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North Carolina Agency's Duke Energy Coal Ash Excavation Backed
A North Carolina hearing officer says a state agency can order the country's largest electric company to excavate all its coal ash pits by 2030 so that they quit polluting neighboring rivers.
A state administrative judge on Friday dismissed claims by Duke Energy Corp. that North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality can't order the work that could cut the risk of toxic chemicals leaking into water supplies.
The company's administrative appeal represents the first round of a legal fight that could continue for years.
Cooper Moves To Block Conversion Therapy Funds
Governor Roy Cooper has signed an order barring the state health department from using public funds on conversion therapy meant to change young people's sexual orientations.
Cooper's order Friday blocks funds controlled by executive branch agencies from paying for such therapy for minors. That includes money for the state's Medicaid program.
The governor's order defines conversion therapy as practices meant to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity, which can include efforts to stifle certain behaviors or reduce romantic feelings toward the same sex.
UNC System Hires President Search Head At $15K Per Month
The search for a new president of North Carolina's public universities is getting direction from the woman who formerly headed how elections are organized, operated and protected.
The University of North Carolina said Friday it hired former state elections director Kim Strach. Spokesman Jason Tyson said she'll be paid $15,000 a month. That's more than Strach was paid before being forced out as elections director in May in a political shakeup.
Judge Tosses Charges Against 2 Arrested In Monument Protest
A North Carolina judge has dismissed charges against two students accused of disorderly conduct and defacing a public monument after placing Ku Klux Klan hoods on statues at a Confederate monument.
N.C. State students Enzo Niebuhr and Jody Anderson were arrested Easter Sunday during a protest at the North Carolina Women of the Confederacy monument in Raleigh.
A judge dismissed the charges Friday after a hearing in which the students' lawyer argued that their actions were protected speech.
Former Winston-Salem City Manager Dies
Winston-Salem's longest-tenured city manager has died.
Bill Stewart served the post for more than a quarter-century. It was a period of economic transition for the city. During his tenure, the city's economy came to rely much less on the tobacco industry.
He retired in 2006. A city government building downtown bears his name.
Mayor Allen Joines was among the city leaders who praised Stewart's legacy. He served under Stewart as an assistant city manager before being elected mayor.
Stewart died from complications of pneumonia. He was 79.
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