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NC Ports update

The State Ports Authority incurred a $6.3 million operating loss in fiscal 2024-25, according to financial statements released Wednesday by State Auditor Dave Boliek’s office. But the authority nonetheless improved its overall net position by $51.2 million over its showing from the year before. That came thanks in no small...

By Ray Gronberg

October 23, 2025

Brockman update

House leaders are in the process of putting together a select committee to ponder the legislative future of Rep. Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford, who faces criminal charges accusing him of statutory sexual assault. Brockman, 41, has faced calls for his resignation from both sides of the aisle since the allegations against...

By Ray Gronberg

October 22, 2025

Justices shield Kinston fuel company

State Supreme Court justices have tried to resolve a dispute about the control of a Kinston-based fuel supplier in a way that keeps its doors open. Their 6-0 decision found that a 1998 shareholder buyout agreement between the owners of Cherry Oil — now Cherry Energy — offers a way...

By Ray Gronberg

October 22, 2025

Blockchain and “stablecoin” enterprises

N.C. House members have begun preparing for a future round of legislation they hope will make North Carolina an even bigger center than it already is for blockchain and “stablecoin” enterprises. The chamber’s new Select Committee on Blockchain and Digital Assets held its first meeting on Monday, hearing from a...

By Ray Gronberg

October 22, 2025

Closing the courthouse door?

North Carolina’s Supreme Court has upheld the dismissal of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a man killed in a building-maintenance at NC State University in early 2017. Its 5-2 decision found all the court’s Republicans in agreement with Justice Phil Berger Jr., who the accident wasn’t...

By Ray Gronberg

October 20, 2025

North Carolina’s sports-wagering program update

Estimated tax revenues from North Carolina’s sports-wagering program are down about 1.7% in the first quarter of fiscal 2025-26, compared to levels at the same point the year before. The State Lottery Commission reckons that the 18% levy on the gross wagering revenues of licensed sports-book operators will yield about...

By Ray Gronberg

October 20, 2025

DOGE and RTI

The Trump administration’s rollback of federal spending on science and medical studies has affected many U.S. research institutions, but the impact on Durham-based Research Triangle Institute “is in a category of its own,” according to a new study. In the administration’s first seven months, RTI received notice that 57 research...

By Ray Gronberg

October 17, 2025

Firearms ruling overturned

A state Court of Appeals panel has overturned a lower-court ruling that’d declared North Carolina’s ban on firearms possession by a felon unconstitutional as prosecutors had deployed it against a man in Forsyth County. Along with upholding the law in general, Judge John Arrowood and his colleagues rejected a 2024...

By Ray Gronberg

October 17, 2025

From the South Bay to Snow Hill

State officials used a $125,000 One North Carolina grant to convince a switch manufacturer to move its headquarters from the Los Angeles basin’s South Bay to a new home in Greene County. Judco Manufacturing’s move to the Snow Hill area will also bring along the firm’s research and development arm,...

By Ray Gronberg

October 16, 2025

Audit scrutinizes food-stamp processing speed

About $83 million in food stamps flowed to recipients more slowly than standard in former Gov. Roy Cooper’s second term because DHHS wasn’t riding herd as tightly as it could’ve on some counties, State Auditor Dave Boliek says. The state’s overall performance in getting food stamps out the door on...

By Ray Gronberg

October 16, 2025

Court decision

An all-Republican N.C. Court of Appeals panel on Wednesday sanctioned the General Assembly’s recent practice of granting the Council of State’s other elected members the power to appoint members of state commissions. Headed by Judge Jeffery Carpenter, the panel struck down the legislature’s move in 2023 to give itself rather...

By Ray Gronberg

October 16, 2025

Helene aid

The Stein administration’s grumbling about extent and handling of post-Helene federal disaster aid is getting louder. One of the governor’s point man on the recovery effort, Matt Calabria, warned Monday that the feds have yet to OK any hazard-mitigation grant awards to western North Carolina families waiting for buyouts. “We’ve...

By Ray Gronberg

October 16, 2025

Chamber inks deal with Abu Dhabi

The NC Chamber has expanded its roster of international partnerships by signing a memorandum of understanding with its counterpart in Abu Dhabi. Chamber officials say the partnership “will foster meaningful collaboration in areas such as energy, finance, life sciences and artificial intelligence.” The MOU follows similar arrangements with Northern Ireland...

By Ray Gronberg

October 13, 2025

Duke, the feds and renewables

No matter what the N.C. Utilities Commission or state legislators may want, moves by Congress and the Trump administration against solar and wind power are making utilities reconsider their plans for using those sources, Duke Energy says. Duke officials detailed their take on the situation in an appendix to the...

By Ray Gronberg

October 10, 2025

Brockman arrested

State Rep. Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford, is under pressure to resign after being charged with committing sex acts on a 15-year-old juvenile. Brockman was arrested Wednesday and held without bond. Calls for his resignation came Thursday from Gov. Josh Stein on down. “These charges are extremely serious and deeply troubling,” Stein...

By Ray Gronberg

October 10, 2025