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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

AI video targets Barnes-Gailliard race

An AI-generated video that’s making the rounds on social media depicts a state Senate candidate and prominent Rocky Mount pastor, James Gailliard, as a literal tool of Satan. By contrast, it portrays the Republican incumbent in the District 11 Senate race, Lisa Barnes, in beatific terms as someone blessed and...

By Ray Gronberg

June 23, 2026

Boliek criticizes Mid-Currituck Bridge planning

By this point, legislators take it as gospel that the N.C. Department of Transportation has sunk about $60 million or so into planning a toll-funded widening of Interstate 77 in downtown Charlotte that may not happen. But State Auditor Dave Boliek and staff say another big state road project has...

By Ray Gronberg

June 23, 2026

Stein OKs revaluation moratorium

Gov. Josh Stein has signed into law a one-year moratorium on the use of the new-for-2026 valuation updates Guilford County and a few other counties were intending to use to assess property taxes. Stein says Senate Bill 889 “provides tax relief for North Carolinians who are feeling pain in their pocketbooks,”...

By Ray Gronberg

June 22, 2026

UNC Health requests target Wilmington, Asheville

UNC Health officials say they’ve applied to state Department of Health and Human Services for certificates of need that would allow them to build new hospitals in Wilmington and Asheville. The Wilmington application proposes a 150-bed hospital on 62 acres at the corner of South 17th Street and Shipyard Boulevard....

By Ray Gronberg

June 22, 2026

Land-buy restrictions for foreigners advance in NCGA

Supporters of restricting “adversarial foreign government” land purchases in North Carolina have coalesced around one bill that’s now one stop away from a Senate floor vote. House Bill 133 cleared the Senate’s Judiciary committee on June 17 and awaits only a review by Senate Rules before reaching the floor. It...

By Ray Gronberg

June 22, 2026

Tax bill on the move, despite R&D complaints

House and Senate Republicans are poised to pass an omnibus tax bill that will also allow credit unions to broaden their membership base. The compromise version of Senate Bill 595 passed a second-reading vote in the Senate on Thursday, via a 28-14 party-line vote. A third-reading vote is scheduled for...

By Ray Gronberg

June 19, 2026

Chamber report warns of Canada/Mexico trade instability

The Trump administration’s approach to trade relations with Canada and Mexico risks destabilizing markets that accounted for nearly a third of North Carolina’s export business in 2025, the NC Chamber says. Its assessment, appearing in a report issued this week, concerns the future of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA. It’s...

By Ray Gronberg

June 19, 2026

Compromise struck on hotel-tax use

House and Senate members have passed two bills intended to settle the debate about hotel-tax policy created by a recent state Supreme Court decision. Senate Bill 484 puts a general ban on using occupancy tax revenue earmarked for tourism-related purposes on law enforcement, fire protection, trash collection and other ordinary...

By Ray Gronberg

June 19, 2026

Sawyer I-77 amendment still up in the air

Senators advanced an omnibus bill for the N.C. Department of Transportation on Wednesday without tacking on language to punish Charlotte-area governments for rescinding their support of the Interstate 77 widening. But Sen. Vickie Sawyer, R-Iredell, told members of Senate Transportation that the clawback amendment she’s proposed “is not a hollow...

By Ray Gronberg

June 19, 2026

Utilities commissioner excluded from vote on Duke Energy plans

N.C. Utilities Commission member Donald van der Vaart can’t vote on the next version of Duke Energy’s Carolinas Resource Plan because he’s been on vacation during some of the panel’s recent public hearings on it. Commission Chairman Bill Brawley announced the ruling on Wednesday. “The commissioner is allowed to participate...

By Ray Gronberg

June 19, 2026

Burgin healthcare bill mired in Senate

Sen. Jim Burgin’s healthcare reform bill cleared another hurdle on Tuesday, but it’s unclear whether it’ll eventually got to the Senate floor for a vote by the chamber’s 50 members. Senate Bill 978 got a favorable vote Tuesday morning from the Senate Judiciary committee. Its next stop is the Appropriations/Base...

By Ray Gronberg

June 19, 2026

Housing-policy items dropped from Senate reg-reform bill

Senators have removed two proposals intended to bolster housing construction from another regulatory reform bill that’s making it way through their chamber. At the request of the bill’s lead sponsor, Sen. Steve Jarvis, R-Davidson, Senate Judiciary struck language that would have make it harder for cities and counties to set...

By Ray Gronberg

June 19, 2026

Casino opponents target Lumbee referendum

Former House Speaker Pro Tem Skip Stam and businessman Bob Luddy are speaking up against the Lumbee’s prospective move to jumpstart casino development. The pair got a letter published over the weekend in The Robesonian that urges readers to vote no on the tribal referendum that’s coming up on June...

By Ray Gronberg

June 19, 2026

CON battles in Winston-Salem and Wilmington

North Carolina hospital chains Atrium Health and Cone Health say they’ve filed certificate-of-need applications with the state for major projects would expand their geographic scope. Cone proposes to open a $330 million, 56-bed hospital in southeast Forsyth County, entering a Winston-Salem market now dominated by Atrium and Novant County. Its...

By Ray Gronberg

June 19, 2026