Month: January 2025

1. Medicaid work requirements likely to be a priority for Republicans in Congress, NC legislature

Jaymie Baxley/NC Health News With President Donald Trump back in power, a Republican-led push for work requirements for Medicaid is gaining momentum. In recent days, Republican governors in South Carolina, Arkansas and Ohio have sought permission from the federal government to kick jobless beneficiaries off their states’ rolls. Russell T. Vought, nominated by Trump to […]

Written by on January 30, 2025

2. Four districts had damaged schools after Helene. How are they doing now?

Caroline Parker/Education NC Four schools took on so much damage during Hurricane Helene that their students needed to relocate. Some temporarily, some permanently. Public schools in Henderson, McDowell, Watauga, and Yancey counties had to pivot once students returned after the storm. Here are updates on those buildings from the superintendents who oversee the districts. Atkinson […]

Written by on January 30, 2025

3. Fellow GOP judge is a top donor in Jefferson Griffin’s legal fight

Rusty Jacobs/WUNC Radio Republican candidate Jefferson Griffin is getting financial help from fellow Court of Appeals judge Tom Murry in his legal battle to win a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court. That contribution raises ethical questions the state’s judicial code of conduct does not clearly answer. In November, barely a week after Election […]

Written by on January 30, 2025

4. Instrumental in Helene aftermath, Mission Health ‘back to their old ways’

Jane Winik Sartwell/Carolina Public Press Asheville’s Mission Health has been trying to help the city recover in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene. But medical staff and state officials have not softened their stance toward the beleaguered hospital. New North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, for one, is not backing down from his office’s lawsuit […]

Written by on January 30, 2025

5. ‘This land is not fallow.’ RDU hears pleas to leave Lake Crabtree park alone.

Richard Stradling/The (Raleigh) News & Observer Raleigh-Durham International Airport’s governing board held a meeting Wednesday to hear ideas for redeveloping part of Lake Crabtree County Park. Instead, for more than 3 1/2 hours, the board mostly heard why people think the park should remain as it is. RDU is looking for ways to generate income […]

Written by on January 30, 2025

6. Helene throws a wrench in river debris removal from Fred

Becky Johnson/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer Work to remove tree trunks, stumps and natural debris strewn in creeks and rivers by Fred flooding in 2021 had finally gotten underway — but was abruptly put on pause after Helene hit That’s because the federal funding awarded to Haywood County to remove Fred debris can’t be used to remove […]

Written by on January 30, 2025

7. East Charlotte bracing for change

Marshall Terry/WFAE Radio This week The Charlotte Ledger Business Newsletter focused its attention on East Charlotte, which is undergoing tremendous change. At the heart of it is Eastland Yards, an 80-acre mixed-use development on the former Eastland Mall site. The Charlotte Ledger’s Tony Mecia joins me now for more. Marshall Terry: So, construction is underway […]

Written by on January 30, 2025

8. Ports, suppliers in 40 states are invested in offshore wind

Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online The nation’s burgeoning offshore wind energy industry has created thousands of jobs, boosted work in shipyards and ports, and includes a supply chain that spans 40 states, according to a new report. Billions of dollars have been invested in things like new and retrofitted vessels for offshore wind developers, ports infrastructure, […]

Written by on January 30, 2025

9. WS/FCS won’t hire applicants who test positive for cannabis

Amy Diaz/WFDD Radio The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education voted against a policy change that would have allowed the district to hire applicants who test positive for cannabis. The district’s current policy states that candidates with positive drug tests would not be eligible for employment for six months. If they reapply later and pass their […]

Written by on January 30, 2025

10. Deal to expand Eno River State Park in Hillsborough made official; historic speedway added to park system

Brighton McConnell/WCHL Chapelboro  After nearly four years of negotiations and planning, a major acquisition of land in Hillsborough officially added more than 200 acres and a popular historical attraction to the Eno River State Park. The North Carolina State Parks system announced Tuesday that property, including the Historic Occoneechee Speedway and the James M. Johnston […]

Written by on January 30, 2025

Hurricane recovery update

Gov. Josh Stein’s Helene-recovery team spent much of a Wednesday hearing with a House oversight committee trying to manage expectations about how much and how quickly western North Carolina can bounce back from last fall’s storm. Given an almost $60 billion need, and only about $15.7 billion currently likely to come from the relief bill […]

Written by on January 30, 2025

House committee assignments set

House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, finally announced his chamber’s committee assignments for the 2025-26 sessions, and as with the Senate’s there are some changes. Perhaps the most notable is that Rep. John Torbett, R-Gaston, is no longer co-chairing the House’s Education/K-12 committee. The panel’s leaders for this biennium are Reps. Brian Biggs, Tricia Cotham and […]

Written by on January 30, 2025

A trade war warning

The board chair of a Canadian car-parts maker that has four facilities in North Carolina has issued a dire warning about the impact of a potential U.S.-Canada trade war. If “10% or 25% or, in my opinion, almost anything in the way of tariffs is imposed on auto parts crossing the (Canada-U.S.) border, I think […]

Written by on January 30, 2025

1. Trump White House rescinds memo freezing federal money after widespread confusion

Chris Megerian, Zeke Miller & Lisa Mascaro/The Associated Press President Donald Trump’s budget office on Wednesday rescinded a memo freezing spending on federal loans and grants, less than two days after it sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country. The memo, which was issued Monday by the Office of Management and Budget, had […]

Written by on January 29, 2025

2. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools reading scores flat amidst national decline, data show

James Farrell/WFAE Radio Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ fourth-grade reading scores were higher than the average for large urban districts across the country, and around average for eighth graders, according to the latest Nation’s Report Card, the results of federal assessments administered by the National Center for Education. But overall, reading scores have remained largely stagnant since 2022, […]

Written by on January 29, 2025