Last week, State Auditor Dave Boliek and his team issued a “rapid response report” on the causes of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools’ estimated $46 million budget deficit. The basics here have already appeared in a Trib Top 10 item, but it’s worth taking a closer look given the report’s top-line conclusion that the system hasn’t […]
Brighton McConnell/WCHL Chapelboro The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced the cut of roughly $500 million worth of contracts for mRNA research and vaccine development for emerging pathogens. It comes after the agency also canceled $600 million for similar vaccine development against bird flu. The moves set off a series of warnings […]
Cory Vaillancourt/Smoky Mountain News The American Flood Coalition’s Recovery and Resilience Partnership is barely six months old, but it’s already helping to deliver results in the form of a $20 million mitigation grant program aimed at helping communities in Western North Carolina recover from Hurricane Helene and prepare for the next storm. On a humid […]
Sarah Michels/Carolina Public Press In 2020, while their parents planned pilgrimages to the polls, Henderson County public school students from Kindergarten to 12th grade cast ballots of their own. In this civic education exercise, the youngest grades voted on whether there should be more hopscotches painted on the playground and jump ropes for recess, while […]
Gary D. Robertson/The Associated Press Voter registration records for more than 20,000 people in North Carolina have been successfully amended thus far in an effort by election officials to add missing identification numbers. In mid-July, the State Board of Elections began formally an effort that seeks to resolve a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump’s […]
Brenna Flanagan/Port City Daily No clear plan of action emerged from the Wilmington City Council’s special meeting on homelessness Monday, though service providers were able to illuminate concerns they have as the city reviewed its ordinances to target camping on its property. The meeting began with a presentation overviewing homelessness locally from Rachel Schuler, the […]
Michael Copley/WUNC Radio The Trump administration’s plan to undo a landmark finding that climate pollution threatens public health and welfare poses lots of risks for corporate America. The Environmental Protection Agency’s endangerment finding has served as the legal basis for federal climate regulations under the Clean Air Act since 2009. The finding concludes that the […]
Pat Kimbrough/The (High Point) Enterprise The City Council on Monday unanimously authorized a real estate transaction aimed at promoting the development of housing in the downtown area. The vote clears the way for the sale of 4.06 acres the city owns at the northeast corner W. English Road and N. Lindsay Street for a proposed […]
Rachel Crumpler/NC Health News To give more seriously ill incarcerated people the opportunity to go home before they die, North Carolina lawmakers expanded the eligibility criteria of prison medical release in 2023. But data obtained by NC Health News shows that more people aren’t getting released. Since 2008, medical release had been narrowly available for […]
Andrew R. Jones/Asheville Watchdog Mission Hospital has applied to become a Level I trauma center, the highest designation a healthcare facility can receive for caring for severely injured patients, according to a state health department document obtained by Asheville Watchdog. If approved, the HCA Healthcare-owned hospital would be the only such trauma center in western […]
Matt Lamb/The (Southern Pines) Pilot A series of fights at Crain’s Creek Middle School toward the end of last school year spurred a discussion at the Board of Education’s most recent business meeting, along with a subsequent statement from the board’s chair addressing the issue. Meant to assuage concerns regarding safety, student discipline and intimations […]
Recent violence against elected officials has led a longtime Republican state House member to change his mind and run for a ninth term representing portions of Gaston and Cleveland counties. Rep. Kelly Hastings (right) announced in early May that he would not seek reelection to the 110th House District. At the time, others from Gaston […]
Whoever said taxes don’t go down? In late June, Duplin County agreed to cut its room tax from 6% to 4.5%, which will reduce collections to less than $200,000 annually. Under a state law applicable to the eastern N.C. county, that enabled its commission to dissolve the Duplin County Tourism Development Authority. Room tax collections […]
WUNC Radio The homes are on G.A. Kohler Court in Rodanthe — the same stretch where several homes have collapsed into the ocean in recent years. Rodanthe has lost more than a dozen homes to the Atlantic since 2020, including six in 2024 alone. Officials with Cape Hatteras National Seashore said the beach access in […]
Taylor Knopf/NC Health News Just days before Christmas 2024, a group of female teen patients broke into the nurse’s station and medication room at a psychiatric hospital in Raleigh, where they tore down parts of the ceiling, hurled objects at staff, damaged equipment and used syringes as weapons. Several police officers responded to the disturbance […]
