Month: September 2026

2. New ferry toll law is ‘like the man sticking it to you again’

Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online Five days a week, John Richards drives the roughly 15-minute commute from his rural Beaufort County home to the Bayview Ferry Terminal or, as he calls it, the “working man’s ferry.” The half-hour ferry ride across the Pamlico River to Aurora shaves off about 45 minutes that Richards would otherwise have […]

Written by on September 7, 2026

3. Waynesville seeks legal opinion on how to regulate large development projects

Paul Nielsen/The Waynesville Mountaineer One Waynesville councilmember is seeking a legal opinion on what the town can do to better regulate the ever-growing list of new multi-family developments being proposed. Councilmember Jon Feichter asked Town Attorney Martha Bradley to draft a narrow legal opinion on what options Waynesville has to regulate larger residential developments, both […]

Written by on September 7, 2026

4. Pardee emerging from Mission’s shadow

Ted Clifford/Asheville Watchdog In August, UNC Health Pardee celebrated the opening of a 23-bed adolescent mental health unit. Dozens of people crowded into the future dayroom; standing against walls painted carefully chosen tones of soothing blue and green and sitting in chairs that are too heavy to lift, or throw. The opening of the facility […]

Written by on September 7, 2026

5. Jackson County kills school bond referendum

Alex Perri/Smoky Mountain News Jackson County Commissioners voted 4-1 to shoot down a $105 million school bond referendum at a Sept. 1 meeting, leaving county schools in the lurch for funding millions of dollars of capital improvement projects across the district. Now, tough decisions must be made regarding what projects to cut or significantly scale […]

Written by on September 7, 2026

6. Candidates talk top issues, from film incentives to growth

Emma Dill/WilmingtonBiz Film incentives, the New Hanover Community Endowment and funding for transportation and infrastructure projects, such as the replacement of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, proved hot topics for local and state-level candidates during the Greater Wilmington Business Journal’s Power Breakfast on Thursday. The event brought together candidates vying for seats in the N.C. […]

Written by on September 7, 2026

7. State Board discusses chronic absenteeism, technology, special education, and more

Molly Steur/Education NC The State Board of Education convened for its monthly meeting this week, where the Board heard a presentation on 2025-26 school accountability data, which showed, among other things, that the statewide graduation rate increased a full percentage point to 88.8% — the highest graduation rate in North Carolina history. “This graduation rate […]

Written by on September 7, 2026

8. Short supply on East Coast boosts apple price here

Bill Moss & Amy B. McCraw/Hendersonville Lightning Given the early freezes, late frosts, windstorms, hurricanes and floods that have battered Henderson County’s apple crop over the years, it’s a rare season when growers are pleased with the harvest. “It’s not perfect, but it’s probably the best situation we’ve had in a number of years,” Terry […]

Written by on September 7, 2026

9. Lombardi won’t have to pay UNC for resigning early

Shaun Gallagher, Brian Murphy & Jack Hagel/WRAL News Michael Lombardi, who resigned Thursday as the general manager of the University of North Carolina’s football program, won’t have to pay the university for leaving before the expiration of his contract, a person familiar with the mechanics of his departure told WRAL. The university, likewise, doesn’t owe […]

Written by on September 7, 2026

10. UNC and Duke herbaria to merge in Chapel Hill, two years after Duke announced plant collection cannot stay on campus

Daneen Khan/WUNC News Stepping into the UNC-Chapel Hill Herbarium feels similar to entering a witch’s lair. There’s no bubbling cauldrons, but jars of dried plants and vials of extracted oils line a glass cabinet near the entryway. A hodgepodge of yellowed pages and handwritten notes cover nearly every flat surface. Fittingly, there’s a lot of […]

Written by on September 7, 2026

1. Rebuilding I-40 after Helene will cost more, take longer than previously thought

Richard Stradling/The Raleigh News & Observer The N.C. Department of Transportation says the cost of rebuilding Interstate 40 through the Pigeon River Gorge has risen again and that it will take a year longer than expected to reopen the highway to four lanes at the Tennessee state line. NCDOT now expects to spend about $2.8 […]

Written by on September 3, 2026

2. How North Carolina wasted the chance to fix hog pollution

Lisa Sorg/Inside Climate News & NC Health News Thousands of dead and bloated pigs floated down country roads, buoyed by floodwaters. Tens of millions of gallons of feces and urine spilled over the brims of lagoons and contaminated everything in their path, including rivers, streams and private drinking water wells. It was September 1996, when […]

Written by on September 3, 2026

3. As their party criticizes Israel, local Jewish Democrats remain loyal — mostly

Steve Harrison/WFAE Radio Israel’s nearly three-year war against Hamas in Gaza has shifted much of the national Democratic Party into a new, openly critical stance against the Jewish state. A crop of young, progressive, anti-Israel candidates have won primaries or general elections. This summer, a majority of the Democratic U.S. House caucus — including two […]

Written by on September 3, 2026

4. Why American Airlines continues to scale back at Charlotte Douglas

Marshall Terry/WFAE Radio When American Airlines recently announced its resumption of nonstop flights between Charlotte and Barcelona, it hailed the move as another example of American expanding in Charlotte. But American actually continues to cut back on the number of flights and seats in Charlotte. That’s according to an analysis by The Charlotte Ledger, whose […]

Written by on September 3, 2026