Nash County’s only state senator says she filed a bill that would forbid Rocky Mount from using electric-utility revenue to shore up its general fund because the city “has proven that it’s not a good steward of taxpayer funds.” It’s thus necessary to “ensure every penny our rural neighbors outside Rocky Mount send to the electric […]
Gov. Josh Stein attempted veto last year of Senate Bill 266 and its relaxation of the state’s carbon-reduction targets gets him no credit with one of North Carolina’s more vocal environmental groups. Stein is “complicit in Duke Energy’s crimes,” N.C. WARN leader Jim Warren said on Tuesday as he and other adherents of the group […]
North Carolina’s liquor-control laws are antiquated and need a major overhaul, to allow more retailers to join local ABC stores in selling gin, rum, bourbon and other distilled beverages, the backers of a new PR drive argue. “Break up the monopoly,” the backers of the “Free Our Spirits” campaign say. Led by Carolina Champions for […]
Meta’s lobbyists “introduced us” to the idea of adding app stores to the list of online platforms that will have age restrictions if House Bill 301 passes, lead sponsor Rep. Jeff Zenger says. Zenger also isn’t too worried about the possibility that the social-media giant — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — is […]
It’s looking increasingly possible state officials will reel in at least some of tax breaks and other incentives they’ve made available to would-be data-center builders. House Speaker Destin Hall says his chamber “is going to take some action on that” during this year’s session. Echoing Gov. Josh Stein, Hall said the existing tax breaks date […]
Lumbee tribe leaders say their initial announcement about the upcoming membership vote on casinos was “confusing” and have clarified it make it clear enrolled members living outside the tribal territory can participate. Voting rights in the June 23 balloting will include people “who live outside the tribal territory [that] make a permanent declaration of their […]
A trio of Congressional Democrats say they’re going to investigate one of President Trump’s pardons that prominent North Carolina and Washington lobbyist Ches McDowell helped broker. The probe targets the October 2025 pardon of Canadian and Emirati crypto billionaire Changpeng Zhao, who two years before had pleaded guilty to violating federal laws that require finance […]
House Speaker Destin Hall doesn’t want to see the ongoing controversy about how and whether to widen Interstate 77 around downtown Charlotte turn into a request to legislators for additional funding. Charlotte and N.C. Department of Transportation officials need to resolve the issue “in a way that they’re not coming back to us and asking […]
Shea Carver/Port City Daily Two pieces of legislation in the North Carolina General Assembly are tackling which board should have final authoritative power on developments coming to Brunswick County. Earlier in the week, Sen. Bill Rabon filed Senate Bill 1079 and Rep. Charlie Miller put forth House Bill 1222. Language in both bills mirror one […]
Sergio Osnaya-Prieto/Education NC Approximately 93% of North Carolina teachers believe their school is a good place to work and learn, according to preliminary data from the 2026 North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey. Dr. Shaun Kellogg, senior director of the Department of Public Instruction’s (DPI) Office of Research & Promising Practices, presented preliminary results during […]
Steve Harrison/WFAE Radio Will there be enough dedicated money to fully fund the “Better Bus” pledge made during last year’s campaign for the transit tax referendum? It looks doubtful. The Charlotte Area Transit System pledged a 50% increase in bus service. It also promised 18 new “microtransit” zones where people could travel door-to-door with on-demand […]
Taylor Knopf/NC Health News When a child is struggling with a behavioral health crisis, family members often call 911 or take the child to a hospital emergency room for help. But medical providers say that a busy, sometimes chaotic emergency department is not the best place to tackle behavioral health issues. Some young patients in […]
Alan Condon/Becker’s Payer Issues CarolinaEast Medical Center, a 350-bed hospital in New Bern, N.C., will drop Blue Cross Blue Shield and UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans, effective July 1, citing burdensome payment policies, claim denials and reimbursement delays. The hospital issued termination notices to both insurers, but negotiations with UnitedHealthcare remain ongoing, a spokesperson for CarolinaEast […]
Lauren Rhodes/WUNC News Michael Wilkerson uses a flip phone. That may not immediately strike anyone as strange until they find out that Wilkerson is a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill. He got his first phone in middle school, and it wasn’t until his first year in college that he realized: “I hate my phone.” “My phone […]
Sarah White/The Waynesville Mountaineer A full team from the Army Corps of Engineers visited Waynesville this week to gain local insight for a three-year, federally funded $5 million flood risk study. After weeks of behind-the-scenes discussions and data gathering with leaders from the county and towns, the Army Corps turned its ear to Haywood’s residents. […]
