The plane is a Cessna Caravan 208B EX, and is loaded with the latest technology. Jamie Bishop, IOMAX vice president of engineering, said, “The aircraft is equipped with a variety of state-of-the-art equipment such as the high definition L3 Wescan MX-15 EO/IR sensor and Thales I-master radar. These devices are...

The North Carolina Department of Labor last week fined a farm in Nash County $187,509 after the death of a seasonal farm worker last September. The department cited Barnes Farming with what’s called a “willful serious violation,” along with two other “serious” violations, fining the company the maximum penalty. The...

The aroma of cigarettes, coffee, and Snickers bars fills the air outside of Fowler’s Supermarket on a rainy Sunday morning. Just before they head to church, a dozen men gather on the long wooden benches and plastic rocking chairs outside the store and debrief the local goings on. It’s been...

North Carolina’s GOP-controlled legislature unlawfully tried to seize from the governor the power to choose elections board members in the battleground state, trial judges ruled while saying portions of a new election law must be permanently blocked. The three-judge panel sided unanimously with Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in his lawsuit...

A crowd of elected officials and local stakeholders were given insight into the future of Wilmington homelessness if more housing isn’t built at the Cape Fear Housing Coalition’s annual affordable housing event. Gregg Colburn, an associate professor of real estate at the University of Washington and researcher and author on...

Amid what they call “direct attacks” from the North Carolina legislature against LGBTQ+ students, Brennan Lewis recalled how one club at their former Wake County high school helped them in a special way. The club was a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), more commonly known now as Gender and Sexualities Alliances....

Thousands of North Carolina teens and young adults have taken part in programs in the past year that are aimed at helping them to quit vaping or to prevent them from starting. Funding for the programs comes from a $40 million settlement the state won in 2021 against e-cigarette maker...

After July 1, the University of Virginia and other public institutions in the state will no longer be able to give an admissions advantage to students who are connected to alums or donors. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a new bill into law on Friday that will end the use...

More than 4.5 million visitors flock to the mountains annually for one attraction, making it the single most-visited attraction in North Carolina — and the region’s single largest employer. Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort is a massive operation requiring 3,000 employees at the flagship location — which lies just over Soco...

The nation’s wildlife refuges have taken a federal funding cut that is expected to shutter more visitors’ centers, diminish wildlife management capabilities and further trim an already wafer-thin force of wildlife officers. With just hours looming before a government shutdown, the Senate on Friday approved a resolution to fund about...

Big Four athletics directors welcomed North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s rescinding of an executive order nearly three years old and now outdated by the Tennessee v. NCAA preliminary injunction. Cooper’s order July 2, 2021, followed the NCAA allowing students who are athletes to start earning money based on their name...

Fifty-five educator preparation programs (EPPs) in North Carolina enrolled a total of 15,865 candidates pursuing initial teaching licenses in 2022-23, according to data presented at the State Board of Education’s March meeting. Those numbers reflect a 10% decrease from 2021-2022, and a 43% increase over the last decade. However, new...

Frustration boiled over during public comments at a March 6 Environmental Review Commission meeting (ERC) described as a Presentation to the Dredging Process and Permitting. The meeting was held at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island. Permitting to dredge Oregon Inlet continues to be plagued by conflicting rules and...

When Otis Smallwood was hired to be superintendent of Bertie County Schools — a return home to the school district he once attended as a student — he knew his charge was to find a way to attract more teachers to the district and get them to stay. “The [school]...

Critics of North Carolina’s school voucher programs like to say that even millionaires can now get public money to help pay their children’s private-school tuition. And technically that’s true, since the General Assembly voted this summer to remove income caps for Opportunity Scholarships. But the state has seen a surge...