City & County - The Daily Tar Heel

Narcan, distributed through a free vending machine in Orange County Detention Center, is used to reverse an opioid overdose.

'You have no idea what’s really in there': Explaining the dangers of fentanyl

By Zoe Werner | Apr. 2

More than 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, a drug that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use as a pain reliever and anesthetic. Naloxone — often called Narcan — is a injectable or nasal spraymedication that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. On Wednesday, the FDA approved naloxone for use, without a prescription, nationwide.

Northside Elementary Counselor, Chantel Click, poses for a portrait at Northside Elementary School in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Thursday, March 30, 2023.

'I'm here to talk and to listen': Northside Elementary School counselor supports students

By Carly Breland | Mar. 30

Northside Elementary School Counselor Chantel Click helps to bring the importance of mental health and social skills to elementary-aged children. The school recently recognized her as the school’s Support and Wellness Employee of the Year.

Chapel Hill community members playing pickleball at Ephesus Park in Chapel Hill, N.C., Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2023.

Chapel Hill tennis and pickleball players debate about new shared-use plan for courts

By Jenna Rupp | Mar. 30

After the end of a pilot tennis and pickleball shared-use program on Friday, March 24, the Town of Chapel Hill announced a plan to increase outdoor public pickleball courts from 11 courts to 21 courts. During the shared-use plan, temporary pickleball lines were marked on two tennis courts at Ephesus Park. The Town gave tennis and pickleball players priority to use the courts at different times.

Chapel Hill and Carrboro hosted the first annual Small Town Pride festival in 2021. Photo courtesy of Catherine Lazorko, Carrboro's communication and engagement director.

Chapel Hill calls for downtown installation celebrating LGBTQ+ community

By Vina Senthil | Mar. 30

Chapel Hill Community Arts & Culture is calling on artists to apply to create public art in celebration of the LGBTQ+ community. The art will be displayed during the month of June at 140 W. Franklin St., as Chapel Hill and Carrboro celebrate Small Town Pride.

Dunkin’ pictured on East Franklin Street on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.

East Franklin Street Dunkin' to develop long-anticipated drive-thru

By Ella Aluise | Mar. 30

The Dunkin’ on East Franklin Street was recently approved to begin construction on a long-awaited drive-thru, a process stretching as far back as 2017. The delay stems from a Town ordinance from 1998, which requires businesses that want drive-thrus to apply for special use permits.

Carrboro Town Hall stands tall on Monday, March 27, 2023.

Carrboro hires Marie Parker as new assistant town manager after national search

By Kaitlyn Church | Mar. 30

Marie Parker, the executive director of Wave Transit, has been selected as Carrboro’s new assistant town manager. Parker is set to start on June 5 and will work alongside Town Manager Richard J. White III and Chief Race and Equity Officer Anita Jones-McNair in the Carrboro Town Manager’s Office.

DTH Photo Illustration. Orange County is working in tandem with NorthState Communications to provide fiber Internet for 28,000 addresses in underserved areas.

Google Fiber coming to Hillsborough, construction to begin in April

By Carly Breland | Mar. 30

Google Fiber announced plans to expand their high-speed broadband internet service to Hillsborough earlier this month — construction will likely begin in April. “Just having another solution to being able to connect reliably is something that our community really needs,” Mayor of Hillsborough Jenn Weaver said.

A woman walks down a path in Umstead Park by the Bolin Creek Trail on Monday, April 4, 2022.

Carrboro plans to seek community feedback regarding Bolin Creek Greenway

By Audrey Kashatus | Mar. 30

During the Carrboro Town Council meeting on Tuesday evening, council members discussed the Bolin Creek Greenway and the installation of new solar photovoltaic projects in town. The council members also updated Town Manager Richard J. White III on key strategic items to be considered in budget development.

Paula Gilland, the owner and CEO of Purple Bowl, an eatery in downtown Chapel Hill, has run the restaurant since its inception. She came up with the idea to bring California-style açaí to Chapel Hill in 2017.

Women-owned businesses create welcoming spaces for Chapel Hill-Carrboro community

By Phoebe Martel | Mar. 30

The Purple Bowl, WomanCraft Gifts and Ascension Tattoo are just a few of several women-operated small businesses in the Chapel Hill and Carrboro communities that residents can support during Women's History Month. Paula Gilland, owner of The Purple Bowl, said being female-run has contributed to the business’s mission to empower women. “We tried to make decisions early on in the business to support and nurture women,” she said. "So, when we’ve hired women, if they’ve needed to take a maternity leave, we’ve helped cover that — which is really rare in the food industry.”

DTH Photo Illustration. A North Carolina pistol permit is pictured.

Republican-led General Assembly overrides governor's veto on pistol permit bill

By Ethan E. Horton | Mar. 29

On Wednesday morning, the Republican-led N.C. General Assembly overturned Governor Roy Cooper's veto for the first time since 2018 on a bill to remove the permit requirement for pistols.

Animals roam a field at the 1870 Farm on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023.

1870 Farm seeks to educate the community about animals and veterinary medicine

By Caroline Dickey | Mar. 29

1870 Farm has over 150 years of history in Chapel Hill educating the community about animals. The farm, located at 1224 Old Lystra Rd., offers summer camps and birthday parties centered around farming and animal education.

Part of rural Orange County is pictured on Saturday, March 25, 2023. Governor Roy Cooper recently declared "Rural Week" to recognize the importance of rural North Carolina.

In light of 'rural week,' organizations work to make a difference in less populated areas

By Lauren Zola | Mar. 29

On March 20, Gov. Roy Cooper proclaimed "Rural Week" as a celebration of the rural communities in the state. Of N.C.'s 100 counties, 78 are within rural areas, making up approximately 40 percent of the state. Organizations and municipalities have worked to address the needs of underserved rural areas across North Carolina.

University Gardens is an apartment complex located at 800 Pritchard Avenue in Chapel Hill, N.C. Some residents have recently received eviction notices

University Gardens residents continue to face evictions, an issue not unique to Chapel Hill

By Eliza Benbow | Mar. 29

Some residents of University Gardens, an affordable housing community in Chapel Hill, have continued to receive eviction notices — a process that began drawing attention at the end of June 2022 and has continued through this year.

Young soccer players do a drill with their team on the new turf at Cedar Falls Park in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Thursday, Mar. 23, 2023. The Town of Chapel Hill held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the freshly redone, environmentally-friendly turf for the multi-purpose field.

Town holds ribbon-cutting for Cedar Falls field sustainability and safety renovations

By Emma Hall | Mar. 29

On March 23, the Town of Chapel Hill conducted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the reopening of the Cedar Falls Athletic Field after its recent turf and lighting renovations. The Town used funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Orange County Community Climate Action Grant Program to carry out the renovations in January and February.

DTH Photo Illustration. House Bill 40 and Senate Bill 53 were passed by the N.C. General Assembly without Gov. Cooper's signature.

Two NC bills pass through the General Assembly, become law without governor signature

By Sierra President | Mar. 28

This month, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper let two bills pass through the N.C. General Assembly and become law without his signature due to his concerns about them. House Bill 40 seeks to control rioting and civil disorder and Senate Bill 53 tries to address hotel safety concerns.

Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-NC 14th) is sworn into the 118th Congress on Jan. 5, 2023.  Photo Courtesy of Ike Hayman.

'Setting the framework': Rep. Jeff Jackson uses social media to inform voters

By Ginny Dempster | Mar. 28

Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-N.C. 14th) has about 1.4 million followers on the platform, where he posts informational videos about Congress, its function and current issues — including information about emergency Zoom calls and the traditional freshman Congress office lottery.

DTH Photo Illustration. A bill proposed in the North Carolina House of Representatives would legalize sports betting for college and professional sports in the state. Money is picturing on top of sports balls outside of Dorrance Field on Monday, March 27, 2023.

Bipartisan bill introduced in NC House would legalize sports betting

By Olivia Gschwind | Mar. 27

A bill to legalize sports wagering, H.B. 347, has garnered bipartisan support and has passed through several committees in the North Carolina House. But, the large industry concerns some lawmakers.

Gov. Roy Cooper is pictured speaking in Chapel Hill on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019.

Gov. Roy Cooper signs Medicaid expansion bill into law after years of stalemate

By Emmy Martin | Mar. 27

On Monday afternoon, Governor Roy Cooper signed House Bill 76 into law, expanding Medicaid for North Carolinians. Now that Cooper has signed H.B. 76 into law, there are only 10 states across the nation that haven't adopted the expansion.

The sign at the entrance of the Chapel Hill Police headquarters is pictured on Wednesday, March 8.

Governor Roy Cooper establishes new statewide violence prevention office

By Sam Kornylak | Mar. 27

Gov. Roy Cooper issued an executive order on March 14 announcing the establishment of a statewide Office of Violence Prevention. The office, which will operate within the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, will work to reduce violence and firearm misuse in North Carolina.

DTH Photo Illustration. Chapel Hill Transit buses now have live tracking again. Riders can check bus locations in real-time using applications such as TransLoc.

Bus tracking returns to Chapel Hill after delay, community now able to rely on GPS routing

By Caroline Horne | Mar. 27

After a "frustrating" year, Chapel Hill Transit users in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area can once again track buses. The GPS routing information for transit users returned on March 13 while UNC students were on Spring Break, according to the Town of Chapel Hill. Tracking on apps like TransLoc, which gets real-time information from NextBus, will now work for customers.