Month: July 2026

7. Army Corps issues final report on Wilmington Harbor deepening

Emma Dill/WilmingtonBiz The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Thursday the publication of its final reports on the proposed deepening of Wilmington’s harbor. The proposed project led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the N.C. State Ports Authority would deepen Wilmington’s harbor from 42 feet to 47 feet, along with extending and […]

Written by on July 5, 2026

8. Meetings about Gaston County Schools funding raise questions about transparency

James Farrell/WFAE Radio In May, the Gaston County Commissioners approved the Gaston County Schools budget. It kept funding flat from last year – and at about $54 million in operating costs, fell below the district’s ask of around $60.4 million. It capped off weeks of tensions around school funding – including the county’s emergency infusion […]

Written by on July 5, 2026

9. Column: Hope Mills hikes taxes, won’t renew contract for town manager

Bill Kirby Jr./CityView Hope Mills soon will be looking for a new town manager to replace Chancer McLaughlin. “The consensus of this board by a three to two vote is the town manager’s contract will not be renewed in March 2027,” Mayor Jessie Bellflowers said after a closed session during the June 22 meeting of […]

Written by on July 5, 2026

10. Albemarle Region’s tallest hotel offered luxurious amenities

Eric Medlin/Coastal Review Online The term “skyscraper” often evokes a Northern metropolis full of towering masses of steel, thousands of panes of glass, and the occasional King Kong sighting. In reality, a skyscraper is just a multistory building with a frame made of steel instead of a load-bearing mass of wood, brick or stone. With […]

Written by on July 5, 2026

1. Mission Hospital to relax degree requirements for nurses

Ted Clifford/Asheville Watchdog Beginning Tuesday, Mission Hospital will no longer require nurses to have a four-year Bachelor of Science Nursing degree or obtain one within five years of being hired. Instead, nurses will be required only to have a two-year Associate Degree in Nursing. “Our commitment to nursing excellence remains unchanged,” Ruth Kain, Mission Hospital’s […]

Written by on July 1, 2026

2. Survey of school staff finds that school staff say school-based telehealth reduces behavioral issues

Jennifer Fernandez/Education NC & NC Health News At North Carolina schools that provide behavioral health care remotely, teachers and school staff say they’re seeing an impact on students’ behavioral challenges. The new data comes from initial responses to a survey by researchers at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at UNC Chapel […]

Written by on July 1, 2026

3. Kroger is buying this family-owned supermarket for $1.65 billion, promising to bring customers ‘affordable prices’

Sean Bell/Yahoo Finance The American grocery market looks set for a major development of consolidation as the oldest grocery chain in the U.S., Kroger Co., confirmed in an official press release that it will acquire the family-owned grocery chain Giant Eagle for $1.65 billion. Unanimously approved by Kroger’s board of directors, this purchase would bring […]

Written by on July 1, 2026

4. Apex bookstore facing 64% rent hike to close, other shops face uncertain future

Megan Cloherty/WRAL News A perfect storm of challenges in downtown Apex has business owners considering closing. Their landlords are raising rent, passing on a new increase in city property taxes and rising insurance rates. Coupled with an on-going downtown construction project causing sales losses that is expected to extend through next year, many business owners […]

Written by on July 1, 2026

6. Triangle organizations collect aid for Venezuela following earthquakes

Reyna Drake/WUNC News Last week, two earthquakes devastated Venezuela – happening less than a minute apart and both having a magnitude higher than seven. So far, more than 1,700 people have died, and search and rescue efforts are underway for the thousands that are missing. Local and national groups are rallying to send aid to […]

Written by on July 1, 2026

7. Luxury townhomes to rise on Lake Norman peninsula. Prices start at $2.5 million.

Joe Marusak/The Charlotte Observer A luxury townhome community will soon rise on a Lake Norman peninsula in the eastern Lincoln County community of Denver, its listing agent with Cornelius-based lvester Jackson Christie’s International Real Estate said Tuesday. The Cape Lake Norman will include 27 “sleek minimalist-style” homes resembling those in the Florida coastal resort community […]

Written by on July 1, 2026

8. Tourism board pledges funds to air service

Frank Daniels IV/The Southern Pines Pilot Moore County is one step closer to commercial air service after the county Tourism Development Authority board approved $300,000 toward a minimum revenue guarantee fund meant to incentivize service by a legacy passenger air carrier. In May, the Board of Commissioners gave the go-ahead for the TDA to appropriate […]

Written by on July 1, 2026

9. Agencies plod on as audit shows Currituck bridge funding gap

Catherine Kozak/Coastal Review Online Despite last week’s abysmal report from the state auditor of the funding prospects for the long-planned Mid-Currituck Bridge, the proposed project connecting the Currituck County mainland to its northern Outer Banks beaches will remain officially alive in the state transportation plan, at least for the time being. The auditor’s Rapid Response […]

Written by on July 1, 2026

10. Waynesville budget has no property tax hike

Paul Nielsen/The Waynesville Mountaineer Waynesville taxpayers will not see a property tax increase this year. Following weeks of combing over the budget to come up with more than half a million dollars in cuts, town council voted on a budget for the coming fiscal year with no new property taxes. Councilmember Anthony Sutton noted that […]

Written by on July 1, 2026