Mission Hospital and the Mission Nurses United union didn’t reach a deal on a new labor deal by midnight July 3, the expiration date for the current contract, increasing the possibility of a strike. Nurses told Asheville Watchdog that they and the hospital remain far apart on key issues, including...

Tribal members in Cherokee can legally buy recreational marijuana, and it’s giving some residents hope for marijuana legalization in the state in the future. Members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians backed the adult use of marijuana on their tribal land in an overwhelming vote in September and the...

Ozempic and other injectable weight-loss medications have soared in popularity in the past two years. Supply issues and spotty insurance coverage have driven some patients to seek out compounded versions of the drug, which tend to be less expensive. Anna Wysock’s “aha” moment arrived in an Ohio amusement park, as...

North Carolina Republicans have reserved an estimated $5.6 million in television and digital advertising over the coming weeks in three of the most competitive state Senate districts, the party tells Axios. Why it matters: It’s already the most the party has ever spent in state Senate races, indicating just how...

As schedules allow, Moore County Schools Superintendent Tim Locklair and Sandhills Community College President Sandy Stewart meet regularly at the Villager Deli in Pinehurst to talk over their jobs and share information. When they met nine months ago they asked themselves, “What does the community need?” “Obviously, there is a...

A controversial plan by Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin and his business partner to build a 300-unit apartment complex just off Cedar Creek Road advanced on June 24 when the City Council voted 5-3 to rezone the site and 8-0 to annex it into the city limits. The mayor’s project is...

As a wise man once said, it ain’t over till it’s over; and, while Summerfield farmer and developer David Couch may have won the battle to de-annex nearly 1,000 acres from the Town of Summerfield in order to build a large residential and mixed-use development on the property, in no...

The N.C. Global TransPark is set to bring in 444 new jobs and more than $400 million in investment with a new complex the U.S. Navy will use to maintain and repair military aircraft. About $435 million is projected to be used for the construction of the Fleet Readiness Center...

North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson is facing backlash for a clip circulating online of the MAGA Republican saying that “some folks need killing.” In the video, which was taken from Robinson’s speech to Lake Church on June 30 in White Lake, North Carolina, the lieutenant governor speaks about the...

Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law new restrictions on vaping products, and he’s expected to sign a ban on sales of a drug known as “gas station heroin.” The goal is to prevent the sale of products that haven’t been FDA approved. The bill will require the makers of vape...

Rockingham County taxpayers may soon foot the bill for a staggering increase in insurance premiums and deductible costs on liability coverage for the troubled county jail, where 11 inmates have died over the past three years and several staff have been cited for criminal misconduct, according to commissioners. After weeks...

Asheville’s population will continue to boom over the next 25 years — and with it, the need for more housing is expected to become even more urgent. That’s the message City Council members heard in a recent presentation on Asheville’s latest Affordable Housing Plan, which is being finalized and will...

North Carolina Medicaid managed care has finally been extended to Medicaid enrollees who also need services for behavioral health or intellectual or developmental disabilities. More than 210,000 people could benefit from “tailored plans” that launched on Monday, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. “This is another critical...

As the property acquisition for the mammoth I-26 Connector project continues, NCDOT data on initial appraisals and final settlements show a 25 percent increase on average between the two. The discrepancy reinforces what local eminent domain attorneys and property owners in NCDOT cases have told Asheville Watchdog: It’s best not...

As we celebrate the nation’s birthday and what it means to be an American, a U.S. Navy veteran who has lived in the U.S. for more than seven decades and considers himself as patriotic as anyone said the state of Tennessee is challenging his citizenship. The state said he’s not...