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Boliek, Cooper and DMV

State Auditor Dave Boliek has told at least one county GOP group his office’s ongoing audit of the Division of Motor Vehicles could wind up damaging former Gov. Roy Cooper. The Spring Hope Enterprise reported this week that Boliek, in comments to the Nash County Republican Party convention, said that...

By Ray Gronberg

March 27, 2025

RTI announces big layoff

RTI International says cuts in federal funding will lead to 525 permanent layoffs at its Durham office, many without the customary 60-day notice. Layoffs began March 7 and will continue through at least May 1, according to a WARN Act notice filed with the state. RTI’s is the largest mass...

By Ray Gronberg

March 27, 2025

Port-call fees

North Carolina’s ports in Wilmington and Morehead City could face dire consequences if the federal government imposes massive port-call fees to penalize the operators of Chinese-built ships, their director says. The move would “no doubt result in a contraction of carrier calls and in effect force mid-size ports out of...

By Ray Gronberg

March 26, 2025

Briner on pension contributions

State Treasurer Brad Briner says his quarrel with Gov. Josh Stein over state pension funding is more a question of timing than about their ultimate aims. On the campaign trail last year and since taking office this year, Briner has said the treasurer’s office has to boost the pensions’ investment...

By Ray Gronberg

March 25, 2025

Charlotte’s thirst

A trio of state senators are trying to clamp down on Charlotte’s quest to gain a larger share of the Catawba River’s water. Filed Monday, Senate Bill 428 would alter the state’s interbasin transfer law to create a new “major transfer” category and subject it to stricter rules. Sen. Warren...

By Ray Gronberg

March 25, 2025

Stein puts out the help-wanted sign

Gov. Josh Stein wants former federal workers laid off in the DOGE process to know they can perhaps land on their feet by going to work for North Carolina. His administration launched a new help-wanted website on Friday that stresses that many state jobs are open and well-suited to experienced professionals. “Whether you were...

By Ray Gronberg

March 24, 2025

Asphalt in Ashe County

A unanimous state Supreme Court ordered Ashe County’s planning board to issue a permit allowing the development of an asphalt plant near Glendale Springs. Its decision, released Friday, looks to end a nine-year legal battle that’s traveled up and down North Carolina’s appellate court system multiple times since Appalachian Materials first applied for...

By Ray Gronberg

March 24, 2025

Appeals panel upholds dismissal of air-crash lawsuit

A unanimous state Court of Appeals panel has sided with aircraft engine maker Continental Aerospace Technologies in a product liability lawsuit stemming from a 2013 plane crash. Writing for the panel, Judge Toby Hampson upheld a lower court’s decision to grant Continental summary judgment in its battle with the estates...

By Ray Gronberg

March 21, 2025

A further word on projected energy costs

We’ve obtained a clarification about the $13 billion estimated savings that Sen. Paul Newton and other advocates of Senate Bill 261 say would occur if the state abandons the 70% interim carbon reduction goal it set for electricity providers. The $13 billion present-value figure is “the cumulative savings over the...

By Ray Gronberg

March 20, 2025

Senators pursuing flood-rule rebuilding exemption

You’ll remember that at a recent joint oversight hearing, Rep. Karl Gillespie, R-Macon, and Sen. Tim Moffitt, R-Henderson, complained that flood-protection rules could keep many Hurricane Helene victims from rebuilding in place. Now, Moffitt and some key senators are trying to do something to prevent that. Senate Bill 266 would...

By Ray Gronberg

March 18, 2025

Report: Honda to buy NC-produced Toyota batteries

Toyota’s $13.9 billion battery factory near Liberty is reportedly about to acquire a new customer — Honda. Tokyo-based Nikkei Asia says Honda is poised to source from the Liberty plant enough batteries to equip about 400,000 hybrid-electric vehicles, which would cover “all of the [HEVs] it sells in the” U.S....

By Ray Gronberg

March 18, 2025

Fourth try the charm for sawmill deregulation?

Rep. Karl Gillespie, R-Macon, is having another try at getting legislators to pass a bill that would allow the use of ungraded dimensional lumber in one- and two-family homes and some apartment construction. His House Bill 184 gained an endorsement recently from the House Agriculture and Environment committee, and could...

By Ray Gronberg

March 17, 2025

Rabon and Mecklenburg’s transit tax

Here at the Trib and Business North Carolina, we’ve been curious about why Senate Rules chair Bill Rabon, R-New Hanover, is sponsoring Senate Bill 145, which would authorize a new Mecklenburg County transit tax referendum. Rabon says he’s lending a hand because he thinks the bill might need the help...

By Ray Gronberg

March 14, 2025

Power update

The Senate has passed and sent to the House its proposal to eliminate the 70% interim carbon-reduction goal legislators handed down to regulators and Duke Energy just four years ago. Senate Bill 261 cleared the chamber on Thursday, just three days after its introduction, reflecting its status as a leadership...

By Ray Gronberg

March 14, 2025

A new use for Charlotte tennis subsides?

A House spending bill looks to claw back and reallocate $20 million the budget for the 2023-25 biennium earmarked for “Project Breakpoint,” an abortive effort to build a pro tennis stadium complex in Charlotte. House Bill 74 passed the chamber on March 5, and for now is parked in the...

By Ray Gronberg

March 13, 2025