Bradley George/WUNC Radio The commissioner of the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles urged flyers to get a Real ID before a new fee comes into effect February 1. “For those who don’t yet have a Real ID, the easiest way to avoid the new verification process and fee is to get one before your […]
Sergio Osnaya-Prieto/Education NC A new Department of Public Instruction (DPI) report says that 100% of traditional public school districts currently have a 1-to-1 digital device-to-student ratio, though many districts are struggling to replace old or damaged devices due to a lack of funding. Dr. Ashley McBride, a digital learning initiative consultant at DPI, presented the […]
Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online Proposed rules that would require hundreds of industrial manufacturers and public sewer plants across the state to test the wastewater they discharge into rivers, creeks and streams for three types of PFAS and 1,4-dioxane will go out for public comment next month. The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission last Thursday voted […]
Paul Nielsen/The Waynesville Mountaineer A commercial development with up to four retail spaces has been proposed for a vacant 1.3 acre lot on South Main Street in Waynesville. The proposed development would be located between O’Reilly Auto Parts and the Papa’s and Beer Mexican restaurant. A disco may have once operated at the site before […]
It’s long been a truism that there are two North Carolinas economically, but that is both an oversimplification these days and a symptom of flaws in the state’s development strategy. That’s the view, at any rate, of most participants in Business North Carolina’s2026 economic forecast roundtable at the Campbell University School of Law. “There’s a […]
Ten counties accounted for about 68% of the new-business registrations in 2025, according to the online database provided by Secretary of State Elaine Marshall. Predictably, almost half of those registrations occurred in Wake and Mecklenburg counties, data from the Secretary of State’s website shows. Another 19% came from the next eight counties: Guilford, Durham, Forsyth, […]
Paul Specht/WRAL News North Carolina leaders last year approved new rules for handling criminal suspects who may need psychiatric care — prompting a dispute between hospitals and law enforcement groups over a new requirement for mental evaluations. The rules were designed in part to restrict judges from releasing repeat violent offenders and some people with […]
Jane Winik Sartwell/Carolina Public Press If a family member is committed to a North Carolina state psychiatric hospital in 2026, that facility will be facing serious staffing shortages. Each of North Carolina’s three psychiatric hospitals closed out last year with staff vacancy rates at or above 20%. North Carolina still does not have a state […]
Jennifer Allen/Coastal Review Online The two agencies that enforce the Clean Water Act have proposed changes to the waterbodies considered jurisdictional, or under federal protection, and the deadline for the public to comment is here. The Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers published on Nov. 20 in the Federal Register the “Updated Definition […]
Analisa Sorrells Archer/Education NC On Wednesday, new Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) were released by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS). Updated every five years, the guidelines help determine what food is served in schools and at child care centers, among other things. The DGAs for 2025-2030 mark a […]
Adam Wagner/NC Newsroom & WUNC Radio North Carolina is working to map areas that are particularly susceptible to landslides in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The storm triggered hundreds of landslides in western North Carolina, including this one near Vilas, N.C. Heavy rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Storm Helene triggered more landslides than state […]
Aaron Sánchez-Guerra/WUNC Radio Two U.S. citizen brothers say Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers racially profiled and assaulted them in Salisbury, N.C., as federal agents continue heightened immigration arrests across the country. On Monday, ICE officers pulled over Edwin Godinez, 29, and his stepbrother, Yair Napolés, 22, in an unmarked vehicle in the city located between […]
Charlie Fossen/Port City Daily A proposed 355-home single-family subdivision in Hampstead won approval from the Pender County Planning Board in a 5–2 vote on Jan. 6. Board members said they were legally bound to approve the project because it meets county zoning rules, despite public opposition centered on traffic congestion, emergency access, and environmental impacts. […]
Brighton McConnell/WCHL Chapelboro The Town of Hillsborough resolved one of the impacts of July’s Tropical Depression Chantal still affecting its operations before the start of 2026. Significant damage from the historic flooding of the Eno River during the storm forced the River Pump Station to use rental and temporary equipment for months as the town […]
The Associated Press South Carolina’s measles outbreak exploded into one of the worst in the U.S., with state health officials confirming 99 new cases in the past three days. The outbreak centered in Spartanburg County grew to 310 cases over the holidays, and spawned cases in North Carolina and Ohio among families who traveled to […]
