Helene
NCDEQ awards $25 million in community recycling infrastructure grants for Hurricane Helene recovery
Funding supports projects to build resilient waste reduction, recycling, and composting programs in storm-damaged communities
Ben Ledbetter
Ben Ledbetter, MPA, is a former journalist. Down Ballot covers local and state news in the U.S.
data centers
More cities are pressing pause on data centers as local backlash grows
By Robbie Sequeira (Stateline) Published: May 28, 2026 Hearing backlash from residents, cities and counties across the country in recent weeks have blocked planned data centers amid concerns over rising electricity prices and environmental harms. The local actions come as state lawmakers also are looking to limit or repeal the
Environment
USDA Extends Pause on Loans for Controversial Digesters That Turn Manure Into Biogas
Anaerobic digester loans showed “significant delinquency rates,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture said, while environmental groups see the technology driving an expansion of large-scale animal farming operations.
South Carolina
S.C. early voting starts with high turnout
Federal rural health fund meets healthcare desert in eastern NC; Union group wants to bolster Kansas City's affordable housing by investing pension money; After Sarah T. Reed H.S. closure, NOLA teachers worry that school closures will become the new normal
Charlotte
As Funding Declines, Charlotte’s Arts Community Turns to Public Support
By Penelope Goldstein (Queens University News Service) Published: May 18, 2026 As public funding for nonprofits shifts at the local and national level, arts organizations across Charlotte are beginning to feel the effects through tighter budgets, reduced programming and growing uncertainty about what comes next. The arts play a vital
housing
Southern, midsized cities lead population gains between 2024 and 2025
By Tim Henderson (Stateline), Published: May 14, 2026 Large, immigrant-rich cities saw population fall back between mid-2024 and mid-2025 after nation-leading increases the year before. Mid-sized cities led the pack in U.S. Census Bureau estimates to be released May 14. The largest numeric increases
Economy
Affordability a larger issue for Georgia voters
NC families with disabled children press lawmakers to maintain funding as federal Medicaid cuts loom; Ex-residents of Chicago apartment building targeted in massive immigration raid seek millions in damages
Charlotte
Where Decisions Take Shape: Understanding Charlotte’s City Council Committee Structure
By Allison Chipps (Queens University News Service) Published: April 14, 2026 In Charlotte, the most important decisions aren’t always made under the bright lights of a full council vote. Instead, they begin in quieter rooms — inside committees of the Charlotte City Council — where fewer people are watching and even
North Carolina
BRIEFS: N.C. DEQ announces $1.2M for flood resilience projects in Swannanoa and Rosman
Mecklenburg County's point-in-time count found 2,018 experiencing homelessness
North Carolina
A New Enbridge Pipeline Spurs Opposition in Central North Carolina
The 28-mile conduit is part of a huge natural gas infrastructure buildout in the state that Duke Energy says is necessary to keep up with demand, especially from a coming wave of data centers.
justice
Report: Free prison, jail calls linked to better outcomes
Northampton Co., NC residents win 32‑month pause on data centers; xAI now has 46 gas turbines without air permits in Mississippi; Rent Freeze No Sure Thing in First Vote By Mamdani-Majority Board
Food security
2.5 million Americans lost food aid in months after passage of GOP megabill, study finds
By Jacob Fischler (DC Bureau (States Newsroom)) Published: April 8, 2026 At least 2.5 million low-income people quickly lost help affording groceries under a Republican-passed law that added new requirements for the nation’s largest nutrition program and shifted hundreds of millions of dollars in costs from