New compositions of North Carolina boards that approve transportation policy and spending and select economic incentive recipients are unconstitutional because lawmakers would have too much control over them, a panel of trial judges ruled. Three judges hearing Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s lawsuit against Republican legislative leaders permanently blocked portions of...

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Tribal Council is still considering adult use of cannabisfor tribal members. But this week did yield a big announcement: The Great Smoky Cannabis Company, operated by Qualla Enterprises, will open April 20. “That’s the national cannabis holiday,” said Lee Griffin, human resources director of Qualla...

A ransomware gang once thought to have been crippled by law enforcement has snarled prescription processing for millions of Americans over the past week, forcing some to choose between paying prices hundreds or thousands of dollars above their usual insurance-adjusted rates or going without lifesaving medicine. Insurance giant UnitedHealthcare Group...

Dave Ramsey may be an expert at running a toxic company where employees aren’t even treated with basic respect, but when it comes to giving financial advice, he has a questionable background at best. Earlier this month, he gave some truly dumb advice to a woman whose husband got taken...

Biltmore Baptist Church is one step closer to establishing a campus in Waynesville. The town’s planning board voted 6-1 earlier this week to approve a 25,000-square-foot building on a vacant eight-acre parcel for the Buncombe County-based mega church. The project will now advance to the Waynesville town council for the...

Eighteen months after the Wilmington Police Department closed the case on the death of Joseph Valentine Flor D’Auvray III, his father has filed a Superior Court complaint claiming the agency enabled the wrongful death of his son through gross negligence. Joseph Valentine Flor D’Auvray III, known as “Val,” was found...

Pactiv Evergreen wants a refund for property taxes it paid on equipment last year at the now-shuttered Canton paper mill. Property taxes on equipment and machinery are calculated based on whatever’s in place as of Jan. 1 for any given calendar year. And as of Jan. 1, 2023, the mill...

With a sizable cargo ship docked Wednesday at the N.C. Port at Wilmington on the Cape Fear River in the background, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan announced the launch of a federal program to improve air quality at U.S. ports. Regan was joined by Gov. Roy Cooper, Wilmington Mayor...

Electric power rates and other fees for customers of the Fayetteville Public Works Commission will rise as of May 1 this year and again on May 1, 2025. The PWC is boosting prices by about 4% — 2% this year and 2% next year — on average to cover its...

Town Attorney Bob Hornik tendered his resignation last week, telling Summerfield it’s “clear to me that the time has come for us to go in different directions.” Hornik’s resignation, effective April 1, came a week after the majority of the Town Council voted to put Town Manager Scott Whitaker on...

In light of a warning from a state agency, an increase in water bills could be on tap for utility customers in Mount Airy, based on recent discussions among city officials. “I don’t think we have any choice,” Commissioner Tom Koch said during a strategic planning retreat earlier this month...

UNC’s interim Chancellor Lee Roberts currently serves on the board of directors of Variety Wholesalers, Inc., a private retail company whose CEO and chair is James Arthur “Art” Pope, a conservative donor, former state government official and current member of the UNC Board of Governors. During his tenure on the...

The group that owns PNC Arena made its initial choice for an architecture and design firm for its $300 million renovation project. The Centennial Authority’s building and construction committee voted to pick Gensler and local partner LS3P. The full authority board must approve the selection and could do so as...

The receiver overseeing the liquidation of Klaussner Furniture Industries has sold all that it can and received a judge’s permission this week to abandon furniture and other property in dozens of shipping containers as well as at three former Klaussner sites in Randolph and Montgomery counties. The receiver, Focus Management...

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools experienced a 7.43 percent decline of the average number of students enrolled in its schools from the beginning of the 2019-20 school year to the end of 2022-23 — a decrease likely driven by demographic changes in the Chapel Hill and Carrboro communities and growing involvement...