Cover story: In the struggle for control of Charlotte’s airport, Aviation Director Jerry Orr wound up grounded. 

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was dealt a good hand in 2012. The state signed a 30-year compact with the tribe that allows table games with dealers at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Hotel and opens the possibility of two more casinos on tribal land.

Not all startups are created equal.

Rockingham County used to be known for textiles and tobacco. Now it’s attracting a more explosive industry.

The East is generally regarded as the poorest region of the state, so it’s little wonder that impoverished children in and around Wilson have the slimmest chance of any poor kids in North Carolina of climbing the income ladder, according to a study by professors at Harvard University and University of California, Berkeley.

Free & Clear: North Carolina adopted more free-market and conservative reforms than any other state has done in a single year.

Weddings are a marriage made in heaven for Raleigh photo-sharing app.

Up Front: Republicans now rule state government, and they’re using voter suppression to retain rather than regain power.

Feature: Bandwidth has something wireless giants don’t — cellphones that make calls over the Internet.

Capital Goods: Top business leaders have fewer long-standing ties to North Carolina and public education in the state.