www.thecentersquare.com – By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor – (The Center Square – ) 2025-07-14 09:01:00
Dan Apple left college in 1990, halfway through his degree at UNC Greensboro, believing he could succeed without finishing. After building a career in business and family responsibilities, he regretted not completing his education. Today, at age 55, Apple has reenrolled through the UNC System’s partnership with ReUp Education, a program helping about 1 million North Carolinians who left college to return. Ten UNC universities participate, offering easy reentry and financial aid. Apple appreciates the modern online learning environment and is more committed now. Since 2023, over 600 students have earned degrees via ReUp, reflecting strong institutional support for adult learners.
(The Center Square) – In 1990, Dan Apple was more than halfway through his undergraduate education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro when he decided to leave school for the workforce.
“I mistakenly thought that I knew everything and would be fine without finishing college,” Apple told The Center Square. “It didn’t take long to figure out that it wasn’t true. But by that time, I’ve had a wife, I had a kid, responsibilities. House payments.”
Apple, co-valedictorian of his high school class, did well in the business world without a degree, working first as a dispatcher for a trucking company and later owning a freight brokerage company. More recently, he has worked as a project manager for a precast concrete company.
As he grew older, Apple began to wish that he had finished college.
“Many of the people I deal with are engineers,” he said. “There are people with master’s in business administration degrees. There are lawyers. There is just a myriad of higher education that I am dealing with every day.”
He is not alone. There are an estimated 1 million North Carolinians who left college before earning their degree, according to the National Student Clearinghouse.
The University of North Carolina System is working with a company, ReUp Education, to help students like Apple return to college even decades after they left. Ten universities in the UNC System are participating, including UNC Greensboro, where Apple has reenrolled thanks to guidance from the program.
He expects to earn his degree by the end of this year at the age of 55.
“I sent in a request for information and within minutes I got an e-mail and we set up a time for a phone call,” Apple said. “It was a super easy process to get started. All my questions were answered immediately.”
His first class was a summer course in U.S. History. It was a lot different than the college classes he remembered.
“The world changed from 1990 to 2024,” he said. “There was no such thing as a laptop computer when I quit college. Now we are doing everything online.”
This time around, Apple has taken his college classes much more seriously than he did in the first round.
“I am a much better student than I ever was,” Apple said.
Shun Robertson, the system’s senior vice president for Policy and Strategy told the Center Square University System President Peter Hans has a “keen interest” in adult learners.
Since 2023, more than 600 North Carolina students have earned their degrees through the Reup program, Robertson said. The Legislature has funded financial aid options for the returning students as well.
“These are students who have already invested in their education but had to pause before completing their degree,” Robertson said. “ReUp gives us a proactive way to say, ‘We haven’t forgotten about you. We are going to help you finish what you started.”
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This article primarily reports on an educational initiative without expressing a clear ideological stance. The content focuses on the personal story of a student returning to college and the University of North Carolina System’s program to support returning students. The language is factual and neutral, showcasing details such as the ease of re-enrollment, changes in education over time, and legislative support for financial aid. There is no evident framing or tone that favors a specific political ideology; rather, it highlights a nonpartisan effort to improve access to education for adults. Thus, the article adheres to neutral, factual reporting rather than promoting a particular political viewpoint.
SUMMARY: As fall approaches, updated FDA guidelines restrict COVID-19 vaccine eligibility primarily to those 65 and older or younger high-risk individuals with underlying conditions like asthma, diabetes, or heart issues. Raleigh pharmacy manager Santa Rita Christian notes customers must meet these criteria or have a prescription. The CDC will review these updates next month, influencing insurance coverage. CVS now requires prescriptions for vaccines in North Carolina and 12 other states due to unclear ACIP guidance, causing pharmacy confusion. Health experts urge parents to consult healthcare providers about risks, especially for young children and high-risk contacts.
The vaccines are approved for use in people 65 and older, as well as those younger with at least one health condition that makes them high-risk.
Dozens of North Carolina communities face uncertainty after FEMA canceled over $200 million in flood-mitigation grants from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. Forest City, awarded $2.6 million for water and sewer improvements, lost critical funding amid FEMA’s April 2025 termination of BRIC, deemed “wasteful and ineffective.” Seventy-two communities with active projects were affected, prompting bipartisan congressional opposition and a lawsuit led by North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, arguing FEMA’s action was illegal. Some projects continue with obligated funds, while others seek alternative funding. Local officials express frustration over the political fallout impacting essential infrastructure resilience efforts.
by Lucas Thomae, Carolina Public Press August 29, 2025
Dozens of North Carolina communities are in limbo after FEMA canceled more than $200 million worth of grants for flood-mitigation projects earlier this year in the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant program, also known as BRIC.
For Forest City in Rutherford County, the now defunct grant program was meant to be a safety net. Flooding along the Second Broad River exposed the area’s vulnerability to heavy rainfall five years ago, when rising water smashed debris into a main line and cut off running water to Forest City and the nearby towns of Ellenboro and Bostic.
Repair work following the storm revealed more problems.
Erosion along the river left Forest City’s sewer system and raw water intake at risk of flood damage, but the town didn’t have the money to fix it. Federal emergency management officials told town officials that they would be a good fit for a new grant program aimed at pre-disaster mitigation.
Through its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant program, FEMA awarded Forest City $2.6 million for improvements to the town’s water and sewer systems. The project was well into the planning and design process when the federal government revoked the grant.
FEMA announced the end of the BRIC program and canceled all applications from fiscal years 2020 through 2023 on April 4, calling the program created during President Donald Trump’s first term “wasteful and ineffective” in press releases.
In total, 72 North Carolina communities with active BRIC-funded projects worth about $225 million were affected.
Town officials across the state told Carolina Public Press that the mitigation projects they view as essential to keeping their communities safe are now caught in a federal political battle in Washington.
“I don’t consider water and sewer projects to be political or woke,” Town Manager Janet Mason said.
Neither did a bipartisan group of 80 members of Congress, which released a letter addressed to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson shortly after the grant program’s termination, urging them to reverse the decision.
“BRIC funds are spurring communities across the country to strengthen their resilience to extreme weather, and forgoing these critical investments will only make it harder and more expensive for communities to recover from the next storm,” the letter read.
Instead, the legislators suggested that FEMA and Congress work together to improve the grant program’s application review and funding distribution processes.
Sen. Thom Tillis and Rep. Chuck Edwards, both North Carolina Republicans, helped craft the letter. Rep. Don Davis, a Democrat representing the northeastern part of the state, and Rep. Alma Adams, a Democrat representing Charlotte, were the other two members of North Carolina’s Congressional delegation to add their signatures.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to CPP’s request for a comment on pushback from lawmakers and local governments over the ending of the BRIC program.
Meanwhile, the communities with active BRIC-funded projects have been left to wait as the future of those funds is litigated in court. North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson joined 19 other U.S. states in suing Noem and Richardson last month, arguing that FEMA’s termination of the grant program was illegal.
First, it argues that a 2006 federal law protecting FEMA from being dissolved also prevents the government from “substantially reducing FEMA’s mitigation functions.”
Secondly, the complaint states that FEMA’s refusal to spend funds directed towards the BRIC grant program by Congress violates the legislature’s power of the purse, as granted by the Constitution.
Lastly, it claims that Richardson and his predecessor Cameron Hamilton, who was removed from his position as acting FEMA administrator on May 8, did not have legal authority to end the BRIC program because neither were ever confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Those plaintiff states won a small victory on Aug. 5 when a United States District Judge placed an injunction on preventing the federal government from spending the BRIC funds until the court gives a final decision.
As noted in the lawsuit, FEMA had planned to return about $882 million of the BRIC funds to the U.S. Treasury and another $4 billion to its Disaster Relief Fund, which is reserved for post-disaster spending.
While many BRIC-funded projects in North Carolina have been put on pause as the federal money is withheld, some projects which have begun construction using already-obligated funds continue to advance.
Such is the case with Princeville, a low-lying community in Edgecombe County which was awarded $11 million to develop a 53-acre plot of land outside of the floodplain which encompasses much of the town.
Princeville Mayor Bobby Jones told CPP that the town continues to draw BRIC funds to work on the project.
Other communities, like Salisbury in Rowan County, are actively searching for alternative funding sources to complete their BRIC projects.
Salisbury was previously awarded $22.5 million through BRIC to relocate its existing water treatment facilities to a location more resilient to flooding. Utilities director Jason Wilson told CPP that the site of the new facilities is shovel-ready, which the city hopes makes it an attractive candidate for other grant programs.
The city intends to apply for FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which unlike BRIC is a post-disaster relief program. Salisbury is eligible to apply since Rowan County was included in the federally declared disaster area following Hurricane Helene.
The City of Lumberton is also searching for a new source of funding for stream restoration, wetland preservation and trail construction projects, which it received a $1.9 million BRIC grant for several years ago.
The Robeson County city, which sits on the Lumber River, has been working since 2016 to develop land it bought from property owners following Hurricane Matthew into an expansive public trails system.
Deputy City Manager Brandon Love told CPP that he’s optimistic that the city will find an alternate source of funding to keep the project moving forward, but it’s nonetheless a disappointing development after years of planning.
“Getting caught up in the politics of things going on in Washington is hitting home here at the local level,” Love said, “and that’s unfortunate.”
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
The content presents a critical view of the cancellation of a federal grant program initiated under the Trump administration, highlighting bipartisan concern and legal challenges against the decision. It emphasizes the negative local impacts and frames the termination as a politically motivated action that harms community safety and resilience efforts. The article leans slightly left by focusing on government responsibility in disaster mitigation and portraying the current administration’s actions as detrimental, while also acknowledging bipartisan opposition and including voices from both Republican and Democratic officials.
SUMMARY: After Hurricane Helene caused flooding and damage to western North Carolina’s Biltmore Estate and surrounding areas, Visit NC launched marketing campaigns to revive tourism. Initially urging in-state residents and visitors to cautiously return, they shifted to the “Rediscover the Unforgettable” campaign, promoting outdoor activities and local attractions. Despite sluggish tourism in 2025, spending remained near 2024 levels. Visit NC invested nearly $14 million in targeted advertising, leveraging social media influencers to counter negative online flood imagery impacting visitor sentiment. Support from Governor Josh Stein, a vocal advocate for the region’s recovery, has been crucial in maintaining positive momentum and encouraging travel.
