Gowri Abhinanda

Low income areas in Chapel Hill with low access to grocery stores

Kenan Bauer

Data

Areas in Chapel Hill are classified as a 'food deserts' due to lack of grocery store accessibility

By Gowri Abhinanda | April 19

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, areas with large numbers of "households with low incomes, inadequate access to transportation and a limited number of food retailers providing fresh produce and healthy groceries for affordable prices" are commonly referred to as food deserts. Although Chapel Hill is wealthy relative to North Carolina and the country, communities in some parts of the Town don't have access to affordable and healthy groceries.

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Gowri Abhinanda

City & State

'We were people, too': Unhoused population faces complex relationship with police

By Gowri Abhinanda , Tori Newby and Maddie Singleton | April 5

Chapel Hill resident Bobby Woodlief said he has endured a variety of difficulties during his 18 years of experiencing homelessness in the town. As a result of his living situation, he and others have had mixed interactions with police.

Serena Sherwood

City & State

Lithium mining company pushes for permit approval in NC despite local opposition

By Gowri Abhinanda | March 21

Piedmont Lithium plans to develop a 1500-acre mine containing four 500-foot deep pits for lithium extraction with a processing plant on-site in Gaston County, according to Erin Sanders, senior vice president of corporate communications and investor relations at Piedmont Lithium.

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Angelina Katsanis

City & State

University Place Mall sees demolition, progress toward major transformation plans

By Gowri Abhinanda | March 7

Demolition began on part of University Place, Chapel Hill’s first enclosed mall, as a part of a groundbreaking ceremony held on Monday. The construction is estimated to be completed by 2025, according to Jeff Kurtz, the vice president of development for Ram Realty Advisors.

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Anastasia Garcia

City & State

Marian Cheek Jackson Center preserves Chapel Hill's Black history, provides resources

By Gowri Abhinanda | February 28

Rev. Troy Harrison of St. Joseph CME Church and UNC Professor Della Pollock founded the Marian Cheek Jackson Center in 2007 to preserve the oral history of the Northside neighborhood. The center's goals have since evolved to include fostering housing justice for the Northside community, preserving civil rights and local history through education and cultivating a sense of community between neighbors. “Something that any of us can do to support retention is just to get to know our neighbors,” Christine Abernathy, director of housing justice at MCJC, said.

There are ten stores with ATF violations within 25 miles of UNC's Campus

Ashlyn Joshy

Data

Over 750 ATF violations have been committed by gun stores around the state

By Gowri Abhinanda | February 19

Between 2015 and 2018, North Carolina gun stores received 178 violations from federal investigators. Violations range from clerical errors to the illegal sales of firearms to a prohibited purchaser, according to gun store inspection reports released by Brady: United Against Gun Violence.

Samuel Long

City & State

Weavers Grove, new mixed-income housing development, accepting applications

By Gowri Abhinanda | January 15

Habitat for Humanity of Orange County is accepting applications until Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. for its new mixed-income housing development, Weavers Grove. Located off Sunrise Road, the community will include 237 residential units, with 101 built by Habitat.

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Ashlyn Rhyne

City & State

Habitat for Humanity: Orange County's unofficial ambassador for affordable housing

By Gowri Abhinanda | January 11

Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit that builds houses for low-income communities to make homeownership an accessible option. An increase in the need for affordable housing has made the criteria to approve a family for a Habitat home selective. The nonprofit focuses on Black homeownership retention and families that earn below the area median income.

Guru Balamurugan

City & State

OC BOCC approves new financial update for Orange County Transit Plan

By Gowri Abhinanda | November 2

The Orange County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a revised financial plan for Orange County’s Transit Plan on Tuesday night to increase public transport accessibility in the county.

Natalie Peoples

City & State

Hot sauce on the hot seat: Texas Pete sued over false advertising claims

By Gowri Abhinanda | October 19

A class-action lawsuit filed by California resident Phillip White alleges the hot sauce bottle’s branding is deceptive and leads consumers to believe the product is from Texas, when the product is actually made in Winston-Salem, N.C. White said the branding led him to purchase a $3 Texas Pete hot sauce bottle in 2021, a purchase he wouldn't have made otherwise according to the suit. “If they have a name of the state on the bottle, you kind of assume that’s from that state,” Daniels said. “That’s a very fair assumption, so I would have no clue that it’s from North Carolina.”

Gowri Abhinanda

News

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By Gowri Abhinanda | April 2

Chapel Hill resident Kohl George sits on Franklin Street with his dog on Monday, March 26, 2023.

Gowri Abhinanda

Areas in Chapel Hill are classified as a 'food deserts' due to lack of grocery store accessibility

'We were people, too': Unhoused population faces complex relationship with police

Lithium mining company pushes for permit approval in NC despite local opposition

University Place Mall sees demolition, progress toward major transformation plans

Marian Cheek Jackson Center preserves Chapel Hill's Black history, provides resources

Over 750 ATF violations have been committed by gun stores around the state

Weavers Grove, new mixed-income housing development, accepting applications

Habitat for Humanity: Orange County's unofficial ambassador for affordable housing

OC BOCC approves new financial update for Orange County Transit Plan

Hot sauce on the hot seat: Texas Pete sued over false advertising claims

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