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Agriculture
AREA DEVELOPMENT: BrightFarms to Locate Hydroponic Greenhouse in Henderson County, North Carolina
BrightFarms, a packaged salads company, will invest $21 million to operate a hydroponic greenhouse in Etowah, North Carolina. The project is expected to create 54 jobs in Henderson County. The company’s North Carolina greenhouse will be the company’s sixth and one of its largest locations to date.
Economic Development
WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL: Growth in Winston-Salem outpaced that of Charlotte and other metro areas
City and regional officials are touting strong job growth numbers for metropolitan Winston-Salem as evidence for optimism about local economic prospects. The Winston-Salem area posted higher employment growth over the summer than most of the other large metropolitan areas in North Carolina, and beat the growth rates in other cities of similar size nationwide, according to figures from the national Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Education
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Reading scores have not risen on national tests, despite Read to Achieve effort
North Carolina’s reading scores are now lower than before the state launched a major effort earlier this decade to boost literacy skills for young children, according to the latest round of national exams released Wednesday. In 2012, state lawmakers created the Read To Achieve program to try to get more students reading at grade level by the end of third grade.
Government
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: The budget fight in North Carolina is over for 2019 as legislators adjourn
The North Carolina legislature is done trying to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes on the budget and a few other hot-button issues — until at least next year. The N.C. Senate and House of Representatives both adjourned Thursday evening, putting a temporary end to one of the longest legislative sessions in recent years that was dominated by redistricting lawsuits and a fight over the budget and Medicaid expansion.
CNN: North Carolina judges throw out congressional map ahead of 2020
A panel of three North Carolina judges on Monday granted a temporary injunction that blocks the state’s current congressional map from being used in the 2020 elections, ruling that voters had a “substantial likelihood” of winning a lawsuit that contended Republicans had drawn districts with “partisan intent.”
Healthcare
NORTH CAROLINA HEALTH NEWS: In Medicaid transformation rollout, ‘more questions than answers’
As the state health department races to roll out an ambitious plan that would tie Medicaid payments to patient health outcomes, at least one regional provider has expressed concerns about the implication of the so-called transformation. The state health department plans to move 1.6 million Medicaid recipients to the pay-for-value system on Feb. 1, but a protracted budget dispute between Gov. Roy Cooper and the General Assembly, largely over Medicaid expansion, may delay that timeline.
Transportation
TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL: NC Treasurer: They warned me NCDOT is writing checks they can’t cash
North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell is calling for the immediate replacement of state Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon. Folwell’s office sent out a notice Thursday, calling for Gov. Roy Cooper to replace Trogdon over the ongoing NCDOT cash crunch issue.
WBTV: NCDOT will not grant extension for I-77 toll lane project, will begin issuing fines
The North Carolina Department of Transportation will not grant an extension for the completion of the $647 million toll lane project on Interstate 77, as the deadline approaches. North Carolina Senator Natasha Marcus tweeted that NCDOT will fine Spain-based contractor Cintra $10,000 per day for each incomplete section beginning on Nov. 1.