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Economic Development

Poll: Many oppose casinos for their county

In case anyone needed a reminder after Senate leader Phil Berger’s GOP primary loss, a new poll suggests many North Carolinians would oppose having a casino built in their county. Commissioned by Locke Foundation co-founder and former President Marc Rotterman, the survey found that 56% of the 600 likely voters...

By Ray Gronberg

April 28, 2026

Granville Co. opposes Franklin in Kerr Lake fight

Granville County isn’t one of Senate Bill 214’s direct targets, but it’s standing with the communities that are in the crosshairs of water-and-condemnation rights battle with Franklin County. That includes opposing the measure “by any means necessary,” Granville commissioners say in a resolution opposing the bill. Members clarified by that, they...

By Ray Gronberg

April 28, 2026

Franklin County: Give us the water

Franklin County officials say that while they remain willing to negotiate for access to Kerr Lake’s water, they want condemnation rights in Vance County to use as leverage to ensure talks play out in their favor. Senate Bill 214’s provision on the matter “gives Franklin County a tool it may...

By Ray Gronberg

April 27, 2026

Data-center developer sues Chatham County

A company led by UNC Board of Governors member Kirk Bradley has sued Chatham County, seeking to overturn the county’s moratorium on data-center development. Lawyers for Eco TIP West filed the lawsuit on Thursday. They allege the moratorium violates the firm’s vested rights in a tract within the Moncure megasite,...

By Ray Gronberg

April 27, 2026

Stein floats idea for funding job training

Within Gov. Josh Stein’s budget request for fiscal 2026-27 is a proposal to set up a new program called the “Strategic Workforce Training” fund to underwrite job training and similar services. Stein and his aides would fund it by assessing employers a fee tied to what they pay each year...

By Ray Gronberg

April 24, 2026

Lawmakers, or lawbreakers?

North Carolina’s General Assembly is a serial lawbreaker, a state House member says. Rep. Phil Rubin, D-Wake, made the accusation during this week’s floor debate on Senate Bill 214, the rewritten “various local provisions” package that would give Franklin County a leg up in a regional water-rights dispute. It also...

By Ray Gronberg

April 24, 2026

Could Franklin Co. grab Henderson’s water plant?

A “local provisions” bill got pulled from the House’s Wednesday docket because some legislators think it’ll give Franklin County authority to seize ownership of a neighboring community’s water-treatment plant. The House-Senate compromise draft of Senate Bill 214 includes a section that would allow Franklin County to acquire, through condemnation, property...

By Ray Gronberg

April 24, 2026

Lumbee advance casino proposal

Lumbee leaders have approved an amendment to the tribal constitution that sets up a vote this summer by the tribe’s enrolled members that would clear the way for casino gaming. According to The Robesonian, the Lumbee Tribal Council voted 17-2 in favor of the amendment during its monthly meeting last...

By Ray Gronberg

April 22, 2026

Activist investor proposes split of Ingles

The activist investor in Ingles Markets that’s seeking a board seat says it wants to split the company, separating it into one that would focus on selling groceries and a second that would operate as a “grocery-anchored real estate” firm. This would “optimize the capital structure of both entities and...

By Ray Gronberg

April 22, 2026

Port’s future at risk, Wilmington Chamber boss says

The Stein administration’s refusal to endorse plans to deepen the Port of Wilmington’s ship channel has created “uncertainty around a project that has been carefully studied,” one of the city’s key business leaders says. It needs to make good by working with NC Ports and the U.S. Army Corps of...

By Ray Gronberg

April 22, 2026

Utilities commissioners: power-rate loophole is anti-consumer

A state law that allows Duke Energy to file rate plans lasting less than three years is anti-consumer, according to two members of the N.C. Utilities Commission. It allows Duke to reap the benefit “of performance-based regulation” while avoiding a third-year cap on rate increases, commissioners Donald van der Vaart and...

By Ray Gronberg

April 15, 2026

Lumbee gearing up for summer casino vote

Lumbee leaders are preparing an amendment to the tribal constitution that would give the tribe’s enrolled members the promised chance to decide whether or not to have casino gaming. The amendment cleared the Lumbees’ constitution and ordinance committee earlier this week and could get voted on by the Tribal Council...

By Ray Gronberg

April 15, 2026

Auditor praises Baptist home repairs in WNC

State Auditor Dave Boliek says Baptists on Mission’s taxpayer-subsidized home-repair effort in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene has complied with all the state’s requirements. It also “met people in [the region] where they needed to be met, and did so with a sense of urgency,” he said Friday after...

By Ray Gronberg

April 13, 2026

Farm Bureau, Chamber weigh in on Roundup case

State Rep. Pricey Harrison isn’t the only North Carolina voice weighing in with the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of its review of a product-liability verdict against Monsanto over the Roundup weedkiller. The N.C. Farm Bureau, and the NC Chamber, signed on to a friend-of-the-court brief that sides with Monsanto. They...

By Ray Gronberg

April 13, 2026

Japan-N.C. business links yield another recruit

One of Japan’s largest financial companies, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., or SMBC, plans to establish a second U.S. headquarters in Charlotte by investing $50.5 million and adding 2,000 jobs over the next six years. State and local officials used a $78.8 million incentives package to land the project, which adds...

By Ray Gronberg

April 9, 2026