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Economic Development
TRIAD BUSINESS JOURNAL: Triad projects help NC win Gold Shovel award for economic development
Three Triad economic development projects were rated among the state’s top 10 by Area Development Magazine, which named North Carolina a Gold Shovel Award recipient.
Education
THE NEWS AND OBSERVER: NC school district defies state’s face mask requirement. Will others join?
The Harnett County school board voted 4-1 this week to make face coverings optional for everyone in its summer school program, including students and teachers. The vote came after Superintendent Aaron Fleming told board members that the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services had not changed its guidelines requiring face coverings in schools.
Government
THE NEWS AND OBSERVER: Cooper keeps mask mandate for risky settings through July 30
North Carolinians in airports, buses and train stations will need to remain masked at all times until at least July 30 under a new executive order issued on Friday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS: North Carolina Senate gives final OK to $2B tax-cut plan
Legislation that includes more than $2 billion in tax reductions over the next two years and the phaseout of North Carolina’s corporate income tax by 2028 received bipartisan approval again in the Senate on Thursday.
Healthcare
THE NEWS AND OBSERVER: NC health workers go door to door to tackle ‘fault lines of inequality,’ vaccine barriers
On the front stoop of her Smithfield home, a trio of National Guard troops flanked a petite woman with a clipboard, her pink floral top stark against the camo uniforms at her back.
ASSOCIATED PRESS: NC to give $1 million each to 4 vaccinated residents
A new lottery in North Carolina will give the more than 4.6 million vaccinated residents across the state a different kind of shot: a chance to win $1 million.
Politics
WRAL: Esports would get a boost in NC House bill
Video gaming competitions would get a major boost in a bill that passed the House Appropriations committee Wednesday morning.
RHINO TIMES: Republicans Back Bill To Crack Open Door On Employee Personnel Records
Politics makes strange bedfellows, and in the case of House Bill 64 the Republicans in the state Senate are aligned with the North Carolina Press Association in support of a bill to make more information about government employees a public record.
Transportation
THE NEWS AND OBSERVER: Greenways, sidewalks, electric buses. See which NC projects made the cut in Congress
The $547 billion, five-year surface transportation reauthorization package passed a U.S. House committee Thursday. The Invest in America Act includes $343 billion for roads, bridges and safety, $109 billion for transit and $95 billion for passenger and freight rail. The package is funded by the Highway Trust Fund and will distribute most of its money to North Carolina and other states based on formulas.
PORT CITY DAILY: Wrightsville Beach’s plan for Causeway Drive would remove parking, add bike lanes
Beach town leaders have a plan to revamp parts of Causeway Drive, involving a red-tape request to the N.C. Department of Transportation.