Kate Denning/Carolina Public Press As North Carolina students and educators have been returning to school in January, they’re discovering the state has a few new year’s resolutions of its own. While much of the education legislation passed in 2025 took effect last fall, a few changes kicked in on Jan....

Emily Sawaked/Port City Daily A private club is at the center of a debate about what is considered “public access” in Wrightsville Beach. Some are questioning whether the Commodore Club is following through on what aldermen approved in its special use permit a few years ago. The town has issued...

Aarik Long/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer The owners of the Waynesville Plaza allege that the remaining three years on a lease with Sherwin-Williams were terminated, allowing the landlord to increase the rent by nearly $4,000 per month. They’re now suing the paint company for not paying up. A lawsuit is picking up...

David Beasley/The Center Square On the morning before Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina in late September of 2024, Drake Fowler was already expecting trouble with the weather ahead. The 434 acres of public forests and gardens had already been hit with 10 inches of rain the night before the...

April Laissle/WFDD Radio If you commute through Greensboro on I-40 near Elm Street, you’ve probably noticed it: “Every so often, especially in the mornings or evenings, you’ll go outside and there’s this smell of buttered popcorn in the air,” said Greensboro resident Tim Leisman. That scent is coming from the...

Mark Rogers/The Sanford Herald Lee County Commissioners had the chance to learn about a variety of topics during the first day of their board retreat Thursday. They gathered at the San Lee Park Nature Center to hear presentations that included a legislative update by State Sen. Jim Burgin (R), an...

Scott D. Yost/Rhino Times Guilford County commissioners are set to approve a one-month extension of the county’s contract with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Center for Housing and Community Studies at their Thursday, Jan. 15 meeting in order to allow the full use of remaining federal pandemic relief...

Dee Pridgen/828 News Now Buncombe County sheriff candidate Victor “Vic” Morman is facing a formal challenge to his eligibility to run for office, an issue that will be considered during a special meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Elections on Jan. 20. The meeting is scheduled for 2:30 p.m....

Paul Nielsen/The Waynesville Mountaineer Rebuilding Waynesville’s dog park may not be a top spending priority for town leaders as the post-Helene financial crunch sets in. Town council was presented with a new cost estimate to rebuild the dog park at its meeting Tuesday night — around $431,000 — with the...

Colin Campbell/WUNC News For the past 65 years, Saint Andrews University has been a major economic engine for the small town of Laurinburg, in Scotland County near the South Carolina line. And with more than a thousand students and staff in a town of about 15,000 people, the university was...

Emily Sawaked/Port City Daily One local beach town is trying out a new tactic to entice jobseekers to its doorsteps, following a request for action from its town manager. Earlier this week, the Carolina Beach Town Council voted unanimously in favor of increasing merit raises from 2% to 4% to...

Bill Moss & Amy B. McCraw/Hendersonville Lightning Amid more than 20 charges of alleged child-sex abuse that suggest a moral bankruptcy at Only Hope WNC, the nonprofit agency has filed a petition to liquidate its assets and pay creditors the proceeds. The last remaining leaders of the organization founded by...

Elena Marsh/The Southern Pines Pilot The Moore County Board of Commissioners is still exploring the feasibility of a few future water sources. The current preferred option, a reservoir at Crystal Lake, would provide an asset the county owns outright, but it is not without its challenges. At a work session...

Jose Sandoval/Blue Ridge Public Radio Several dozen UNC Asheville students and community members gathered outside of Highsmith Student Union on Friday to protest the development of portions of the Millennial Campus property, which includes 45 acres of urban forest. The walk-out was organized by local artist Spenser Beals who got...

Outer Banks Voice A Jan. 15 story on NC Local reports that Immigration and Customers Enforcement agents (ICE) arrested more than 3,300 people in North Carolina between President Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 and Oct. 15, 2025.  The data show that very few of those arrests have occurred on the...