickel exits North Carolina Senate race the day after Roy Cooper announces candidacy

CARY, N.C. (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel has decided to quit his bid for a Senate seat in North Carolina after Democrat Roy Cooper announced his candidacy. Nickel endorsed Cooper on Tuesday, citing leadership and inspiration by the former two-term governor. Cooper launched his campaign on Monday to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. On the GOP side, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley is expected to run with Donald Trump’s support. Nickel had formally launched a Senate campaign in April, but his activities were always overshadowed by what Cooper decided to do next. Nickel hinted at future political endeavors in his Tuesday statement.… Continue Reading

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