Month: August 2026

6. Could the Durham Freeway go away? City Council to discuss reimagining project

Monica Casey/WRAL News  Durham City Council members will hear a report on the final Vision Plan for the future of the Durham Freeway on Thursday. The freeway was built in the 1970s to connect Research Triangle Park to central Durham, but the path destroyed historic Black communities, including some of the Hayti community. The City […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

7. Pender County continues exploring options to bring water to rural areas

Sophia DePhillips/Port City Daily  Water was at the center of discussion this week at the Pender County commissioners’ meeting. Ideas on how to connect utilities to a rural western part of the county were broached, as was a 20-year master plan to determine where water is needed and the process of providing it, including timelines. […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

8. What’s going down at the mill?

Sarah White/The Waynesville Mountaineer As Canton’s paper mill is disassembled piece by piece, the uncertainty of its future looms larger than the out-of-service silos still standing on the property. No one yet knows what will become of the sprawling site. But before anything can take root, the old equipment and facilities must be removed to […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

9. ‘Delivery is imminent’: UNCW awaits new research vessel

Brad Rich/Coastal Review Online Marine scientists and others at the University of North Carolina Wilmington are waiting anxiously for the arrival of a new $7.5 million, state-funded research vessel that will greatly enhance research capabilities and learning opportunities for students. While the school’s marine science students hail from far-flung locations, a substantial number are from […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

10. Cumberland schools approves $4.47 million for cops, crossing guards, security

Dasia Williams/CityView Cumberland County Schools expects to spend nearly $4.5 million this school year to maintain a layered security network that includes school resource officers, traffic control officers, and unarmed security guards across the district. The Cumberland County Board of Education approved four school safety agreements on June 9 that are expected to cost approximately […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

Pembroke unveils finalists for fundraising post

UNC Pembroke officials are holding a string of public meet-and-greets starting today with three people who are in line to become the university’s next chief fundraiser. The sessions will give alumni and other members of the university community a chance to “learn more about their experience and vision for the role,” and to “voice [their] […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

Court overturns ski-town eminent-domain ruling

Court of Appeals judges have overturned a ruling that could’ve left Beech Mountain’s government on the hook for paying the “lost rental value” of some vacation homes next door to a prominent ski resort. The door was open to that because the Watauga County town, located in North Carolina’s northwest corner, had to shut down the […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

Toyota wins state Supreme Court case

State Supreme Court justices have sided with Toyota and another Japanese carmaker in a a product-liability case stemming from a fatal car crash that happened in Columbus County back in 2021. Its 6-1 opinion, authored by Justice Anita Earls, overturned procedural rulings from trial Judge James Gregory Bell and the state Court of Appeals that […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

Hardister, King now have JetZero as a client

JetZero has added former state Rep. Jon Hardister and one of his former aides to its team of lobbyists. Recent filings with Secretary of State Elaine Marshall’s office show that Hardister, R-Guilford, and Sebastian King joined the JetZero team on Aug. 13. King and Hardister are managing partner and COO, respectively, of Elevation Strategies. Their […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

Judge says state fishery management falls short

North Carolina’s coastal-fisheries management is such an across-the-board failure that it amounts to a violation of the state constitution, a Wake County judge says. Issued this week, Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins’ ruling points the finger of blame squarely at the state’s failure to control shrimp trawlers and gillnetfishers. Excessive bycatch — the term of […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

Stein vetoes judges’ bill

Gov. Josh Stein has vetoed House Bill 377, siding with House Democratic Leader Robert Reives and other critics who oppose a provision that would allow judges to be suspended without pay. The power is one “no other [state supreme court] chief justice in the country has,” Stein says in his veto message. The bill allows […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

A Powell-ful incentive

The state has not one but three pressure points to try to induce Charlotte’s City Council and other local governments to reconsider their recent rejection of the controversial I-77 South Express Toll Lanes. After the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization voted in May to withdraw its support of the 11-mile, $3.2 billion widening project from […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

Supreme Court sides with Charlotte Latin critics

The N.C. Supreme Court’s five Republican justices agree that a Charlotte-area couple’s lawsuit against a private school that expelled their children can continue, at least into the fact-gathering stage. Writing for the group, Justice Richard Dietz conceded that Nicole and Doug Turpin’s case against Charlotte Latin probably would get tossed out of federal court, which […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

NC State and Gaston land military textile funding

NC State University and Gaston College’s Kimbrell Campus in Belmont will lead a Department of Defense initiative aimed at improving production and performance of textiles used by the military. The FutureTEX award launches the Defense Department’s ninth Manufacturing Innovation Institute, and includes $36 million in the first year and has a ceiling of $480 million […]

Written by on August 20, 2026

Auditors: CATS riders jump fares as often as not

As of late 2025, about 45% of the people who ride Charlotte’s buses and trains weren’t paying the CATS system’s fares, State Auditor Dave Boliek and his aides say. This costs the system between $5 million and $6.5 million a year in revenue, they say, basing both findings on the Charlotte Area Transit System’s own […]

Written by on August 20, 2026