Liz Bell/Education NC State lawmakers passed legislation this week to change child care regulations with a stated goal of expanding child care access by reducing costs for providers. The bill heads to the governor for his signature. “Most of these provisions allow for flexibilities and reforms that are aimed at either staffing or property, because […]
Lucas Thomae/Carolina Public Press A recent federal policy brief on North Carolina’s past child welfare reform efforts didn’t mince words: “Children in North Carolina suffer the consequences of an inadequate child welfare system.” But a sweeping bill that Gov. Josh Stein signed Thursday after unanimous passage last week by the General Assembly holds out hope […]
Kelly Kenoyer/WHQR A sign inside the space that Vigilant Hope uses behind the Lake Forest Baptist Church. Vigilant Hope along with many other faith-based organizations provide a wide variety of services including meals, laundry services, and free mobile showers. Saturday marks the one-year anniversary for the Supreme Court’s landmark Grants Pass v. Johnson decision, which […]
Colin Campbell/WUNC Radio The state legislature gave final approval this week to three different bills to ban diversity, equity and inclusion policies and programs. One bill would put the prohibition in state government agencies. Another would ban DEI at public universities and community colleges. And the third would impact K-12 public schools. All three passed […]
Sophia Walsh/Port City Daily Brunswick County’s fastest-growing town is poised to expand development rules in its most vulnerable areas — a move that could reshape how and where homes are built across thousands of acres. Following a unanimous approval that was made by the Leland planning board on Tuesday, June 24, town council will soon […]
Pat Kimbrough/The High Point Enterprise Plans to redevelop a former High Point retirement center property have been slowed by high construction costs, contractor disputes and vandalism at the site. John Hannon, whose company owns the long-vacant high-rise portion of the old Presbyterian Home at 2911 Jamestown Parkway (formerly Greensboro Road), said he still plans to […]
Andrew Marshall/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer The crucial thoroughfare of Interstate 40 through the gorge between Tennessee and North Carolina has re-opened. North Carolina Department of Transportation workers moved barricades blocking the ramp getting on the interstate at Exit 20 just after noon on Friday. Currently, one lane is open in each direction. The re-opening was first […]
Jack Evans/Asheville Watchdog Than Axtell, a fly-fishing guide who has lived in western North Carolina for three decades, adores the unimpeded wilderness around the south fork of the Mills River — the rare place, he said, where one can spend a weekend backpacking, fishing the whole way, and rarely seeing another angler. Marc Hunt, a […]
Also awaiting Gov. Josh Stein’s attention is House Bill 948, the bill that would authorize a Mecklenburg County sales-tax referendum to pay for construction of the Red Line, more roads and more bus service. The Senate voted out the bill 39-3 on third reading on Thursday morning. The House opted to concur without making further changes, voting 101-5 to send […]
After some false starts in previous sessions, the House and Senate have finally come to an agreement on how to regulate pharmacy benefit managers like CVS Caremark. Senate Bill 479, the Script Act, passed the Senate 42-2 on Thursday morning and the House 106-0 later in the day. It now awaits Gov. Josh Stein’s signature. The […]
House and Senate members on Thursday sent a new Helene-recovery bill to Gov. Josh Stein, but its compromise language dropped a House-proposed $60 million grant program to prop up businesses in western North Carolina. Conferees also dumped a Senate proposal to withhold $100 million in state road-maintenance aid from North Carolina’s seven largest cities to help pay […]
Senators voted 42-4 Wednesday in favor of a bill that would give Mecklenburg County permission to hold a referendum on a 1-cent sales-tax surcharge to pay for transit and road projects. But to pass before the General Assembly’s upcoming summer break, House Bill 948, the so-called PAVE Act, still needs to undergo a third-reading vote in […]
The shrimp-trawl ban is dead. Rep. Keith Kidwell, R-Beaufort, said the result of a lengthy House Republican caucus on Wednesday afternoon is that House Bill 442 and the shrimp-trawling ban the Senate added to it is getting pigeonholed. “It’s going to Rules, and it’s going to stay there,” Kidwell said. “Unanimous,” added Rep. Jimmy Dixon, R-Duplin. It “was pretty […]
The House has declined to go along with the Senates changes to the latest Hurricane Helene relief package and instead will force the issue to a conference committee. House 1012 came back from the Senate “a much worse version than what we sent over,” said Rep. Eric Ager, D-Buncombe, who joined Rep. Dudley Greene, R-Avery, in urging their […]
A Los Angeles-based software company that aims to help construction companies complete projects faster plans to establish a third hub in Raleigh. BuildOps plans to invest $711,200 to create 291 jobs that pay an average annual salary of $110,997, state officials announced Tuesday. The average salary for the new jobs is almost 45% higher than Wake […]
