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Economic Development

“Free Our Spirits”: Group calls for ABC system change

North Carolina’s liquor-control laws are antiquated and need a major overhaul, to allow more retailers to join local ABC stores in selling gin, rum, bourbon and other distilled beverages, the backers of a new PR drive argue. “Break up the monopoly,” the backers of the “Free Our Spirits” campaign say....

By Ray Gronberg

May 12, 2026

Data-center tax breaks inch closer to chopping block

It’s looking increasingly possible state officials will reel in at least some of tax breaks and other incentives they’ve made available to would-be data-center builders. House Speaker Destin Hall says his chamber “is going to take some action on that” during this year’s session. Echoing Gov. Josh Stein, Hall said...

By Ray Gronberg

May 12, 2026

Lumbee clarify casino-vote eligibility

Lumbee tribe leaders say their initial announcement about the upcoming membership vote on casinos was “confusing” and have clarified it make it clear enrolled members living outside the tribal territory can participate. Voting rights in the June 23 balloting will include people “who live outside the tribal territory [that] make...

By Ray Gronberg

May 12, 2026

Hall: Don’t ask legislators for more I-77 dollars

House Speaker Destin Hall doesn’t want to see the ongoing controversy about how and whether to widen Interstate 77 around downtown Charlotte turn into a request to legislators for additional funding. Charlotte and N.C. Department of Transportation officials need to resolve the issue “in a way that they’re not coming...

By Ray Gronberg

May 12, 2026

Ski industry seeks liability limits

North Carolina’s ski industry wants legislators to revamp the state laws that regulate it, to among other things cap jury awards in accident-liability cases. A committee substitute for Senate Bill 648 discussed Tuesday in House Judiciary 2 would impose a $1 million cap — adjusted for present value — on...

By Ray Gronberg

May 1, 2026

Legislators postpone intervention in Kerr Lake water-rights battle

House and Senate negotiators have dropped the idea of giving Franklin County a clear lane to acquire land in neighboring counties to gain access to the waters of Kerr Lake — for now. Released Tuesday afternoon, a freshly revised version of Senate Bill 214 omits language that would’ve let Franklin...

By Ray Gronberg

May 1, 2026

Democrats offer data-center bills

House Democrats and a Democratic senator have rolled out separate bills that begin to spell out a different approach to the data center boom than the state’s taken to date. One of the bills, House Bill 1063, counts House Democratic Leader Robert Reives, D-Chatham, and much of the chamber’s Democratic...

By Ray Gronberg

May 1, 2026

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