NC Politics in the News

Agriculture

OBX TODAY: First annual Northeast North Carolina Niche Agriculture Conference set for November 18
The first annual Northeast North Carolina Niche Agriculture Conference will be held at the Currituck County Extension Center in Barco, NC on November 18, 2022. A full day of education and networking is planned.

Economic Development

WITN: ACC headquarters moving from Greensboro to Charlotte
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) announced Tuesday that it is moving its headquarters from Greensboro to Charlotte. All 15 members of the ACC Board of Directors approved the relocation to Charlotte in 2023. The league will use the 2022-23 academic year as a transition period to complete the relocation process.

THE ROBESONIAN: FOCUS broadband awarded $24.6M grant to bring high-speed internet to thousands in Robeson County
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded the FOCUS Broadband cooperative a $24.6 million grant to address high-speed internet needs in Robeson and Scotland counties.

Education

GREENSBORO NEWS & RECORD: Toyota invests $1M in local education, including $500,000 for NC A&T
Toyota is investing $1 million in the Triad for workforce readiness and education focused on STEAM topics: science, technology, engineering, arts and math. N.C. A&T and Communities in Schools of Randolph County will get $500,000 each, Toyota announced Saturday.

WFAE: Cabarrus Schools join the ranks of districts ignoring North Carolina’s calendar law
The Cabarrus County School Board voted unanimously Monday to start classes in early August next year, defying the state’s school calendar law and building momentum for what appears to be a regional trend.

Environment

WRAL: Biden administration launches environmental justice office
President Joe Biden’s top environment official visited what is widely considered the birthplace of the environmental justice movement Saturday to unveil a national office that will distribute $3 billion in block grants to underserved communities burdened by pollution.

Government

THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Audit raises questions about $2.5 million in NC hurricane recovery spending
A new report says the state agency tasked with managing federal funds to assist thousands of families affected by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 could not provide “reasonable assurance” that nearly half of federal expenditures it reviewed had been spent properly. The invoices for the spending reviewed lacked documentation, according to the audit by a federal inspector general.

WRAL: NC prison commissioner lured back to run new Cabinet agency
The head of North Carolina’s prison operations during the COVID-19 pandemic is Gov. Roy Cooper’s choice to become secretary of a new standalone Cabinet-level agency tasked with adult corrections. Cooper announced on Thursday that Todd Ishee, who was named state prisons commissioner in 2019, will lead the Department of Adult Correction, an agency that becomes official on Jan. 1.

Healthcare

WFAE: North Carolina Medicaid expansion hits Certificate of Need snag
For years, Medicaid expansion has been a contentious issue in North Carolina. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has supported the measure, while Republican legislative leaders have opposed it. There’s been a shift recently, though: Republican leaders now support expansion and a holdup on the measure centers on disagreements over the state’s Certificate of Need law.

Politics

WUNC: Ahead of 2022 midterm elections, political polling remains imperfect in North Carolina
Political polling is a snapshot in time. What do the ever-changing results really tell us? Do we in the news media utilize them well? And after polls were so off in 2016, and again in 2020, how much faith should you place in them this fall?

WCNC: Board of Elections see increase in inquiries about election security
As elections offices across the United States prepare for the upcoming election, officials say they’re being inundated with public records requests asking for documents or data pertaining to elections and fraud.