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Julie Rose

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Politics
4:00 pm
Mon April 29, 2013

Transportation Nominee A Loyal Foot Soldier For Obama

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Originally published on Mon April 29, 2013 4:48 pm

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx has been nominated to head the U.S. Department of Transportation in President Obama's final term. What the soon-to-be 42-year old mayor lacks in transportation credentials, he makes up for in loyalty to the President and a shared vision of the need for better transit systems.

Business
4:38 am
Mon February 25, 2013

Insurance Industry Lab Creates Indoor Hailstorm

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Originally published on Mon February 25, 2013 8:11 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Bad weather can mean big losses for homeowners and insurance companies. So recently, the insurance industry built a laboratory in rural Richburg, South Carolina in hopes of developing more weather-resistant buildings. The latest experiment was a giant, indoor hailstorm.

Julie Rose of member station WFAE takes us inside.

JULIE ROSE, BYLINE: Tanya Brown has had a single obsession these past two years...

TANYA BROWN: I'm a research engineer and the lead engineer on this project.

ROSE: How to make hail.

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Around the Nation
3:09 pm
Tue February 19, 2013

Cold War Bunker Network Repurposed For 21st Century Threats

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Credit Courtesy of Jerry Dowd
WBT radio's bomb shelter in Charlotte, N.C., part of a government-funded emergency communications network, as it looked in 1963.
Credit Julie Rose / WFAE
WBT chief engineer Jerry Dowd sits at the shelter's console. All of the bunker's communications equipment is still functional.
Credit Lauren McFadden / FEMA
FEMA has constructed new buildings known as Primary Entry Point Stations, like this one in Fresno, Calif., to support the nation's Emergency Alert System.
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Originally published on Tue February 19, 2013 5:42 pm

There's an underground bunker at a radio station in Charlotte, N.C., where time has stopped. Built decades ago to provide safety and vital communications in the event of a nuclear attack, it's now a perfectly preserved relic of Cold War fear that's gained new relevance.

The secret bunker is part of the office lore that old-timers at WBT Radio whisper to the newbies. That's how radio host Mike Collins learned of it back in the 1980s.

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The Salt
1:36 pm
Tue December 18, 2012

One Airport's Trash Is 2 Million Worms' Treasure

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Credit Julie Rose
Charlotte Douglas International Airport has deployed an army of 1.9 million worms to eat through its organic waste. The airport has reduced the trash it sends to the landfill by 70 percent.
Credit Julie Rose
Organic waste ends up in a series of 50-foot beds where the worms do their work. Castings (aka worm poop) fall through a screen at the bottom of the bed and will be used as fertilizer on airport grounds.
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Originally published on Thu December 20, 2012 2:16 pm

Food waste is not just a problem for restaurants — airports also have to deal with piles of this kind of garbage.

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Around the Nation
3:24 pm
Mon October 22, 2012

Mug Shot Time? Wipe That Smile Off Your Face

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Credit Jennifer Lang of WFAE
Say cheese? A sampling of smiling mug shots posted to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's website during the past three weeks.
Credit Mecklenburg County Sheriff
Occupy Charlotte protester Scottie Wingfield's mug shot.
Credit Julie Rose / NPR
Jason Dow says this is the smile he tried to make for his mug shot last week. It landed him in lockdown for 12 hours.
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Originally published on Mon October 22, 2012 5:46 pm

In one North Carolina county, mugging too much for a mug shot can get you locked in a cell indefinitely.

First off, though, why would you smile for a mug shot? Thumb through those publications like The Slammer magazine filled with nothing but mug shots and you can find entire sections of people grinning it up.

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