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Your weekly North Carolina political news report.
Agriculture
SPECTRUM NEWS: NC to Produce Millions of Dollars Worth of Strawberries this Season
Despite a cold snap in the weather in early 2019, farmers are expecting a good turnout for strawberry season. More than 1,000 acres are harvested across the state. North Carolina is the fourth largest producer of strawberries in the nation.
Economic Development
WRAL: Wake official: USDA office relocation project could be ‘transformational’ for Triangle
Michael Haley, head of economic development for Wake County, says news that the U.S. Department of Agriculture might move two organizations and some 700 jobs to the Triangle, could mean the region might win what he calls a “transformational project.”
WITN: Carolina Connector to spur economic growth in Edgecombe County
Edgecombe County celebrates the ground-breaking of a new project with the NCDOT and CSX that is expected to bring economic boosts to Eastern North Carolina. The Carolina Connector is expected to bring more than 1,000 jobs, according to leaders, and give access to existing and future industries.
Education
THE CHARLOTTE POST: Thousands of NC teachers push for education policy changes
The first of May brought hotter-than-average temperatures and several thousand red-shirted educators to Raleigh, as teachers and supporters rallied at the General Assembly for the second year in a row.
Environment
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Senate pushes ahead with a controversial ban on wind farms
A controversial ban on new wind turbines in all or part of more than 40 counties, including almost all of Eastern North Carolina, advanced in the state legislature Thursday.
Healthcare
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Will Gov. Cooper veto the NC budget if Republicans don’t include Medicaid expansion?
The North Carolina House endorsed a state budget on Thursday and is expected to send it to the Senate Friday — but the plan is unlikely to meet Gov. Roy Cooper’s approval. “The governor’s going to veto it,” Wake County Rep. Darren Jackson, the top Democrat in the House, said at the start of Thursday’s hours-long debate over the budget.
Politics
THE FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER: Poll says Dan Bishop ahead in 9th District GOP primary
As the Republican primary for the 9th Congressional District special election enters its final days, state Sen. Dan Bishop of Charlotte may be solidly in the lead, but may not have enough support to avoid a run-off primary, according to a poll reported by the Hotline political newsletter and The Charlotte Observer.
Transportation
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Final Beltline widening plans will be presented at Raleigh transportation fair
The public will get its first glimpse Monday of the final plans to widen Interstate 440 between Wade Avenue and Cary, including new configurations for interchanges along the four-mile stretch of highway.