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Stein Helene package seeks money for business

Gov. Josh Stein wants Congress to allot another $13.5 billion to hurricane recovery in North Carolina, and the Trump administration to move more quickly to deploy $9.4 billion in existing disaster-aid appropriations. Stein is asking Congress to channel almost $8.1 billion of the additional money through the feds’ Community Development...

By Ray Gronberg

September 16, 2025

Change at the top of NCDOT

North Carolina’s Department of Transportation is getting a new leader as of Oct. 1. State Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins — an engineer and NCDOT lifer — is retiring. Taking his place, via a gubernatorial appointment subject to state Senate confirmation, is Daniel Johnson, a lawyer who’s been with DOT since...

By Ray Gronberg

September 15, 2025

LGC docks revenue for 11 towns

Local Government Commission members have given State Treasurer Brad Briner the OK to withhold a portion of state-shared sales-tax money from 11 towns that are behind schedule in filing required financial audits. The decision — procedurally a denial of the towns’ appeals — affects: Morven, which is in Anson County....

By Ray Gronberg

September 15, 2025

New State Auditor report

State Auditor Dave Boliek’s office has released another of its new “rapid response” reports, this time addressing the Charlotte City Council’s decision to give outgoing Police Chief Johnny Jennings a $305,000 settlement. The report offered little new information about the controversial deal, save for some detail on the accounts Charlotte...

By Ray Gronberg

September 15, 2025

Magistrate reform

Details remain pending, but House and Senate leaders say they’re going to propose legislation next week to address the issues surrounding the stabbing death of a woman on Charlotte’s rail system. House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, indicated that the package is likely to include restraints on the discretion of magistrates,...

By Ray Gronberg

September 12, 2025

Budd not happy with Helene aid backup

Our friends at McClatchy report that North Carolina U.S. Sen. Ted Budd is increasingly unhappy with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s stranglehold on Hurricane Helene disaster aid. Noem has insisted on personally reviewing “every grant and mission assignment” worth more than $100,000, and claims this has saved taxpayers $10.7...

By Ray Gronberg

September 11, 2025

Wolfspeed gets OK to proceed with Ch. 11 plan

A federal bankruptcy judge has approved Wolfspeed’s Chapter 11 reorganization, court records and the company say. Wolfspeed CEO Robert Feurle called Monday’s decision an “important milestone,” given expectations that the company will now be able to reduce its debt load by 70%. Feurle and his team expect the company to...

By Ray Gronberg

September 9, 2025

Indiana and Duke Energy

Interesting news from Indiana, where Gov. Mike Braun has signaled interest in squeezing the profits of public utilities like Duke Energy to ease rising electricity rates. “Hoosiers have been burdened with utility rate increase after increase,” the Republican said. “We can’t take it anymore.” Charlotte-based Duke’s Indiana subsidiary serves a...

By Ray Gronberg

September 9, 2025

More on foreign-trained docs

My mailbag has brought forth a bit more commentary about House Bill 67, the omnibus healthcare workforce bill that among other things made it a bit easier for foreign-trained doctors to come to North Carolina to practice. One message was from Sen. Benton Sawrey, R-Johnston, who noted that state law...

By Ray Gronberg

September 9, 2025

Battleship takes hit from an audit

State Auditor Dave Boliek’s staff says its latest audit of the USS North Carolina Battleship Commission’s finances found a lack of “adequate internal controls” led to several errors in the commission’s fiscal 2023-24 books. All told, there were $2.1 million in errors, Boliek said. There included incorrectly recorded transactions for...

By Ray Gronberg

September 8, 2025

Farm workers debate

There’s a push on to lower the mandatory wage rates farmers have to pay foreigners who avail themselves of the U.S government’s H-2A guest worker program for seasonal work. North Carolina U.S. Rep. Brad Knott, R-13th, is praising a Trump administration notice that it intends to revise the method federal...

By Ray Gronberg

September 8, 2025

Asbestos ruling

A divided state Court of Appeals panel has breathed new life into a set of asbestos-related worker’s comp lawsuits against Continental Tire, which formerly operated a tire factory in Charlotte. The 14 lawsuits are a subset of what started out as about 150 different claims against the company, all of...

By Ray Gronberg

September 4, 2025

Durham preps zoning change for RTP

Here in the Triangle, Durham County Commissioners could face a decision late this year on whether to rezone the entirety of Research Triangle Park that lies within their jurisdiction. County records show that officials in Durham’s City/County Planning Department submitted paperwork for the change on Aug. 17. The current schedule...

By Ray Gronberg

September 3, 2025

Stein and AI

Gov. Josh Stein is setting up a new “AI Leadership Council” to help craft a strategy for the state government to follow as it deals with the many issues that stem from the wider use of artificial intelligence. Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley and state CIO Teena Piccione will co-chair the...

By Ray Gronberg

September 3, 2025

N.C. lawmakers visit Finland

Senate Majority Leader Michael Lee, R-New Hanover, four other legislators, and other state and private-sector officials traveled to Finland last week in hopes of attracting investment in military-related technology and manufacturing. On one level, the trip was the kind of international trade mission the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina...

By Ray Gronberg

September 3, 2025