Sally Kestin/Asheville Watchdog The cancer patients on floor K9 were among the sickest at Mission Hospital, in need of close monitoring. Dr. Martin Palmeri, an oncologist at Messino Cancer Centers, already had grave concerns about the quality of care under HCA Healthcare’s ownership when he received a call about a...

Aaron Sánchez-Guerra/WUNC Radio North Carolina Labor Commissioner Luke Farley announced this week a new advisory body created to strengthen worker protection and address heat stress in the workplace. The state’s new Heat Stress Advisory Council includes 14 representatives of different industries like agriculture and construction, who employ people who work...

WRAL News North Carolina State University leaders on Thursday are considering a proposal to raise tuition. The university’s Affairs Committee will meet to look at raising the tuition for all incoming students by 3% – which would be an increase of $196 per year. Current undergraduates would not see their...

Rachel Heimann Mercader/CityView In a unanimous vote during its Nov. 6 work session, the Fayetteville City Council formally requested that State Auditor Dave Boliek’s office conduct an audit of six city construction projects left incomplete after contractor disputes and delays—some of which now appear to be under criminal scrutiny. The...

Paul Nielsen/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer A nearly two-year discussion on how to best regulate vacation rentals in Waynesville is nearing its end. And the proposed changes are few. A surge in homes being converted to vacation rentals prompted Waynesville to consider whether it’s time to rein them in. But in the...

Sergio Osnaya-Prieto/Education NC Gov. Josh Stein has directed one of his councils to make recommendations for the implementation of Workforce Pell grants in North Carolina, according to a Monday press release from the North Carolina Department of Commerce (NCDOC). “North Carolina is committed to maximizing Workforce Pell to create new...

Zachary Turner/WFAE Radio Mecklenburg County purchased a historic farm in Huntersville and plans to turn it into a park sometime next year. The farm sits on 38 acres at the corner of Brown Mill and Beatties Ford Road. Erin Stanforth, sustainability and resilience manager for Mecklenburg County, led a tour...

Coastal Review Online Plans are in motion for the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher to close early next year for a $65 million renovation and expansion. The project, announced May 8, is to include the largest shark habitat in the state, expanding the facility to the largest aquarium in...

Sarah Michels/Carolina Public Press It wasn’t so much a blue wave as it was a blue mist permeating North Carolina’s municipal elections. On Nov. 4, while Democrats rode a tsunami of anti-establishment discontent to victory nationally, from New Jersey and Virginia governorships to California’s redistricting proposition, North Carolina held its...

WRAL News WakeMed announced on Tuesday that UnitedHealthcare will no longer cover Medicare Advantage plans starting Saturday, Nov. 15th, unless a deal is reached. The two organizations are in the middle of negotiations, both with the contracts set to expire on Saturday. Officials with UnitedHealthcare told WRAL News they are...

Mae Anderson/The Associated Press The end of the longest U.S. government shutdown in history would be a relief for small businesses that depend on federal contracts or funding. For seven weeks, they’ve been reducing spending, weighing layoffs and looking for stable work while trying to reach shuttered government offices, according...

Alan Wooten/The Center Square  As a North Carolina congressman’s bill awaits committee action, a federal appeals court in the District of Columbia on Monday temporarily halted a rule change for non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits and commercial driver’s licenses. The Sept. 26 rule change announced by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy came...

Adam Wagner/NC Newsroom & WUNC Radio A Wake County Superior Court Judge has ruled that the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services must roll back one of the Medicaid provider reimbursement rate cuts it enacted in an effort to save money amid a funding standoff. DHHS says the state’s...

Nada Hassanein/NC Newsline In their competition for rural health care dollars from a new federal fund, states are seeking money to bolster emergency services, address chronic diseases, and recruit and train more doctors and nurses. All 50 states submitted their applications to the federal government last week to get shares...

Sarah White/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer If another disaster knocks out phone, cell and internet service like in Helene, the county’s emergency shelter won’t be caught flat footed with no way to communicate. More than $500,000 of state and federal money will bolster communication for the county’s emergency shelter and EMS base...