Abortion bill will test Republican supermajority

It’s been a little over a year since a draft of the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling was leaked, and a little under a year since the ruling was issued, overturning Roe v. Wade. Now, North Carolina’s Republican-dominated General Assembly will finally have its abortion bill — if they can get past Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s promised veto.

A Carolina crisis: state, local leaders work to lessen impact of mill closing

Last week, Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers hosted Gov. Roy Cooper and a panel of elected Democrat and Republican leaders along with economic development officials, workforce analysts and environmental policy officials, all trying to prepare for the inevitable closing of the venerable old mill at the center of town.

Cooper to visit Canton

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will return to Canton on April 6 to discuss the forthcoming closure of Pactiv Evergreen’s Canton paper mill, resources for impacted workers and how the state will hold the company accountable.

Not so fast — Medicaid expansion contingent on state budget passing

While some elected officials and media outlets are going to great lengths to celebrate Gov. Roy Cooper’s signing of the Medicaid expansion bill passed by the North Carolina General Assembly, there remains one very real obstacle to enactment.  

Unfinished business: Hal Weatherman steps out from behind the curtain

For the first time since 2008, North Carolina’s governor is termed out, meaning Democrats and Republicans will both have a pretty fair shot at what will be an open seat come 2024.

Gov. Cooper: Pactiv Evergreen must pay back $12 million state grant if mill closes

In a letter sent by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to Mike King, CEO of Pactiv Evergreen, Cooper says that closing the Canton paper mill would violate the terms of a 2015 economic development deal and require the company to repay the state $12 million.

Cooper visits TWSA, announces funding

Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority received a visit from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper last week as he announced $462.9 million in funding for water infrastructure projects around the state.

The ‘strong right arm’ of the Republican Party flexes its muscles in Maggie Valley

Energized by recent Supreme Court rulings and eager to remake North Carolina in their own image, members of the N.C. House Freedom Caucus held a “rally in the Valley” last week, issuing local endorsements and looking to gain support for their forthcoming legislative agenda.

State budget goes to Gov. Cooper

Both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly approved the state’s $28 billion fiscal year 2022-23 budget last week, but as Gov. Roy Cooper nears the halfway point of his final term, he’ll now have to decide whether or not to veto the proposal, which does not include what’s become his signature issue — Medicaid expansion.

Again, Cooper’s budget proposal includes Medicaid expansion

Saying that it invests in North Carolina’s “families, businesses and communities,” Gov. Roy Cooper presented his proposed 2022-23 budget, full of significant appropriations meant to deal with some of the state’s biggest problems — out-of-control housing costs, an increasingly competitive economic development landscape, a lack of law enforcement resources, threats to the natural environment, an underfunded educational system and affordable access to health care coverage.

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