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With growth comes the need for more power

North Carolina’s continued growth spree is making even couple-year-old projections of future power-generation needs obsolete, Duke Energy executives recently told members of a House committee. Their presentation to the House Energy and Public Utilities committee included one scenario that indicated demand for generating capacity could approach 42 gigawatts by 2038....

By Ray Gronberg

March 3, 2025

Is fixing DMV really a priority?

It may take moving the Division of Motor Vehicles out from under the state Department of Transportation’s bureaucratic umbrella to improve its customer services, one of the co-chairs of the House Oversight committee says. Throughout state government, “there’s been issues with [having] departments under departments,” said Rep. Jake Johnson, R-Polk, adding...

By Ray Gronberg

February 28, 2025

Local news effort grabs $2M from Knight, Google, Dogwood

There’s a common complaint across North Carolina that it’s harder to keep up with the news because of the declining impact of local publications, which once dominated coverage in every city across the state. That’s particularly true for coverage of state government affairs, with the Raleigh statehouse press corps much...

By Ray Gronberg

February 28, 2025

Infrastructure bank

The North Carolina Chamber is urging Raleigh lawmakers to consider creating a State Infrastructure Bank and adopting other “innovative financing solutions to leverage private money’’ to advance infrastructure projects in the state. While spending on state highways is a focus, the Raleigh-based business advocacy organization is also urging legislators to...

By Ray Gronberg

February 28, 2025

DMV online services

The Division of Motor Vehicles’ push to make its services available online is costing the contractors who operate its network of 123 privately owned and operated storefront license plate agencies money, the trade group representing them says. Agency operators are paid by the transaction, and “there are certain implementations that...

By Ray Gronberg

February 27, 2025

Farm/bank anti-ESG bill advances to Ag committee

House Judiciary 1 committee members on Tuesday endorsed House Bill 62, which would bar banks from denying or canceling service to farmers based on ESG factors. The committee’s debate clarified the N.C. Bankers Association’s objections to the bill, which center on language that would allow farmers to haul a bank...

By Ray Gronberg

February 26, 2025

Home Builders seek higher zoning mininiums

Two key interest groups have rolled out their agenda for this session’s upcoming regulatory reform bill. The N.C. Home Builders Association wants legislators to consider forcing cities and counties to allow “a high base density in urban centers” and a “reasonable” base density in rural areas. This would help cut...

By Ray Gronberg

February 26, 2025

Tillis and Ukraine

North Carolina U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis is doubling down on his support for helping Ukraine defeat Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin. Tillis took to the Senate floor last week to deliver about a seven-minute speech that highlighted Russian war crimes and terror tactics, and that spared no criticism of...

By Ray Gronberg

February 25, 2025

Charlotte transit

Senate leaders on Monday put a bill in the hopper that, if passed, would allow Mecklenburg County to hold a referendum on whether to add another penny to the county’s local-option sales tax to pay for road and transit projects. Senate Bill 145’s lead sponsors include Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick,...

By Ray Gronberg

February 25, 2025

Jackson on ESG in ag lending

Rep. Neal Jackson, R-Moore, is riding to the defense of a bill he and the chairs of the House’s Agriculture and Environment committee introduced to make it illegal for banks to deny loans to farmers based on ESG factors. The application of environmental, social and governance goals to farming threatens...

By Ray Gronberg

February 24, 2025

Stein seeks $19B more in Helene aid from the feds

Gov. Josh Stein has asked federal officials to send an additional $19 billion in aid North Carolina’s way to help the western part of the state recover from Hurricane Helene. The breakdown on this includes about $11.6 billion in additional appropriations for disaster aid, beyond those Congress approved just before...

By Ray Gronberg

February 21, 2025

The arguing about where to put the Dean Dome’s replacement has already begun

In the that-didn’t-take-long department, there’s a petition circulating in Chapel Hill that opposes the idea of building UNC Chapel Hill’s next basketball arena somewhere on the former site of the university’s airport. It argues the project should go on “a campus-connected location” that among other things “ensures continued foot traffic...

By Ray Gronberg

February 20, 2025

Greensboro considering Couch annexation request

Greensboro’s Planning and Zoning Commission has unanimously endorsed the idea of the Triad city annexing 78.5 acres of developer David Couch’s lands that until last year were part of Summerfield. Via successive 9-0 votes on Tuesday, it also endorsed Couch’s request for planned-unit-development zoning, and a development plan that includes...

By Ray Gronberg

February 20, 2025

Farm loans and banks

A group of House Republicans wants to punish banks and credit unions if their views on the environmental lead them to refuse to loan money to farmers. Sponsored by among others the chairs of the House Agriculture and Environment Committee, House Bill 62 would make it illegal for banks to...

By Ray Gronberg

February 20, 2025

Grants and loans for Western NC

N.C. Bankers Association President Peter Gwaltney says there “needs to be a healthy debate” on the question of the state’s strategy for helping small businesses in western North Carolina survive the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. “Small businesses have been assisted greatly by their banks in terms of loan deferrals, payment...

By Ray Gronberg

February 19, 2025