North Carolina’s four managed care organizations say state legislators have to change the law if they want to get a handle on the exploding Medicaid costs associated with a leading type of autism care. Specifically, they’re urging legislators to allow them to return to a “closed network” that allows them to pick and choose the […]
As we’ve all heard, North Carolina runs from Manteo to Murphy, and since the start of 2021, Rep. Karl Gillespie, R-Macon, has been the voice in the state House for the Murphy portion of that. Gillespie’s district, House 120, covers the state’s four westernmost counties. Since Hurricane Helene ravaged the west in the fall of […]
Executives from Pinehurst-based FirstHealth say the federal government’s One Big Beautiful Bill has put the hospital system on a course that could lead to operating losses by fiscal 2031-32. “We can’t let that happen, we’re not going to let that happen,” FirstHealth CFO Autumn McFann told the members of a General Assembly oversight committee on […]
The UNC System says its universities are on track to produce 707 more nurses a year by the 2029-30 school year. Trouble is, that doesn’t fill the 12,459-nurse gap in supply versus demand that UNC Chapel Hill’s Sheps Center for Health Services Research sees coming by 2033. Members of a House-Senate oversight committee say it’s […]
Gov. Josh Stein wants legislators to consider modifying or repealing a 20-year-old tax break North Carolina gives the operators of some data centers. Existing law gives them an exemption from state and local sales taxes on their power purchases and equipment. State Commerce Department officials estimate that it’s already costing North Carolina governments $45 million […]
Charlie Kingree/Wilmington StarNews Pender County residents showed up in full force at the April 7 Board of Commissioners meeting. With more than 200 people in attendance, they couldn’t even all fit in the room. They spilled out into the adjacent hallway, straining to see and hear the proceedings. Eventually, they would get what they came […]
Will Atwater/NC Health News Within months of becoming chief of Double Creek Volunteer Fire and Rescue in November 2025, Jimmy Brown received sobering news: His station’s well water was contaminated with PFAS at levels that exceeded federal limits. The station in Pinnacle, northwest of Winston‑Salem near Pilot Mountain, is one of 392 rural fire departments […]
Ted Clifford/Asheville Watchdog Lucero Sierra was in high spirits at Mission Hospital on Sept. 25, 2025, despite the newly inserted metal rod holding her femur together. The 88-year-old Miami resident had fractured her left hip just hours earlier when she fell while visiting a daughter living in Asheville. The surgery went quickly, and as she […]
The Associated Press A judge on Tuesday ordered that a Marine veteran charged with three counts of first-degree murder in a mass shooting at a North Carolina waterfront bar last year undergo psychiatric treatment after it was determined he is unable to understand his legal proceedings enough to help his lawyers. The case of Nigel […]
Bill Moss/The Hendersonville Lightning Since 2012, the 11th Congressional District in the southwestern corner of North Carolina has not blipped on anyone’s radar as a competitive seat. After taking control of the state Legislature in 2010, Republican lawmakers made sure it would be a safe haven for the GOP. That safety hasn’t been challenged, even […]
Kate Denning/Carolina Public Press Does a culture that obsesses with achievement drive the UNC System to a “pursuit of prestige” at the cost of ignoring other goals? Wendy Murphy, chair of the UNC System Board of Governors, told the other board members last year that she worries this is happening. “In higher education, an institution’s […]
Liz Schlemmer/WUNC News Wake County School administrators presented a budget proposal to the school board Tuesday night that no longer includes previously proposed cuts to special education. However, district staff did not yet provide details about all the alternative cuts that might be made to make up the difference. An email from the district’s top […]
Pat Kimbrough/The High Point Enterprise More capital improvements are coming to the below-grade railroad corridor that runs through the heart of High Point. The City Council on Monday approved an agreement for the owner of the corridor to stabilize the steep embankment to prevent erosion along the part of the tracks parallel to Washington Street, […]
Sarah White/The Waynesville Mountaineer The Haywood County Board of Commissioners have appointed Greg West to serve as the interim tax collector for the county until his official term begins in December. The appointment comes after former Tax Collector Sebastian Cothran suddenly resigned last month. Haywood tax collector suddenly resigns West earned more than 50% of […]
David Ford/WFDD Radio The Winston-Salem City Council has voted in favor of sweeping changes to the city’s public transportation system. After years of study and gathering customer feedback, the Winston-Salem Transit Authority’s agenda item was approved unanimously by councilmembers in a matter of seconds. WSTA’s most popular routes will run every 30 minutes instead of […]
