Elena Marsh/The (Southern Pines) Pilot Following weather-related damage last fall that significantly set back rebuilding efforts, the owners of Woodlake Country Club say construction work has now resumed on a new dam that will allow the development to refill its central water feature, Lake Surf. In an update sent last...

Cory Vaillancourt/Smoky Mountain News In a move more than a half-century in the making, the Town of Canton has announced the pending purchase of a key parcel of land where it plans to construct a new, state-of-the-art flood-proof wastewater treatment plant — ending a long chapter of dependence on a...

Ben Jacobs/Politico President Donald Trump said he would explore backing a primary challenger to two-term Sen. Thom Tillis Saturday — just hours after the North Carolina Republican voted against advancing the centerpiece of Trump’s legislative agena. Trump berated Tillis in mutiple Truth Social posts, saying he was making a “big...

Liz Bell/Education NC State lawmakers passed legislation this week to change child care regulations with a stated goal of expanding child care access by reducing costs for providers. The bill heads to the governor for his signature. “Most of these provisions allow for flexibilities and reforms that are aimed at...

Lucas Thomae/Carolina Public Press A recent federal policy brief on North Carolina’s past child welfare reform efforts didn’t mince words: “Children in North Carolina suffer the consequences of an inadequate child welfare system.” But a sweeping bill that Gov. Josh Stein signed Thursday after unanimous passage last week by the...

Kelly Kenoyer/WHQR A sign inside the space that Vigilant Hope uses behind the Lake Forest Baptist Church. Vigilant Hope along with many other faith-based organizations provide a wide variety of services including meals, laundry services, and free mobile showers. Saturday marks the one-year anniversary for the Supreme Court’s landmark Grants...

Colin Campbell/WUNC Radio The state legislature gave final approval this week to three different bills to ban diversity, equity and inclusion policies and programs. One bill would put the prohibition in state government agencies. Another would ban DEI at public universities and community colleges. And the third would impact K-12...

Sophia Walsh/Port City Daily Brunswick County’s fastest-growing town is poised to expand development rules in its most vulnerable areas — a move that could reshape how and where homes are built across thousands of acres. Following a unanimous approval that was made by the Leland planning board on Tuesday, June...

Pat Kimbrough/The High Point Enterprise Plans to redevelop a former High Point retirement center property have been slowed by high construction costs, contractor disputes and vandalism at the site. John Hannon, whose company owns the long-vacant high-rise portion of the old Presbyterian Home at 2911 Jamestown Parkway (formerly Greensboro Road),...

Andrew Marshall/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer The crucial thoroughfare of Interstate 40 through the gorge between Tennessee and North Carolina has re-opened. North Carolina Department of Transportation workers moved barricades blocking the ramp getting on the interstate at Exit 20 just after noon on Friday. Currently, one lane is open in each...

Jack Evans/Asheville Watchdog Than Axtell, a fly-fishing guide who has lived in western North Carolina for three decades, adores the unimpeded wilderness around the south fork of the Mills River — the rare place, he said, where one can spend a weekend backpacking, fishing the whole way, and rarely seeing...

Katie Myers/Blue Ridge Public Radio Hundreds of thousands of acres of public forestland across the Appalachian region could lose some protection under the United States Department of Agriculture’s plan to roll back the “Roadless Rule.” Since 2001, this federal regulation has limited new road construction through protected forestland. The rule...

Sarah White/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer When Helene struck last September, Haywood County was just 95 days from completing a four-year property revaluation that would have aligned property values on the tax rolls with increasing market values. Now, the county is regrouping to finish the reappraisal by 2027. However, property owners whose...

Deirdre Walsh, Claudia Grisales & Elena Moore/WUNC Radio Senate Republicans are racing the clock, trying to meet President Trump’s demand that they pass his domestic agenda bill by July 4th as they work to resolve major sticking points inside the GOP conference. While Senate committee leaders have made several significant...

Jill Doss-Raines/Thomasville Times A large contingent of Southmont residents pleaded with the Davidson County Board of Commissioners to reconsider plans to build a $65 million sports complex on 359 acres in the unincorporated community south of Lexington. One after another, speakers told the board during a public hearing June 9...