Mackenzie Thomas/Carolina Public Press Facing pressure to show significant progress in dealing with financial issues, Littleton town officials informed the North Carolina Local Government Commission in a meeting on Tuesday that they completed the town’s 2021 audit and are close to hiring a new long-term finance officer. That appears likely...

Colin Campbell/WUNC News The state legislature could soon make university pay for student athletes a confidential record. Compensation for public university employees in North Carolina is a public record, from football coaches to professors and security guards. But legislation introduced in the House on Wednesday would exempt payments to athletes...

Alan Wooten/The Center Square  Commissioners in Wake County have paused, for at least 90 days, any action toward approval of Atrium Health’s takeover of WakeMed. In a surprise move, the commissioners on Friday had placed within Monday’s consent agenda an item for WakeMed’s articles of incorporation and a transfer agreement...

Christine Zhu/NC Newsline  Bipartisan lawmakers in the North Carolina House are backing a bill that would provide equal health insurance coverage for diagnostic and supplemental breast imaging. Legislators have introduced “Breast Cancer Prevention Imaging Parity” measures four times in recent years. The bill has passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan...

Julian Berger/WFAE Radio A Cuban man living in Charlotte died last week while in federal immigration custody at a detention center in Georgia. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said 33-year-old Denny Adan Gonzalez died last Tuesday at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. ICE says Gonzalez’s cause of...

WRAL News Protesters are expected to gather on Wednesday to oppose Duke Energy with a demonstration in downtown Raleigh. Environmentally conscious advocates, led by nonprofit group NC WARN, are raising concerns about rising power bills and fossil fuel expansion, as regulators approve a merger that could change how electricity is...

Kate Denning/Carolina Public Press The University of North Carolina System announced last month it was exploring the feasibility of offering degree programs consisting of around 90 credit hours as opposed to the typical 120. The UNC System’s curiosity about quicker, cheaper degrees is in line with national trends, appearing in...

Conor Doherty/WWAY News A newly filed bill in the North Carolina General Assembly could change who has the final say over development decisions in Brunswick County. House Bill 1222, introduced Tuesday by Rep. Charles Miller, would shift approval authority for new developments from the county’s planning board back to the...

April Laissle/WFDD Radio Winston-Salem officials are proposing a tight budget for the next fiscal year, citing rising costs driven in part by inflation and higher prices for major equipment. Construction expenses are up more than 80%, and the price of new fire trucks has nearly doubled. That’s what city manager...

Carrie Frye/The Southern Pines Pilot The need for dementia care is urgent and growing, nationally and right here at home. In Moore County, nearly one in four residents is over age 65, with communities like Pinehurst approaching 40 percent over age 65, more than double the national average. The fastest-growing...

Noah Britt/The Sampson Independent The city of Clinton has submitted a recommended budget for approval from the City Council that features no change to the ad valorem tax rate of .34 cents and maintains all the city’s services. The ad valorem tax rate is based on the assessed value of...

Jasmine Gallup/IndyWeek Pharmaceutical company Novartis Gene Therapies released new details last week about its plans to open two new facilities in Morrisville. Under an incentive agreement, the company—which plans to build a 56,000-square-foot facility, and upfit an additional 200,000-square-feet in the Pathway Triangle corporate campus—promised last year to invest more...

Kate Santaliz/Axios Rep. Chuck Edwards told a young female staffer that she had “written a complex chapter in my heart” shortly before she was set to leave his office, according to a handwritten letter he sent her that was reviewed by Axios. Why it matters: Edwards is now the subject...

Cierra Noffke/WilmingtonBiz The Wilmington metro area recorded the highest percentage of employment growth in North Carolina over the past year. According to new Current Employment Statistics data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Wilmington metropolitan statistical area – which includes New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties – added...

Charlie Fossen/Port City Daily Pender County commissioners voted 3-2 Monday to move forward with using 2026 property revaluation numbers, reversing an earlier decision to suspend the reval, and resolving weeks of legal and budget uncertainty. Commissioners Jimmy Tate and Vice Chair Brad George voted against the motion, which directs staff...