Month: October 2025

6. The first 100 days: Meet South Piedmont Community College’s new president

Emily Thomas/Education NC In July 2025, Dr. Stacy Waters-Bailey became the fifth president of South Piedmont Community College, bringing over 15 years of higher education experience with her. When EdNC visited South Piedmont on her 100th day, one thing was clear about Waters-Bailey — she is passionately people-centered. She’s dedicated to positioning the college to […]

Written by on October 27, 2025

7. Opponents urge EPA to uphold objection to Asheboro permit

Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online North Carolinians from cities, towns and communities throughout the Cape Fear River Basin urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to uphold its objection to a municipal wastewater treatment plant’s proposed permit that excludes an effluent discharge limit for 1,4-dioxane into their drinking water sources. One after another, speakers at a public […]

Written by on October 27, 2025

8. Waynesville leaders debate community offer to fix Dutch Fisher Field at a discount

Paul Nielsen/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer Waynesville has at least $100,000 in the bank to repair storm-damaged Dutch Fisher softball field in Hazelwood, but the how and when is still an open question. Town council unanimously voted earlier this month to allocate $50,000 to make repairs to the field that was damaged by Richland Creek flooding during […]

Written by on October 27, 2025

9. After major renovations, Wake County’s West Regional Library is set to reopen

Brian Burns/WUNC Radio One of Wake County’s most active library branches has reopened after the completion of some major renovations. The West Regional Library, which serves residents of western Cary and sections of Morrisville, has been closed since early January. Major additions to the library include a teen nook, improved study and work spaces, boosted […]

Written by on October 27, 2025

10. How Asheville became a city Black residents leave: the unhealed wound of urban renewal

Dan DeWitt/Asheville Watchdog The Happy Hour crowd on South Slope pops into the breweries and restaurants that have helped land Asheville on best-of lists, largely oblivious to what once stood nearby. The adjacent Southside neighborhood was the biggest hub of Black life in Asheville, housing beauty and barber shops, funeral homes, groceries and hundreds of […]

Written by on October 27, 2025

High court settles Duke-Pinnacle MRI dispute

State Supreme Court justices have upheld a pair of lower-court decisions that gave a Pinnacle Health Services affiliate the right to set up and operate an MRI machine in Wake Forest. The decision was unanimous in favor of Pinnacle’s bid for a certificate of need over a competing application from Duke Health, which sought permission […]

Written by on October 27, 2025

Distribution centers in Burlington and Greensboro

There have been a couple of major incentive deals announced in recent days, the larger of the two being one in Burlington and Guilford County that’s promising to bring 505 jobs with it. Ahold Delhaize, the Netherlands-based parent of Food Lion, is promising an $860 million investment toward a new distribution center just off Interstate […]

Written by on October 27, 2025

1. How Asheville became a city Black residents leave: the unhealed wound of urban renewal

Dan DeWitt/Asheville Watchdog The Happy Hour crowd on South Slope pops into the breweries and restaurants that have helped land Asheville on best-of lists, largely oblivious to what once stood nearby. The adjacent Southside neighborhood was the biggest hub of Black life in Asheville, housing beauty and barber shops, funeral homes, groceries and hundreds of […]

Written by on October 26, 2025

2. A short-lived win in a never-ending fight over forever chemicals

Lisa Sorg/NC Health News Emily Donovan stood before 100 people in the pews at Ocean View United Methodist Church in a small seaside town in Brunswick County, North Carolina. It was May, the start of beach season. She had invited a scientist to speak about the astronomical levels of PFAS—nicknamed “forever chemicals”—that had been detected […]

Written by on October 26, 2025

3. More than 500 child care directors, owners call on legislature for subsidy floor to stabilize programs

Liz Bell/Education NC Child care providers and advocates are asking for $145 million in recurring funding in the state budget to stabilize programs struggling to retain teachers and make ends meet. Legislators returned to Raleigh this week without having passed a budget earlier this year due to gridlock between Republican leadership in the House and […]

Written by on October 26, 2025

4. For Haywood’s coffee lovers, a perfect blend of problems

Andrew Marshall/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer At Smoky Mountain Coffee in Hazelwood, Kevin Duckett hasn’t raised the price on a cup of black coffee in thirty years. But recent developments in the java world haven’t made that easy to maintain, and items on his menu that aren’t regular old joe have definitely gone up. “One of the […]

Written by on October 26, 2025

5. Brunswick commissioners sign on for 2026 school bond, tax impact projected

Brenna Flanagan/Port City Daily The Brunswick County commissioners granted the school board’s request for a $349.6-million bond referendum, though not exactly on the timeline the school board was hoping for. Brunswick County Schools Superintendent Dale Cole appeared before the county commissioners on Monday to advocate for the bond a second time in recent months; this […]

Written by on October 26, 2025

6. 2 killed, 13 injured in mass shooting in Maxton

WFAE Radio Two people were killed and 13 others were wounded in a shooting early Saturday morning in the Robeson County town of Maxton. Robeson County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to 298 Dixon Drive in Maxton around 1:15 a.m. on October 25 for a loud music violation. Before officers arrived, emergency dispatchers received multiple […]

Written by on October 26, 2025

7. Hope Mills board accepts findings of investigation into commissioner over alleged racially discriminatory remark

Jason Canady/CityView Commissioners on Wednesday accepted the findings of a personnel investigation that indicated a fellow board member “more likely than not” made a racially discriminatory remark stating “there are too many Blacks running” the town of Hope Mills. Commissioners held a special meeting this week to receive a general update and the findings of […]

Written by on October 26, 2025

8. North Carolina’s national park sites in 2024 bring in $2.3B

Jennifer Allen/Coastal Review Online The 18.8 million visitors to North Carolina’s nine National Park Service sites in 2024 injected $2.3 billion into the state’s economy, second only to California’s $3.7 billion, finds a recent report. Of that $2.3 billion statewide, around 4.7 million visitors spent $732.2 million in the communities around the coast’s five National […]

Written by on October 26, 2025