Month: December 2018

A woman who lost her home in California’s most destructive wildfire ever says she and her husband are humbled to have received pardons from Gov. Jerry Brown for old drug crimes. Heather Steels Burnett said Tuesday the pardons were bright spots in what has been a difficult period. Brown on Monday wiped away her conviction for possessing ephedrine with intent to make methamphetamine nearly 20 years after she was sentenced for the crime. The governor…

By Emmy Victor, WRAL reporter Ellerbe, N.C. — Christmas will be different this year for a Richmond County family. The McBrides traditionally celebrate the holiday at the family homestead outside Ellerbe. But the home is no more after a Dec. 8 fire. “I used to remember us getting up,” Phillip McBride said Monday. “We’d sit here waiting for the sun to come up so we can see what we got for Christmas.” McBride and several…

Hurricanes, in Hartford green, beat Bruins By December 24, 2018 11:38 AM Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho, who had two goals and two assists, says beating the Boston Bruins 5-3 on “Whalers Night” at PNC Arena on Dec. 23, 2018 was a big confidence-builder for the team.

Coming into the game 14-15-5 was enough homage to the Forever .500s, as a Boston columnist once (appropriately) dubbed the Hartford Whalers. Going down 2-0 to the Boston Bruins in the first nine minutes was probably taking it too far. The difference between then and now – yes, one of many differences between then and now – is that the Whalers never seemed to come back when that happened. The Carolina Hurricanes, wearing the undead…

For the first time in their history, the Carolina Hurricanes did not wear Carolina Hurricanes uniforms in a game. They wore Hartford Whalers uniforms. Green Hartford Whalers uniforms, with the distinctive Hartford Whalers logo on the front. It was different, it was strange, it was exciting. The Boston Bruins were on the ice Sunday at PNC Arena, adding to the retro feel of the day and ready to play the Carolina Hurricanes wearing Hartford Whalers…

In his 20 years as a paramedic, Mickey Huber assisted in two emergency deliveries. But to him, the most memorable birth is the one that didn’t happen on his watch. Huber was helping people evacuate from the terrifying wildfire that tore through the Northern California town of Paradise on Nov. 8 when he heard on the scanner about a pregnant woman going into premature labor. Anastasia Skinner’s baby wasn’t due for another month, but she…

By Brad Johansen, WRAL anchor/reporter Raleigh, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper is looking forward to a new year. For Cooper, 2018 was marked by natural disasters, including two major hurricanes, incessant battles with a Republican-controlled legislature and high-profile failures on the economic development front. “I think it has been a year of opportunity mixed with hardship for North Carolina,” he said Friday in a year-end interview with WRAL News. “We’ve been rocked by two hurricanes,…