James Farrell/WFAE Radio The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education made the stunning announcement Wednesday that it is placing Superintendent Crystal Hill on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation into how the school district is run. Here to break down what it means for the district and students is WFAE’s James Farrell....

Alan Wooten/The Center Square  Six bills are awaiting decision by North Carolina first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein as of Thursday afternoon, and the legislative tracker says three more go to his desk on Friday. State law grants the governor 10 days to sign, veto or allow a proposal to become...

Christine Zhu/NC Newsline A bill that would regulate electric bicycles in North Carolina and allow local governments to limit where they can be used is moving through the state Senate. The Senate Finance Committee voted to advance House Bill 1094, a collection of changes to transportation laws, without debate on...

Ted Clifford/Asheville Watchdog UNC Health, the University of North Carolina’s hospital system, has applied for permission to open a 92-bed hospital near downtown Asheville. North Carolina’s state-owned nonprofit health provider, which already has a management agreement with UNCHealth Pardee in Henderson County, made the request to the North Carolina Department...

Adam Wagner/NC Newsroom Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said Thursday that he believes public financing is necessary for any Major League Baseball pitch. Here, Berger is shown talking with reporters after the Senate’s session on Aug. 17, 2023. Senate leader Phil Berger on Thursday raised the possibility that the General...

Penelope Lopez/WTVD The main gate to Fort Bragg, known as the All-American Gate, is scheduled to shut down for repairs in mid-July, launching a $15.5 million infrastructure project expected to last two years. The long-awaited repairs, funded by Fort Bragg and managed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT),...

Paul Nielsen/The Waynesville Mountaineer Waynesville Town Council had something to celebrate last week — the board voted to rebuild a problematic sewer pump station using nothing but state money. The state will pick up the entire tab to build a new sewer pump station known as Little Champion that occasionally...

Monica Casey/WRAL News Durham water efficiency manager James Lin explained why the city implemented its Stage 2 Water Shortage response on Monday, skipping Stage 1 altogether. “When we ran our hydraulic model, we actually triggered stage one and stage two simultaneously,” Lim said. “This drought is hitting us at a...

Paul Woolverton/CityView Cumberland County agreed to pay $650,000 to the EwingCole architectural firm to settle a billing dispute over the defunct Crown Event Center project in downtown Fayetteville. EwingCole’s federal lawsuit said the county owed $1.32 million plus accruing interest for services rendered. The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners voted...

Amy Diaz/WFDD Radio Alamance County commissioners and school board members are meeting next week to discuss a budget dispute. The Alamance-Burlington School System Board of Education is challenging the county’s funding for the district in next year’s budget. Members unanimously approved a resolution earlier this week stating that the allocation,...

James Farrell, Ely Portillo & Julian Berger/WFAE Radio Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Dr. Crystal Hill has been placed on leave amid an investigation into how the district is run, the school board said Wednesday. Hill has been on the job for more than three years. The school district and multiple board...

Alex Littlehales/WRAL News The North Carolina Ethics Commission has dismissed a complaint filed against Insurance Commissioner Michael Causey after he was accused of exchanging ‘inappropriate’ messages with a former department employee. “This morning, Commissioner Causey was informed that the complaint had been dismissed by the Ethics Commission because ‘the facts...

Alan Wooten/The Center Square  With three changes to the Senate’s passage along party lines, the Dominique Moody Act advanced from North Carolina’s House of Representatives 113-0 on Wednesday. The upper chamber is next up to consider two committee substitutes and a floor amendment to the bill championed by Sens. Steve...

Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline A new bill proposed by North Carolina Senate Democrats would put constitutional amendments to legalize recreational and medical cannabis on the ballot. But its odds of getting a vote in the Senate are not high, Republican leadership says. Senate Bill 1072 would put two separate amendments on...

Paul Woolverton/CityView A moratorium on data center projects is in place for the unincorporated areas of Cumberland County through December 15, after the Board of Commissioners voted 7-0 for the moratorium on Monday. Spectators in the commissioners chamber applauded and cheered the vote, which has been expected since last week....