Michelle Crouch/Charlotte Ledger & NC Health News After months of scrutiny, Atrium Health announced this week that it has finalized a deal to fulfill one of the affordable housing promises it made in 2021 while seeking public support for The Pearl, its medical innovation district. The agreement calls for the...

Shea Carver/Port City Daily The Southport Historic Preservation Committee has completed its three-and-a-half-year effort drafting regulations for a potential historic overlay district in the city, but one group of residents have considered legal action should it pass an aldermen vote. However, this week the mayor suggested the commission revert from...

Sarah White/The Waynesville Mountaineer An unexpected bump in motor vehicle property taxes has meant more money for local governments, and higher taxes for vehicle owners. That’s because the value of used vehicles has soared. Vehicle taxes are based on the value of the vehicle, so as the price of used...

WCHL Chapelboro As the college sports landscape continues to experience big changes in recent years, the UNC athletics department has tried to adapt while limiting monumental changes itself. But it will begin a new era this summer as athletic director Bubba Cunningham transitions to the new role and makes way...

Bill Moss/Hendersonville Lightning Henderson County is expected to join the city of Hendersonville in offering tax incentives to attract a $124 million manufacturing plant employing 148 workers making an average wage exceeding $62,776, raising the total potential property tax refund to $6½ million over seven years. The Hendersonville City Council...

Lena Geller/Indy Week Property taxes in Durham went up nearly universally last year in the wake of a countywide revaluation. So when City Manager Bo Ferguson announced, last month, that the city faces a $9 million budget deficit due to low property tax revenue—the largest source of income for both...

Ali Swenson/The Associated Press On hot afternoons, DeAnna Brandon’s three dogs zag around while she splashes in a backyard kiddie pool with her grandkids. These are the moments the 48-year-old blood cancer survivor cherishes — and wonders if she will get to have in the years to come. Brandon, who...

Lucas Thomae/Carolina Public Press Charlotte just became the latest, and largest, North Carolina community to instate a temporary pause on the development of new data centers. Its city council unanimously approved a 150-day moratorium in front of a packed house Monday night, in a scene similar to ones which have...

Jack Evans/Asheville Watchdog The town of Woodfin’s largest employer, Silver-Line Plastics, sits snug on the eastern bank of the French Broad River. For years, a grassy embankment separated its inventory — tight curls of black tubing and ramrod lengths of white PVC pipe stacked in chunky rectangular piles — from...

Sarah White/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer A century after construction began on the Waterville dam and connecting hydroelectric power station, Duke Energy is looking toward the next phase of the facility’s life. Duke’s license to operate the power plant will expire in 2034 — and while that deadline is almost eight years...

Andrew Pomeranz/Carolina Journal Ethics compliance, potential conflicts of interest, and a history of progressive policing policies of Jeffrey Smythe are under review by a North Carolina General Assembly panel ahead of a Senate confirmation hearing. Smythe, former police chief in Burlington, was picked by first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. He...

Emily Sawaked/Port City Daily Residents will have an opportunity to provide feedback on almost 13,000 homes planned for Brunswick County at June 15’s commissioners meeting. The county and Strategic Real Estate Partners have drafted a development agreement and Monday will be the first time the commissioners have taken up the...

Richard Craver/Charlotte Observer The accelerating consolidation of not-for-profit healthcare systems in North Carolina is magnifying the spotlight on executive compensation. The focus is particularly bright for Eugene Woods, chief executive of Advocate Health, whose fiscal 2024 compensation jumped 39% to $25.87 million as he became the system’s lone chief executive...

Henry Taylor/WCHL Chapelboro Brisket, beef jerky, fudge and a whole lot of gasoline. Buc-ee’s, a Texas-based gas station chain famous for its ginormous travel centers, is bringing its first North Carolina location to 1425 Trollingwood-Hawfields Road in Mebane. The 74,000 square foot facility is expected to be completed by November...

Emily Mikkelsen/WGHP News A Raleigh-based company has purchased a Triad staple brand that has been absent from store shelves for months. On Friday, it was announced that Neese’s Country Sausage had been acquired by Jesse Jones, LLC, a Raleigh-based brand, stating that the beloved sausage would return to store shelves...