Jennifer Fernandez/NC Health News In Guilford County, having an orange card means an uninsured dad who breaks his hand working around the house can get medical care. It means a self-employed mom who no longer qualifies for Medicaid and can’t afford other insurance can get a mammogram. Having one of...

WRAL News Wake County Manager David Ellis’ 2027 budget recommendation comes with a 2-cent property tax increase and greater concerns for the future. “I want to offer some words of warning about the FY2028 budget,” Ellis said. “If the state doesn’t close the Blue Ridge loophole and if the state...

Zachary Turner/WFAE Radio Most land in North Carolina is privately owned, making conservation work more challenging for nonprofits and environmental advocates. A new agreement is designed to help conserve a unique stretch of privately owned land: the state’s electric highway system. Duke Energy natural resources manager Scott Fletcher signed an...

Sarah White/The Waynesville Mountaineer Canton leaders backtracked on their plan to use funds from a lawsuit against Pactiv Evergreen to bring economic development to town through an old mill warehouse. Instead, the town will use that money to fill in the funding gaps for crucial flood renovation projects. Two weeks...

Ben Bokun/WNCN News Applications close this week for the City of Durham’s pilot program dedicated to increasing housing affordability. As part of the effort, little homes will pop up all over the Bull City. “Cost of living has increased significantly over the last several years, so things have become a...

Brighton McConnell/WCHL Chapelboro A discussion by the Chapel Hill Town Council about downsizing by two members and extending the length of mayoral term was met with swift, vocal opposition during a public hearing last week. The community comments, in the span of just a few days, led the elected officials...

Dan Kane & Kyle Ingram/The Raleigh News & Observer Former state Rep. Cecil Brockman won $2 million in state funding for a nonprofit in High Point that provides services for people with autism and other disabilities in 2023. Since then, nearly a fifth of that money went to his predecessor...

Ted Clifford/Asheville Watchdog In 2022, Chuck Edwards campaigned on his image as the responsible adult in the room. As a prosperous businessman with a chain of McDonalds, Edwards was a hardline if unflashy conservative who had risen through the ranks of the state Senate. He successfully offered western North Carolina...

Rodney Overton & Michael Ramsey/WNCN & NewsNation The head of the Environmental Protection Agency is calling a newly identified lithium deposit in the Appalachian Mountains — concentrated in the Carolinas — a “great find,” saying it could help the United States reduce its reliance on China for critical minerals essential...

Colin Campbell/WUNC News More than a month after the primary, the biggest spender opposing Senate leader Phil Berger finally filed a disclosure report listing its donors. But the report leaves more questions than answers about who funded the Guilford-Rockingham Alliance’s $453,000 campaign to help Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. More...

Emily Moosbrugger/The Waynesville Mountaineer The long-held vision of bringing passenger rail to WNC would generate an economic impact of $59 million annually to the region, according to a comprehensive economic impact study released earlier this year. The proposed passenger rail corridor would span approximately 139 miles from Salisbury to Asheville,...

Mackenzie Thomas/Carolina Public Press  Five years behind on financial audits, the town of Littleton faces a potential takeover by the North Carolina Local Government Commission if the town fails to complete its fiscal year 2021 audit by Monday. Littleton town officials attended the Local Government Commission’s meeting on April 1...

Port City Daily The elections director for New Hanover County has formally opposed her removal to the state board of elections. New Hanover County Board of Elections filed a petition to terminate DeNay Harris’ earlier this spring. Her attorney, Gary Shipman with Shipman Wright & Moore, LLP, filed a response...

Liz Bell/Education NC Business leaders and owners advocated on Thursday for legislative funding this session for the child care subsidy program, which helps low-income working and student parents afford care. “Without enough affordable, high-quality child care, employers across the state are missing out on what they need; that’s talent and...

Lily Levin/Smoky Mountain News   Haywood Community College President Shelley White got little pushback for the additional $268,000 she has asked for from county commissioners in HCC’s 2026-27 budget proposal, but Haywood County Schools Superintendent Trevor Putnam’s request for an extra $3 million encountered some resistance. Both school leaders presented...