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Economic Development

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

Stein-appointed group favors legal cannabis market

An advisory group is urging Gov. Josh Stein and the General Assembly to formally legalize cannabis, to the extent of allowing sales to adults through state-licensed retailers. Formalizing a market in that way would give the state “a full regulatory framework and the tools necessary to manage it responsibly,” the...

By Ray Gronberg

April 7, 2026

Lee, other senators oppose Fuquay water request

Three of the state Senate’s top Republicans have come out against Fuquay-Varina’s request for permission to transfer up to 6.2 million gallons of water a day from the Cape Fear River’s basin into the Neuse River’s. If approved, the transfer promises “lasting harm” to downstream communities in the Cape Fear...

By Ray Gronberg

April 7, 2026

Harrison takes herbicide fight to Supreme Court

State Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, doesn’t often get her way in the GOP-dominated General Assembly. She’s hoping for better luck with the GOP-dominated U.S. Supreme Court. Harrison recently joined 35 other state legislators from around the country in signing a friend-of-the-court brief that urges the court to rule against Monsanto...

By Ray Gronberg

April 7, 2026

Appeals court rules against animal sanctuary

Winston-Salem officials acted within they authority in 2023 when they told the owners of a nonprofit animal sanctuary in the far-eastern part of the city to shut down, an all-Republican state Court of Appeals panel says. Court of Appeals Judge Chris Dillon and his colleagues rejected the owners’ attempt to...

By Ray Gronberg

April 2, 2026

Panthers deal with Charlotte drawing scrutiny

For the Carolina Panthers, the price of getting $650 million in public money is that they’re going to have state auditors looking over their shoulder as they go about renovating Bank of America Stadium. Both Tepper Sports and city of Charlotte officials have signaled that they’re amenable to the extra...

By Ray Gronberg

April 2, 2026

McDowell touts federal insurance policy change

.S. Rep. Addison McDowell, R-6th, is claiming partial credit for a Federal Housing Finance Agency decision he says will help keep homeowners-insurance costs down. The FHFA recently announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow owners with federally backed mortgages to have only actual-cash-value coverage for roof replacements. That...

By Ray Gronberg

March 30, 2026

Satellite campus still a political minefield for UNC

A campus trustee is warning UNC Chapel Hill officials to keep an eye on political considerations as they pick developers to help them get the planned Carolina North satellite campus off the ground. “It’s easier to get support from some of the institutions that we will need support from in...

By Ray Gronberg

March 26, 2026