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97.9 The Hill’s Andrew Stuckey speaks with Vice President of Advocacy for the Chamber For a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro Ian Scott, Policy Director for Carolina Forward and Chapel Hill Town Council Member Theodore Nollert, and President of the Orange and Chatham County Association of Realters Randy Voller. They discussed the current housing inventory in the Chapel Hill area, including how much and what type of housing is still missing, and what tools the community has to encourage more housing. They also discussed what they hope to see different in the area’s housing market in 2026, and more.

The 2025 “Forum On The Hill” is presented by the Town of Chapel Hill, UNC Health, Wegmans, Colman Merritt Murphy & Rainsford P.C., and the law Office of Chris Banes. Listen to the full panels live on 97.9 The Hill WCHL the week of Dec. 8-12 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., or revisit them the day after on-demand at Chapelboro.com, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The post Checking the Area Housing Inventory – Dec. 11, 2025 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck speaks with Gary Collins of Piedmont Health Services, Dana Iglesias of UNC Family Medicine, Jean Phillips-Weiner of the Orange County Health Department, and Ciara Zachary of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

This hour focuses on the state of health care in 2025, both nationally and here in our community. Public health officials recently shifted their efforts to focus more on equity, working to identify and address health disparities and to ensure that everyone has access to high-quality healthcare. There’s now a widespread backlash against equity efforts – but the underlying concerns still remain. To what extent are health officials still focusing on equity? What is being done today to address those issues? And what, in general, is the state of health care in America today? What are the biggest challenges and obstacles, and what needs to be done to overcome them? Our four panelists weigh in from a variety of perspectives, ranging from research labs to clinical practices to local government agencies to community health centers.

The 2025 “Forum On The Hill” is presented by the Town of Chapel Hill, UNC Health, Wegmans, Coleman Merritt Murphy & Rainsford P.C., and The Law Office of Chris Barnes. Listen to the panels live on 97.9 The Hill WCHL the week of Dec. 8-12 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., or revisit them the day after on-demand at Chapelboro.com, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

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This week in history: Brian Epstein becomes the Beatles’ manager, and the Bill of Rights becomes part of the Constitution. (Scott takes that opportunity to promote a bell-ringing ceremony he hosts every Bill of Rights Day, which is December 15: everyone’s invited to downtown Hillsborough at noon that day to ring bells in honor of the 234th anniversary of the Bill of Rights’ ratification.)

97.9 The Hill WCHL and Chapelboro.com are your headquarters for local news and local voices in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. Every Thursday morning, local historian Scott Washington joins 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck for “History Matters,” a look back at notable events and significant figures from this week in history, ranging from pioneers to writers to inventors to civil rights champions and more, locally, nationally, and beyond.

Click here to listen back to the full History Matters archive – and tune in to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” Thursday mornings at 8:30 on 97.9 The Hill to hear those conversations live.

Listen:

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Trending today: a raccoon goes on a bender in a Virginia liquor store, sparking widespread memes and some pretty fun pictures. Filling in for Victor, Michael Koh takes the opportunity to share details about other members of the animal kingdom who’ve been known to partake in spiritous beverages from time to time.

Want to know what folks are talking about on social media? Every weekday on 97.9 The Hill’s “This Morning with Aaron Keck,” Victor Lewis scours the Internet for the day’s top trending stories, from weird news to wacky crimes to odd business ventures and everything in between. Click here to listen back to all our past What’s Trending segments – and tune in to “This Morning” on 97.9 The Hill every weekday at 7:45 to hear What’s Trending live on the air.

What’s Trending is made possible by Dynamic Electric. Listen now:

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The month of December always brings exciting holiday festivities, and this year is no exception in Mebane! Kelly promotes several upcoming events – including “It’s Snowing in Mebane” throughout the month, plus the annual Reindeer Run 5K on December 20. Those aren’t the only exciting happenings in town: December 11 is also the opening day for Whataburger’s new Mebane location – and that same night, the Mebane Historical Museum is hosting an event to celebrate the “Makers of Modern Mebane.” Meanwhile in government news, the Mebane City Council signed off this week on a new Sheetz gas station off Buckhorn Road.

97.9 The Hill WCHL and Chapelboro.com are your headquarters for local news and local voices in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. Every weekday morning, 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck chats with government officials, UNC scholars, business and nonprofit leaders, area musicians, and others in our community as they share their thoughts, their experience, and their expertise on the central issues of today. Click here to listen back to all of Aaron’s conversations – and tune in to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” at 7:30 a.m. on 97.9 The Hill to hear those conversations live.

Every month, Aaron welcomes Mebane public information officer Kelly Hunter for “Positively Mebane,” a look at what’s going on in Mebane and what folks can see and do while they’re there.

Visit PositivelyMebane.com to learn more!

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In today’s news: Chapel Hill-Carrboro school officials take heat from Republican lawmakers over an anti-transgender state law. Also: social justice advocates push Orange County to reform its property-revaluation process; Orange County Commissioners approve an incentives package for a manufacturer who’s relocating to Hillsborough; Gov. Josh Stein restores Medicaid payments but warns the program’s funding will run out without a state budget; and the Chapel Hill Fire Department releases new information on the August fire at the Siena Hotel. And in sports: the UNC Rams Club gets a new executive director; Tar Heel baseball gets highlighted in a popular video game; and YouTube celebrity Mr. Beast (a North Carolina native) announces a big giveaway at Saturday’s UNC basketball game.

97.9 The Hill WCHL and Chapelboro.com are your headquarters for local news in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. Every weekday morning, 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck recaps the day’s news, from local government to business developments to UNC sports. Click here to listen back to all of Aaron’s daily news reports, which you can hear live during “This Morning with Aaron Keck” every weekday from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m.

Listen:

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It’s time for another round of Studio Sessions with the School of Rock Chapel Hill, featuring three classic songs performed by the House Band!

This month, Aaron welcomes (a record!) seven members of the House Band: Joshua Bosworth, Brooke Briner, Ripley Florek, JJ Helbert, Conlan Sharp, Grant Watson, and Katie Wilson. It’s December, so they’re playing holiday songs, led by a tradition that’s sadly about to end: JJ’s Mariah-esque rendition of “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” (A tradition that’s ending because this is JJ’s senior year; in fact all seven are graduating this year.)

School of Rock owner/GM David Joseph is also on hand, discussing upcoming shows – including an end-of-season bonanza Sunday, December 14, at Cats Cradle Back Room – as well as upcoming classes, including summer camps. (Yes, it’s already time to start thinking about those.)

Listen to their conversation, plus the band’s performances of “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” and “Run Run Rudolph.”

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97.9 The Hill’s Andrew Stuckey speaks with Chapel Hill’s Community Sustainability Manager John Richardson, Inside Climate News North Carolina Reporter Lisa Sorg, and Chatham County Commissioner Karen Howard. They discuss increased extreme weather in our community, and how we continue to adjust and react to that extreme weather. They discuss ways of bouncing back from flood events, preparing for extreme heat, and looking ahead to potential future resiliency and sustainability issues in our community. They also discuss some of the positive climate work happening in our community, and more.

The 2025 “Forum On The Hill” is presented by the Town of Chapel Hill, UNC Health, Wegmans, Colman Merritt Murphy & Rainsford P.C., and the law Office of Chris Banes. Listen to the full panels live on 97.9 The Hill WCHL the week of Dec. 8-12 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., or revisit them the day after on-demand at Chapelboro.com, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The post Reframing How We Discuss and Plan For Extreme Weather – Dec. 10, 2025 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

97.9 The Hill’s Brighton McConnell welcomes Corey Holliday, Erianne Weight and Deborah Stroman to the studio for a panel on the state of college athletics and whether recent changes are causing the sports to feel different — both for the athletes and fans. All former collegiate athletes themselves, Stroman, Weight and Holliday share their perspectives on the role sports and athletics programs play in setting one up for success in professional life and the current pitfalls facing players. The group digs into under-discussed elements of what changes like the transfer portal, NIL and revenue-sharing bring to both operations and the daily lives of athletes, as well as some misconceptions around those topics and the student-athlete experience in general.

The 2025 “Forum On The Hill” is presented by the Town of Chapel Hill, UNC Health, Wegmans, Coleman Merritt Murphy & Rainsford P.C., and The Law Office of Chris Barnes. Listen to the panels live on 97.9 The Hill WCHL the week of Dec. 8-12 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., or revisit them the day after on-demand at Chapelboro.com, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

The post Do Recent Changes Make College Athletics Feel Different? — Dec. 10, 2025 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck speaks with Durham Tech president JB Buxton and UNC chancellor Lee Roberts.

This hour focuses on the state of higher education in 2025, with a focus on UNC-Chapel Hill and Durham Technical Community College. It’s a tumultuous and challenging time for colleges and universities, though challenging times can also create new opportunities and exciting developments. Higher education is facing a lot of pressure at the federal level, with major cuts in research funding combined with a backlash against programs and projects that promote diversity and inclusion. Faculty members are expressing concerns about their academic freedom – and they’re also feeling a financial pinch, with the lack of a state budget. And while the rise of AI is opening countless new doors for research and scholarship, it’s also causing major headaches for teachers – and creating massive uncertainty for students who are now having to prepare for a completely unpredictable future. How are colleges and universities navigating all those questions? And what’s happening on campus that we ought to be celebrating? Buxton and Roberts weigh in on those questions and more – and yes, Roberts touches briefly on Tar Heel football as well.

The 2025 “Forum On The Hill” is presented by the Town of Chapel Hill, UNC Health, Wegmans, Coleman Merritt Murphy & Rainsford P.C., and The Law Office of Chris Barnes. Listen to the panels live on 97.9 The Hill WCHL the week of Dec. 8-12 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., or revisit them the day after on-demand at Chapelboro.com, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

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