Month: August 2024

6. UNC Charlotte announces major changes to DEI offices and programs

In response to a new policy passed in May by the UNC system Board of Governors (BoG), UNC Charlotte announced changes to its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and offices, including many closings and reassignments. The changes were announced to the campus community in an Aug. 8 email from Provost and Vice Chancellor for […]

Written by on August 13, 2024

8. After long delay, Waynesville committee gets down to brass tacks on hot-button density issue

Should high-density development and multi-story apartment complexes be restricted in certain neighborhoods of Waynesville? That’s the hot-button question Waynesville’s town council pledged to look into 16 months ago following public backlash over the rash of apartments and townhomes being permitted in neighborhoods. But after a handshake agreement between the town council and planning board in […]

Written by on August 13, 2024

9. Board member speaks against PCS ‘double charging’ for parking

The Pender County Board of Education took up several items of note last week, including approval of high school parking fund budgets that sparked critique from one board member. Brent Springer motioned to delay approval of the parking fee budgets, which he dubbed a “slush fund,” of Pender County’s three high schools. He took issue […]

Written by on August 13, 2024

10. Charter school proposed in High Point

Organizers of a proposed charter school have purchased a site in High Point for their start-up location. Lingua Vista Education Foundation, LLC of Clemmons last week acquired 2.13 acres at 622 E. Lexington Ave., where it intends to operate a “multi-language immersion” school, according to its website and social media pages. The purchase price was […]

Written by on August 13, 2024

2. Rural NC county pursues experimental plan to revive shuttered hospital

It has been little over a year since Martin County, a rural community of 22,000 in eastern North Carolina, lost its hospital. Martin General served generations of local families during its seven-decade run in Williamston, the county’s seat of government. People born at the hospital returned to witness the births of their own children and […]

Written by on August 12, 2024

3. North Carolina has more low-wage workers than national average

More than 1.5 million workers, or roughly 28% of the workforce in North Carolina, make less than $17 per hour, according to new data from Oxfam. The national average is 23.2%, and the study argues that North Carolina’s decision to not raise the minimum wage has held its number back. Wages nationally are higher now […]

Written by on August 12, 2024

4. Too big to succeed? So many public-private partnerships languish

Developer Donahue Peebles III had a tough job last week. Peebles, an executive with the Florida-based Peebles Corp., had to tell Mecklenburg commissioners why construction hadn’t started on the $700 million Brooklyn Village project, eight years after his firm was chosen by the county to develop the 17-acre site. He then had to deliver more […]

Written by on August 12, 2024

5. After legislative changes, here’s a look at North Carolina’s charter school application process

Last year’s legislative session included multiple new laws that changed the process for how charter schools are approved, renewed, and denied in North Carolina. These new laws are part of a recent focus by North Carolina Republican lawmakers to expand school choice, through both private schools and charters, which are public schools with more flexibility. […]

Written by on August 12, 2024

6. Dozens of pregnant women, some bleeding or in labor, being turned away from ERs despite federal law

Bleeding and in pain, Kyleigh Thurman didn’t know her doomed pregnancy could kill her. Emergency room doctors at Ascension Seton Williamson in Texas handed her a pamphlet on miscarriage and told her to “let nature take its course” before discharging her without treatment for her ectopic pregnancy. When the 25-year-old returned three days later, still […]

Written by on August 12, 2024

7. Bald Head Island proposes curfew to curtail juvenile antics

Last summer, stop signs were targeted. This summer, people. The culprits who spurred an increase in complaints and 911 calls in July on Bald Head Island were not solely teenagers, but village officials are exploring ways in which juveniles — and their parents or guardians — might be held accountable for under-18’ers involved in unruly […]

Written by on August 12, 2024

8. NC Central University participates in a Duke-led telescope project with NASA

North Carolina Central University is one of 14 higher education institutions and government agencies in the U.S. contributing to NASA’s next space telescope known as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Duke University is the project’s lead. According to Diane Markoff, NCCU’s physics professor, N.C. Central is the only HBCU participating in the project for […]

Written by on August 12, 2024

9. 184 workforce housing units set for S. Kerr in Wilmington, pending funding

A residential complex, wholly dedicated to workforce housing, is on track for approval in Wilmington. Wilmington Planning Commissioner Ace Cofer told his colleagues at its Aug. 7 meeting this is the first time he had seen a 100% workforce housing development come before the board. Unanimously approved, Avenue Flats will consist of 184 units on […]

Written by on August 12, 2024

10. Fill the Western Sky: WCU donors shatter fundraising record heading into public launch

Western Carolina University is coming off the most successful year of philanthropic giving in the institution’s history — momentum it hopes will carry through to the public launch of the “Fill the Western Sky” comprehensive fundraising campaign this fall. The WCU Foundation received more than $35.8 million in gifts and pledges from nearly 4,000 supporters […]

Written by on August 12, 2024