Ray Gronberg | Stories

A common grid for the Carolinas?

A report to South Carolina's General Assembly on electricity market reforms likely will have implications for legislators and policymakers in North Carolina, as it urges the an attempt to create or join a multi-state grid operator "as quickly as possible."

NS derailment prompts quest for safety reassurances

February's derailment of a chemical-laden Norfolk Southern Corp. freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, has a couple of North Carolina legislators seeking reassurances about the state's relationship with the company.

Career planning for kids

Sixth grade isn't too soon for kids to start thinking about what they might do with their lives, in the view of the supporters of a new bill pending in the N.C. Senate.

Hints of a wider scope for faculty buyout fund

A proposed incentive fund to entice professors on five UNC System campuses to retire could have broader applications in the 16-university system, its CFOtold legislators on Wednesday.

House members form bipartisan economic development caucus

Thirty seven members of the N.C. House, from both parties, have banded together to form what they're calling the Economic Development and Foreign Trade Caucus.

SAVE Act reintroduced for 2023 legislative session

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has renewed the drive to give advanced practice nurses greater freedom to practice in their areas of speciality without physician supervision.

Port dredging critical for Asian links

The planned dredging of Wilmington's port likely is critical to retaining the shipping services that link it to the Far East, the executive director of the State Ports Authority says.

Rural Hall problems have state looking at tighter oversight

A messy situation in Rural Hall, a small town on the northwest border of Winston-Salem, is providing additional fodder for state officials who say North Carolina's municipal governments need closer oversight.

The Matrix, traced to its source

Everyone has a PowerPoint these days when they present to a House or Senate committee, but N.C. Home Builders Association lobbyist Tim Mintonhad something more when he spoke to the House Regulatory Reformcommittee this month about land-use rules and housing prices.

A fright on the road from Wilson

N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore and three other people got a scare Thursday night when a man ran his pickup truck into the back of their SUV — more than once — as they were returning to Raleigh from a trip to Wilson.

Insurance Dept. seeks rewrite of CCRC law

At the behest of the N.C. Department of Insurance, legislators this year may completely rewrite the statute that establishes the regulatory framework for North Carolina's 63 licensed community care retirement communities.

EV count small, but growing

Electric vehicles now account for about one of every 225 registered vehicles on the roads of North Carolina, the General Assembly's Fiscal Research Divisionsays.

Ridership record prompting expansion of Raleigh-Charlotte rail service

After setting a ridership record in 2022, the N.C. Department of Transportation plans to add a fifth daily roundtrip this year to the passenger rail service between Raleigh and Charlotte, the chief of its Rail Division told legislators on Thursday.

N.C. Home Builders Association wants state legislators to put time limits on local regulatory reviews

In the 1980s, the introduction of a shot clock in college basketball put a stop to UNC's famous "Four Corners" brand of stall-ball, and not a moment too soon in the opinion of many fans and players. Here in the 2020s, the N.C. Home Builders Association wants state legislators to apply that example to the affordable housing problem.

NCDOT keeping an eye on its cash

N.C. Department of Transportation CFO Stephanie King says her agency is likely to rein in spending on engineering work and right-of-way purchases to make sure its cash flow meets the targets legislators have set for it.

More doctors needed

Current estimates suggest East Carolina University can start construction late in 2024 on the Brody School of Medicine's new, $215 million home, but campus and UNC System leaders say there's no time like now to begin expanding the school's roster of trainees.

House bill targets international wire transfers

Republican legislators are usually fans of cutting taxes, and with legislative- and executive-branch economists agreeing the state's on track for about a $3.3 billion surplus in fiscal 2022-23, there are already rumblings that more cuts might be on the way.

Medical marijuana bill clears its first committee hurdle

Sen. Bill Rabon's medical marijuana bill cleared its first committee hurdle on Tuesday and is likely to get a floor vote in the chamber early next week, provided the timetable he sees ahead for it holds.

Legislators hear cautionary note on revenues

Don't go counting your surpluses before they hatch. Fiscal Research Division economist Emma Turner didn't say that, exactly, to House and Senate appropriations committee members during a briefing Tuesday morning on the consensus revenue forecast from her office and the Office of State Budget and Management.

UNC's wish list

The UNC System's Board of Governors is meeting this week and among other things is scheduled to ratify its fiscal 2023-24 budget request to the General Assembly.

Blue Cross goes to court

To the surprise of no one, particularly in state Treasurer Dale Folwell's office, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of N.C. is taking its fight to keep the contract for serving the State Health Plan to the courts.

Gun-law debates dominate the action in both the House and the Senate this week

Gun-law debates have dominated the action in both the House and the Senate this week, with the bulk of the attention focusing on legislative Republicans' renewed attempts to do away with the state-level pistol purchase permits administered by county sheriffs.