North Carolina
N.C. Senate to have new majority leader
California leaders lionized César Chávez. Now, they face a reckoning with his past; El Paso jail scheduled unauthorized mental health tests for Walmart gunman, records show
Ben Ledbetter
Ben Ledbetter, MPA, is a former journalist. Down Ballot covers local and state news in the U.S.
Mental Health
Virtual Crisis Care Helps Rural Communities Access Mental Health Resources in Emergencies
by Madeline de Figueiredo, The Daily Yonder March 2, 2026 In rural counties where access to emergency mental health resources is limited, Virtual Crisis Care programs are giving law enforcement on-demand access to behavioral health professionals, reducing unnecessary hospitalizations or confinement in jail. Supported by the Helmsley Charitable Trust, Virtual
Local Government
In N.C., Stokes County Approves a Data Center Rezoning, Triggering a Citizens’ Lawsuit
The data center would be on 1,844 acres that abut or include farms, homes and the burial grounds of Native American and enslaved people.
Education
Mississippi school district is addressing its educator shortage
After a Decade of Missteps, a Texas City Careens Toward a Water-Shortage Catastrophe; Only 13 of the nearly 100 known lynching sites in Virginia have historic markers. A new state program seeks to change that
State and Local Government
Asheville employs more municipal workers than similar-sized cities. Is it necessary for a busy tourist town or a sign of bloat?
Staffing under consideration as Asheville faces $26 million budget gap. The long-term challenge: building the tax base
Health
The long history of silent meditation retreats and the individuals who helped shape them
The Burmese meditation master Sayagyi U Ba Khin played a key role in shaping the meditation retreats that are popular today.
North Carolina
North Carolina Created Complaint Systems for Its Industrialized Farms. They Don’t Work Very Well.
Complaints become part of the record only if a violation is found, but the state has only 14 inspectors for thousands of hog, poultry and cattle farms known as concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs.
Agriculture
Labor Department struggling to deliver on H-2A promise for farmers
N.C. clinics offer a path forward to obtaining a driver's license for the previously incarcerated; Boil water advisories, water main breaks stress cash-strapped New Orleans families
North Carolina
Brunswick County opposes Fuquay-Varina's interbasin transfer request
Other local governments in southeastern N.C. also oppose the request
housing
Pricing Into Adulthood: Students Navigate Charlotte’s Housing Crunch
Link to original story: Pricing Into Adulthood: Students Navigate Charlotte’s Housing Crunch - Queens University News ServiceIn Charlotte, cranes dot the skyline and “For Rent” signs line busy corridors — but for many college students, those signs signal competition rather than opportunity. The city continues to grow at one of
electric vehicles
National EV funding fight hits home along Charlotte’s I‑77 corridor
by Will Atwater, North Carolina Health News March 5, 2026 By Will Atwater Ron Ross, 70, has spent decades in Charlotte’s Historic West End watching traffic thicken on nearby I‑77 and working alongside his neighbors to fight for cleaner air and a healthier future — one that includes electric
Iran
War puts Iran’s participation in World Cup, training plans in Tucson, Arizona in doubt
Voters push for change in closely watched NC primary contests