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Economic Development

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

RTP rolls out its 3.0 development standards

Tenants and landowners in Research Triangle Park have approved a set of new development standards that line up with park leadership’s vision for “RTP 3.0.” This is an expansion of the park’s push over the last decade or so to accommodate a broader range of development beyond just the corporate...

By Ray Gronberg

July 6, 2026

Duke gives up its Carolina Long Bay lease

Federal officials announced they’ve made a deal with Duke Energy to give it “partial reimbursement” for its $129.2 million offshore-wind lease south of Bald Head Island. Duke agreed to “voluntarily terminate” the lease it signed in 2022 and will use its money on other generating capacity. Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe, CEO of...

By Ray Gronberg

July 6, 2026

Senate proposes time limits for local zoning reviews

Senators have passed and sent to the House a regulatory reform package that among other things would force cities and counties to act more quickly on land-use decisions. Senate Bill 1047 gives them a maximum of 135 days to act on a rezoning application, unless the developer involved agrees it...

By Ray Gronberg

June 29, 2026

Church fight in the Senate

A revamp of the state’s laws for nonprofit corporations unexpected turned into a quarrel on the Senate floor about religious freedom and a threat to North Carolina’s churches. House Bill 517 cleared the chamber on a 32-10 vote, but only after Sen. Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth, objected to a section in...

By Ray Gronberg

June 29, 2026

Berger: I-77 clawback still undecided

Senators passed and sent back to the House an omnibus transportation bill, without adding to it any language that would penalize Charlotte-area governments that abandoned their support of the Interstate 77 widening project. If it’s addressed at all, the I-77 issue will be addressed in the state budget, Senate leader...

By Ray Gronberg

June 29, 2026

Lumbee vote adds to string of casino losses

Lumbee members’ lopsided rejection of a set of amendments to the tribal constitution “means the tribe does not have a path forward on gaming at this time,” their top legislator says. “But it does not mean our work stops,” says Alex Baker, speaker of the Lumbee Tribal Council. “It means...

By Ray Gronberg

June 29, 2026

Senate passes adversary land-buys bill

The Senate has passed and sent to the House a bill that would ban governments like China’s or their state-owned companies from buying North Carolina farmland, but not without turning aside a last-minute addition proposed by Democrats. Sen. Kandie Smith, D-Pitt, asked the chamber to add to House Bill 133...

By Ray Gronberg

June 29, 2026

Duke pares requested power-rate increase

Duke Energy has lowered its rate-increase request as the N.C. Utilities Commission continued to weigh how much it should allow power bills to rise. The company’s North Carolina president, Kendal Bowman, rolled out the reduction at the rebuttal stage of the proceedings. Duke officials stressed that it’s a rare move, as...

By Ray Gronberg

June 29, 2026

Study looks at gang ties in Durham homicides

New statistical analysis confirms that homicide in Durham is predominately a matter of criminals shooting other criminals. Analysts advising a city/county task force looked at all 197 homicides in the city from 2021 through 2025 and found that about two-thirds of victims and suspects were already known to the criminal...

By Ray Gronberg

June 29, 2026

Van der Vaart questions legality of exclusion from Duke-plans vote

N.C. Utilities Commission member Donald van der Vaart says his exclusion from its decision-making on Duke Energy’s Carolinas Resource Plan doesn’t square with state law. It’s based instead on an in-house “procedures manual” that doesn’t have the force of statute or of a fully approved, published regulation, van der Vaart...

By Ray Gronberg

June 23, 2026