Luke Barber/The Watauga Democrat Watauga County is progressing with hurricane debris removal efforts after contracting with the US Army Corps of Engineers, although it may take some time before the public engineering agency makes its way to the area. According to Watauga County Emergency Services Director Will Holt, the US...

Jimmy Potts/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer Haywood County commissioners asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to “step it up” regarding its response in the wake of Hurricane Helene. County Commissioner Jennifer Best kicked off a lengthy dialogue with her fellow commissioners criticizing FEMA’s response so far during a county meeting on Monday....

Pat Kimbrough/The High Point Enterprise The public will have an opportunity next week to weigh in on a proposed new city zoning district aimed at revitalizing former industrial parts of High Point. The Southwest Mill District, created in coordination with the city and the Southwest Renewal Foundation, is intended to...

Liz Schlemmer/WUNC Radio NC public schools have been hit with a major data breach of teachers’ and students’ personal information. A hacker attacked the PowerSchool information system that schools use to track data on student enrollment, grades, health and attendance. PowerSchool is the largest provider of cloud-based education software for...

Rusty Jacobs/WUNC Radio There’s a legal principle — enshrined in a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court case known as Purcell — that says judicial intervention too close to an election is inappropriate because it could undermine the integrity of the voting process. And that principle is why North Carolina Supreme Court...

Rachel Crumpler/NC Health News Overdose is a significant cause of maternal death in North Carolina, according to the state’s latest maternal mortality review. Among the 76 pregnancy-related deaths that occurred in North Carolina in 2018 and 2019, a little over one quarter — 20 deaths — were from overdoses. Nearly...

Brenna Flanagan/Port City Daily A 20-acre plat annexed into Wilmington city limits in December has been greenlit for 253 apartment units, despite city staff’s claims the development is not suitable for the area. Developer HHHunt wants to build an apartment complex, Abberly Landing, at 7725, 7729, 7753 and 7759 Alexander...

April Laissle/WFDD Radio A judge ruled Wednesday that a lawsuit related to a 2022 fire at the Winston Weaver fertilizer plant can move forward as a class action. Should the plaintiffs win the suit, approximately 6,500 residents who evacuated during the incident could become eligible for compensation. The plaintiffs allege...

Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online They did it. The final $1 million grant the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust needs to top off the cash pot necessary to buy the undeveloped southern tip of Topsail Island has come through. Coastal Land Trust Executive Director Harrison Marks said he anticipates closing on...

Molly Wilhelm/Wilmington StarNews The North Carolina State Ports Authority has submitted an application for a rail line upgrade to improve storage and switching at the Port of Wilmington. Alongside two other ongoing projects, the expansion could help to alleviate traffic congestion on local roadways. The project proposes an upgrade to...

John Boyle/Asheville Watchdog Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies, and the real answers: Question: The Asheville Regional Airport Authority has announced the destruction of several general aviation hangars on the south ramp to allegedly make room for commercial planes. No new hangars seem to be mentioned. Does good planning...

Chris Burritt/Business North Carolina Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer and employer of more than 10,000 in North Carolina, filed for an initial public offering in New York that will return the maker of Farmer John sausage and Gwaltney bacon to the U.S. stock market. The IPO comes 12...

Luke DeCock/The (Raleigh) News & Observer In October 2022, preparing for the $300 million renovation of the Lenovo Center, the authority that oversees the arena heard elaborate presentations from three large consulting firms interested in serving as its representative during the construction process. In the end, the Centennial Authority hired...

Emily Vespa/NC Health News & The Charlotte Ledger As North Carolina’s health care systems increasingly expand their use of artificial intelligence, state leaders say they want to pioneer policy to regulate the rapidly evolving technology. The efforts would be some of the first steps toward placing guardrails on AI in...