Noah Britt/The Sampson Independent The city of Clinton has submitted a recommended budget for approval from the City Council that features no change to the ad valorem tax rate of .34 cents and maintains all the city’s services. The ad valorem tax rate is based on the assessed value of...

Jasmine Gallup/IndyWeek Pharmaceutical company Novartis Gene Therapies released new details last week about its plans to open two new facilities in Morrisville. Under an incentive agreement, the company—which plans to build a 56,000-square-foot facility, and upfit an additional 200,000-square-feet in the Pathway Triangle corporate campus—promised last year to invest more...

Kate Santaliz/Axios Rep. Chuck Edwards told a young female staffer that she had “written a complex chapter in my heart” shortly before she was set to leave his office, according to a handwritten letter he sent her that was reviewed by Axios. Why it matters: Edwards is now the subject...

Cierra Noffke/WilmingtonBiz The Wilmington metro area recorded the highest percentage of employment growth in North Carolina over the past year. According to new Current Employment Statistics data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Wilmington metropolitan statistical area – which includes New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties – added...

Charlie Fossen/Port City Daily Pender County commissioners voted 3-2 Monday to move forward with using 2026 property revaluation numbers, reversing an earlier decision to suspend the reval, and resolving weeks of legal and budget uncertainty. Commissioners Jimmy Tate and Vice Chair Brad George voted against the motion, which directs staff...

Jennifer Fernandez/NC Health News In Guilford County, having an orange card means an uninsured dad who breaks his hand working around the house can get medical care. It means a self-employed mom who no longer qualifies for Medicaid and can’t afford other insurance can get a mammogram. Having one of...

WRAL News Wake County Manager David Ellis’ 2027 budget recommendation comes with a 2-cent property tax increase and greater concerns for the future. “I want to offer some words of warning about the FY2028 budget,” Ellis said. “If the state doesn’t close the Blue Ridge loophole and if the state...

Zachary Turner/WFAE Radio Most land in North Carolina is privately owned, making conservation work more challenging for nonprofits and environmental advocates. A new agreement is designed to help conserve a unique stretch of privately owned land: the state’s electric highway system. Duke Energy natural resources manager Scott Fletcher signed an...

Sarah White/The Waynesville Mountaineer Canton leaders backtracked on their plan to use funds from a lawsuit against Pactiv Evergreen to bring economic development to town through an old mill warehouse. Instead, the town will use that money to fill in the funding gaps for crucial flood renovation projects. Two weeks...

Ben Bokun/WNCN News Applications close this week for the City of Durham’s pilot program dedicated to increasing housing affordability. As part of the effort, little homes will pop up all over the Bull City. “Cost of living has increased significantly over the last several years, so things have become a...

Brighton McConnell/WCHL Chapelboro A discussion by the Chapel Hill Town Council about downsizing by two members and extending the length of mayoral term was met with swift, vocal opposition during a public hearing last week. The community comments, in the span of just a few days, led the elected officials...

Dan Kane & Kyle Ingram/The Raleigh News & Observer Former state Rep. Cecil Brockman won $2 million in state funding for a nonprofit in High Point that provides services for people with autism and other disabilities in 2023. Since then, nearly a fifth of that money went to his predecessor...

Ted Clifford/Asheville Watchdog In 2022, Chuck Edwards campaigned on his image as the responsible adult in the room. As a prosperous businessman with a chain of McDonalds, Edwards was a hardline if unflashy conservative who had risen through the ranks of the state Senate. He successfully offered western North Carolina...

Rodney Overton & Michael Ramsey/WNCN & NewsNation The head of the Environmental Protection Agency is calling a newly identified lithium deposit in the Appalachian Mountains — concentrated in the Carolinas — a “great find,” saying it could help the United States reduce its reliance on China for critical minerals essential...

Colin Campbell/WUNC News More than a month after the primary, the biggest spender opposing Senate leader Phil Berger finally filed a disclosure report listing its donors. But the report leaves more questions than answers about who funded the Guilford-Rockingham Alliance’s $453,000 campaign to help Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. More...