Local Features

A dig in eastern North Carolina last week had a scientist up to his armpits in mud, and led to some great finds for a museum collection, including fossils from the age of dinosaurs. The paleontologist that led the dig is also hoping to someday solve an enduring Onslow County fossil mystery.

The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law 35 years ago -- on July 26, 1990 -- by President George H.W. Bush. It prohibits discrimination based on disability in various areas of public life and requires communities large and small to make sure public buildings, streets, sidewalks and services are accessible to all.

Veterans Memorial Reef is a non-profit organization that honors fallen heroes by placing them in an aquatic memorial so they may be laid to rest at sea off the coast of North Carolina. It has partnered with Natrx, which specializes in creating 3-D printed artificial reefs.

Closing arguments were recently heard in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina in the state’s contentious redistricting lawsuit, and now many are awaiting the outcome.

A scientist at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences drove to Raleigh-Durham International Airport to pick up an unusual passenger in late April. Research Curator of Herpetology Dr. Bryan Stuart said it seemed that a live tree frog jumped into the suitcase of a traveler from Honduras and took an unplanned trip to North Carolina.

The rally on Saturday was hosted by Indivisible Carteret County and Indivisible Craven United, and at it people voiced their displeasure about cuts to Medicaid, proposed changes that would gut the U.S. Department of Education, and ICE raids and the crackdown on immigration.

Don Voyles compares what is happening now in the U.S. Government with that time in history. “It's really alarming to see the parallels,” he said. “I'm remembering Germany in the late 1930s.”

Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope recently announced the discovery of gases on a faraway planet that may be the same as those produced by ocean plankton on Earth. But a North Carolina astrophysicist is cautioning people to take note that researchers stressed it’s not a discovery of actual living organisms and that the findings should be viewed cautiously until further observations have been completed.

Senator Bobby Hanig’s Senate Bill 20 would make the intentional release of balloons illegal, with a fine of $250 per balloon for violations.

“We're still losing 22 to 36 veterans (to suicide) every day and about half of those are veterans that are being treated by the Veterans Administration currently," Dr. Phil Kiver said, "“The experiences of combat don't go away, and sometimes they manifest themselves years or decades after your service.”