97.9 The Hill's "Forum On The Hill"

97.9 The Hill's Aaron Keck discusses the state of the Triangle local music scene with Shirlette Ammons, Azul Zapata, and Dave Hedeman. The post What’s On Local Musicians’ Minds? – December 12, 2025 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

97.9 The Hill's Andrew Stuckey speaks with North Carolina Poet Laureate Jakie Shelton Green, Carrboro Town Council Member Fred Joiner, and Executive Director of Orange County Arts Katie Murray on Friday, December 12. They discuss the challenges facing the arts community both generally and locally. They also discuss the role of arts in times of political division. They discuss the economic, social, and personal impact of having art in non-traditional spaces. They look ahead to 2026, and more. The post Arts in Uncertain Times – Dec. 12, 2025 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

97.9 The Hill's Brighton McConnell welcomes Gayane Chambless, Jennifer McFarland, Kyle Shipp, Rachel Valentine and Breah Woolson on Friday, Dec. 12 for a conversation about the local nonprofit community. The post External Changes Are Changing Nonprofits’ Approaches — Dec. 12, 2025 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

Brighton McConnell moderates a discussion between Shereese Alston, Beverly Scarlett, Hudson Vaughan, Marilyn Carter and Amy Fowler. The post Reforming and Contextualizing Orange County’s Property Assessments — Dec. 11, 2025 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

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

What is the state of health care today, both nationally and here in our community? And what needs to be done to address disparities? The post Equity in Health Care – December 11, 2025 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

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 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. 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 chats with Durham Tech president JB Buxton and UNC chancellor Lee Roberts, on the key issues in higher education. The post What’s the Latest Around Higher Ed? – December 10, 2025 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

97.9 The Hill's Andrew Stuckey speaks with CORA's Melissa Driver Beard, TABLE's Suzanne Tormollen, and PORCH's Erin Riney. They discuss the new challenges facing organizations battling food insecurity in our community, and the sense that their role is becoming more permanent. They also discussed the specific challenges faced in our community around food insecurity, and what is needed to improve their effectiveness. They also talked about the sea-change moment when SNAP benefits were withheld during the government shutdown, and more. The post Food Banks Step Up, But Need Help – Dec. 9, 2025 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

What is the state of research and scholarship at UNC, given all the opportunities and challenges 2025 has brought? Two professors weigh in. The post Federal Impacts on Local Research Efforts – December 9, 2025 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

Enrollment is a hot topic in both Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Chatham County Schools — but for very different reasons. 97.9 The Hill's Brighton McConnell speaks with Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Superintendent Rodney Trice and Chatham County Schools' Chief of Technology and Accountability Mark Samberg. The post How Enrollment Data is Influencing Our Schools — Dec. 9, 2025 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

97.9 The Hill's Andrew Stuckey speaks with Chapel Hill Immigration Attorney Chris Barnes and University of North Carolina Law Professor Rick Su on Monday, December 8. They discuss the specific implications of federal immigration enforcement actions in the Triangle region in November. They also discuss the larger legal ramifications of recent immigration enforcement, both in national politics and as it affects people locally. They share insights on the current legal question marks surrounding immigration in the United States, talk about who is affected most by these policies, what they expect to see in 2026, and more. The post Interpreting the Legality of Federal Immigration Operations — Dec. 8, 2025 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

This hour of the 2025 Forum on the Hill features four expert panelists discussing the local impact of federal immigration enforcement. The post Supporting Our Immigrant Communities – December 8, 2025 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

The night of July 6 brought an unprecedented amount of rainfall and flooding to the region, as Tropical Depression Chantal stalled over central North Carolina. Lots of attention in the immediate aftermath was focused on the impacted businesses — but where do response and recovery efforts stand five months later? The post The Ongoing Economic Recovery From Chantal’s Floods — Dec. 8, 2025 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

The 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro news team are returning with the annual Forum On The Hill the week of Dec. 8! Tune in for 15 panels covering 15 different topics The post 97.9 The Hill’s “Forum On The Hill” – Preview appeared first on Chapelboro.com.