For more than 20 years, Steven Hines, has worked in election administration in North Carolina. He served as an elections director in five counties — Pitt, Forsyth, Greene, Carteret counties and most recently, Lenoir County, where he resigned in August 2023. “The pay for elections directors is not equitable to...

North Carolina Democrats are making a big push this year to win back rural counties that have flipped to Republicans in recent elections. At a barbecue restaurant in rural Gates County, several leaders in the North Carolina Democratic Party recently made the rounds among the tables, introducing themselves to potential...

Health care premiums for thousands of North Carolina state employees and retirees are expected to increase as the State Health Plan looks for ways to manage a massive funding gap. The health plan’s trustees voted Thursday to increase premiums for 26,000 people on its Medicare Advantage plan — a move...

On a Friday night in late May, a soccer ball struck 12-year-old Dhruvtej Karande in the face, driving the edge of his glasses into his eyebrow and opening up a two-inch gash. His parents rushed to the nearest urgent care center, but it was already closed when they arrived, said...

“Why do I feel so out of place? I just feel so weird.” That’s what Chloe Ripoli said was going through their mind at the beginning of the pandemic during quarantine. Their identity was starting to come to the surface. Ripoli, now a senior, is queer and nonbinary. On top...

The U.S. Navy, along with its shipbuilders and their thousands of specialty suppliers, need more than 100,000 workers to help build attack and ballistic missile submarines over the coming decade. That’s according to BuildSubmarines.com, whose ubiquitous ads you may have seen during reality TV shows, on NASCAR hoods, at WNBA...

The first North Carolina beach community to build a terminal groin after state lawmakers lifted a 30-year ban is looking at the possibility of constructing more hardened erosion-control structures. The Village of Bald Head Island recently asked its legislative delegates to bump the number of permits the state can issue...

To most people passing by Ben and Isaiah Jernigan’s house on Ellis Road, there is nothing remarkable about the sage green outbuilding in their backyard. Even though the structure looks like it could be a shed, it’s actually the brothers’ “tiny house.” They began building the home last September and...

After more than a year of studying how to place different development types along the western bank of the Cape Fear River, New Hanover County now wants public feedback on the proposed amendment to its comprehensive plan. County staff are putting forth a change in the land use between the...

Protestors from a group called Better Government for Leland took part in several rallies outside of Leland Town Hall to protest a proposed tax increase. Recently proposed legislation could give residents the chance to recall elected officials. Leland could soon have a procedure for recalling elected officials. In May, Rep....

One of the state’s most powerful lobbying groups is spending heavily, including on donations to local legislators, as it works to enact building code reform and other legislative priorities. In a May 10 statement, the North Carolina Home Builders Association Director of Legislative Affairs Steven Webb celebrated the North Carolina...

Landing advanced manufacturing jobs is becoming more energy intensive in North Carolina, while at the same time the state is working to reduce its emissions. Why it matters: North Carolina is competing to win jobs in industries it believes will be most influential in coming years — namely putting millions...

The Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina Mark Robinson once insinuated the United States government was involved in both the attack on Pearl Harbor and the death of U.S. General George Patton as part of a conspiracy to help Joseph Stalin. Robinson, who currently serves as the state’s lieutenant...

While invisible to the eye, toxic “forever chemicals” are so common in our daily lives it’s nearly impossible to avoid. Gov. Roy Cooper has declared this week PFAS Awareness Week in North Carolina to raise awareness of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) found in drinking water. PFAS are a synthetic...

Under North Carolina law, traditional public schools are prohibited from starting the school year sooner than the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and from ending the year later than the Friday closest to June 11. School and district leaders have long asked for more calendar flexibility, claiming the required window...