Month: October 2025

5. SBI confirms probe of Berger challenger Sam Page

Paul Garber/WFDD Radio The North Carolina State Board of Elections has forwarded information from an investigation involving Rockingham Sheriff Sam Page to the State Bureau of Investigation. A spokesman for the State Board of Elections says the agency conducted interviews with current and former Rockingham County Board of Elections officials concerning missing campaign financial disclosure […]

Written by on October 8, 2025

7. Trump raised $8 million for Helene survivors. Where did it all go?

Katie Myers/Blue Ridge Public Radio On a dusty, warm day last October, nearly a month after Hurricane Helene tore across the southeastern United States, Donald Trump stood behind a podium in Swannanoa, North Carolina, to pledge funding and support to survivors of the disaster. “In the wake of this horrible storm, many Americans in this […]

Written by on October 8, 2025

8. Reports: UNC suspends assistant coach, reminds athletes against selling tickets after WRAL report

Pat Welter & Brian Murphy/WRAL News A University of North Carolina assistant football coach was suspended and athletes in all ticketed sports, including football and men’s basketball, were sent a text message Tuesday to remind them that selling their complimentary tickets to games could impact their eligibility and violate NCAA rules. WRAL reported Monday that, […]

Written by on October 8, 2025

9. Landfill still smolders, stoking neighbors’ frustrations

Sarah White/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer More than a month after the state cracked down on the flood debris landfill in Canton, mulch piles that combusted and began burning in June are still smoldering, and pollution is still running into the Pigeon River. Neighbors living around the landfill say conditions have improved slightly, but their lives are […]

Written by on October 8, 2025

10. Redevelopment area hits snag

Pat Kimbrough/The High Point Enterprise An effort that started in 2017 to redevelop a downtown block has been stalled for years. Downtown High Point has been unable to add to the four properties it acquired in the 700 block of N. Main Street for a possible residential or mixed-use project. This has thwarted the city-funded […]

Written by on October 8, 2025

The cost of athletics, high school edition

As long as coach Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels football team is beating only the likes of UNC Charlotte, there’s going to be a lot of talk about the cost of college athletics in this state. But high school sports cost money too, and a new report to legislators from the Department of Public Instruction says […]

Written by on October 8, 2025

Treasurer’s office, CVS Caremark end their dispute

Peace has broken out between State Treasurer Brad Briner’s office and CVS Caremark. On Tuesday, the treasurer’s office announced the successful conclusion to talks with the pharmacy benefits manager. They resulted in an agreement, officials said, that secures “hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of the members of the State Health Plan.” Treasurer Brad Briner […]

Written by on October 8, 2025

School choice

It’s fair to say the leaders of the General Assembly pride themselves on fostering school choice across North Carolina, via the proliferation of charter schools and the Opportunity Scholarship private-school voucher program. But there’s at least one group out there that, while favoring “school choice,” says North Carolina’s work in the arena grades not only […]

Written by on October 8, 2025

1. UNC Health, Pardee to apply to build hospital in Buncombe, joining three other systems in 129-bed competition

Andrew R. Jones/Asheville Watchdog The competition for Buncombe County hospital expansion is intensifying as UNC Health and UNC Health Pardee will join AdventHealth, Mission Health and Novant Health in a quest for 129 beds under the state’s Certificate of Need process. UNC Health and UNC Health Pardee will seek to build a 129-bed hospital in […]

Written by on October 7, 2025

3. Teacher vacancies down, but many NC districts cut vacant positions, group says

James Farrell/WFAE Radio As North Carolina faces challenges in recruiting and retaining teachers, a recent statewide survey of school districts shows the number of unfilled teaching jobs has dropped significantly this school year. But the report’s authors say the factors behind that decline are complicated. The North Carolina School Superintendents’ Association’s annual survey of schools […]

Written by on October 7, 2025

5. Dare Board approves $400K for Dare Housing Foundation

Mark Jurkowitz/Outer Banks Voice Following a lengthy discussion at their Oct. 6 meeting, the Dare County Commissioners voted 6-1 to approve a request for a total of $400,000 in startup funding for the first two years of the Dare Housing Foundation. The Dare Housing Foundation is the organization to be formed when the Dare Community […]

Written by on October 7, 2025

6. State Board of Education discusses new literacy data, school accountability task force

Sergio Osnaya-Prieto/Education NC The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) presented new statewide literacy data to the State Board of Education during its meeting on Wednesday. Seventy percent of first graders were proficient at or above the benchmark for the DIBELS 8 (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills 8th Edition) assessment at the end of […]

Written by on October 7, 2025