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Economic Development

Opposition to ABC pricing plan steps up

North Carolina’s leading trade group for the restaurant industry has sharpened its attack on a prospective move by the state ABC Commission to establish “minimum baseline pricing” for liquor. A poll conducted for and released by the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association says the idea is unpopular, with 55% of...

By Ray Gronberg

July 27, 2026

Chamber sees need for state maritime-industry strategy

North Carolina’s maritime sector is a considerable economic asset, but it could benefit from a more cohesive strategy and, in any case, an approach leavened with a healthy dose of realism, the NC Chamber says. There’s opportunity there “wider than finding new uses for idle infrastructure,” it says in the...

By Ray Gronberg

July 27, 2026

Paper mill troubles leaked into Columbus Co. budget

Budget problems in Columbus County’s government are traceable in part to the loss of about $2.6 million in potential yearly property tax revenue, largely thanks to cutbacks at a paper mill there. Production cuts in 2023 at the former International Paper mill in Riegelwood not only cost about 200 jobs, but...

By Ray Gronberg

July 27, 2026

JetZero looking for more federal aid

JetZero says it and the federal Export-Import Bank have agreed to “explore” a deal that could bring up to $3 billion in financial support to the company’s planned airliner factory in Greensboro. The announcement cautioned that the “letter of interest” it’s signed with Export-Import officials is well short of a...

By Ray Gronberg

July 22, 2026

American Efficient files for Chapter 11

Durham-based American Efficient has filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, seeking to reorganize its debts in the face of its troubles with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The energy-efficiency trading firm lists FERC as by far its largest credit, with a listed debt to it of of $1.1 billion. That...

By Ray Gronberg

July 21, 2026

Duke cuts rate-increase ask after talks with advocates

Duke Energy has once again lowered its requested rate increase for 2027 and 2028, dropping it to an average 7.4% over the two years. The move follows a settlement with the N.C. Public Staff and some key business and environmental groups. Presuming the N.C. Utilities Commission ultimately OKs the deal,...

By Ray Gronberg

July 21, 2026

Auditors and deficits

State Auditor Dave Boliek’s aides dispute the idea that the office ran a deficit in fiscal 2024-25, which saw Boliek take over for the second half of the year. “Our audited financial statements reflect a $940,505 decrease in fund balance, not a deficit position,” says Randy Brechbiel, the auditor’s spokesman....

By Ray Gronberg

July 20, 2026

Power co-op seeks relief from biogas demands

North Carolina’s largest electric co-op wants legislators to change a law that forces utilities to buy renewable-energy credits tied to the use of methane put on the market by Down East hog farms. The credits likely will cost “our members more than 50 times the cost of a renewable energy...

By Ray Gronberg

July 20, 2026

Smith joins NCPorts board

As any of his social-media followers knows, Harry Smith likes his boat. He’s now in a position to have over the handling of some that are a lot bigger. Gov. Josh Stein has appointed the former UNC System Board of Governors chairman to the board of the State Ports Authority....

By Ray Gronberg

July 20, 2026

Auditor: Landfill clean-up would take a century at current funding level

North Carolina’s effort to clean up old landfills is so poorly funded that the Department of Environmental Quality hasn’t been able to even investigate 78% of the 688 it knows about, State Auditor Dave Boliek says. At current rates, it’ll take the department about 99 years to inspect, strategize for...

By Ray Gronberg

July 14, 2026

Feeling the need, the need for speed …

One of the changes CNBC made this year to its Top States for Business ranking system is the addition within it of metrics for the speed of permitting decisions for construction and other needs. It says it’s relying in part on data from Labrynth, an AI firm that puts out...

By Ray Gronberg

July 13, 2026

N.C. back to second in CNBC Top States for Business

North Carolina has slipped out of the top spot in CNBC’s annual Top States for Business rankings, but only dropped to second behind the new No. 1, Ohio. Released Thursday, the new rankings continue a six-year, post-pandemic run that’s seen North Carolina hold down the No. 1 or No. 2...

By Ray Gronberg

July 13, 2026

Work starts on gas line reaching into Rockingham County

MVP Southgate’s backers have notified federal regulators that they’ve begun construction of their 31-mile gas pipeline, which will run from Virginia into Rockingham County. The July 2 notice to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission came nine days after the agency told them they could go ahead. It also followed a...

By Ray Gronberg

July 13, 2026

Stein signs reg-reform bill, touts benefits for housing

Gov. Josh Stein has signed a bill he says will give North Carolina “another tool in the toolbox to build more homes and make housing more affordable.” He was referring to House Bill 162, which loosens parking-space minimums in many parts of the state and drainage-related restrictions on redevelopment in...

By Ray Gronberg

July 7, 2026

Budget upholds JetZero incentives payout plan

The fiscal 2026-27 budget continues the state’s previously announced strategy for supplying up to $450 million in direct appropriations to support JetZero’s plans to build an airliner factory in Greensboro. Now awaiting Gov. Josh Stein’s signature, the bill releases another $133.9 million for the project, on top of the $118.1...

By Ray Gronberg

July 7, 2026