An Orange County farm is putting the state’s policies around conservation easements and agritourism to the test. The Triangle Land Conservancy has gone to court to force the Union Grove Farm to drop plans to build a 2,500-seat amphitheater on the property, which is subject to a TLC-held conservation easement that dates from 1995. It […]
Katie Dukes/Education NC The number of licensed family child care homes (FCCHs) in North Carolina has decreased by 22% since before the pandemic. During the five years when pandemic-era funding was used to stabilize the state’s licensed child care programs, the number of licensed FCCHs decreased by 19%. Since the funding ran out at the […]
Lily Levin/Smoky Mountain News As you enter Chimney Rock, you will see bulldozers and construction workers and other visceral reminders of Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic impact. But as you absorb the village’s incredible landscape and people, you’ll notice shops newly reconstructed and others half-filled with merchandise, a proud proclamation of their survival. You’ll also pass stores […]
Charlie Fossen/Port City Daily A long-simmering debate over who controls development in Brunswick County took a turn at a recent commissioners’ meeting, as a motion was put forward to strip the planning board of its final authority on major projects. During an Aug. 4 meeting and after a lengthy discussion on the county’s unified development […]
Adam Wagner/WUNC Radio North Carolina regulators have formally denied a Mitchell County quarry’s effort to obtain a permit after it operated without one for months. Earlier this month, a Mitchell County Superior Court judge issued an injunction directing mine operator Horizon 30, LLC, to cease digging at the Carter Quarry outside of Poplar. The N.C. […]
Zachary Turner/WFAE Radio A contentious 2024 Hurricane Helene relief bill shifted the balance of power in the regulatory body that oversees Duke Energy’s carbon plan — giving Republicans greater influence over the commission. State Treasurer Brad Briner appointed commissioner Donald van der Vaart, a vocal proponent of fossil fuel expansion, to replace one of the […]
Laura Leslie/WRAL News North Carolina state lawmakers didn’t take any votes at their scheduled work session Tuesday. The veto overrides that were on the House calendar for Tuesday will be rescheduled for September. No override votes were taken because some House and Senate Republicans were absent, and Republicans need all of their votes to override […]
David Beasley/The Center Square The aircraft manufacturer that made a record job-creation commitment for a new plant at Piedmont Triad International Airport has informed the state that more than 2,000 of those jobs may be contractors rather than permanent employees. A state board approved that on Tuesday. JetZero Inc., a California startup, plans a $4.7 […]
Regan Butler, Caleb Herrera & Alice Scott/The Daily Tar Heel Without warning or departmental consultation, University facilities workers boarded up a student-created mural depicting Palestinian resilience, following orders from Chancellor Lee Roberts and Interim Provost Jim Dean. The artwork, which hung in the Hanes Art Center lobby for over a year, was concealed on Sunday […]
Catherine Kozak/Coastal Review Online In the sadder, more gruesome labor of wildlife conservation, a new count of dead wildlife on the asphalt of two strips of highway within Alligator River Wildlife Refuge continues to reflect the merciless decimation of living creatures by vehicular traffic. A new report, “US 64 Roadkill Monitoring Survey Year One Interim […]
Morgan Casey/CityView Community leaders opened the Greater Fayetteville Chamber’s 2025 State of the Community event with an optimistic picture of Fayetteville and Cumberland County’s economy. Fayetteville’s housing market is moving faster than other metropolitan areas in the state, David Zeitz, president of the Longleaf Pine Realtors, told about 600 attendees at the event on Tuesday. […]
NC WARN and the Carolina Industrial Group for Fair Utility Rates battled recently over whether NC WARN would be able to formally weigh in what the N.C. Utilities Commission should do about large-load power customers. CIGFUR and another manufacturers’ trade group, the Carolina Utility Customers Association, asked the Utilities Commission to bar WARN from commenting […]
Leaders of the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus says all 41 of its members will stand steadfast in keeping the House and Senate from overriding Gov. Josh Stein’s vetoes of a trio of anti-DEI bills. This is something of a moot point in the Senate when it comes to Senate Bill 558, which addresses higher education, […]
Gov. Josh Stein has formed a 26-person “Energy Policy Task Force” to advise him and the General Assembly about how to keep electricity prices under control as the state deals with increased power demands. State Rep. Kyle Hall, R-Stokes, and N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson are co-chairing the task force, which is […]
John Boyle/Asheville Watchdog In the immediate aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene’s destruction last year, business owners’ optimism about rebuilding ran high in Asheville, even in the face of the enormity of the task ahead. But 11 months later, that optimism has evolved into tempered determination for many, and a realization that rebuilding will encompass years, […]
