North Carolina
Down Ballot Staff Reports Emergency crews are responding to an active forest fire in the area of Funston Road and Old Mill Creek in Winnabow, according to a news release from Brunswick County. This is an evolving event and conditions are subject to change. Brunswick County is in southeastern North
North Carolina
By Greg Childress (North Carolina Newsline) Published: March 27, 2026 Residents of Willard Street Apartments and nearby Ashton Place in downtown Durham formed tenant unions Thursday to fight against what they contend are poor management and shoddy building maintenance practices. The newly formed Willard Street United and Ashton Seniors in
Georgia
Alicia Johnson, the first Black woman ever elected to statewide office in Georgia, discusses rate hikes, transparency and her priorities for the Georgia Public Service Commission. By Ryan Krugman April 2, 2026 This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and
rural healthcare
Mardi Gras clean-up workers paid late once again; Housing program in Massachusetts helps break generational poverty by promoting self-sufficiency; Clean water was a top issue for McDowell County, WV voters in 2024. They’re still waiting for help.
Mental Health
by Nada Hassanein, Stateline March 23, 2026 Federal Medicaid cuts could exact a heavy toll on psychiatric units at hospitals across the country, many of which are already struggling to keep their doors open but provide essential mental health care to people who need it. Psychiatric units are costly and,
North Carolina
by Mackenzie Thomas, Carolina Public Press March 19, 2026 A recent state audit this month found that millions of dollars in the Rocky Mount city budget were mismanaged in recent years, which the auditor blamed on a lack of oversight and due diligence by the City Council. Dave Boliek, the
growth
By Tim Henderson (Stateline) Small counties in the coastal Southeast had some of the largest population gains between mid-2024 and mid-2025 in estimates being released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau, mostly because of people moving from larger areas. Jasper County, South Carolina, where there’s a building boom
North Carolina
California leaders lionized César Chávez. Now, they face a reckoning with his past; El Paso jail scheduled unauthorized mental health tests for Walmart gunman, records show
Mental Health
by Madeline de Figueiredo, The Daily Yonder March 2, 2026 In rural counties where access to emergency mental health resources is limited, Virtual Crisis Care programs are giving law enforcement on-demand access to behavioral health professionals, reducing unnecessary hospitalizations or confinement in jail. Supported by the Helmsley Charitable Trust, Virtual
The best state and local government news
The data center would be on 1,844 acres that abut or include farms, homes and the burial grounds of Native American and enslaved people.
After a Decade of Missteps, a Texas City Careens Toward a Water-Shortage Catastrophe; Only 13 of the nearly 100 known lynching sites in Virginia have historic markers. A new state program seeks to change that
Staffing under consideration as Asheville faces $26 million budget gap. The long-term challenge: building the tax base
The Burmese meditation master Sayagyi U Ba Khin played a key role in shaping the meditation retreats that are popular today.
Complaints become part of the record only if a violation is found, but the state has only 14 inspectors for thousands of hog, poultry and cattle farms known as concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs.
N.C. clinics offer a path forward to obtaining a driver's license for the previously incarcerated; Boil water advisories, water main breaks stress cash-strapped New Orleans families
Other local governments in southeastern N.C. also oppose the request
Link to original story: Pricing Into Adulthood: Students Navigate Charlotte’s Housing Crunch - Queens University News ServiceIn Charlotte, cranes dot the skyline and “For Rent” signs line busy corridors — but for many college students, those signs signal competition rather than opportunity. The city continues to grow at one of
by Will Atwater, North Carolina Health News March 5, 2026 By Will Atwater Ron Ross, 70, has spent decades in Charlotte’s Historic West End watching traffic thicken on nearby I‑77 and working alongside his neighbors to fight for cleaner air and a healthier future — one that includes electric
Voters push for change in closely watched NC primary contests
By Seth T. Kannarr, University of Tennessee Ocmulgee Mounds, a site in central Georgia with 12,000 years of Indigenous history, may be on the verge of becoming the newest U.S. national park. This is the flagship designation of the National Park Service system, which includes many types of
Obscene language tics, called coprolalia, don’t reveal what people with Tourette’s think and feel. In fact, tics often compel people to say or do precisely what they most wish to avoid.
