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Zaas returning to Duke Health to become its CEO

Dr. David Zaas takes over as CEO of Duke Health on May 1, putting him in charge of an $11 billion enterprise and one of the state’s largest employers. The move comes less than three months after Zaas became CEO of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem. He had...

By Ray Gronberg

March 26, 2026

UNC’s new provost introduces himself

Wednesday’s trustee meetings featured the first appearance in that venue of UNC Chapel Hill’s new provost, Magnus Egerstedt. The native of Sweden is an expert in what he calls “swarm robotics,” which focuses on how to control dozens or hundreds of drones at a time. It’s a field that these...

By Ray Gronberg

March 26, 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

Get to know Rep. Celeste Cairns

Celeste Cairns is a GOP state representative for Carteret County and part of Craven, first elected in 2022. She won re-election in 2024 with 70% of the vote. She is deputy majority whip. The University of Georgia graduate is a former employee of Deloitte who also worked for Willis Corroon...

By Ray Gronberg

March 25, 2026

State fiscal forecast: cloudy

Legislative and executive-branch fiscal forecasters say they anticipate the state will collect $34.7 billion in general-fund revenues in fiscal 2026-27, about 1% less than what they think the state’s likely to collect by this summer. In dollar terms, that’d be $360 million less than in fiscal 2025-26, which nonetheless is...

By Ray Gronberg

March 25, 2026

Commerce gauges counties’ vitality

State Commerce Department officials have created an “economic vitality” dashboard to help gauge how well North Carolina’s counties are faring relative to others and to the country as a whole. It uses a fairly simple composite set of metrics from 14 years, namely average unemployment rates, private sector weekly wages,...

By Ray Gronberg

March 25, 2026

Berger concedes to Page

Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, on Tuesday conceded that he lost his District 26 party primary to challenger Sam Page. “While this was a close race, the voters have spoken, and I congratulate Sheriff Page on his victor,” Berger said in a statement issued by his campaign just before 4...

By Ray Gronberg

March 24, 2026

Turner vs. Winston

Asheville-area Rep. Brian Turner, D-Buncombe, is unhappy with the way a prominent Triangle hotelier and developer responded to a recent campaign email about the Iran war’s likely effects on the economy. The focus of Turner’s ire is Bob Winston, founder and CEO of Raleigh-based Winston Hospitality, which operates in North...

By Ray Gronberg

March 24, 2026

French company agrees to give up offshore wind leases for $928M

France’s TotalEnergies says it’s signed a settlement agreement with the Trump administration to give up two offshore wind leases, including one off the North Carolina coast. The company says its studies “have shown that offshore wind developments in the United States, unlike those in Europe, are costly and might have...

By Ray Gronberg

March 24, 2026

Justices allow class-action challenge to Raleigh fee

tate Supreme Court justices have rejected Raleigh’s bid to avoid a class-action lawsuit from real-estate developers who want compensation for what they allege was an illegal water and sewer fee. Speaking for a 6-0 court, Justice Anita Earls rejected the city’s contention that the case didn’t merit class-action status because...

By Ray Gronberg

March 23, 2026

Bolas named new CEO of NCInnovation

NCInnovation has taken the “acting” qualifier off the title of its CEO and says Michelle Bolas will continue in the role on a permanent basis. A former UNC Chapel Hill administrator, Bolas has headed the state-endowed nonprofit since former CEO Bennet Waters stepped down last November. She joined NCI in...

By Ray Gronberg

March 20, 2026

Leadership conference coming up on May 15

The 2026 NC Leadership Conference will bring together business, government, and policy leaders from across the state for a focused half-day program on Friday, May 15, at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. Presented by Business North Carolina and the N.C. Tribune, the event is designed as a...

By Ray Gronberg

March 20, 2026

DOT offers assurances about I-40 rebuild

The rebuilt Interstate 40 in the Pigeon River Gorge will include things that should give it “a significant amount of resilience” against another major washout like the one triggered by Hurricane Helene, DOT’s top engineer says. “Long term, we expect the I-40 infrastructure repairs to be sustainable,” Chief Engineer Patrick...

By Ray Gronberg

March 20, 2026

Calls grow to rework McCrory-era road-planning system

There are now bipartisan calls for the state to rework the system it established under former Gov. Pat McCrory for deciding what transportation projects it should undertake. Multiple members of a new select committee House Speaker Destin Hall has assigned to look at “North Carolina’s transportation future,” said Thursday, the...

By Ray Gronberg

March 20, 2026

NYT: Trump pursing buyouts of offshore wind leases

The New York Times reports that the Trump administration is considering paying $133 million to buy out a French company’s lease of a potential offshore wind-energy site near the North Carolina coast. The potential offer would target the Carolina Long Bay project, which would go up about 22 miles south...

By Ray Gronberg

March 19, 2026