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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

Crop losses

N.C. House members are looking at setting up a $475 million program to insulate farmers from disaster-related crop losses that happened in 2024. But while the west’s recovery from Hurricane Helene has been front and center with legislators since last fall, House Bill 130 is not a Helene relief measure. To...

By Ray Gronberg

February 18, 2025

State lands factories for Hoke, Vance counties

State officials have deployed a couple of One North Carolina grants to seal the deal on two recruiting efforts that between them are promising 251 new jobs. The larger of the two targets is in Hoke County and involves an expansion of Pennsylvania Transformer Technology’s facilities along U.S. 401 east...

By Ray Gronberg

February 18, 2025

Court of Appeals rules against company police

In October, I wrote about a couple of cases involving the performance or prerogatives of private law-enforcement agencies operating under North Carolina’s company police law. One has yielded a court ruling. State Court of Appeals Judge Valerie Zachary and two colleagues overturned a trial-court decision that went in favor of...

By Ray Gronberg

February 17, 2025

Both parties scorned in Meredith Poll

Folks are pouring over the latest Meredith Poll results, which the school announced on Thursday and among other things show 56% of those questioned would like to see a third party take hold in the country’s politics. Only 25% said the Democratic and Republican parties do an adequate job of...

By Ray Gronberg

February 14, 2025

DOGE N.C. style

Should North Carolina embark on its own version of the Trump administration’s DOGE effort, House and Senate leaders have very different ideas about how to do it. House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, in late January set up an interim House Select Committee on Governmental Efficiency and assigned Reps. Keith Kidwell,...

By Ray Gronberg

February 14, 2025

Decision coming soon on NCORR, Berger says

Senate leader Phil Berger said he expects legislators will soon deal with the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency’s request for $217 million to complete its housing rebuilds in eastern North Carolina. “We’re having conversations with the governor’s office,” Berger said after Wednesday’s Senate session. “Obviously, with the House as...

By Ray Gronberg

February 13, 2025

Bell sticks up for GOP’s Helene relief strategy

Rep. John Bell, R-Wayne, is defending the GOP’s approach to hurricane relief and small business as the House’s Helene recovery bill moves closer to passage. Since October, the leading point of dispute between Republicans and Democrats about disaster-relief strategy has been whether the state should provide grants to businesses that...

By Ray Gronberg

February 13, 2025