News Headlines
All lanes of I-40 in Pigeon River Gorge now open
Contract crews for the N.C. Department of Transportation have completed major operations at two locations of Interstate 40 in the Pigeon River Gorge, allowing all four lanes to open Tuesday for the summer travel season.
High-speed internet grants awarded in WNC
Legislative infighting overshadows child care crisis
Without immediate action from the General Assembly, Pandemic-era federal grants to child care providers will run out on July 1 — plunging the state into a child care crisis that will hamper economic and workforce development, make child care more difficult to find and further burden North Carolina’s working parents already feeling the pinch from unaffordable housing and the relentless corporate greed that’s driving inflation.
Democrats claim school vouchers detract from child care grants
As the July 1 budget deadline for Child Care Stabilization grants approaches, it appears the Republican-led North Carolina House and Senate are struggling to agree on how to spend the $30 billion or so taxpayer dollars slated for the upcoming fiscal year.
‘A two-generation workforce issue’: Child care availability impeding economic development
Stakeholders around Western North Carolina recognize the end of COVID-era child care stabilization funding and the broader lack of available child care resources as a multilayered impediment to economic development.
Macon passes budget with adjustments
After several lengthy discussions, Macon County Commissioners approved the fiscal year 2024-25 budget by a split vote with a couple of last-minute changes to the proposed document.
WCU Board of Trustees approves new CIO
On Friday, June 14, Western Carolina University’s Board of Trustees approved Chris Williams’ selection as its chief information officer. Williams, who comes to WCU after spending the last nine years as the IT director for Student Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will begin his new position Monday, June 24.
Months after passing away, Haywood child wins national award
Less than six months after her death at just over two years old, Charlotte Joy Norris is posthumously receiving an award for her courage in the face of a dire situation she wasn’t even old enough to understand.
Cherokee museum receives $385,000 grant
Museum of the Cherokee People has been awarded a major spring grant from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation.
