Amy McCraw/Hendersonville Lightning Not much has changed on Lake Summit nearly a year after Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina. Water continues to pour freely over the inoperable and aging dam on the lake. And while the Scottsdale, Ariz., company that owns the Tuxedo Hydroelectric Project and state inspectors say...

Guy Lucas Enterprise/The (High Point) Enterprise Classes at High Point University began this week with a freshman class nearly 10% larger than last year’s, the university announced Thursday. The class numbers 1,671 students, up 143, or 9.4%, from last year’s freshman class and accounts for the bulk of HPU’s overall...

Kyle Perrotti/Smoky Mountain News In the wake of the controversy surrounding former Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran, the new sheriff, Brian Kirkland, only a month and a half on the job, will have company on the ballot come 2026. While sheriff candidates filing this early isn’t unheard of (there’s already...

Andrew Marshall/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer A bridge across Jonathan Creek that was destroyed by Helene has still not been repaired, leaving residents in the area frustrated and confused about the delay. Haywood County Bridge 46 connects Coleman Mountain Road to Jonathan Creek Road near the Interstate 40 exit 20 entrance ramp....

Jeremy McDermott/InSight Crime Even as the infamy of the Tren de Aragua grows in the Americas, its cohesion and organization are weakening. The assertion by the regime of Nicolás Maduro that Tren de Aragua has been wiped out in Venezuela is fiction. The taking of the prison of Tocorón, the...

Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online Registered voters of Holden Beach will decide this November whether to approve a multi-million bond that would pay for construction of a new town-owned pier. Holden Beach commissioners on Tuesday evening unanimously agreed to move ahead with plans to get a $7.3 million bond referendum added...

Kevin Ellis/Business North Carolina Two sold-out nights of Banana Ball at Bank of America Stadium in June generated $38.6 million in total economic impact, based on a report by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority released Wednesday. Those numbers compare favorably to last year’s ACC football championship game between Clemson and...

WRAL News Rip currents and large waves from Erin prompted coastal towns to issue no-swimming advisories lasting through Friday. The National Hurricane Center said the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda will face a risk of dangerous surf and rip currents across the western Atlantic basin throughout the week. To assist...

Grace Vitaglione/NC Health News Some employers and health systems in North Carolina are looking to change how they manage prescription drug benefits for their employees. More employers are considering alternative pharmacy benefit managers — or PBMs — to run the drug benefits in their employees’ health insurance plan. For the...

Sarah White/The Mountaineer N.C. Rep. Mark Pless doesn’t have a strong record of following campaign finance rules. In just the last four years, he’s garnered six late filing penalties — the latest could put a hold on his campaign spending entirely. Political candidates and representatives must file regular reports of...

Chantal Brown/Education NC The State Board of Community Colleges reflected at its meeting last week on the work of the previous academic year while looking toward a future without current N.C. Community College System (NCCCS) President Dr. Jeff Cox, who announced his retirement earlier this month, effective June 30, 2026....

Catherine Kozak/Coastal Review Online It was the massive scale of destruction in the North Carolina mountains after Hurricane Helene last year that spotlighted how advantageous microgrids — small independent power grids — can be to communities that have suffered disasters. After horrific flash floods from the storm that hit Sept....

Sarah Michels/Carolina Public Press When Southeast Middle School social studies teacher Eric Shock’s eighth-graders walked into class one day last semester, they noticed a piece of paper on the board. It was a bill being considered by the North Carolina General Assembly that would ban cellphones in schools. His students...

Port City Daily  The New Hanover County commissioners chose to change the process by which additional units above a zoning district’s allowance are approved, thus opening up each request to more layperson scrutiny. The commissioners voted unanimously Monday to change the process for obtaining an additional dwelling allowance from special...

Lily Levin/Smoky Mountain News Kevin Seagle, chair of the Swain County board of commissioners, has given the county his resignation effective Aug. 31, according to Swain County Sheriff Brian Kirkland. Amid rumors of his resignation that have swirled the last week, Seagle was absent from the meeting and Vice Chair...