Kelly Kenoyer/WHQR More than a dozen current and former City of Wilmington staff have spoken to WHQR, describing deteriorating morale in the wake of Becky Hawke’s restructuring and terminations of previous staff. When City Manager Becky Hawke came in, many employees said they had high hopes, particularly as she spoke...

Carolina Journal The newest member of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals used a North Carolina case Wednesday to discuss the potential legal impact of shifting attitudes about marijuana. Judge Nicole Berner offered her commentary in an eight-page concurring opinion in United States v. Carson. Then-President Joe Biden appointed...

Brian Murphy/WRAL News E. Stephen Stroud, an influential Triangle real estate figure who was a key player in the Carolina Hurricanes’ move from Connecticut to Raleigh, has died. Stroud was involved in several key developments across Raleigh and Wake County, including the Crossroads development in Cary, Imperial Center office park...

Nick de la Canal/WFAE Radio Charlotte Mayor Rob Harrington was sworn in last week after being appointed by City Council to succeed Vi Lyles. Harrington, a longtime Charlotte business attorney and civic leader, will serve the remaining 18 months of Lyles’ term and has said he does not plan to...

Kate Denning/Carolina Public Press The long-awaited state budget is now law after Gov. Josh Stein signed it Tuesday, but some parts of the bill weren’t exactly financial in nature. The Protect Campus Survivors Act, targeting sexual misconduct records at state universities, started as a standalone bill last year and made...

Molly Steur/Education NC The State Board of Education convened virtually this week for its monthly meeting, discussing the new state budget, which was passed by the General Assembly last week and signed into law by Gov. John Stein on Tuesday. The Department of Public Instruction’s (DPI) Senior Director of Government...

Kyle Perrotti/Smoky Mountain News  Franklin’s town council has approved a one-year moratorium on the development of any new data centers. The town follows in the footsteps of a growing number of local governments, including those in the Smoky Mountain News coverage area like Canton, Swain County and the Eastern Band...

Dasia Williams/CityView Behind a clear face shield, 15-year-old Carson Stroup steadies a piece of high-carbon steel against a moving belt grinder, carefully easing it forward with practiced hands. Just a few feet away, Josiah Santos leans over a precision measuring gauge, carefully checking the thickness of a knife blank before...

Emily Walkenhorst/WRAL News Three Wake County elementary schools have structural problems that need to be repaired before students would be allowed to enter the buildings — raising questions about whether the school year will be delayed for those schools. The school board plans to meet Monday to approve contracts for...

Jamie Haase/Outer Banks Voice Not too long ago, great white sharks remained largely absent from the East Coast imagination. Spotting one along the Mid-Atlantic felt like something that was supposed to happen somewhere else—in places like California, South Africa and Australia. The Atlantic seemed little more than open water en...

Alan Wooten/The Center Square  Information systems auditing of a North Carolina city has led two City Council members to pay thousands to clear unpenalized late utility bills, and given clarity to what residents believed was double-billing. Rocky Mount did not double bill utility customers, says the analysis from the office...

Lauren Rhodes/WUNC News Despite recent showers, Durham and Orange counties remain in exceptional drought along with other Triangle area counties — the strongest category. Experts predict summer rain will continue, although rainfall will likely remain spotty. The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council releases updated conditions every Thursday. This week,...

Mary Smith/WNCN A concerning intestinal illness has been making its rounds in more than a dozen states, including North Carolina. It’s linked to a parasite called “Cyclospora,” found in food and water. It causes the illness cyclosporiasis. “It happens when you accidentally swallow the parasite and there’s a seasonal pattern...

Christine Zhu/NC Newsline A new study is refuting claims by critics that the solar industry is taking over productive farmland and interfering with agricultural production. “You travel across the state of North Carolina, and it’s occupying the best farmland in the state,” said N.C. House Agriculture Chairman Jimmy Dixon (R-Duplin)...

Noor Nazir/WFAE Radio It’s rush hour at the intersection of West Boulevard and Camden Road in South End. Shoes strike the pavement as office workers cross the street. A train bell rings nearby. And one by one, men in button-ups and other commuters whiz through the intersection on electric scooters...