Evey Weisblat/CityView A provision in the North Carolina Senate-approved budget plan could eliminate millions of dollars Fayetteville receives each year for street maintenance and repairs through the Powell Bill. The Powell Bill provides municipalities with funds to pay for a range of street improvements and repairs, and it has done so since 1951, according to […]
Felicia Sonmez/Blue Ridge Public Radio A community member examines renderings of the I-26 Connector project during an NCDOT open house Thursday, April 24, 2025 in Asheville. The Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Asheville Hotel was full of activity. Dozens of people were milling about, examining maps on posters and TV screens, reading pamphlets and peppering […]
Kip Tabb/Outer Banks Voice There were some fireworks on the second day of the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission (CRC) on May 1, as Commissioner Jordan Hennessy made a motion to withdraw the lawsuit the CRC has filed against the state’s Rules Review Commission (RRC). In October 2023, the state legislature passed a law allowing […]
Michelle Crouch/NC Health News & Charlotte Ledger If you’ve ever been hit with a slew of confusing bills after a hospital stay, had a long wait for an insurance approval or struggled to pay an unexpectedly high medical bill, you know how frustrating health care in North Carolina can be. In fact, by at least […]
Peter Castagno/Port City Daily A national report called for stronger tenant protection laws after finding states with the largest concentrations of private equity apartment ownership do not sufficiently guard against exorbitant rent increases and poor maintenance practices. This includes North Carolina. Private equity firms use loans and pooled capital from investors to buy up companies, […]
Mebane Rash/Education NC Plans to close the U.S. Department of Education have come with repeated assurances from President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon that federal dollars will continue to flow and services to students will not be disrupted. But a first look at what’s called a “skinny budget” shows cuts to line item […]
Jack Brook/The Associated Press The textile mills that once served as the backbone of Mount Pleasant, North Carolina, have long been shuttered, and officials believed federal money would be key to the town’s overdue revitalization. They hoped an improved stormwater drainage system and secured electrical wires — funded through a program to help communities protect […]
Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online Coastal towns and large homeowner associations representing beachfront properties now have the choice to install a controversial alternative to sand fencing on ocean-facing shores. The North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission last week amended a rule to allow those entities to apply for a permit to place wheat straw bales on ocean […]
Tiana Kennell/Asheville Citizen Times On April 30, Molly Hastings, an Asheville resident, purchased a dozen eggs for $7 from Sugar Hollow Farm at the River Arts District Tailgate Market. Eggs are typical farmers’ market purchases, as she prefers buying directly from farmers instead of chain grocery stores. “They taste better. They look better. They’re cheaper […]
There’s no shortage of bills pending in both chambers that would address AI and its uses, but House Deputy Majority Whip Jake Johnson, R-Polk, is sponsoring one that’s actually on the move. House Bill 934 has two parts, and for business folks, the more interesting is the second. It would immunize AI developers from liability […]
Rep. Brian Biggs, R-Randolph, wants the House and Senate to lay down what he calls some “clear guidance” to cities and counties about the handling of homeless encampments. House Bill 781 would ban them on public property by default, but it would allow cities and counties to designate certain properties for use by encampments for […]
Emily Walkenhorst & Destinee Patterson/WRAL News After a hacker accessed the digital records of students worldwide, including perhaps millions in North Carolina, the company that was breached — PowerSchool — began assuring families that the exposed data was no longer at risk of ending up in the hands of other bad actors. What the company […]
Sarah Michels/Carolina Public Press Western North Carolinians need bridges in more ways than one. Seven months after Tropical Storm Helene hit the region, many feel at a standstill. Federal money is in the pipeline, but may not arrive for months — or even years. State funding is coming in waves, but a focus on matching […]
Katie Dukes/Education NC “I’ve been an advocate for a long time. I love children. I love families. But at some point, your hands are tied. What can you do?” That’s what Cassandra Brooks, owner and operator of Little Believer’s Academy, says she’s been asking herself lately. She kept her small business running with the help […]
Nell Greenfieldboyce/WUNC Radio The Trump administration is sharpening its attacks on the National Science Foundation, the government agency that is a major funder of basic science, math and engineering, especially at colleges and universities across the United States. The latest salvo: a preliminary budget request from the White House that would cut $4.7 billion, or […]
