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Your weekly North Carolina political news report.
Budget Update
NEWS & OBSERVER:NC budget passes legislature – the next move is up to Roy Cooper
The North Carolina General Assembly approved a state budget for the next year on Friday morning after several days of heated debate over the controversial process Republicans used to force their changes through.
Education
WRAL: Bill to let towns start charter schools moves forward
A bill to let four Mecklenburg County towns start their own charter schools cleared a key Senate committee Wednesday as black Democrats sounded alarms of resegregation.
NEW & OBSERVER: Getting students through the UNC system to graduation is the goal of new effort
UNC President Margaret Spellings announced a new innovation lab Monday, with the aim of improving student success on the path to graduation.
WRAL: UNC schools president announces new STEM high school campus
Spellings announced the addition of a new North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics campus in Morganton, which will be the second in the state.
Economic Development
HERALD-SUN: Homebuilders want faster inspections. NC lawmaker has a solution.
New legislation sponsored by Rep. Mark Brody, a Republican from Monroe who is a construction contractor, aims to alleviate at least one of the holdups homebuilders now face.
WRAL: Amazon eyes downtown Raleigh for HQ2; Apple deal ‘imminent’
Amazon is still considering the Triangle for its huge HQ2 project, and downtown Raleigh is where the ecommerce giant is most likely to build what would be a massive complex if North Carolina’s capital is the winner, according to sources.
Elections
WINSTON-SALEM Journal: Without statewide consensus, partial N.C. judicial remaps advance
Republican lawmakers are advancing fragments of a statewide remapping of North Carolina’s judicial election districts in hopes of passing them before candidate filing for judges begins in just over two weeks.
Healthcare
WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL: NC bills aim to establish teaching hospitals in rural areas
Bipartisan bills have been submitted in the state House and Senate that aim to address two major socioeconomic issues facing rural community hospitals.
In the Courts
NEWS & OBSERVER: Statewide judicial redistricting not likely this year, GOP lawmaker says
North Carolina lawmakers have backed off a statewide plan to overhaul how judges get to the bench. But in a committee meeting Friday afternoon, House members pushed ahead with changes to judicial election districts in Wake and 11 other counties, acknowledging that they were proceeding piecemeal because the state Senate was not fully on board with a statewide overhaul.
Transportation
WUNC: Adjusted State Budget Could Kill Durham-Orange Light Rail
The Republican-controlled General Assembly gave final approval to its 2018-19 budget today, passing an adjusted $24 billion spending plan through a process that allowed for no input or amendments from Democrats. And the budget contains one provision that could kill a light rail project years in the making.