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Over 12,000 North Carolinians Obtain REAL ID Cards

The REAL ID is similar to a North Carolina driver's license, but has a gold star in the upper right-hand corner. Image courtesy NCDOT

More than 12,000 North Carolina residents have obtained REAL ID cards in the three weeks since they've been introduced.

The state Division of Motor Vehicles started issuing REAL IDs on May 1st.

The REAL ID looks like a regular driver's license, but has a gold star in the upper right hand corner. The star shows that you have met personal identification standards spelled out in a federal law passed in response to the terrorist attacks of 2001.

Applicants must provide documents including a birth certificate, a valid U.S. passport or immigration documents, and a Social Security or W-2 form.

According to the News and Observer, the optional ID cards will make it easier to board airplanes or enter federal facilities when stricter requirements go into effect in 2020.

A NCDOT spokesman issued a statement saying the department is thrilled that North Carolinians have embraced the new option so quickly.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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