4 NC counties are under alert, including Moore and Hoke counties.

Emergency crews rushed away a person on a stretcher after fire was extinguished outside the Manhattan courthouse where jury selection was taking place Friday in Donald Trump's hush money criminal case.

Fire extinguished outside Trump trial, person rushed away on a stretcher

Shortages of teachers, infrastructure and technology workers will hamper schools' ability to provide the best education, facilities and tools to children, Superintendent Robert Taylor said Thursday.

Higher employee pay will be key to running Wake schools smoothly, superintendent says

Wake County Public School System Superintendent Robert Taylor speaks to the League fo Women Voters of Wake County, April 18, 2024

Compared to pre-pandemic prices, ground beef is up 35%, chips are up 45%, bread is up 57% and a 12-ounce can of soda is up 66%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks trends on common grocery store items.

WRAL Investigates: 'Greedflation' and other drivers behind inflation at the grocery store

A look at inflation at the grocery store

The North Carolina League of Municipalities is a member-driven organization that represents the interests of cities and towns across the state. 

Home to more than 540 incorporated municipalities, North Carolina's unique cities and towns are the backbones of the state's character, economy, and quality of life. The North Carolina League of Municipalities, a member-driven organization that represents the interest of these communities across the state, is working on a local level to build, grow, and protect the vibrancy of the state. 

<p>North Carolinians care about community character. We see it in vibrant downtowns and in walkable, tree lined neighborhoods that connect the parks, open spaces and commercial areas where residents shop, eat and take part in leisure activities every day. Local elected officials and city staff's work to protect and enhance that character. They look to balance growth and development with the need to protect existing homeowners and business owners from incompatible uses. They keep neighborhoods attractive by prohibiting indiscriminate, clear cutting of trees. They make investments in downtowns that allow businesses to thrive. And they established rules that prevent new development from causing flooding, endangering residents and structures, working together, protecting the ability of locally elected officials to keep making decisions about development at the local level. We protect community character doing that. We ensure that north Carolina's diverse array of cities and towns remains economically vibrant. Yeah. No. Mhm. Right. Mhm. Yeah.</p>

Building, growing, and protecting community character

Protecting community character throughout NC

The American Rescue Plan offers a generational opportunity for municipalities, not just to recover from the pandemic, but to thrive well into the future. It is this forward-looking aspect of the ARP that is most consequential. How can communities best utilize these funds to create a lasting impact?

All across North Carolina, cities and towns are developing plans and programs specifically geared to answer this question, and history shows that these projects will be successful. When municipalities receive financial support, they achieve substantial feats.

This ongoing series showcases those projects, plans, and transformational investments, both to highlight the end-to-end impressive work of North Carolina municipalities and to share best practices with other cities and towns.

NC HOMETOWNS: INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE