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Data-center bill: touted, but stalled

A couple of Down East Republicans are touting state House’s interest in passing restrictions on data-center development, even though the bill’s stalled in the Senate and its fate in the remainder of this session is far from clear. Rep. Charlie Miller and John Lowery, who are from Brunswick and Robeson...

By Ray Gronberg

September 21, 2026

Appeals courts split on prediction-market sports betting

Former North Carolina U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry may think prediction markets like Kalshi aren’t handling sports bets in the traditional sense, but a panel of West Coast judges appointed by President Trump disagrees. Ruling on Friday, Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ryan Nelson and two of his colleagues...

By Ray Gronberg

September 21, 2026

Housing in downtown Raleigh’s present and future

A big part of downtown Raleigh’s developmental success story is the massive expansion of housing there, which business leaders say is poised to continue. Since 2015, developers have added 6,923 housing units to downtown’s inventory. Another 765 are under construction, and a further 5,922 are in the pipeline of “planned...

By Ray Gronberg

September 21, 2026

Fort Bragg in line for small nuclear reactor

Fort Bragg is one of the five “initial locations” in line to get a nuclear “microreactor” in the next couple of years to help power its operations, the U.S. Army says. The choice is an outgrowth of what the Army calls the Janus Program, and comes also with the selection...

By Ray Gronberg

September 21, 2026

Downtown Raleigh looks to the future

Raleigh’s downtown has come a long way from where it was in 1996, when it amounted to “a failed pedestrian mall, a few storefronts [and] a civic center absolutely no one remembers fondly.” Now, it’s a vibrant place that’s seeing the benefits of $3.7 billion in investment just since 2015,...

By Ray Gronberg

August 27, 2026

N.C. in line for up to $646M from Meta settlement

North Carolina will receive at least $451.7 million from Meta Platforms — the owner of Facebook and Instagram— as part of a nationwide settlement of a multi-state consumer protection lawsuit. The litigation revolved around claims about teenagers’ social-media addictions and the settlement includes numerous restrictions on their future use of...

By Ray Gronberg

August 27, 2026

Ohio firm picks Mocksville

The No. 2 in CNBC’s Top States for Business has beaten out the No. 1 for a new factory that promises $120 million in investment and 400 new jobs. Ohio-based ProVia will build a window manufacturing facility in Mocksville instead of adding to its existing holdings in its home state....

By Ray Gronberg

August 27, 2026

Get to know Rep. Heather Rhyne

Cherryville native Heather Rhyne, R-Lincoln, arrived in the General Assembly in the summer of 2024 as the appointed replacement for former Rep. Jason Saine, R-Lincoln. The pharmacist and former school board chair later won election in her own right and in the 2025-26 session has been the House GOP caucus’...

By Ray Gronberg

August 27, 2026

Durham Co. adds to state’s data-center moratoria

Durham County has joined the parade of cities and counties around the Triangle and the state that have enacted moratoria on data center projects. But it didn’t go far enough for some tastes. The version county commissioners passed Monday night on a 4-1 vote included a quartet of exemptions, notably...

By Ray Gronberg

August 27, 2026

Lumber in Scotland

Alabama-based Great Southern Wood will invest $40 million to build a lumber treatment manufacturing facility at an industrial park at Laurinburg-Maxton Airport in Scotland County. It is expected to employ 43 workers. If it delivers on that, a performance-based grant of $200,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will subsidize...

By Ray Gronberg

August 27, 2026

North Carolina sports wagering in the spotlight

The return of its sports-betting market makes North Carolina a state to watch among those that have legalized gambling, the online publication SportsBoomsays. June’s total of $589.6 million in total wagers — a figure that includes sportsbook promotional offers — was 36.1% higher than it was a year ago. North...

By Ray Gronberg

August 27, 2026

Trio of swing-seat House Republicans trail in fundraising

Republican incumbents in a trio of key, near-toss-up N.C. House districts trailed their challengers in fundraising through June, according to their campaign-finance filings with the State Board of Elections. The biggest gap was in District 74, the Clemmons/Lewisville area of western Forsyth County. Incumbent Rep. Jeff Zenger has raised $286,365....

By Ray Gronberg

August 27, 2026

Vape store takes HPU to court

A vape shop owner is suing High Point University over what it says is the school’s efforts to force it to move out of a shopping center across the street from its campus. Filed on Aug. 17, the suit by High Point Tobacco Land & Vape accuses the university of...

By Ray Gronberg

August 27, 2026

Charlotte Latin and defamation

Also on the media-law docket, the other recent ruling came from the N.C. Supreme Court and was an adjunct to the contract-law dispute a Charlotte area couple is having with Charlotte Latin over its expulsion of their children. The couple’s lawsuit includes a defamation claim against the school that alleges...

By Ray Gronberg

August 27, 2026

Judges side with UNC Chapel Hill in records fight

North Carolina’s courts have handed down a couple of rulings in recent days that are of considerable interest to media-law watchers. The more high-profile of these came Thursday in the form of trial Judge John Morris’ ruling against a group of media companies led by the Daily Tar Heelthat’s seeking...

By Ray Gronberg

August 27, 2026