Gov. Bev Perdue announced Wednesday that $750,000 in grants have been awarded for 13 projects designed to help North Carolina towns and counties restore streams, reduce erosion, study storm water management and benefit other water resources.   

“Protecting the environment makes North Carolina more attractive to residents and businesses,” Gov. Perdue said. “These improvements in our rivers and lakes are crucial in our efforts to recruit new jobs to North Carolina and to maintain the outstanding quality of life we’ve come to expect.”

The N.C. Division of Water Resources awarded the funds as a part of its 2012 fall grant cycle for the Water Resources Development Project Grant Program.

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!, an exhibition on comets, asteroids and meteors arrives Saturday, September 29, at Catawba Science Center (CSC).

Begin your visit as a novice astronomer and leave feeling like an expert after learning about the origins of our solar system and discovering facts about asteroids, comets and meteors. Various exhibits and activities will explain the difference in these objects, how they are formed and their relationship to planets and stars.

Participants will learn about impending dangers presented by asteroids and develop solutions on a computer-based simulator. Visitors will even have the chance to simulate a meteorite’s impact.

This exhibition was developed by the Space Science Institute, with assistance from Catawba Science Center and its 2008-2010 Student Advisory Team. This temporary exhibit will engage guests young and old in a variety of hands-on activities. .

NORTH CAROLINA - State air quality officials say smoke from a wildfire in eastern North Carolina is no longer generating elevated concentrations of air pollution, thanks to firefighting efforts and heavy rainfall during the weekend.

For the past seven days, monitors had detected elevated concentrations of particle pollution in parts of eastern North Carolina due to smoke from the Dad Fire, which began June 17 in the Croatan National Forest. Smoke from wildfires can create extremely small particles and liquid droplets that can be harmful to breathe and contribute to haze and other air quality problems.