Cory Vaillancourt/Smoky Mountain News Hurricane Helene recovery czar Michael Whatley is blaming Democrats for the growing chorus of criticism over his job performance — but in heavily Republican Western North Carolina, it’s not just Democratic voices calling for Whatley to be replaced or step down. “It’s kind of funny to...

Ha Lien Gaskin/The Daily Tar Heel On Sept. 29, the N.C. Utilities Commissionruled that affordable housing nonprofit EMPOWERment Inc. will not be able to use a centralized energy measurement system in its Pine Knolls, EMPOWERment, Affordable, Community Housing (PEACH) property. EMPOWERment Inc.’s complaint against Duke Energy argued for an exception...

Rhonda Waterhouse/Coastal Review Online As you near Wilmington for your beach vacation, you take in the classic coastal Carolina scenery — tall longleaf pines, grassy marshes, and the wide Cape Fear River. But then something strange catches your eye: a forest of bare white tree trunks rising from the swamp...

Bradley George/WUNC Radio About 1.3 million checked suitcases are inspected every day in the U.S., according to the Transportation Security Administration. A startup company in the Triangle is hoping to speed up the screening process with a new spin on old technology. Like its product, the Quadridox office and lab...

Charlie Fossen/Port City Daily The Leland Town Council has adopted an open-burning ordinance, a measure residents have been vocal about for years. Council unanimously approved an open-burning ordinance during an emergency meeting called on Oct. 20. The ordinance enacts an immediate ban on all open burning for land-clearing purposes, prohibiting...

Alli Lindenberg/Education NC A lifelong educator has taken the helm at Rockingham Community College (RCC). Dr. Sylvia Cox became the college’s sixth president in May 2025. With a career in education spanning more than 25 years, this teacher-turned-higher education leader brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and heart for rural...

DJ Simmons/WFDD Radio High Point has approved the Southwest Mill District, which could pave the way for new jobs, homes and stores along West Green Drive. The decision would rezone around 171 acres of land in the area southwest of downtown High Point and establish additional development standards to create...

Mary Smith/CBS 17 News A man passes away, and an apartment complex throws his things out before his family even has a chance to gather them — that’s what the family of Blake Decena says happened about two weeks ago. They say Decena was found dead in his apartment at...

Brady Dennis, Brianna Sacks & Kevin Crowe/The Washington Post Lynn Austin keeps running the numbers, and they don’t look good. Since Hurricane Helene devastated her community in western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, the county government has spent nearly $50 million on cleanup and recovery — while getting reimbursed only...

Trista Talton/Coastal Review Online Chemours’ air permit application to expand production at its Fayetteville Works plant excludes emissions data that should be disclosed to the public, environmental lawyers say. The company “improperly withheld vital emission data from the public” in its Aug. 14 application to the North Carolina Department of...

Emily Walkenhorst/WRAL News Wake County school leaders are forming a plan for how to use laptops and educational technology in student learning in future years — one that could prompt laptop use to look different than it has for the past five years. A plan would go into effect next...

Michelle Crouch/NC Health News & The Charlotte Ledger City and county leaders in Charlotte said they are pressing for answers after a Charlotte Ledger/NC Health News article last week highlighted slow progress on affordable housing tied to the city’s new medical innovation district, The Pearl. Some are also asking why...

Colin Campbell/WUNC Radio Gov. Josh Stein says wait times at the Division of Motor Vehicles are improving thanks to additional staffing and a new state law that moves more DMV transactions online. The governor announced Monday that DMV has already filled 64 new driver’s license examiner positions funded earlier this...

Sarah Michels/Carolina Public Press You’ve heard of Texas and California’s mid-decade redistricting efforts. You may know of North Carolina’s plans to redraw its Congressional map to give Republicans one more seat in the US House of Representatives. But one redistricting battle has likely escaped your attention. It’s in Watauga County,...

Alex Fitzpatrick/Axios The number of U.S. states with adult obesity rates at or above 35% dropped slightly in 2024 compared to a year prior, a new report finds, yet remains far higher than just a decade ago. Why it matters: Obesity is tied to several health problems, including diabetes, heart...