Mark Locklear/The Robesonian When Phillip Hicks arrived at UNC Pembroke as a freshman, the university’s cybersecurity program was still in its trial phase. This May, the Red Springs native will help make history as one of the first graduates of UNCP’s standalone Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity program. For Hicks,...

Ahmed Jallow/NC Newsline North Carolina Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, a Wake County Democrat, called the state’s expansion of virtual charter schools “educational malpractice” and said it cheats both students and taxpayers. “How on earth are you allowing parents to send their kids to virtual charter schools that have consistently received a...

Paul B. Johnson/The High Point Enterprise Leaders of Guilford County are supporting a master plan for a long-term regional project involving the Randleman Regional Reservoir. The Guilford County Board of Commissioners was scheduled Thursday night to approve a resolution for the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority as the agency that...

Jack Igelman/Carolina Public Press How do you put a price on a 122-year-old mass of concrete sitting in the middle of a river? The value of Craggy Dam on the French Broad River in Buncombe County is now at the center of a debate over river restoration, flood mitigation, power...

Brenna Flanagan/Port City Daily   The New Hanover County Board of Education has taken an official step toward addressing its facility needs in the face of declining enrollment, after months of pondering whether it should reduce overhead. The board voted unanimously to direct Superintendent Chris Barnes to put together a...

Michelle Crouch/The Charlotte Ledger & NC Health News Two years after North Carolina legalized mobile sports betting, counselors say they are seeing the fallout: drained bank accounts, strained relationships and young people — especially young men — spiraling into anxiety and depression after losing more than they can afford. Calls...

Alan Wooten/The Center Square  Modernization reforming campaign finance reporting in North Carolina is to be guided by 10 principles, a panel of veteran politicos says. First-term Republican state Auditor Dave Boliek, creator of the Modernization of Election Data System Commission, said faster, easier and a more secure election system is...

Ted Clifford/Asheville Watchdog Mission Hospital has hired an outside consultant following its most recent Immediate Jeopardy sanction and committed to federal regulators that it will make sweeping changes, including reevaluating “the capacity and competency” of its leadership and staff, according to its enhanced plan of correction obtained by Asheville Watchdog....

Amanda Mohamad/WRAL News Latest inflation data showed a 3.4% increase in wholesale prices from last year, hitting grocery prices the hardest and increasing food pantry demand. Notably, vegetable prices jumped by 50% and fruit by 10 percent. This increase comes as oil prices also made a stark jump this month...

Andrew Marshall/The Waynesville Mountaineer Clyde is creating a back-up drinking water supply with a series of large wells — so that it will no longer be hostage to water shortages or water distruptions from neighboring Canton. Clyde gets its water from Canton, which in turn gets water from the Pigeon...

April Laissle/WFDD Radio The town of Boone is holding a public hearing Monday to discuss a potential moratorium on local data center construction. Officials are considering a one-year pause on permits for data centers and crypto-mining operations due to concerns about energy use, water consumption and noise. Planning documents also...

Mackenzie Thomas/Carolina Public Press A recent state audit this month found that millions of dollars in the Rocky Mount city budget were mismanaged in recent years, which the auditor blamed on a lack of oversight and due diligence by the City Council. Dave Boliek, the state auditor for North Carolina,...

Alan Wooten/The Center Square  From first to fourth, North Carolina’s administrative ratio remains among the best in the country in the Reason Foundation’s Annual Highway Report. The Tarheel State was among the most cost-effective road systems, measuring condition, safety and costs of roads and bridges in all 50 states. In...

Peter H. Lewis/Asheville Watchdog In advance of its annual shareholders meeting on April 23, HCA Healthcare’s board of directors once again is urging voters to reject a proposal by state Sen. Julie Mayfield, D-Buncombe, that would require HCA to report on the health consequences of its acquisitions over the past...

Greg Childress/NC Newsline North Carolina voters could be asked to consider a constitutional amendment requiring state lawmakers to limit city and county property tax increases. The state House Select Committee on Property Tax Reduction and Reform signaled its support for the measure on a voice vote Wednesday during a meeting...