Here are some the stories we're following on this Tuesday morning:
Greensboro Candidates Forum To Explore Issues Ahead Of Primaries
The League of Women Voters is holding the forum Tuesday with a focus on the mayoral and at-large city council hopefuls. The nonpartisan organization has secured commitments to attend from two of the three mayoral candidates, and all at-large city council candidates.
Tracy Nash with the League says the forum will cover a variety of issues facing the city, and there will be time for questions submitted by the audience. The luncheon starts at noon at Holy Episcopal Church in Greensboro.
Fracking Moratorium Proposed In Stokes County
Stokes County commissioners are taking steps to temporarily block the use of fracking in the region.
The commissioners agreed to hold a public hearing to discuss a three-year moratorium on the drilling method used to extract shale gas resources.
The decision comes two months after state geologists said underground samples in the county show signs of shale gas or oil.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports the proposed moratorium would prevent the county from issuing zoning permits related to oil and gas development for three years.
In that time county officials could review whether state and federal laws adequately protect residents and the environment.
Seats Slashed In 17 Winston-Salem School Buses
Winston-Salem police are investigating an act of vandalism in which every seat inside 17 Forsyth County school buses was slashed.
Transportation director Darrell Taylor says the vandalism was discovered Monday morning inside the district's bus lot. He estimates the damages to the nearly 400 seats to total about $48,500.
Taylor says the seats were temporarily repaired with duct tape on Monday so that all 17 buses could be used for the afternoon routes later that day.
Details Emerge From Overdue Budget Deal
The agreement lawmakers have reached on North Carolina's budget will reduce income taxes but also expand sales taxes to cover car repairs and appliance installations.
Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore on Monday unveiled details of the two-year budget deal that had been due before July 1.
Individual income tax rates would fall slightly and a repealed deduction on medical expenses would be restored completely.
Local government shares of the new sales tax revenue will be distributed so small and rural counties get more. The change is considered a compromise for a previously proposed Senate sales tax plan that would have left many urban areas getting less.
Court Bid To Stop Duke Energy Unearthing More Coal Ash Fails
A judge has rejected a bid by North Carolina's environment agency to block Duke Energy from removing coal ash at three extra power plants now leaking pollutants like arsenic and lead into waterways.
Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway heard arguments Monday as the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources sought to stop Duke Energy from going beyond a new state law requiring it to excavate pits at four plants.
Duke Energy wants to scoop coal ash out from seven plants. Environmental groups asked the judge to back the plan.
The state agency argues Duke Energy has only so much money and time to clean out the problem sites and the company shouldn't set which get top priority.
Rockingham County Brewery That Employs 500 Closing
A brewery that employs 500 people in the Rockingham County city of Eden is closing its doors.
County and city officials confirmed on Monday that the MillerCoors brewery will close within a year.
County officials say the closing will cost the county, in addition to the lost jobs, about $1.2 million in annual revenue.
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