NC Politics in the News

Economic Development

AREA DEVELOPMENT: NVR Expands-Plans Kings Mountain-Fayetteville, North Carolina, Operations
NVR, Inc., a leading homebuilder, will expand its capacity in Kings Mountain and build a new facility in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The more than $33.9 million project is expected to create 261 new jobs in an expansion involving Cleveland and Cumberland counties.

WUNC: Federal government will distribute $200M to support small NC businesses
North Carolina small businesses will soon get a financial leg up from the federal government. The U.S. Treasury Department announced it has approved the state’s application for funding under the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI).

North Carolina is now slated to receive up to $202 million to “promote small business growth and entrepreneurship.” The SSBCI program is funded through the federal COVID-19 relief package known as the American Rescue Plan.

Education

THE CAROLINA JOURNAL: N.C. education leaders defend plan to revamp teacher licensure
Top education leaders in North Carolina defended a new framework for teacher licensure during a meeting of the State Board of Education on Aug. 4.

State education board Chairman Eric Davis and Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt say that rising teacher shortages and falling enrollments in teaching colleges show that reforms are needed to feed the pipeline of qualified teachers.

Environment

GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY: NC A&T Gets $23.7M to Create Clean Energy Workforce Program
Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday that North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will receive a $23.7 million federal grant to create a clean energy workforce program. “We are on the cutting edge of the clean energy economy,” Cooper said at A&T’s campus. “… Developing this talented, diverse workforce is going to be critical.” The program, called STEPs4GROWTH, will be centered at N.C. A&T and train workers in 16 counties across the state to qualify for clean energy sector jobs.

Healthcare

ABC 11: Wake, Durham counties ramp up monkeypox vaccination efforts as cases increase in North Carolina
Monkeypox cases are on the rise in North Carolina and across the country.

More than 80 people have tested positive in North Carolina with close to a third of those cases reported since Monday.

WRAL: NC Medicaid providers say they’re owed big bucks while children go without care
One year into a multibillion-dollar overhaul of North Carolina’s Medicaid program, providers complain that billing delays from insurance companies that manage claims are leaving patients without full treatment and the providers with financial problems.

WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL: State political leaders called out for logjam on Medicaid expansion 
The state’s lobbying group for health-care systems and hospitals has called out state political leaders for being willing to let Medicaid expansion “die because you are looking for a deal.” Steve Lawler, president and chief executive of the N.C. Healthcare Association (NCHA), sent his letter Friday to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and House speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland.

Politics

WCNC: NC elections board certifies Green Party, reverses past vote
The North Carolina State Board of Elections unanimously voted Monday to recognize the Green Party as a new political party, reversing its previous decision to reject the party’s petition while the board investigated the signature sheets for fraud.

THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: A growing political movement aims to rewrite the U.S. Constitution. Could NC be involved?
Recent media attention has put a spotlight on a political movement in favor of revising the U.S. Constitution and raised questions about the movement’s plans and potential impacts on the nation’s governing document. The Constitutional Convention movement hopes to unite states to convene a never-before-seen “Convention of States” under Article V of the Constitution that would allow state legislatures to amend the constitution.

Transportation

TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL: North Carolina’s roads are feeling the heat. It could become very costly. 
The same heat waves making the Triangle sweat in recent weeks are bearing down on North Carolina’s roadways. A reality that could mean higher costs for infrastructure in the future.

NORTH CAROLINA HEALTH NEWS: Charlotte promotes transportation safety for bicyclists and pedestrians
For the past five years, there has been an increase in the total bicyclist and pedestrian deaths in North Carolina, a trend that has caused organizations such as BikeWalkNC to provide free training to promote better transportation safety.

In 2015, the North Carolina Department of Transportation reported 3,053 pedestrian accidents. By 2019, the number of accidents increased by 175 people, totaling 3,228 crashes that year.