One of the biggest challenges for expanding North Carolina’s broadband infrastructure involves the degree to which internet providers can tap into existing infrastructure such as electric and telephone poles.

To make sure future storms aren’t as devastating as Florence and Matthew, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality is creating a $20 million “flood resiliency blueprint.” Legislators got an update on the initiative Thursday from DEQ assistant secretary Sushma Masemore.

Every notice and check that the N.C. Department of Revenue sends out is printed on the same high-speed printer. And its days are numbered.

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis is raising concerns about how the federal government is handling changes to the list of Chinese products that are excluded from tariffs. Tillis wrote to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Thursday, complaining that North Carolina businesses are getting hit with burdensome tariff costs.

Gov. Roy Cooper’s office announced Tuesday that 76 water and sewer projects will get a total of $164 million in state loans and grants. Much of the money is headed to rural communities that are struggling with aging infrastructure.

It appears the sudden about-face is because legislators are willing to change who’s eligible for the program, a move that would help find a good home for the full $500 million allocated to the program.

Farmers and fishermen will get a reprieve from potential tax filing penalties thanks to a legislative fix that sailed through both chambers Thursday.

The N.C. Court of Appeals ruled this week that Mecklenburg County tax administrators didn’t perform proper due diligence when they foreclosed on a Charlotte home owned by a blind, wheelchair-bound woman who’d gotten behind on her property taxes.