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Education
NEWS & OBSERVER: NC students improve on state exams, and more aregraduating from high school
Fewer than half of North Carolina’s elementary and middle school studentstested last spring were ready to tackle both reading and math in the nextgrade, according to a snapshot released Thursday of how the state’s publicschools are doing.
NEWS & OBSERVER: New NC education plan remains focused onstandardized tests
Despite pledges to try to cut back on high-stakes standardized testing,North Carolina schools will continue to largely be evaluated based on howwell their students perform on state exams.
NEWS & OBSERVER: Which low-performing NC schools could be takenover by a charter school operator
North Carolina is moving closer to turning over two low-performingelementary schools to a charter school operator in 2018 after identifyingThursday which 48 schools are under consideration for the program.
Elections
ASHEVILLE CITIZEN TIMES: Asheville candidate fundraising highest since2011; Goldstein raises $33,353
More than a month before the Asheville City Council primary, the topfundraising candidate, Jeremy Goldstein, has already brought in more than$33,000, the most banked at this point by any contender in at least thelast four elections.
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: In final mayoral debate, sparks fly over Scottshooting, affordable housing
With less than a week before the primary, state Sen. Joel Ford repeatedlyattacked incumbent Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts during a televiseddebate Wednesday night, and the senator also criticized Mayor Pro Tem ViLyles, who has usually avoided confrontation during the campaign.
WRAL-NEWS: NC turns over some data to Trump voter fraud panel
The State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement has supplied publiclyavailable voter data to a commission set up by President Donald Trump toinvestigate voter fraud.
NEWS & OBSERVER: While Cooper and lawmakers struggle in court, NClocal elections can proceed
Elections boards in 16 counties received relief late Friday from the stateSupreme Court that allows them to prepare for local elections without alltheir members.
Energy & the Environment
WILMINGTON STAR NEWS: NC, Chemours strike deal on toxic GenX
A Bladen County judge late Friday approved a partial consent order betweenChemours and the state of North Carolina governing the release of GenX andother fluoridated compounds from the company’s Fayetteville Works site.
From the Governor’s Office
WRAL-NEWS: Cooper administration files to move Confederate monumentsfrom Capitol
Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration formally petitioned the state’s HistoricalCommission Friday in an effort to remove three Confederate monuments fromthe Capitol grounds in downtown Raleigh.
WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL: Joining attorney general, Gov. Cooper forced tomake cuts, too
While many Republican-led institutions saw spending increases in times offiscal plenty this year, Gov. Roy Cooper was forced to make significantcuts that critics of the GOP-controlled legislature say were designed topunish the state’s top Democrat.
Health Care
WFAE-NEWS: Cooper renews calls for NC leaders to tackle opioid abuse
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is repeating calls for substantive action tobe taken to stem the number of opioid overdoses in North Carolina, whichhas steadily grown alongside national trends in the last 20 years.
Transportation
NEWS & OBSERVER: Why some truckers are ‘reluctant’ to drive intoNorth Carolina
North Carolina is facing a shortage of parking spaces for truck drivers torest, making some drivers “reluctant” to travel through the state,according to a study presented Wednesday to the N.C. Board ofTransportation.