NC Politics in the News

Agriculture

MEAT+POULTRY: NC begins the fourth phase of meat, seafood grants
The fourth phase of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Increasing Meat Production, Efficiency and Capacity (IMPEC) program will be available for independent state meat and seafood processing facilities until Sept. 1. This financing round will include $15 million in grants from the American Rescue Plan Act that were approved by the NC General Assembly.

WWAY: Spotted Lanternfly infestation discovered in North Carolina a concern
An insect causing problems in the Northeastern part of the country has now been spotted in the Tarheel state. It was only a matter of time before the spotted lanternfly would reach North Carolina, and it appears it now has less than 200 miles from the Cape Fear region, according to experts like Invasive Species Scientist Kelly Oten.

Economic Development

TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOUNRAL: North Carolina pursues aerospace manufacturers across the Atlantic
Economic developers trying to lure aerospace giants such as Boeing, Airbus and BAE Systems to North Carolina are heading across the Atlantic this month.

TRIAD BUSINESS JOURNAL: NC’s bid for World University Games gets $25M boost from legislature, adds Triad site
The NC budget bill contains $25 million for the state’s World University Games bid, which now includes Elon and has received the backing of several Greensboro institutions.

Education

WRAL: NC education officials eyeing policy change to get more college classes to high school students
The North Carolina State Board of Education met Thursday and discussed improving college course access, a new study on students with disabilities funding and learned the StrongSchoolsNC Toolkit is no more. North Carolina high school students earning college credit are mostly white and less economically disadvantaged, according to a new report.

THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: Enrollment soars in NC private schools at levels not seen since the 1970s
Enrollment in North Carolina private schools grew by the largest number in 50 years, while the number of students who are home schooling dropped.

New figures released Friday by the state Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE) show private school enrollment rose by 7,970 students in the 2021-22 school year.

Environment

WINSTON SALEM JOURNAL: No detour to net-zero: NC climate efforts unaffected by court’s EPA ruling
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s July 1 decision limiting the federal government’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants dealt a blow to President Joe Biden’s national climate goals, it likely will have little impact on North Carolina, experts say. That’s because the N.C. General Assembly did on a state level what the Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia v. EPA that Congress had not: establish detailed standards for reducing the level of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the energy sector.

INDEPENDANT RECORD: NC judge signs off on agreement over Colonial gasoline spill
A North Carolina judge has signed off on a previously announced agreement between state environmental regulators and Colonial Pipeline for a 2020 gasoline spill in a nature reserve that turned out to be larger than the company initially described. On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Kimberly Best approved the consent order filed by the Department of Environmental Quality and the company last week in Mecklenburg County court.

Government

THE CAROLINA JOURNAL: The Farm Act among 19 bills signed by N.C. Gov. Cooper
B. 762, also known as the N.C. Farm Act of 2022 was signed into law Friday by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, along with 18 other bills, the state budget passed by the N.C. General Assembly was still not one of them. The farm bill had become controversial after language legalizing hemp was removed two weeks ago. That was rectified with the passage of S.B. 455, Conform Hemp with Federal Law, which was signed into law by Cooper on June 30.

Healthcare

THE CAROLINA JOURNAL: Cooper signs executive order protecting abortion in N.C. after Dobbs
After the decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health by the U.S. Supreme Court, women in North Carolina are no longer guaranteed a federal constitutional right to abortion. But Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper took executive action Wednesday to ensure state workers under his control do nothing to support challenges to the controversial procedure. 

Politics

THE CAROLINA JOURNAL: Legislators object to N.C. Supreme Court speeding up redistricting review
Legislative leaders are urging the N.C. Supreme Court to reject a shortened timetable for a case involving state election maps. Left-of-center activist group Common Cause is pushing for speedy court action on redistricting.

Transportation

WNCN: NC General Assembly votes to use sales tax money for transportation
Amid concerns about the long-term reliability of the gas tax, North Carolina would use money from the state’s sales tax to help fund transportation under the new state budget the General Assembly recently passed. The budget plan, which Gov. Roy Cooper (D) has not said yet if he’s going to sign, calls for allocating two percent of sales tax revenue this year for the Department of Transportation’s needs.