Nearly 30,000 people in Durham County rely on SNAP to help buy groceries and put food on their tables. As of October 1st, significant changes are coming to this vital program, but they might not be what you expect.

Starting Oct. 1, the federal government will decrease its contribution to the administrative costs of SNAP, dropping from 50% to just 25%. This means that states, like North Carolina, will need to cover the remaining 75%. For Durham County, this translates to an estimated additional cost of $2.1 million for the fiscal year, amounting to a total of about $7.8 million that the county will need to manage.Read the full story in Southpoint Access!

A teenager died after contracting primary amebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM, a rare and usually fatal brain infection caused by the amoeba Naegleria fowleri.

A state investigation identified an interactive garden water feature at El Futuro’s Durham clinic as the most likely source of exposure, although investigators couldn’t reach a definitive conclusion. The teenager reportedly splashed water on his face while visiting the feature Aug. 13. The infection occurs when contaminated water enters the nose, not when someone drinks it.

Investigators later detected nonliving Naegleria fowleri genetic material in the feature’s storage tank. They also documented algae, debris, and ineffective disinfection. No living Naegleria fowleri organisms were found when the samples were collected.

In this episode of Office Hours, Wes Platt examines what investigators found, what remains uncertain, and whether interactive water features where children play should be regulated like splash pads and swimming pools.

Read the full story at Southpoint Access, and share your perspective in the SoDu Town Square.

Wes Platt discusses the recent Durham Public Schools test scores, exploring what the numbers reveal about student progress, school performance, and how parents and administrators should interpret these results.

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