Ana Risano/The (Southern Pines) Pilot Southern Pines maintains over 256 miles of water mains, 169 miles of sewer lines and over 83 miles of roads — a lofty task the Public Works Department takes on day after day. Residents often play a key role in keeping track of each line...

Gary D. Robertson/The Associated Press North Carolina’s latest Democratic governor was sworn into office on Wednesday, as Josh Stein succeeded Roy Cooper in a top elected position for the second time in eight years. During a small ceremony inside the old Senate chamber of the 1840 Capitol building, Stein took...

Eleanor Mueller & Zachary Warmbrodt When a 29-year-old Patrick McHenry entered Congress in 2005, few would have believed the man described as the GOP’s “attack dog-in-training” would retire two decades later as a paragon of pragmatism. But after he spent his first terms brawling to little effect, the North Carolina...

Connor Giffin & Ryley Ober/USA Today Network Paul Brock stood at a microphone before a panel of government officials at the Lake Lure Inn, whose packed dining hall had become a makeshift town hall. Neighbors gathered in late October to recovery efforts with the town council. Weeks before, Tropical Storm...

Luke Barber/The Watauga Democrat A local entrepreneur is protesting the Town of Boone’s system development fees after discovering that opening a new gym within the town’s limits would cost him an additional $33,348. Seth Norris, the lead pastor at Perkinsville Baptist Church and chief of the Deep Gap Volunteer Fire...

Jacob Biba/Asheville Citizen Times  Three months after Tropical Storm Helene hit Western North Carolina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved $288 million in recovery assistance to more than 142,000 household and individuals, the agency said in a Dec. 27 release. An additional $307 million in public assistance funding has...

James Farrell/WFAE Radio North Carolina ranked 48th in the country in terms of public education funding for the third year in a row, according to the latest annual state-by-state analysis of school funding from the Education Law Center. The state also ranked 49th in terms of funding effort, which looked...

Port City Daily The film industry brought hundreds of millions of dollars to the state in 2024, thanks to the entertainment industry rolling cameras from mountains to coast. More than 55 productions were set up and made $302 million in purchases statewide for their projects. According to the N.C. Department...

Laura Leslie/WRAL News The Federal Emergency Management Agency is increasing its footprint in the Triangle in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene. The agency has leased a 117,000-square-foot office building in Durham, just outside Research Triangle Park. The building, Danbury Hall, is part of the Sheraton Imperial Office Center. A...

Holly Kays/Smoky Mountain News For the first time in nearly three years, the trail to Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s tallest waterfall is fully open — and following an intensive rehabilitation of its entire four-mile length, Ramsey Cascades Trail is in better shape than it’s been in decades. “It’s a...

Alan Wooten/The Center Square As 2024 closes, prices for a gallon of unleaded fuel in North Carolina are more than a dime lower than a year ago and continue to hover at about 20 cents better than the national average as they have all year. The motor fuels tax falls...

Jaymie Baxley/NC Health News After three eventful years, Kody Kinsley is stepping down from his role as North Carolina’s top health official. The New Hanover native’s relatively short run as secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services was marked by several achievements that will likely be felt...

Felicia Sonmez/WFAE Radio The former Pactiv Evergreen paper mill in Canton has been shut for more than a year and a half. With several lawsuits underway, the site’s future remains in limbo — and so does the status of Canton’s wastewater treatment. For years, Pactiv Evergreen was a fixture in...

Alexa Wandersee/Port City Daily Three deputies from the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office are being sued for seizing thousands of dollars of hemp products and ransacking vape shops, after a controversial operation led to shops being raided statewide. Roughly 100 vape shops were part of Operation Vapor Trail, with 71 in...

Summer Stevens/The Coastland Times On December 11, state lawmakers enacted Senate Bill 382, a bill that provides disaster relief funds to Western North Carolina. However, tacked onto the last two pages of the 132-page bill is an alarming provision for local municipalities on the Outer Banks. The provision, entitled, “No...