Brighton McConnell/WCHL Chapelboro A discussion by the Chapel Hill Town Council about downsizing by two members and extending the length of mayoral term was met with swift, vocal opposition during a public hearing last week. The community comments, in the span of just a few days, led the elected officials...

Dan Kane & Kyle Ingram/The Raleigh News & Observer Former state Rep. Cecil Brockman won $2 million in state funding for a nonprofit in High Point that provides services for people with autism and other disabilities in 2023. Since then, nearly a fifth of that money went to his predecessor...

Ted Clifford/Asheville Watchdog In 2022, Chuck Edwards campaigned on his image as the responsible adult in the room. As a prosperous businessman with a chain of McDonalds, Edwards was a hardline if unflashy conservative who had risen through the ranks of the state Senate. He successfully offered western North Carolina...

Rodney Overton & Michael Ramsey/WNCN & NewsNation The head of the Environmental Protection Agency is calling a newly identified lithium deposit in the Appalachian Mountains — concentrated in the Carolinas — a “great find,” saying it could help the United States reduce its reliance on China for critical minerals essential...

Colin Campbell/WUNC News More than a month after the primary, the biggest spender opposing Senate leader Phil Berger finally filed a disclosure report listing its donors. But the report leaves more questions than answers about who funded the Guilford-Rockingham Alliance’s $453,000 campaign to help Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. More...

Emily Moosbrugger/The Waynesville Mountaineer The long-held vision of bringing passenger rail to WNC would generate an economic impact of $59 million annually to the region, according to a comprehensive economic impact study released earlier this year. The proposed passenger rail corridor would span approximately 139 miles from Salisbury to Asheville,...

Mackenzie Thomas/Carolina Public Press  Five years behind on financial audits, the town of Littleton faces a potential takeover by the North Carolina Local Government Commission if the town fails to complete its fiscal year 2021 audit by Monday. Littleton town officials attended the Local Government Commission’s meeting on April 1...

Port City Daily The elections director for New Hanover County has formally opposed her removal to the state board of elections. New Hanover County Board of Elections filed a petition to terminate DeNay Harris’ earlier this spring. Her attorney, Gary Shipman with Shipman Wright & Moore, LLP, filed a response...

Liz Bell/Education NC Business leaders and owners advocated on Thursday for legislative funding this session for the child care subsidy program, which helps low-income working and student parents afford care. “Without enough affordable, high-quality child care, employers across the state are missing out on what they need; that’s talent and...

Lily Levin/Smoky Mountain News   Haywood Community College President Shelley White got little pushback for the additional $268,000 she has asked for from county commissioners in HCC’s 2026-27 budget proposal, but Haywood County Schools Superintendent Trevor Putnam’s request for an extra $3 million encountered some resistance. Both school leaders presented...

Paul B. Johnson/The High Point Enterprise Supporters of a longtime local nonprofit worry that they face cutting back on food donations and meals to families and individuals in need because of the lingering effects of a reduction in a national program. West End Ministries is considering options to reduce the...

Zachery Eanes/Axios Raleigh Raleigh’s most prolific developer, Kane Realty, is betting big on Cary. Why it matters: Kane Realty, known for its work in North Hills and downtown Raleigh, is proposing two significant projects in Cary, one that would add to the growth of downtown Cary and another that seeks...

Jennifer McDermott/The Associated Press The Trump administration is spending nearly $2 billion to get energy companies to walk away from U.S. offshore wind projects. Democrats in Congress are investigating. The Republican administration adopted this strategy after federal courts thwarted President Donald Trump’s efforts to stop offshore wind development through executive...

Tanya Wan/9th Street Journal  Over half of Durham Public Schools high schoolers were chronically absent in the first six months of the current school year — yet another challenge for a district already facing state underfunding and declining enrollment. “In no way are we where we need to be with...

Brandon Kingdollar, Clayton Henkel & Laura Leslie/NC Newsline Thousands of educators, advocates and allies converged on Raleigh Friday, demanding higher pay for teachers, more state support per student, more childcare funding, and more funding for special education. The May Day rally crowd, dressed in red, nearly filled Halifax Mall, the...