Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1489342
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM JANUARY 4 - 10, 2023 UCW 9 NEWS investigation by the state of North Carolina yet again after a 5-month-old's January death. https://carolinapublicpress.org/58454/ carolina-public-press-top-stories-of-the- year/?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_ campaign=2611f7a0ba-RSS_EMAIL_ CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_ term=0_1545d58992-2611f7a0ba- 207707765&mc_cid=2611f7a0ba&mc_ eid=ed69f794fd NC town set to cease existence as state treasurer calls for criminal charges (June) For the first time in North Carolina's history, the Local Government Commission used a new law, Senate Bill 314, to vote unanimously to dissolve the town's charter, which is sched- uled to take place on June 30. https://carolinapublicpress.org/54987/nc- town-set-to-cease-existence-as-state-treasur- er-calls-for-criminal-charges/ Monkeypox cases spreading in NC (July) North Carolina officials have confirmed 11 cases of monkeypox, a disease caused by the monkeypox virus, in the state as of Wednes- day. Of those cases, 10 involve North Carolina residents, and one involves a nonresident. At least 929 people in the United States — and over 7,500 people around the globe — have been infected with it since May 18, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://carolinapublicpress.org/55329/ monkeypox-cases-spreading-in-nc/ 'Ghost forests' are creeping across NC's coast at an alarming rate. Researchers are trying to stop them (August) e spreading stands of dead trees are what's known as "ghost forests," a general term to describe contiguous areas of dead trees. And they are the focus of Duke University ecosystem ecologist and biogeochemist Emily Bernhardt's research. https://carolinapublicpress.org/55902/ ghost-forests-are-creeping-across-ncs-coast- at-an-alarming-rate-researchers-are-trying- to-stop-them/ NC child welfare leader says system is 'in crisis' and state could be sued 'at any point' (September) e state's child welfare system "is in crisis," and "at any point there could be a massive class-action lawsuit," the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services told county direc- tors of social services departments during a presentation earlier this month. https://carolinapublicpress.org/56616/nc- child-welfare-leader-says-system-is-in-crisis- and-state-could-be-sued-at-any-point/ Automated gunshot detection is coming to Fayetteville. e community is split on whether it's the right fit for the city (December) Cynthia Leeks, 60, lives in a neighbor- hood off the Murchison Road Corridor in Fayetteville. She moved back to the area five years ago to be close to her aging parents. She is now the secretary of her local neighborhood watch. She loves her neighborhood, she said, even though it's in a city where gun violence is commonplace. Even with the violence, Leeks doesn't want police officers knocking on her door after a ShotSpotter gunshot alert has been sent to them. https://carolinapublicpress.org/58197/ automated-gunshot-detection-is-coming-to- fayetteville-the-community-is-split-on-wheth- er-its-the-right-fit-for-the-city/ Editor's note: Carolina Public Press is an independent nonprofit news organization dedi- cated to nonpartisan, in-depth and investi- gative news built upon the facts and context North Carolinians need to know. eir award- winning, breakthrough journalism dismantles barriers and shines a light on the critical over- looked and under-reported issues facing the state's 10.4 million residents. Ben Sessoms covers local gov- ernment in eastern North Caro- lina, primarily in Cumberland County and the surrounding region. He can be reached at bses- soms@carolinapublicpress.org or 828-774-5290 extension 414. Cynthia Leeks speaks about her research and conclusions sur- rounding the City Council's contract with a company called ShotSpotter in Fayetteville on Dec. 13. Leeks, secretary for the neighborhood watch for a Murchison Road district, acknowledg- es the council's decision and intends to hold officials accountable to ShotSpotter's effectiveness. (Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits/ Carolina Public Press) Cars line up for gas on Andrew Jackson Highway at town limit of East Laurinburg. (Photo by Mark Darrough / Carolina Public Press) e North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services provided these images showing different ways that monkeypox infections can appear. (Photos courtesy of NC DHHS / Carolina Public Press) Dead trees on the shore of a tidal creek in Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge, Down East, N.C. (Photo by Jack Igelman / Caro- lina Public Press) Brian Hogan sits outside a school in Marble on June 4, 2021. Hogan and his daughter were awarded a combined $4.6 million in damages by a federal jury in May after she was wrongfully separated from him by the Cherokee County Department of So- cial Services. (Photo by Jacob Biba / Carolina Public Press)