Madelyn Van Meter

NC House leaders and Gov. Cooper propose budgets for next two fiscal years

Increasing state employee and teacher pay are major tenets for both the House Republicans' and the governor's budget proposals. The House budget is a total of $60.7 billion, whereas Gov. Roy Cooper's proposal would invest over $67 billion over the next two years. “Let’s take advantage of our unlimited potential to make sure every North Carolinian can thrive,” Cooper said in a press release.

Pickleball? Bathrooms? Chapel Hill Town Council discusses how to use ARPA funds

Chapel Hill residents shared with the Chapel Hill Town Council what they wanted to see more funding for – public restrooms and pickleball. The business management director for the Town presented different Community Partner projects that could be funded with money received through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Chapel Hill Town Council releases Affordable Housing Annual Report for 2022

North Carolina to tax student loan forgiveness as income

In North Carolina, student loan forgiveness will be taxed as income under state law, the N.C. Department of Revenue announced Aug. 31. Loan forgiveness will not be taxed as income on the federal level, according to the Biden administration.  Gov. Roy Cooper urged Republican legislators  — who hold the majority in the N.C. House of Representatives and Senate  — to exempt these loans from taxation in a Sept. 14 press release. 

Chapel Hill begins developing Bus Rapid Transit project to improve service and safety

The Town of Chapel Hill has started to look for sponsorships to help with the development and implementation of the North-South Bus Rapid Transit (N-S BRT) system in order to provide faster bus services for residents.

'We just need to be aware and be smart': NC hurricane season predicted to be above-average

Rainy days may be ahead for North Carolinians, as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted this hurricane season will bring above-average hurricane activity in an August press release.

Chapel Hill partners with Solarize the Triangle to bring solar energy to community homes

Solarize Chapel Hill is one of the 11 communities within the Triangle area, including Carrboro, in the Solarize the Triangle initiative.  The initiative is led by Triangle J Council of Governments through the Triangle Sustainability Partnership and Solar Crowdsource — a group of local governments, advocates and nonprofits. Solarize Chapel Hill's goal is to encourage residents to adopt clean energy by promoting education and optimizing the solar panel installation process.

PlayMakers artistic director Vivienne Benesch lights up the stage with Broadway directorial debut

Vivienne Benesch, currently in her sixth season as producing artistic director for the PlayMakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill, directed "Birthday Candles," written by Noah Haidle.

From trash to treasure: NCMA celebrates eighth 'Art in Bloom' festival

From March 16-20, the North Carolina Museum of Art hosted its eighth Art in Bloom festival, where local artists created floral arrangements around the museum.  "Anything that we can do that can lift up the level of excellence for the state and statewide makes it, makes the state, shine,” said Laura Finan, director of stewardship and special initiatives at NCMA. 

Reports highlight racial disparities in disciplinary infractions in OCS, CHCCS schools

Data presented in a March 22 Orange County Board of Education meeting showed that Black students make up about 14 percent of the student body population but account for close to 30 percent of disciplinary incidents.