Here are some of the stories we're following on this Thursday:
North Carolina Lawmakers Begin Studying Session Limits, Pay
Some North Carolina lawmakers are taking preliminary steps to study if the General Assembly should limit how long it meets and whether their pay should increase for the first time in 20 years.
A government watchdog committee met Wednesday and heard a presentation from experts from the National Conference of State Legislatures. They provided information about which states cap how long their lawmakers meet and salary information.
The North Carolina General Assembly has no session limits and this year held its longest budget-writing session since 2001.
Rank-and-file North Carolina lawmakers make a base salary of almost $14,000 annually, not including living and travel expenses. Some critics say low pay and long sessions discourage potential candidates from running.
A committee leader says a subcommittee would be formed to do more research.
Duke Energy To Settle Federal Lawsuit In Ohio For $81M
Duke Energy has reached an $81 million settlement agreement to end a class-action lawsuit alleging it gave improper rebates to some large electric customers of its Ohio subsidiary.
The Charlotte-based utility said Wednesday a federal court in Columbus would have to approve the proposal.
An attorney for the plaintiffs says the class action represents over a million residential and nonresidential customers in southwest Ohio. Attorney Bill Markovits says Duke's payments to 22 large customers were unfair to hundreds of thousands of others who followed the rules.
The lawsuit claims contracts between Duke Energy Retail Sales and some of Duke Energy Ohio's industrial and business customers from 2005 through 2008 violated anti-trust and other laws.
Duke denies the allegations and says it's settling to avoid litigation "costs and uncertainties."
Students, Faculty At Appalachian State Plan Walkout
Students and faculty at Appalachian State University plan to protest school priorities at a tailgating party before the first weeknight home football game.
A statement from Appalachian State Student Power says students and faculty will walk to the parking lot at Kidd Brewer Stadium Thursday prior to the football team's game against Georgia Southern.
Protesters say Appalachian State has its priorities out of order, pointing to an increase in tuition since 2011 at the same time as the head football coach's salary has increased.
Student Rachel Clay also says ASU has responded to budget cuts by charging students more and demanding more of employees.
Guilford Students Can Get Driver's Ed Fee Refunds
Guilford County Schools is offering some driver's education students a refund.
About 750 students paid $65 to take driver's ed in Guilford County this summer.
At the time, the state was still trying to decide whether or not to cover the cost of the program, but has since funded it.
That means Guilford students who paid to take the course in July, August or September can request a refund from the district.
County officials expect more than 5,000 students to register for driver's ed this school year, a cost of about $1.2 million.
Southeastern NC Waters Back Open For Oyster Season
Nearly all of southeastern North Carolina's waters are now open for shellfish harvesting after heavy rains and floods left most areas polluted earlier this month.
The StarNews of Wilmington reports that bacteria found throughout most waters prompted the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries to declare most areas off-limits to oyster harvesting earlier this month, even though harvesting season technically opened Oct. 15.
Shannon Jenkins, an environmental specialist with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, says the bacteria levels in the water have become safer this week after a stretch of good weather allowed the water to recede.
Jenkins says three areas remain closed — portions of the Cape Fear River in New Hanover County, the Intracoastal Waterway at Holden Beach, and at Tubbs Inlet between Sunset Beach and Ocean Isle Beach.
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