Greg Barnes, FayObserver.com

Greg Barnes

FayObserver.com

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Recent:
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Past:
  • FayObserver.com
  • Govtech.com
  • StarNewsOnline

Past articles by Greg:

North Carolina House energy bill still stirring debate

An energy bill that passed in the North Carolina house is causing a stir with reports of secrecy issues, converting coal plants to natural gas and more. → Read More

‘It's just not getting better': North Carolina riverkeepers cry foul over state’s farm law

Riverkeepers say a 2014 law calls into question whether the DEQ is thoroughly investigating complaints against NC’s industrial hog and poultry farms. → Read More

There are harmful chemicals in North Carolina’s waterways. Will lawmakers address the problem?

There are 10 bills concerning so-called “forever chemicals” that have contaminated NC waterways. Who is supporting them has become a partisan issue. → Read More

Court rejects Smithfield’s arguments, giving low-income neighbors of hog farms hope

A federal appeals court last month struck down most of Smithfield Foods’ arguments in a scathing rebuke to the industry’s pork production methods and its treatment of low-income neighbors. → Read More

Testing for lead in children declines in NC during coronavirus pandemic

Families are skipping well-child visits to pediatricians, who say that could pose major health risks. → Read More

What could happen in NC if the pandemic and a major hurricane collide?

As the coronavirus continues to cause chaos in North Carolina, forecasters predict an above-normal hurricane season. State officials urge people in at- → Read More

Research suggests link between PFAS contamination and the coronavirus

Studies say people with high levels of PFAS in their systems could be more susceptible to contracting COVID-19. → Read More

Fayetteville protest organizers say they don’t condone violence

Sometime Saturday afternoon, Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin and other city officials joined a march along Skibo Road that was held to protest the death → Read More

Smithfield’s largest slaughterhouse struggling to contain virus

No one will say how many workers at Smithfield’s Tar Heel plant have the coronavirus, but the plant has reduced employees’ hours in what they → Read More

Unraveling the life of ‘Baby Michael’s’ mother

Deborah Riddle O’Conner kept it secret for 21 years that she gave birth to ‘Baby Michael,’ the newborn found dead in a garbage bag along → Read More

Not all types of in-home water filters completely get rid of toxic PFAS

A new study finds that under-the-sink reverse osmosis systems work best at removing "forever chemicals," but they aren’t cheap. → Read More

New DEQ data shows ‘staggering’ levels of PFAS in Cape Fear River basin

The DEQ required 25 utilities in the basin, including in Fayetteville, to test for ‘forever chemicals’ at their sewer treatment plants for three months. One scientist called the results of those tests ‘incredibly high.’ → Read More

Duke study to determine chemicals' source, effects

On a windblown day in March, Emily Sutton wore rubber wading boots as she stood on the muddy banks of the Haw River and dipped a plastic sample bottle → Read More

Murky waters

The drinking fountains at Gray’s Creek and Alderman Road elementary schools will remain shut off when students return to classes in Cumberland County this month.Those students have been drinking bottled water since October 2017, when the schools’ wells were tested for the suspected carcinogen GenX. The test results revealed little GenX in the drinking water — none at the Alderman Road school and… → Read More

Fayetteville mother, 36, among deadly flu victims this year

To most people, it’s merely a statistic.Nearly 200 people have died in North Carolina from influenza or its complications so far this flu season — 199 to be precise.Each of those 199 people had a life, a family who loved them and a story to be told. Among them were infants, the elderly and everyone in between.Include Melissa Crady of Fayetteville in the group of 199.Melissa was born 36 years ago… → Read More

Bladen sheriff part of investigation into alleged election fraud

Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. worked for many candidates in Bladen, Cumberland, Wake, Mecklenburg and Robeson counties over the years.At least one of those → Read More

Ballot fraud: In Bladen County, bending rules is nothing new

In the oldest church in uptown Charlotte, Mark Harris invited some of the Republican Party’s heaviest hitters to campaign for him.Ted Cruz. Rick Santorum. Mike Huckabee. They all made appearances at First Baptist Church to speak on behalf of the preacher turned candidate for North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District.On two other occasions, President Trump campaigned for Harris at huge rallies… → Read More

Confusion, questionable spending mar hurricane recovery

Two homes that had stood alongside Campbell Avenue near downtown Fayetteville illustrate the confusion over federal hurricane-relief funding rules and the → Read More

'It's like we are the lost children of the flood'

Hundreds of homeowners were still waiting for Hurricane Matthew aid when Florence flooded the state all over again. Will this recovery be as slow and convoluted as the last? → Read More

Suspects of Haymount bank robbery arrested

A man accused of wearing a mask to rob First Citizen’s Bank on Broadfoot Avenue on Monday has been arrested, along with an accomplice, Fayetteville police said in a news release Thursday.Todd D. Williams, 27, of the 400 block of Culloden Place in Hope Mills, and Benny B. Thomas Jr., 35, of the 800 block of Cypress Church Road in Cameron, are charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and… → Read More