Brenna Flanagan/Port City Daily One newly minted board chair is already taking the heat after appointing members of the opposite party to lead several committees. New Hanover County Board of Education Chair Melissa Mason, a Republican, was accused of “playing footsie with radical Democrats for personal political power” by the...

John Boyle/Asheville Watchdog If one theme of rebuilding in a post-Helene world has emerged, it’s this: complexity. None of this is simple, whether it’s clearing debris, restoring roads, or trying to figure out if and how you can rebuild your business in a floodplain. Much confusion remains in this last...

Jane Winik Sartwell/Carolina Public Press One winter night in early January, Delia Bailey awoke, shivering, in a camper parked outside of her house in Black Mountain. She has been living there since Tropical Storm Helene ravaged her home in late September. Her fingers were numb and her breath was visible....

Gerard Albert III/Blue Ridge Public Radio The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Sunday evening that it will extend its Temporary Sheltering Assistance Program — that pays for hotel and motel rooms — until May 26. The move comes after the agency received criticism earlier this month from nonprofits and politicians...

Jaymie Baxley/NC Health News The walls of Devdutta Sangvai’s office were mostly bare on his third day as North Carolina’s top health official. A physician, professor and former president of Duke Regional Hospital, Sangvai had been far too busy settling into his new role as secretary of the state Department...

Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online A proposed federal rule designed to add another layer of protection for a critically endangered species of whale has been taken off the table. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, announced last week its withdrawal of proposed speed limits for vessels under 65 feet...

Greg Parlier/Mountain Xpress Financial impacts to Buncombe County’s budget from Tropical Storm Helene are beginning to come into focus, and the outlook isn’t sunny. About seven months into the fiscal year, which ends June 30, county leadership is projecting revenues will be anywhere from $15.1 million to $25.7 million less...

Scott D. Yost/Rhino Times Contec Industrial Automation Solutions – an international engineering firm that specializes in automating industrial processes and equipment – has selected Greensboro as the site for its newest sales and engineering office. The company provides a wide range of services to various business sectors such as the...

Port City Daily An area planning board didn’t favor changes proposed to its zoning map for a developer to bring multi-family residential units to undeveloped land near Oak Island. Joe Barklow of Ohio-based Stark Enterprises presented to the board Thursday plans to build multi-family home units — around 244 on...

Johnny Casey/Asheville Citizen Times FEMA representatives were on hand at the most recent Madison commissioners meeting to help County Manager Rod Honeycutt provide updates on the county’s post-Tropical Storm Helene rebuild. Members of FEMA’s intergovernmental affairs team joined the Madison County Board of Commissioners at the board’s Jan. 14 meeting....

Chandler Inions/The Salisbury Post      Rowan County’s elected officials from Raleigh joined its local elected officials, among other dignitaries, for the Rowan County Chamber’s Legislative Power in Partnership Breakfast at Catawba College. The meeting offered the opportunity for Sen. Carl Ford and Representatives Julia Howard, Harry Warren and Grant Campbell to...

Joe Fisher & Allen Cone/U.S. News & UPI.com Donald Trump became the 47th president of the United States in Washington, D.C., on Monday, and right away announced a series of changes, including declaring national emergencies at the southern border and energy. Trump, after being sworn in as president for the...

Kevin Griffin/The (Greensboro) News & Record Eight months after all nine employees of the town of Summerfield resigned, the town is pursuing an investigation into allegations of potential financial irregularities and removal of records by former staff members. A preliminary report presented by a former state auditor to the town...

Kip Tabb/Coastal Review Online Members of the Dare County Board of Commissioners vowed a fight Wednesday during a special meeting called to discuss the county’s interest in purchasing land in Wanchese, where residents remain vehemently opposed to a planned densely built residential development and where work has already begun. Wanchese...

Grace Vitaglione/NC Health News   Marina Drysdale, 61, moved to North Carolina in February 2022 to be closer to her family. She left behind her career as a health unit coordinator in Florida. But since moving, Drysdale hasn’t been able to find a lasting job near her Eden home in...