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Once Pactiv Evergreen’s Canton paper mill shut down for good, people wondered how the Pigeon River and the aquatic life it supports would change. While the results have been promising with several species seeming to thrive, there is still plenty of room for improvement. Concerns have grown over what the mill has left behind during […]

Report for America, which has sent hundreds of journalists to buttress shrinking newsrooms, is phasing out its relationships with hedge fund-owned properties — a reviled group that includes some of the country’s largest newspaper companies. The pullout is the culmination of a two-year estrangement with the McClatchy Co., which severed its relationship with Report for […]

The town of Matthews pulled the plug on Zoom comments Tuesday after last week’s meeting drew a handful of people who connected remotely to make antisemitic, homophobic and otherwise bigoted remarks. Mayor John Higdon was out of town last week. He said he has heard the remote speakers described as Zoom-bombers, but he has a […]

The resignation of Greensboro City Manager Tai Jaiyeoba on Tuesday, March 5 is puzzling. The City Council is mute about why Jaiyeoba resigned. When asked why Jaiyeoba resigned, Mayor Nancy Vaughan said, “It was a personal decision.” When asked if it was related to the domestic violence incident at Jaiyeoba’s home on Dec. 28, 2023, […]

An India-based manufacturer located in Pender County is doubling facility size less than five years after arriving in the area. Polyhose Inc. is located in Pender Commerce Park and is set to take over 8 additional acres adjacent to the current 9-acre property. The company is known for manufacturing thermoplastic hoses in its warehouse and […]

The superintendent of the Alamance-Burlington School System resigned Monday, capping a short tenure marked since last summer by financial, public health and personnel crises. The Alamance-Burlington Board of Education held a specially called meeting at 10 a.m. Monday and immediately went into closed session to discuss personnel issues. Afterward, the board announced it had accepted […]

A brewery owner once facing multiple charges from citizen-initiated warrants and the Alcohol Enforcement Agency has found some reprieve. Gary Sholar, owner of Edward Teach Brewery, was charged with misdemeanors, including two counts of assault on a female and two counts of communicating threats. They were filed in citizen-initiated warrants by Asia Norris and Paige […]

Valencia Toomer saw the charter revocation coming for the School of the Arts for Boys Academy (SABA) in Chatham County. The director of what was at the time the state’s only all-boys public charter school was prepared. Weeks before the Charter School Review Board revoked SABA’s charter citing enrollment concerns, Toomer filed a “notice of […]

The Mara Salvatrucha, or MS13, is perhaps the most notorious street gang in the Western Hemisphere. While it has its origins in the poor, refugee-laden neighborhoods of 1980s Los Angeles, the gang’s reach now spans from Central America to Europe. A predatory criminal organization, the MS13 lives mostly from extortion. But the gang’s resilience owes […]

Highway signs welcome drivers entering North Carolina to “the nation’s most military friendly state,” and veterans here know they’re being courted. But in a state where camouflage-colored appeals have become commonplace, recent efforts by progressive groups to cut into what has long been a reliably red constituency face an early test on Super Tuesday. Among […]

Up until this week, Gerard Tate has been the sole employee of the N.C. Office of Violence Prevention. The new office, created last year by an executive order from Gov. Roy Cooper, now also has a deputy director to help coordinate with state and local leaders to reduce violence and increase public safety using a […]

Citing threats to the environment and public safety, the Dare County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution Monday that requests that the Coast Guard take immediate action to restore the Buxton beach access to its “pre-military condition.” Commissioner Danny Couch presented the resolution during the board’s regular meeting in Manteo. The resolution asks the […]

Durham’s ShotSpotter experiment ended Monday night. The city council rejected a three-year contract for the gunshot detection system by a vote of 4-2. Mayor Leonardo Williams and Mayor Pro-Tem Mark-Anthony Middletdon were the only council members who voted in favor. A one-year pilot program began in late 2022. Hidden microphones were placed in neighborhoods in […]

This spring will see the completion of the first major new building project in downtown Chapel Hill in almost a decade. No, it’s not one of the two wet labs the previous councils have approved in recent years. It’s also not the single downtown apartment building the previous council approved last year, after spending more […]

Lee County is one of the two fastest-growing markets for services provided by FirstHealth of the Carolinas. Mickey Foster, a Lee native and FirstHealth CEO, gave a brief overview of the not-for-profit health-care system based in Pinehurst at the Sanford Area Growth Alliance at Monday’s Public Policy Luncheon. FirstHealth of the Carolinas ranks among the […]