Attorney General Jeff Jackson is opposing a rollback of data collection and reporting about PFAS forever chemicals. Just months away from receiving data from PFAS manufacturers about the type and amount of PFAS chemicals in their products, EPA is now trying to hide the use of PFAS from the public, Jackson claims. 

Western North Carolina is a region defined by resilience. Mountain communities have endured floods, factory closures, rising housing costs and the slow erosion of public institutions with a steadiness that deserves admiration. None has beaten our people. 

But there is one challenge the region has not met with the same determination: demanding better from the people elected to represent it. 

Western North Carolina’s next election cycle is already shaping up amid a volatile mix of entrenched incumbents, disaster recovery fallout and deepening national divides, with competitive races stretching from the U.S. Senate on down to county-level offices. 

While marquee statewide contests appear to be headed toward familiar General Election matchups, cracks are emerging down the ballot, where public trust and institutional legitimacy are demanding attention from voters now more than any other time in recent memory. 

With third-quarter fundraising reports now filed, campaign finance records show sharp contrasts in both fundraising totals and donor bases among candidates in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District as they look to Primary Election contests in March. 

Incumbent Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards reported raising $233,163 from January through September, with no personal contributions to his own campaign. 

Both major parties in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District have for years been plagued by political instability. 

Chairs come and go, strategies collapse as quickly as they form while rank-and-file party faithful are left scrambling.

On a fourth-generation family farm nestled in the hills just outside of Fairview, Jamie Ager spent his childhood watching the seasons change, the animals grow and the land evolve with the rhythms of life in the mountains. Today, that land is not only the site of a thriving regenerative agriculture business, but also the launching pad for a campaign that could reshape North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District. 

Westernmost North Carolina Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-Macon) has been named the legislator of the year by the North Carolina Community Action Association, honoring his exceptional commitment to public service, advocacy for vulnerable populations and leadership in advancing transformative legislation. 

It’s been a few weeks since I wrote a column for this space. Instead, we’ve been fortunate enough to print your opinions. 

I take it as a sign of a newspaper’s health relative to its relationship with readers when we have a lot of letters to the editor or guest columns coming to my inbox.

The aim of newly-elected State Superintendent of Public Schools Mo Green’s “Mo Wants to Know” tour is simple — to garner as much input as possible about the direction North Carolina Public Schools should be heading in the coming years.

A small group of property owners in Maggie Valley are taking advantage of Rep. Mark Pless’ offer to de-annex them from the town, with at least one citing development restrictions and others saying they’re not getting what they’re paying for.