Month: June 2025

6. North Carolina Green Party retains official status despite failing vote thresholds

The Associated Press The Green Party will remain an official party in North Carolina, able to field candidates statewide through the 2028 elections, even though their 2024 nominees for governor and president failed to get the votes required by state law. The Republican-led State Board of Elections voted 3-2 on Thursday to continue recognizing the […]

Written by on June 23, 2025

8. Face to face: Jackson County meets Fontana board amid library controversy

Cory Vaillancourt/Smoky Mountain News  Finally face to face amid a simmering standoff over library governance and subjectively inappropriate material in a regional library system that’s served locals for more than 80 years, Jackson County commissioners spent nearly three hours in a joint meeting with the Fontana Regional Library Board of Trustees on June 19 learning […]

Written by on June 23, 2025

10. Watauga moving to county-operated EMS system

Nick Fogleman/The Watauga Democrat In a major shift for local emergency services, Watauga County announced that it will transition from a privately contracted ambulance provider to a fully county-operated emergency medical service. The Watauga County Board of Commissioners approved a purchase of Watauga Medics, Inc. for $1.7 million at its most recent meeting on June […]

Written by on June 23, 2025

1. I-40 to be closed at least two weeks following flood, rockslide

Aarik Long/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer A rockslide and flooding struck Interstate 40 when heavy rain pelted the Pigeon River Gorge on Wednesday, once again closing the interstate. The I-40 washout occurred just over the state line from Haywood County in Tennessee. Luckily, transportation officials expect a much quicker fix than the five-month closure following Helene. “While […]

Written by on June 22, 2025

2. 3 NC lieutenant governors, a historic house, and a case of missing furniture

Jack Hagel & Paul Specht/WRAL News Dan Forest’s term as North Carolina lieutenant governor ended like an episode of “This Old House.” An architect by trade, Forest took great pride in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in private donations to painstakingly renovate and refurnish the 140-year-old Hawkins-Hartness House, which serves as the lieutenant governor’s […]

Written by on June 22, 2025

3. JetZero presents spinoff benefits, challenges

Paul B. Johnson/The High Point Enterprise The announcement last week that the region has recruited the lucrative JetZero aircraft manufacturing project carries far-reaching implications beyond the borders of the development. JetZero plans a factory that itself would employ more than 14,000 workers and carry an investment of $4.7 billion over 20 years, but the project […]

Written by on June 22, 2025

4. How a hemp exec could decide the future of THC regulation in North Carolina

Lucille Sherman/Axios Raleigh North Carolina House Rules Chairman Rep. John Bell, who is also the president of a hemp manufacturing and distribution company, has been the point person in his chamber on several proposed bills making their way through the legislature that could impact his company. He also has the power to determine their fate. […]

Written by on June 22, 2025

6. North Carolina Gov. Stein vetoes his first bills. They are on concealed carry and immigration

The Associated Press North Carolina Democratic Gov. Josh Stein vetoed his first bills on Friday, blocking for now Republican legislation that would let adults carry concealed handguns without a permit and make state agencies and local sheriffs more active in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Stein, who took office in January, issued his formal exceptions […]

Written by on June 22, 2025

7. NC made vouchers open to any family, then many private schools raised tuition

Liz Schlemmer/WUNC Radio New research shows that many North Carolina private schools accepting vouchers significantly increased their tuition after the state expanded funding for the Opportunity Scholarship program. Starting this past school year, any North Carolina family could apply for a state-funded scholarship to attend a private school, regardless of their income or if they […]

Written by on June 22, 2025

8. Blueberry fields forever? Study monitors destructive beetles in NC crops

Charlie Fossen/Port City Daily Beneath North Carolina’s vibrant blueberry fields, a hidden pest poses a long-term threat. Scientists are now working to uncover its secrets and protect the state’s valuable crops. For North Carolina’s multi-million blueberry industry, a new threat is emerging: the prionus beetle. The long-lived larvae of this pest burrow into blueberry roots, […]

Written by on June 22, 2025

9. Voters in four parties to be moved to unaffiliated

Robert Sullivan/The Salisbury Post     On Tuesday, June 24, the political party affiliations of about 34,000 North Carolina voters registered with four parties — Constitution, Justice for All, No Labels and We the People — will be moved to unaffiliated status in the state’s voter registration database. When the 2024 general election was certified by the […]

Written by on June 22, 2025

10. UNC’s Lineberger Cancer Center awarded $28 million for new clinical trial

Michael Koh/WCHL Chapelboro The UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center has been awarded $28 million by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The money will be used to develop a new clinical trial for breast cancer which has spread to other part of the body. The trial, “Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium Evolutionary Clinical […]

Written by on June 22, 2025