Kim Ratcliff

Apr 12, 2024 | wect.com | Kim Ratcliff

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Take a minute to think about how many things you still have around your house that are 70 years old. There’s probably not too many. Things seem to change so quickly, and it’s often out with the old and in with the new, but 70 years later WECT is still here bringing you the news that matters. At the turn of the century, after surviving the big scare of Y2K, our dependency on computers took off.

Mar 26, 2024 | wect.com | Kim Ratcliff

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - For thousands of people exercise and diet isn’t enough to lose weight. “Losing weight isn’t often times an issue of willpower. Sometimes people’s metabolism kind of has a set point where what they’re doing is no longer effective,” said Colston Edgerton, M.D. Bariatric Surgeon with Novant Health. That was the case for Latoya Barrett. She struggled with her weight for almost two decades, at one point weighing over 300 pounds. Her cholesterol was 232/111.

Mar 4, 2024 | wect.com | Kim Ratcliff

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Dyslexia, a learning disability that makes it difficult to read, affects one in five children in the U.S. Eight years ago, we did a story with a young student in second grade who had been recently diagnosed with the disorder. “Every student is different. We learned with Everlee that sometimes the letters would switch and she would have to look at a problem, a number, or a word and wait for it to sort of move back,” said Nicole Miller, Everlee’s mom.

Feb 5, 2024 | wect.com | Kim Ratcliff

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Freedom Bridge Animal Rescue is hoping to find answers after they had to euthanize a dog found in terrible shape. “I have never, I have never physically seen a dog this bad,” said Diana Topjian, FBAR founder and president. Two college students had found the dog near a dumpster in a parking lot across the street from UNCW. Freedom Bridge Animal Rescue volunteers named him Maverick. He weighed 38 pounds, at least 20 pounds lighter than he should be.

Dec 26, 2023 | wect.com | Kim Ratcliff

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The 2023 report from the North Carolina Housing Coalition shows 34% of households, approximately 32,083 people, are considered cost burdened. That means they spend more than one third of their income on their home. More than half, 19,409, are renters and 22%, 12,674, are homeowners. Nena Woods lives in Wilmington and has searched for two years to find an affordable place to live. She works full time but still struggled. “I have an awesome job. I work full time.