Displaying items by tag: north carolina

RALEIGH — Eastern equine encephalitis virus has recently been identified in eastern North Carolina. Horses in three counties — Brunswick, Pender and Onslow — were recently diagnosed with EEE. In addition, EEE virus was detected in a mosquito sample from New Hanover County. No human cases of EEE have been identified in North Carolina so far this year. 

RALEIGH — The N.C. prison system, comprising 55 facilities and employing roughly 16,000 staff, is one of the largest agencies in the state. That might surprise some, as prisons, from the real estate they occupy, to the critical role they play in governance, are not foremost in our minds when it comes to policy.

According to the most-recent ranking I can find, North Carolina requires state-approved licenses in more occupations (nearly 200) than most other states do. North Carolina licenses twice as many occupations as Virginia does, and three times as many as South Carolina.

RALEIGH — The legislative committees charged with drawing North Carolina's new congressional and legislative election maps will take public comment at 13 different hearings during the next month. Participating lawmakers will head as far east as Elizabeth City and as far west as Cullowhee.

RALEIGH — Earlier this year, Gov. Roy Cooper said his administration was exploring the development of a vaccine passport for residents of North Carolina.

RALEIGH — North Carolina now has one of the most broad-based and competitive tax structures for business in the United States, according to a recent Location Matters survey and newly released white paper from the Tax Foundation and KPMG LLP.

RALEIGH — This time of year, alligators are moving around a lot on the southeastern North Carolina landscape. They are looking for food and mates after spending the winter in brumation —a long period in which they don’t eat and seldom come out of their dens.

RALEIGH — It would be hard for North Carolina to end up closer to the average in a new ranking of the most patriotic states. WalletHub.com ranks the Tar Heel State No. 25. The new rankings arrive a couple of weeks before Independence Day.

RALEIGH — North Carolina has collected more than $6 billion in state taxes than was originally forecast in May 2020 by state economists. That’s the finding of a report presented to members of the Joint Full Chairs Appropriations Finance Committee by the nonpartisan Fiscal Research Division at the General Assembly and the Office of State Budget and Management.

RALEIGH — With the end of the state’s fiscal year just three weeks away, the N.C. House and Senate have reached a deal for the next budget. After weeks of closed negotiations, N.C. Senate and House leaders have agreed to a top-line spending number of $25.7 billion in the first year and $26.7 in the second year. That’s a spending increase of 3.45% in the first year of the biennium and 3.65% in year two.