Emily Thomas/EducationNC The North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS), State Board of Community Colleges, and the North Carolina Community College Foundation recently announced nine statewide winners of the system’s 2025 excellence awards. The annual awards recognize community college excellence among students, staff, faculty, presidents, and workforce development partners. “These award...

Gary D. Robertson/The Associated Press New North Carolina Democratic Gov. Josh Stein gave his first address to a joint General Assembly session Wednesday night, hitting on familiar campaign and early-term themes of helping Hurricane Helene victims, making living expenses affordable and focusing on bipartisan accomplishments. Stein delivered the biennial State...

R. Cory Smith/24-7Sports NC State is expected to name longtime vice chancellor Kevin Howell as the 15th Chancellor for the University. Howell is set to succeed Randy Woodson for the role after working under him for more than a decade in Raleigh, becoming the first African-American Chancellor for NC State....

Daniel Sheehan/Wilmington StarNews Leland has seen a concerning rise in traffic accidents, with fatalities and serious injuries becoming more common. The town has developed a comprehensive safety plan that includes infrastructure improvements, reduced speed limits, and increased law enforcement. Residents and officials agree that stricter enforcement of traffic laws is...

Brenna Flanagan/Port City Daily  One Republican-targeted yet century-old measure of the tax code could be tagged for elimination as the federal government looks to shore up money and pass a new tax bill. A 51-page memo leaked from the House Ways and Means Committee identifies different programs — many categorized...

Evey Weisblat/CityView  A legal drama spanning nearly seven years between the City of Fayetteville and four homeowners associations with private dams that breached during Hurricane Matthew shows no sign of stopping, as the city rejected a settlement offer from the plaintiffs last Monday. The city confirmed its response to the...

Laura Leslie/WRAL News A bill advancing in the North Carolina House would put the brakes on Garner’s bid to expand its land-use planning authority to more areas in southeastern and south-central Wake County. House Bill 173 would halt Garner’s request to expand its extraterritorial jurisdiction, also known as ETJ, to...

Guy Lucas/The High Point Enterprise Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt made Guilford Technical Community College’s advanced-manufacturing training center the second stop in what is planned as a statewide tour in support of the workforce training provided by all 58 North Carolina community colleges. GTCC President Tony Clarke and several students in...

Emma Cooke/WCHL Chapelboro The Orange County Board of Commissioners recently rejected a proposed senior housing community located at Morrow Mill Road. Finding Fiddlehead Corner unfit for the rural community, the board’s March 6 meeting concluded last month’s public hearing. If not unanimously rejected by the board, the 55+ housing community...

Coastal Review Online  Tens of thousands of additional private drinking water wells are now eligible for PFAS contamination testing around Chemours’ Fayetteville Works plant. The company, at the direction of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, is expanding well sampling eligibility for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances to portions of...

April Laissle/WFDD Radio Forsyth County is seeking clarity from the North Carolina General Assembly about whether adopted siblings can legally marry each other. The issue was included in its list of legislative priorities, which the county submits to its lobbyist for advocacy at the state level. This year, there were...

Brian Gordon/The (Raleigh) News & Observer FHI 360, a global research nonprofit headquartered in downtown Durham, announced more indefinite furloughs Monday, citing continued frozen payments from the U.S. Agency for International Development. After furloughing a third of its U.S. staff in February, the organization said 45% of its domestic workforce...

Daniel Sheehan/Wilmington StarNews The Cape Fear Memorial Bridge replacement project was slated to have a big year in 2025. Last year, the project made headway when three design alternatives were proposed following a preservation project to extend the life of the current bridge. The project was awarded a $242 million...

Becky Johnson/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer N.C. Rep. Mark Pless is carrying the ball for five Maggie Valley property owners who feel they are unfairly subjected to town taxes or zoning rules. Pless has filed a bill that would remove eight parcels from the town limits, which would collectively save the five...

Will Hofmann/Asheville Citizen Times Despite a natural disaster, two Western North Carolina national park sites remained among the most visited in the country in 2024, though a March 5 National Park Service memo indicated the Trump administration wishes to obscure information relevant to the number of visitors. While major sections...