John Boyle/Asheville Watchdog Question: The city’s unwillingness to offer any timeline for water restoration beyond “weeks” is a cop-out and an insult to citizens. They could certainly give us ‘best-case’ and ‘worst-case’ scenarios. That would help the many people making decisions about whether to renew a lease, or whether to...

Gary D. Robertson/The Associated Press With many western North Carolina residents still lacking power and running water from Hurricane Helene, a hearing began Monday on the insurance industry’s request to raise homeowner premium rates statewide by more than 42% on average. A top lieutenant for Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey opened...

Peter Castagno/Port City Daily A proposed residential development failed to garner support in Surf City after a council member raised concerns it could cause fire safety risks for residents. Surf City Council unanimously rejected the rezoning request last Tuesday to shift 20.2 acres of a 29.08 parcel from the rural...

Jennifer Ludden/WFAE Radio Fewer than 300 people live in this tiny mountain hamlet, but their ties to this place are deep. “I’m a fifth-generation settler child,” says Misty Hughes. “My great grandfather was the first white settler amongst the Indians here.” The community sits along the beautiful Nolichucky River, popular...

Nora O’Neill/The Charlotte Observer Charlotte Fire Department officials said they have a plan to improve rescues and avoid fires like the SouthPark blaze that killed two workers trapped on an upper floor. CFD Chief Reginald Johnson on Monday presented an after-action report of the five-alarm SouthPark fire to the Charlotte...

Emily Walkenhorst/WRAL News A Wake County state senate candidate has been reinstated to his job as assistant principal of an alternative school after a monthlong suspension with pay. The Wake County Public School System reinstated Scott Lassiter over the weekend, Lassiter said. School system spokeswoman Lisa Luten confirmed that Lassiter...

Savanna Tenenoff/Brunswick Beacon The Brunswick County Board of Commissioners have directed county staff to investigate the county’s need for a nine- to 18-month moratorium that would temporarily halt new residential development as public safety concerns from residents continue to compound. Board Chair Randy Thompson brought the item to the board...

Mark Jurkowitz/Outer Banks Voice Dare County has now provided links to the two subpoenas, dated Oct. 2, from the U. S. Attorney’s office asking the Dare County Commissioners and Oregon Inlet Task Force to provide records for an ongoing federal probe related to, among other things, EJE Dredging and the...

Paul Garber/WFDD Radio October is usually a time when the town of Banner Elk is welcoming tourists to explore the Avery County resort area. But as the Helene cleanup continues, local officials are asking visitors to stay away, and for residents to evacuate if they have a safe place to...

Rylee Wilson/Becker’s CVS Health will lay off 416 employees at Aetna’s headquarters in Hartford, Conn. In a WARN notice filed Oct. 6, the company said 93 employees work at the facility in Hartford. The other employees work remotely in several states and report to the facility. Most of the layoffs...

Jay Price/WUNC Radio Early in the morning at the National Guard aviation facility in Salisbury, North Carolina, big fork trucks moved among rows of hulking Chinook transport choppers and smaller, more nimble Black Hawks. They loaded the helicopters with FEMA pallets of bottled water and emergency meals. Meanwhile, National Guard...

Jeff Brady & Liz Baker/WFAE Radio It’s election season, so maybe it’s no surprise that the federal response to damage in Hurricane Helene’s wake is a hot topic, especially on social media. However, some of the conspiracies, misinformation, and rumors that circulate are extraordinary. Enough so that the Federal Emergency...

Paul Woolverton/CityView Western Fayetteville residents whose private lakes and dams were damaged or destroyed in Hurricane Matthew in 2016 may continue their lawsuit over their losses against the City of Fayetteville, the N.C. Court of Appeals said in a ruling issued Tuesday. Superior Court William R. Pittman in 2023 had...

Moss Brennan/Watauga Democrat Officials in Watauga County are asking for a “pause” on unscheduled deliveries as they get organized with everything currently in the community. “We just want to start this off by saying thank you for the tremendous outpouring of support (and) monetary donations that you have shown our...

Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline In 2018, weeks after Hurricane Florence devastated coastal North Carolina, state lawmakers returned to Raleigh to approve almost $800 million total in emergency relief. Now, faced with unprecedented flooding and damage to the west from Hurricane Helene, the legislature appears set to do something very similar. The...