Brian Gordon/The Raleigh News & Observer Pieces are shifting and new questions are arising around a major jobs project in Eastern North Carolina. In April 2024, the state awarded Vietnam-based Boviet Solar an incentive to build a 908-worker manufacturing campus in the city of Greenville. Boviet opened a solar panel...

Sarah Michels/Carolina Public Press As North Carolina’s primary electric public utility, the shadow of Duke Energy looms large over the state and in the halls of government. Many lawmakers, both Democratic and Republican, have a relationship with the energy behemoth. Duke Energy spends a lot of money each election cycle...

Paul Woolverton/CityView Construction firms T.A. Loving of Goldsboro and Metcon of Pembroke will jointly renovate the Crown Arena event space and Crown Theatre performance auditorium, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners decided on Monday. The decision to hire the companies to manage and build the renovations—to serve as what’s known...

Zach Tucker/Spectrum News Anne Robinson started Scottish Gourmet USA in 2005 in New Jersey. She was inspired to start the company after taking trips to Scotland with her husband. They moved the business to Greensboro in 2017, due to the large concentration of Scottish Americans across North Carolina. “There’s a...

Inside UNC Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is launching the North Carolina Economic Impact Center, a new initiative designed to provide timely, data-driven analysis on the issues shaping the state and region’s economy, workforce and communities. Housed within the Belk College of Business, the center will serve...

WTVD North Carolina’s unemployment rate ticked down to 3.7% in March, a 0.1 percentage point decrease from February, according to new state data. The national rate also fell slightly to 4.3%. The number of unemployed residents dropped by nearly 4,000 over the month to 197,113, while total nonfarm employment increased...

Zac Ezzone/Triangle Business Journal North Carolina State University is pushing for a new advanced nuclear research and test reactor, a project that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars and reshape the university’s role in nuclear research and workforce training. The university has completed a feasibility study outlining how it...

Steve Harrison/WFAE Radio Will there be enough dedicated money to fully fund the “Better Bus” pledge made during last year’s campaign for the transit tax referendum? It looks doubtful. The Charlotte Area Transit System pledged a 50% increase in bus service. It also promised 18 new “microtransit” zones where people...

Hannah Hall/WECT Feast Down East has received funding for improving local access to healthy food for people with chronic conditions through a new statewide initiative. According to the organization, the funding from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation is part of the “Food is Medicine” initiative....

Frank Daniels IV/The Southern Pines Pilot The country has been in the throes of what many deem a “child care crisis,” with limited access for families due to the low number of facilities and spaces available. Child care centers across North Carolina struggle to meet community needs as the population...

Steve Harrison/WFAE Radio Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, who is the city’s second-longest serving mayor and easily won a fifth term in November, announced Thursday that she will resign from office and retire in June. Her decision comes as questions have grown in the community and among colleagues about her health...

Sarah White/The Waynesville Mountaineer  Haywood County taxpayers could see the largest property tax increase in recent history next year. The county unveiled its proposed budget Monday that calls for a 7 cent property tax increase to cover raises for county employees, the jail expansion, rising costs and unfunded mandates. The...

Port City Daily Both the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County commissioners signed off on resolutions in support of UNCW potentially launching a medical school in the area. It will be considered by the UNC Board of Governors on May 21. A UNCW spokesperson told Port City Daily it...

Amy Diaz/WFDD Radio Without a state budget, local school districts are left guessing about teacher salary increases and position allotments for next year. To prepare for the unknown, Davidson County Schools has opted to freeze hiring for vacant positions as a way to protect existing employees. If cuts need to...

Greg Toppo/The 74 The largest study ever of school cell phone bans finds that they offer decidedly mixed results, with teachers reporting fewer distractions when students lock their phones away during the school day, but little evidence the bans quickly bring improved academic achievement or better behavior, as many advocates...