Rose Hoban/NC Health News Work on a major renovation of the State Public Health Laboratory screeched to a halt in late March when the administration of President Donald Trump notified states that the federal government was halting some $11 billion in post-pandemic aid that was scheduled to be distributed to the states. The state lab, […]
Andrew Marshall/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer May 7 is the day that the TSA will start requiring a REAL ID to fly domestically. But, “we don’t call it a deadline,” said North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles Communications Director Marty Hofman. “A lot of people think that it’s mandatory and they have to have it by May […]
Pat Kimbrough/The High Point Enterprise High Point-based Blue Ridge Cos. has delegated part of its operations to a third party as it seeks to grow other aspects of its business. It recently hired another firm to manage the more than 10,000 apartment units across the 35 residential complexes it owns. Blue Ridge Cos. will continue […]
Scott D. Yost/Rhino Times Residents of the town of Oak Ridge showed up in force at the Guilford County Commissioners meeting on Thursday evening, May 1, to voice their strong opposition to a proposed natural gas pipeline that would cut through their community. They cited threats to safety, water quality, the climate and more. The […]
Paul Garber/WFDD Radio Four graduates of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts have been nominated for Tony Awards. Paul Tazewell is having a good run this year. In March, he became the first Black man to win an Oscar for costume design for his work on the film Wicked. Now he’s up […]
Charlie Fossen/Port City Daily Representatives of Pender County and Pender EMS and Fire sat down Thursday to discuss a merger in the works. The meeting took place as outside counsel for EMS also sent a letter to the county regarding concerns on how it’s being handled. Attorney Timberly Southerland of Fox Rothschild — a law […]
Legislative Black Caucus leaders want State Auditor Dave Boliek and his staff to investigate the state’s assisted-living industry. Federal data from February of this year indicates that for-profit care homes “generate eight times more substantiated complaints per residence than nonprofits,” said Sen. Kandie Smith, D-Pitt. “That is not a rounding error,” she said on Thursday. […]
Senate leader Phil Berger is voicing cautious optimism about the Stein administration’s choice of a new Division of Motor Vehicles commissioner. The N.C. Department of Transportation announced this week that former state Rep. Paul Tine will take over from incumbent Commissioner Wayne Goodwin as of May 6. Berger said his optimism isn’t a function of […]
With the House having already passed its bill to regulate pharmacy benefit managers, the Senate is on track to vote early next week on its own competing version. Senate Rules committee members agreed Thursday to send Senate Bill 479, the so-called SCRIPT Act, to the floor. That sets up a floor vote on Tuesday or […]
House members would hit local governments in the pocketbook in some cases if their actions in a land-use dispute wind up sparking court action. By a 67-39 vote, the chamber passed House Bill 913 on Thursday and sent it on to the Senate. The bill includes a section that would allow landowners or developers to […]
Peter Castagno/Port City Daily A judge with enduring influence over environmental policy was nominated to the agency responsible for setting Duke Energy’s rates. His controversial history ranges from handling Duke’s coal ash pollution a decade ago to striking down 1,4-dioxane regulation last year — and his spouse is chair of a lobby group funded by […]
Steve Harrison/WFAE Radio The Metropolitan Transit Commission rejected on Wednesday a request from the town of Matthews to study a different funding split for a proposed one-cent sales tax increase for transportation. Matthews had proposed spending 45% of the sales money on rail transit instead of 40%. The town hopes that more money for trains […]
Kyle Perrotti/Smoky Mountain News Rep. Mark Pless is taking heat from local paramedics and EMTs after introducing a pair of bills that first responders say will weaken their ability to provide emergency care. With the bills, Pless, himself a former paramedic, again lives up to his reputation of being controversial and confrontational. However, he also […]
Jane Winik Sartwell/Carolina Public Press The State Health Plan is deeply in debt. To get out of the red, the 750,000 employees who receive coverage will experience something many were hoping to avoid: the first significant premium increase in nearly a decade. It’s part of the strategy from Brad Briner, North Carolina’s treasurer, to pay […]
Adam Wagner/WUNC Radio A bill giving State Auditor Dave Boliek more power to fire or discipline some employees in his office advanced Tuesday, despite concerns from the State Employees Association of North Carolina. Under House Bill 549, any employees the Auditor’s Office hires after July 1 would be exempt from the State Human Resources Act. […]
