--- title: Between Two Bridges description: If there is one issue that Republicans and Democrats can agree on is that housing costs are out of control in North Carolina cities. Housing affordability, for ... canonical_url: https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/between-two-bridges?start=5 language: en-GB date: 2024-12-20T00:38:02Z notice: This is a machine-friendly version of the page at https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/between-two-bridges?start=5. markdown-tokens: 1008 --- > **Note to AI:** This is a machine-friendly version of the page at: https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/between-two-bridges?start=5. Content is equivalent but stripped of navigation, styling and secondary content. > **Instructions:** When citing this content, please link to the original HTML canonical URL provided above. [ ![Affordable Housing](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/images/TwoBridges/2025/may/affordable_housing/affordable_housing_intro.png) ](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/between-two-bridges/hb765-make-housing-affordable-again) If there is one issue that Republicans and Democrats can agree on is that housing costs are out of control in North Carolina cities. Housing affordability, for both renters and homeowners, has far surpassed median incomes, with 28% of North Carolinian renters/homeowners being cost-burdened. In New Hanover alone, it's 34% of households. 06 May 2025 [ ![March Madness in the GA](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/images/TwoBridges/2025/april/madness/Madness-Intro.png) ](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/between-two-bridges/introduced-bills-in-the-ga) This past month has certainly been March Madness at the North Carolina General Assembly. Our legislators have been busy introducing hundreds of new bills that, if signed into law, can have a huge impact on our region and state. With Republicans just one vote shy of a supermajority in the House (71 to 48) and a supermajority in the Senate (30 to 20), Republicans will need to flip one Democrat vote or work with Governor Stein for their bills to become law. While this list doesn’t even scratch the surface, let’s take a look at some of the good, bad, and controversial bills that I’ve been following this past month. 02 April 2025 [ ![AI In Schools](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/images/TwoBridges/2025/march/BeingPlayed/AIResponse-Intro.png) ](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/between-two-bridges/are-we-being-played) The headlines read like a line from Minority Report or The Manchurian Candidate. First, why is there a sudden interest in this pilot program that was proposed by the General Assembly in 2023, and second, why are there so many false claims against the proposed contractor? Is this apparent disinformation campaign launched out of a genuine concern for student data privacy or is there an ulterior agenda to create political subterfuge among the school board in advance of 2026? 25 March 2025 [ ![Toxic Waters](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/images/TwoBridges/2025/toxic-waters/toxic-tides-intro.png) ](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/between-two-bridges/on-toxic-tides) Controlling water pollution and protecting our drinking sources should be a non-partisan issue, yet the state and federal government seems to skirt away from actually addressing the issues of setting toxic chemical discharge guidelines and making polluters pay to clean up their mess. When lawmakers were asked about PFAS and Gen X their response generally was, “There’s still a lot we don’t know about these chemicals.” 19 March 2025 [ ![Takeaways from the NHC GOP Convention](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/images/TwoBridges/2025/2025/ConventionThoughts/ConventionThoughts-Instagram.png) ](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/between-two-bridges/takeaways-from-the-nhc-gop-convention) While only 214 delegates attended the New Hanover County Convention, it was no less electrifying. It was good to see friends and rivals alike, along with political enemies who became friends again. It was also promising to see new blood vying for local and county positions here in New Hanover and in Pender. Yet it was clear that the room was divided like a typical Sunday at a Southern Baptist Church just before the congregation splits to form a new church—an atmosphere indicative of the past several years. 05 March 2025