Colin Campbell/WUNC News Democrats across the country are optimistic that November’s election could be a wave year for their party. In North Carolina, experts say it’s possible a big shift could create a Democratic majority in at least one chamber of the legislature for the first time in 16 years. Democrats’ potential path to flipping […]
Kyle Ingram/The Raleigh News & Observer Republican election officials in Jackson County say they were pressured — by their own party and the state auditor’s office, one says — to reject a plan for an early voting site on Western Carolina University’s campus. “I’ve been told that if I don’t vote a particular way, that […]
Rachel Heimann Mercader/CityView Fayetteville’s budget season is growing more tense by the week, with what began as routine deliberations now unraveling into a tense scramble at City Hall. On Monday, Fayetteville City Council members clashed with senior staff, saying the proposal misses the mark and leaves them hunting for dollars to avoid a tax hike. […]
Sarah Michels/Carolina Public Press Bladen County’s Black residents aren’t having it. They showed up in droves to a Monday board of commissioners meeting in Elizabethtown to object to a proposed election change that some feared would have reduced minority representation. The commissioners never voted on the proposal, though. Board chairman Cameron McGill, also a pastor […]
James Farrell/WFAE Radio The State Board of Education met in Raleigh on Wednesday for the first time since lawmakers announced plans for an average 8% raise in teacher pay. But board members expressed skepticism about whether the proposed increase would make a meaningful difference for teachers. During a legislative update, board members noted the increase […]
WFDD Radio The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality awarded $25 million to Helene-damaged counties on Tuesday. Helene scattered debris all across Western North Carolina. It also destroyed waste management and recycling facilities throughout the region. Communities have since struggled to restore that critical infrastructure. The state’s Helene Recovery Recycling Infrastructure (HRRI) grant program will […]
Kaitlyn Aguiles/WECT Pender County Manager Colby Sawyer on Monday proposed a $137.4 million budget for fiscal year 2026-27 that would raise the county property tax rate by about 2 cents and fund employee pay increases and major county projects. Sawyer presented his recommended budget to the Pender County Board of Commissioners on June 1. The […]
Emily Weaver/The Dunn Daily Record Several, minor design revisions pushed the projected finish date for the Interstate 95 widening project through Harnett County into the spring of 2028. The seven-year project to turn the four-lane divided expressway into an eight-lane divided freeway between exits 55 (Eastover) and 81 (the Interstate 40 connector) was initially estimated […]
The Associated Press A former North Carolina police officer caught on a doorbell camera repeatedly punching a woman in the face was charged Monday with assault. The video of Shelby Officer Karson Hyder pummeling Cherrie Moore on Friday has circulated widely on social media. Hyder, 22, turned himself in to the Cleveland County Detention Center […]
Mark Bergin/WRAL News Another Raleigh brewery has announced its closure. On Tuesday, Mordecai Beverage Co. announced it would close in an Instagram post. “It has been an incredible honor and privilege to serve this community for the past six-plus years,” the post reads in part. “When we first opened our doors, we could never have […]
Alan Wooten/The Center Square Making use of one of the seven deadly sins, three North Carolina senators are pushing a bill that includes a tax on pornography. Four members of the House of Representatives also have a proposal adding state revenue from lust, theirs targeting sexually oriented businesses. Eventually, it could be known as a […]
Clayton Henkel/NC Newsline NC House and Senate members are back in Raleigh this week voting on a flurry of bills, but whether they will have a budget deal by mid-June remains to be seen. House budget chair Rep. Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth) announced last month that a year-long impasse between the two chambers had been resolved, […]
Mary Alice Boliek/WRAL News Raleigh water customers used about two million gallons of water more last week amid an ongoing drought and citywide restrictions. Last week Raleigh water customers on average used about 61.9 gallons of water per day, which is up from 59.7 million gallons of water used the week before. Falls Lake water […]
Nora O’Neill/The Charlotte Observer Customers packed hearings, signed petitions and pleaded for relief. This week, regulators approved Carolina Water Service’s rate hike anyway. The North Carolina Utilities Commission on May 26 approved a settlement that sets the uniform water rate at $19.23 per 1,000 gallons, according to case documents. That’s nearly 40% higher than the […]
Andy Jiang/The Duke Chronicle Duke recently began construction on a small graphics processing unit data center, adjacent to Central Campus, that top administrators say will boost the University’s computing capacity while adhering to its Climate Commitment. The center — which is expected to open by the 2027-28 academic year — will be around 13,000 square […]
