Skanska to build $137M STEM center at N.C. State

By

-

12/01/2023

NCSU_ISB_Exterior_Northwest (1) — Artist rendering of $136.7 million science building being built on the N.C. State University campus.

N.C. State University picked multinational contractor Skanska to build the $136.7 million Integrative Sciences Building, marking one of the biggest UNC system projects of the year.

The 164,947-square foot building will be used to promote STEM teaching and research as part of the university’s efforts to expand science education. It will include classrooms, teaching and research labs, faculty spaces and a cafe.

Departments using the building will include chemistry, biochemistry and biotechnology research.

The building will “revitalize the marquee Brickyard, one of the nine hallowed places on the north campus,” said Mark Balling, Skanska’s executive vice president for North Carolina and Virginia building operations, in a release. Richmond, Virginia-based Moseley Architects is the building designer.

The project is expected to be completed in September 2026.

Skanska, which is based in Stockholm, Sweden, has previously built several N.C. State structures, including Fitts-Woolard Hall; the Golden LEAF Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center; the James B. Hunt Jr. Library; and Engineering Building III at N.C. State.

Report projects $665B drop in state Medicaid funding over decade

By

Brad King

-

03/05/2026

0

State Medicaid programs nationwide are projected to lose $665 billion over 10 years under new federal changes tied to President Donald Trump’s budget law, according to a RAND Corporation analysis. Researchers say states will face uneven impacts as work requirements and limits on provider-tax financing reshape Medicaid funding.

Apex data center project scrapped after community opposition

By

Brad King

-

03/05/2026

0

Natelli Investments has withdrawn plans for its proposed 250-megawatt New Hill Digital Campus near Shearon Harris after months of public opposition and ongoing zoning debate in Apex. Town leaders are now considering a one-year moratorium on future data center proposals while updating development rules.

Google lowers Play Store fees in Epic Games settlement

By

Brad King

-

03/05/2026

0

Google will reduce Cary-based Epic Games app store commissions to 10%–20% for some subscriptions and e-commerce transactions under a proposed settlement ending a long antitrust fight. The deal also opens Android to certified rival app stores, pending federal court approval.

Asheville staffing debate intensifies as city confronts $26.4 million budget gap

By

Brad King

-

03/05/2026

0

Asheville employs more municipal workers than many similarly sized North Carolina cities, fueling debate as officials confront a $26.4 million budget shortfall. City leaders say higher staffing reflects heavy tourism, commuter inflows, and broader regional service demands, while critics argue payroll growth has outpaced tax-base expansion.

EPA joins probe after chemical spills halt Silfab Solar operations in Fort Mill

By

Brad King

-

03/05/2026

0

Silfab Solar has been ordered to halt operations at its Fort Mill plant after two chemical spills triggered investigations by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and South Carolina regulators. The facility had been expected to create 800 jobs through a $150 million investment.

Raleigh firefighter charged after Capitol protest at Senate hearing

By

Brad King

-

03/05/2026

0

A Brian McGinnis, a Raleigh firefighter and Marine veteran, was charged with assault on a police officer and resisting arrest after disrupting a U.S. Senate Armed Services hearing with anti-war remarks. United States Capitol Police said McGinnis and three officers were injured.

Charlotte improves in national financial-distress ranking, but still places high

By

Brad King

-

03/05/2026

0

Charlotte ranked 11th among the nation’s 100 largest cities for resident financial distress in a new WalletHub analysis, improving from fifth last year. The study measures distressed credit accounts, bankruptcy trends, credit scores, and online searches related to debt and loans.

Shaka Taco to open standalone restaurant in Wilmington

By

Brad King

-

03/05/2026

0

Surf City-based Shaka Taco plans to open its first standalone restaurant this spring at 4502 Fountain Drive in Wilmington, the former Trolly Stop location. The seafood taco concept, founded in 2017, also operates in Hampstead and at UNC Wilmington, using a commissary kitchen model to support multiple locations.

Ralliant caps transition with new Raleigh headquarters

By

Chris Burritt

-

03/05/2026

0

In the latest move in an eventful year, technology company Ralliant Corp. unveiled its new global headquarters in Raleigh where employees earn nearly 2½ times average wages in Wake County.

This week’s shift from temporary to permanent offices in the North Hills area for about 150 employees marks the latest milestone for Ralliant in its first year as an independent publicly traded company. Spun off from Everett, Washington-based Fortive Corp. last June, the company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange at that time and has reported two quarters of financial results, with fourth-quarter revenue of $555 million.

CEO Tami Newcombe and other Relliant employees joined local and state officials for a ribbon-cutting for the new headquarters. They included Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell, Wake County commissioner Donald K. Mial and Kyle Touchstone, director of Raleigh Economic Development.

Raleigh puts Ralliant “at the center of one of the nation’s leading technology and research ecosystems,’’ according to a statement.

Starting with “a blank canvas’’ across the U.S, the CEO said in an interview, Ralliant’s selection of North Carolina considered that its operations are “about 50% West coast, 50% East coast.’’

The company concluded Raleigh is attractive as a place to live and is part of an innovation culture backed by strong education, according to Newcombe.

“We’re a very people-centric culture,’’ she said earlier today. “We wanted to be a place where we could attract talent and a place that talent wanted to live. That was probably No. 1 on the list.

“No. 2, as a technology company, where is innovation happening?’’ she said. “And No. 3 and tied to No. 2 and innovation is the education system. I don’t just mean the three big universities here. I mean, the whole ecosystem from really good high school technical talent to community colleges and technical schools – the whole ecosystem of talent that is important to us.’’

A year ago, Ralliant announced its selection of Wake County for its new global offices, committing to invest $2.1 million and create 180 jobs in exchange for more than $3.4 million in state and county incentives. Average salaries for the new jobs will be $189,479 a year, compared with the current average wage in Wake County of $76,643, according to a March 2025 release from the North Carolina Department of Commerce. The figures haven’t changed, Newcombe said.

The state is providing a Job Development Investment Grant of $3.3 million spread over 12 years to help Ralliant’s move. Wake County will provide an additional $107,771 in local incentives.

Ralliant designs and manufactures precision instruments and highly engineered products in two segments: test and measurement for scientists, engineers and technicians and sensors and safety systems for electrical, satellite and military defense systems.

One of Ralliant’s sensors and safety systems brands, Hengstler-Dynapar, employs about 300 people in Elizabethtown in Bladen County, Newcombe said.

The company has about 7,000 employees globally, with more than 90,000 customers in over 90 countries, according to a securities filing.

Political newcomer: Young pharmacist defeats eight-term incumbent

By

Kevin Ellis

-

03/05/2026

0

Caroline Eason copy — Caroline Eason stands outside the Lincoln County Courthouse. The pharmacist beat eight-term incumbent Kelly Hastings in Tuesday's primary to earn the Republican nomination for the 110th NC House seat.

Cleveland County native Caroline Eason not only won the Republican nod for the 110th N.C. House seat by besting an eight-term incumbent, but she did it less than a year after earning her doctorate in pharmacy from UNC Chapel Hill.

The 25-year-old captured 53.6% of the vote Tuesday in unofficial returns, a 491-vote margin over Kelly Hastings, who had been a close ally of former House Speaker Tim Moore, who’s now seeking a second term in Congress. He was not on upset alert, and one of only eight incumbents to lose in the primary, which would become nine depending on whether the two-vote deficit Senate Pro Tem Phil Berger faces in his race against Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page stands.

“This campaign was built on hard work and service,” Eason said via a text message on Wednesday. She thanked Hastings for his years of service, voters and “my family and friends who stood with me, lifted me up in prayer and helped make this campaign possible.” She says she is led by her Christian faith.

Hastings also congratulated Eason on her win. In 2025, he announced he would not seek a ninth term, citing his length of service and a desire to spend more time with family and on his real estate business, but then changed his mind.

Eason’s campaign website says she became active in politics a few years ago when her family’s pharmacies faced potential closure due to “consolidation in the healthcare industry.” She was an Eshelman School of Pharmacy Health Policy intern in her last year at UNC Chapel Hill, and was an appointed member of a committee that worked on pharmacy-related policy in Washington, D.C. Recently, she spoke before the N.C. House Health Committee in support of pharmacy-related legislation.

Her Facebook page shows an image of her target shooting with a handgun, stating she “actively and responsibly” carries a firearm and her support for the Second Amendment.

Eason’s a third-generation pharmacist and works at TAS Drug, a pharmacy her grandfather, Tom Eason, helped start in 1990. The pharmacy now has stores in Cherryville, Maiden and west Lincoln, and is led by her and her father. Eason says she started working at her grandfather’s pharmacy at age 12.

Eason still faces a showdown with Democrat Mary Silver of Cherryville in a district that leans Republican. The district is split between western Gaston County, which includes Cherryville, and parts of Cleveland County, including Lawndale, where Eason grew up.

She will be 26 by the time November’s election comes around, but if elected, she would become the youngest woman elected to the General Assembly. In 2024, Wyatt Gable became the youngest person elected to the General Assembly at age 22. The Republican lawmaker was a student at East Carolina University when Onslow County voters elected him to represent District 14 in the state House. He is running for re-election.