Agriculture
NORTH STATE JOURNAL: Troxler: State of NC Agriculture is strong; announces 2023 priorities
In remarks delivered at the 2023 North Carolina Agriculture Forum, Commissioner Steve Troxler said it was a good year for the state in terms of crop yields, commodity prices and overall trends.
Economic Development
WITN: Golden LEAF Foundation awards EWN over $750,000 in grant funding
An airport here in the East was recently awarded over $750,000 as part of the Golden LEAF Foundation’s Community-Based Grants Initiative. The funding will be used to extend public utilities and prepare land to serve a 90-acre Corporate Aerospace Development site planned at the Coastal Carolina Regional Airport.
TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL: Behind the deal: How North Carolina made math work for Wolfspeed mega factory
Newly-released records show Wolfspeed was considering a much bigger manufacturing operation in North Carolina – one that could've topped 3,000 jobs.
Education
WNCT: North Carolina education officials look to change teachers' pay to effectiveness and experience
The North Carolina State Board of Education is trying to get more people in the teaching field and keeping them in classrooms. One way they’re looking at doing this is through a policy that would change the way teachers get paid.
WFAE: North Carolina education board proposal revived in House bill
A North Carolina House committee on Tuesday backed a bill that would shift influence over public education away from the governor and toward the superintendent of public instruction and voters. The legislation aims to put a constitutional amendment on statewide ballots that could change how the board that sets the state’s public education policy is chosen and who leads it.
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: NC may require students to take computer science. But earth science could get axed.
North Carolina lawmakers could replace earth science with computer science as a high school graduation requirement. Legislation that will be considered Tuesday by the state House K-12 Education Committee would make computer science one of the science credits students need for graduation. House Bill 8 would also make it possible for students to take computer science instead of the earth science credit they now must complete.
Government
WRAL: Bill could delay future NC governors' efforts to replace retiring appellate judges
At least two prominent Republican judges won’t be forced to retire in the next few years, if a bill filed in the North Carolina House becomes law. Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby turns 72 — the state’s mandatory retirement age for judges — in 2027. Court of Appeals Judge John Tyson turns 72 in 2025.
Healthcare
WRAL: Medicaid expansion bill, filed in NC House, kicks off 2023 health care debate
North Carolina Republicans filed a Medicaid expansion bill in the state House Wednesday, kicking off this year’s debate over whether to extend healthcare to hundreds of thousands of the state’s working poor. Around half a million North Carolinians would gain access to health insurance if the state expands Medicaid. Nearly every other state has already done so, through a process laid out in the Affordable Care Act.
EDNC: State to support family child care with federal grant
The federal government has awarded a $4 million Preschool Development Grant to the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), which the state will use to support family child care homes and increase access for children and families, DHHS announced this month.
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: New documents show how Aetna won NC's State Health Plan contract
Documents released Tuesday show that Blue Cross NC had the lowest bid among three major health insurers vying to administer the State Health Plan — one of state government’s largest contracts — but Aetna won out with a higher score for services provided. The state treasurer’s office released the records as Blue Cross demands more information and continues to object to the process, in what could be the prelude to a court fight.
Politics
WRAL: NC Democratic Party ousts Richardson, shakes up party leadership
North Carolina Democrats sent a message to the state party’s establishment: the party needs better leaders. Members of the North Carolina Democratic Party on Saturday ousted their sitting chair, first vice chair, and second vice chair, voting instead to elect new candidates to the top four leadership positions.
Transportation
STAR NEWS: A $110M grant will help fund a new NC coastal bridge, but it isn't in Wilmington
Both are coastal North Carolina bridges built in the 1960s. Both are deemed as economically vital to their local communities and seen as important transportation cogs in evacuating residents and tourists out of harms way from an encroaching hurricane. Both spans are also nearing the end of their lifespans, with how to fund replacement structures a growing concern for the cash-strapped N.C. Department of Transportation (DOT).
