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We get it: Recycling can be confusing. Do you keep the bottle caps on plastic water bottles or take them off? Should you break down cardboard boxes before putting them in the bin? What about office paper with staples? Do you have to take the staples out?

Charlotte is known for its abundance of trees. Where can you find the biggest, oldest ones in the city?

Across North Carolina, health care workers are rolling up their sleeves to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The first shipments of vaccine doses arrived at hospitals this week after being developed and approved in record time. So how does the vaccine work? And when can you expect to get a shot? FAQ City answers your questions.

Charlotte’s skyline is a hit on Instagram. Where are the best spots to get panoramic pictures of the city?

Lately, there’s been a lot of focus on whose names are in history books and on monuments, streets and buildings, especially after the recent protests over racial injustice. So how can you request to have a Charlotte street renamed?

School looks different for most students these days because of the coronavirus pandemic. But whether classes are in person or online, a lot of Charlotte-area high schools start very early in the morning.

Carolyn Osberger's desire to support Black-owned businesses lead her to food trucks. Charlotte has at least 125 food trucks and they serve all kinds of cuisine: dumplings, tacos, barbecue, empanadas, curry, wings, ice cream.

Editor's note: A version of this story was originally published in January 2020.

It’s hurricane season in the Atlantic, and scientists say this year could be one of the busiest on record. We’ve already had a record number of named storms -- from Arthur to Marco -- and at least five people were killed as Hurricane Isaias swept up the East Coast several weeks ago.

If you’ve ever looked at the Charlotte skyline at night, you might have noticed that sometimes all of the buildings are lit up the same color — all red for Valentine’s Day or all blue for a Panthers game.

It’s been about two months since protests first erupted in Charlotte over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Here, across the U.S. and the world, people took to the streets to demonstrate against police brutality and the mistreatment of Black people. We’ll take a look back at those protests and answer your questions about policing and protesting.

Schools in Charlotte and across North Carolina have been closed since mid-March because of the coronavirus. Online classes became the new norm. Many in-person graduations, sporting events and proms were canceled. Now, state health officials say North Carolina’s coronavirus trends are moving in the wrong direction. As fall draws closer, what’s next for schools? Will buildings reopen?

People in North Carolina are now required to wear face masks in many public places. It’s part of an executive order issued by Gov. Roy Cooper that takes effect at 5 p.m. Friday, June 26. When and where do you have to wear a mask? Can you get a ticket for not wearing one? We answer those questions and others.

Few Charlotteans may remember Earle Village, the public housing community built in First Ward just outside uptown. It was a bustling community that stretched from 6th Street to 10th Street, roughly bordered by Myers Street and Caldwell Street. It was the place where 400 of the city's poorest families resided — until the village was condemned to demolition in the 1990s.

This weekend... this week... this month... has been a lot.

Gov. Roy Cooper has begun gradually reopening North Carolina in a series of three phases. If you're not sure what to expect under each of those three phases, don't worry! You're not alone. Lots of WFAE listeners have been writing in with questions, and we're here to help.

For decades, a four-foot gold statue has stood at the intersection of Queens and Providence roads in Charlotte, his right index finger extended. Sometimes he's dressed up for sporting events or weddings at the Methodist church next door. For an extended period beginning September 2017, he disappeared from the intersection, leaving only a few patches of monkey grass where his pedestal stood.

We're now more than a month into the coronavirus crisis in North Carolina with still no end in sight, and the number of people out of work continues to climb higher and higher. According to some estimates, the U.S. unemployment rate could touch 16% by July -- higher than at any point since the Great Depression.

Hard to believe that just a month ago, the Charlotte area was still gearing up for all the usual springtime events. Our kitchen calendars still had spaces blocked off for college commencement, spring break, and opening day at the ballpark. Perhaps you were planning to hit the gym or the hair salon to look good for summer.