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Agriculture
THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: North Carolina keeps lethal bird flu out of poultry barns – so far
So far, no cases of the highly pathogenic avian flu have been reported in commercial chicken or turkey barns in North Carolina, though nearly 140 cases have been found in wild birds here, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
PORT CITY DAILY: State forest service relocates to $7M aviation complex in Duplin County
The Duplin County Airport Commission and Economic Development Commission companies welcomed the North Carolina Forest Service (NCFS) Eastern Aviation Hub last week.
Economic Development
TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL: $300M development looks to bring Greenville into booming NC economy
There are two giant economic engines in Greenville – East Carolina University and Vidant Health. A development team is looking to capitalize on the university’s growing partnership with the health system with a mixed-use development called Intersect East that could bring more jobs to Greenville.
WATAUGA DEMOCRAT: North Carolina rural counties receive $2M to support economic development
North Carolina economic officials have approved 10 grants to local governments totaling more than $2 million to support economic development. The North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) will award the grants for a number of projects that counties and cities would use to attract more than $30.8 million in private investment and create a total of 349 jobs, Gov. Roy Cooper said.
Education
WFAE: House panel on future of NC education again postpones looking at teacher compensation
The House Select Committee on an Education System for North Carolina’s Future had a staff report on teacher compensation on its agenda for both meetings in February. Both times the committee ended its meeting before getting to that report.
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Are NC schools unsafe? Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson says student discipline is ‘abysmal.’
Robinson told a legislative committee that restoring order and discipline in classrooms is key to transforming the state’s K-12 education system. Robinson said some teachers have told him they feel unsafe due to the lack of discipline.
Elections
WRAL: NC Republicans ask US Supreme Court to block new congressional districts
Top state Republican lawmakers asked the U.S. Supreme Court to wade back into North Carolina’s redistricting battle Friday, making a last-ditch effort to block a congressional voting map that was approved this week by state courts.
THE NEWS & RECORD: With new redistricting maps — for now — NC candidates file for races
With district boundaries decided for now, North Carolina candidates were welcomed into election offices on Thursday to file for this year’s races. Others weighed their futures as another round of redistricting retooled the geographic and partisan makeup of seat boundaries.
Government
FOX8: NC Gov. Roy Cooper vetoes ‘Free the Smiles’ school mask law
Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday vetoed the “Free the Smiles Act,” which was passed last week by the General Assembly to remove a school board or government agency’s right to require masks and to specify parents as the sole arbiter of that decision for students.
Healthcare
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Why an RTP company’s new drug could be a game-changer for HIV prevention
ViiV Healthcare, a Durham-based biotechnology company, recently won the first regulatory approval for an injectable HIV preventative — providing a potentially game-changing alternative to the daily prevention pills that many take.
Politics
ABC11: Key differences emerge during first debate among NC Republicans vying for GOP Senate nomination
Republican candidates for U.S. Senate in North Carolina debated for the first time as the wide open race inches toward the primary. Former Governor Pat McCrory, former Congressman Mark Walker, and combat veteran Marjorie K. Eastman took the stage for more than an hour in the debate that streamed live on ABC11.com and the ABC11 North Carolina apps.’
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Challenges to Madison Cawthorn can’t proceed under new district, elections board says
Challenges seeking to bar U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn from running for reelection cannot move forward as long as Cawthorn remains a candidate in the district he filed in, which has now been moved halfway across the state, the N.C. State Board of Elections said Thursday.
Transportation
THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: ‘Big game changer.’ City touts new type of electric car charging spot in west Charlotte
Charlotte unveiled a new kind of electric vehicle charging station in West Charlotte on Thursday, a charging station created in a partnership between the city, Duke Energy, Centralina Regional Council and UNC Charlotte. The electric charging station, called PoleVolt, uses existing streetlights to provide free charging for electric vehicles.
STAR NEWS: NCDOT donates concrete pipes to build artificial reefs
The N.C. Department of Transportation has joined with the state Division of Marine Fisheries in a project to convert damaged concrete pipes into artificial reefs off the coast of Brunswick County. WECT-TV reports the pipes are too damaged for anything NCDOT would have used them for.