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Energy study targets 2026 report

As for UNC Chapel Hill’s energy study, campus officials say they’ve hired Irvine, California’s Salas O’Brien to help them figure out the institution’s need’s and a road map for achieving them. UNC Chapel Hill’s energy services chief, Tony Millette, says the engineering firm “will give us the big picture” and has already “worked...

By Ray Gronberg

May 30, 2025

Trustee questions dorm-construction process

Speaking of dorm space, UNC Chapel Hill trustees this month gave Roberts’ team permission to permission to demolish a building to make way for a new dormitory and hire a construction manager at risk to run the project. The goal, University Architect Evan Yassky said, is to have “just over 700 beds”...

By Ray Gronberg

May 30, 2025

UNC’s enrollment plans spark unusual town-gown harmony

If you’re at all familiar with how town-gown politics usually roll in Chapel Hill, the lack of public dispute about UNC Chapel Hill Chancellor Lee Roberts’ hopes of boosting the flagship university’s enrollment is … unusual, to put it mildly. But there might be a reason for that. Namely, hope....

By Ray Gronberg

May 30, 2025

Dems ahead on generic General Assembly ballot?

Speaking of polls, the Strategic Partners survey for Conservatives for Clean Energy served up a somewhat different picture of the generic ballot for the General Assembly than another recent poll. It found a 2.1 percentage point split among the 650 registered voters who participated. Democrats were favored by 44.9%, Republicans by 42.8%....

By Ray Gronberg

May 29, 2025

Buc-ee’s building plan review is underway

In the spirit of tying up a loose end, I can report that the folks at Buc-ee’s have submitted building plans to Mebane officials for review. This occurred just a week ago, said Richard Allred, building plan reviewer in the Alamance County city’s Permits and Inspections office. It also comes a year and four...

By Ray Gronberg

May 29, 2025

NC voters back nuclear expansion, oppose utility surcharges, favor renewables over fossil fuels

While they don’t like the state Senate’s approach, North Carolina voters do seem receptive to legislation that would make it easier to build new nuclear power plants in the state. A poll conducted for Conservatives for Clean Energy found that 58.2% of the people Strategic Partners Solutions interviewers talked to in March...

By Ray Gronberg

May 29, 2025

Wayne, Mecklenburg land new businesses

North Carolina’s business recruiters have scored two more wins, via projects that promise to bring 216 jobs to Wayne County and 276 jobs to Charlotte. The Wayne County project will, if successful, become the first U.S. outpost of Pelsan Tekstil, a Turkish company that also operates in Russia and Switzerland. A...

By Ray Gronberg

May 28, 2025

Activists mobilize against gas station developments in Alamance and Pitt counties

Triangle-area activists are hoping to use disputes about the construction of gas stations in Alamance and Pitt counties to mount a broader campaign to further restrict the siting of such businesses. The primary flashpoint for the N.C. Environmental Justice Network and a like-minded group, 7 Directions of Service, is the planned 120-pump Buc-ee’s...

By Ray Gronberg

May 28, 2025

Lazzara pushing redevelopment tax break

A bill’s moving through the Senate committee process that would set up a process for some projects to get a property tax abatement. Sen. Michael Lazzara’s Senate Bill 695 made it through the chamber’s State and Local Government committee before the Memorial Day holiday and is now in the hands of the...

By Ray Gronberg

May 27, 2025

Country club case confounds YIMBYs

There’s been some media attention paid to the Raleigh Country Club’s litigation against the city over its willingness to allow a 16-unit townhouse project next to its 11th green and 12th tee. What’s flown a bit under the radar, however, is the scope of the club’s latest lawsuit. It has two big claims that...

By Ray Gronberg

May 27, 2025

Old-school pitchers shine as Peterson and Skubal go the distance

Since the start of the baseball season, I’ve been giving my MLB.tv subscription a workout. This past weekend was no exception, and it served up a couple of gems for folks like me who are fans of old-school pitching. The new school, if it’s been a while since you’ve tuned in, is...

By Ray Gronberg

May 27, 2025

Railroads ticketed for aid in House Helene bill

Deep in the fine print of the House’s latest hurricane-recovery aid package, there are two proposed appropriations that would help a pair of western North Carolina short-line railroads. House Bill 1012’s proposed allocations include a $9 million grant to the Blue Ridge Southern Railroad and $1 million for the Great Smoky Mountains...

By Ray Gronberg

May 23, 2025

The Dems who supported a toll-road ban

To tie up a loose end from Wednesday, I checked the vote lineup on the House’s decision to add a ban on tolling U.S. 1 in Wake County to its draft of the budget. The 71-37 vote came at the behest of Rep. Mike Schietzelt, R-Wake, who represents Wake Forest and other parts...

By Ray Gronberg

May 23, 2025

Berger may tie hurricane aid to budget talks as House pushes for separate vote

Senate leader Phil Berger appears willing to use the House’s new $464.8 million hurricane-aid bill as leverage to get his chamber’s way in upcoming House-Senate budget negotiations. Berger was non-committal on Thursday when asked whether the Senate will take up the aid package, House Bill 1012, as a standalone piece of...

By Ray Gronberg

May 23, 2025

House budget forbids tolling of U.S. 1

The House budget bill will ban the N.C. Department of Transportation from spending state money to make any part of the Wake County portion of U.S. 1 a toll road. Members amended the bill at the behest of Rep. Mike Schietzelt, R-Wake, whose Wake Forest-area district in northern Wake straddles U.S. 1,...

By Ray Gronberg

May 22, 2025