Down Ballot Staff Reports FUNSTON - A portion of River Road (N.C. 133) in Brunswick County will reopen to traffic on schedule after being closed for several months for improvements. The road near Funston Road is scheduled to open on Friday, Sept. 5. It has been closed since mid-December.
N.C. accepting applications for Helene-related repairs; Asheville and Greenville, N.C. councils meet next week; Gas line rupture near Southport is mitigated
Boil water advisory still in effect
5 local governments meeting on Tuesday
Jackson, Miss. Police Chief resigns; New Texas map the target of lawsuits; Virginia getting another data center
Ordinance needs to pass a vote at the Sept. 9 council meeting
Company was mining without a permit in Mitchell County
Brunswick County offering free cleanup week at its landfill in September
Hurricane Erin closes national seashores in N.C.'s Outer Banks; Mississippi deploys National Guard to D.C.; Hickory, N.C. police face lawsuit over fatal shooting
Local States of Emergency have been declared in Dare County and Hyde County, and mandatory evacuations are in place for Ocracoke and Hatteras islands.
Site to be assessed after the storm to determine when visitors can return
River Road will be closed between Coleman Drive and Independence Boulevard.
Local Government
Five meetings on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025; One on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025
Federal Takeover of Washington, D.C.
Asheville Watchdog's open meetings lawsuit against city can move forward; Texas redistricting standoff complicates preparations for March 2026 primary; People with developmental disabilities in Maryland seeing Medicaid coverage lapse more often
North Carolina
North Carolina Emergency Management is partnering with Brunswick, New Hanover, Onslow, and Pender counties to update the Southeastern North Carolina Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan
Western North Carolina
Public invited to comment on draft air quality permit modification for plywood manufacturing facility in McDowell County
Mitchell County
Horizon 30, LLC, has been illegally mining at the Carter Quarry along the Nolichucky River near Poplar in Mitchell County
Education
Atlanta resident received full scholarship to SC State
Texas redistricting
El Paso Representative Joe Moody staying in Austin; New NC law makes regulating polluters much more difficult
Environment
Hearing is Aug. 19 in Stanly County
Immigration
S.C. Law Enforcement Division entered a Task Force model agreement on March 7
Environment
Stretch of Wilmington's River Road to close on Sunday, August 18 for roundabout construction
Brunswick County
Union County, N.C.’s property tax bills due Sept. 1; Other counties meeting Monday include Franklin and Haywood
Wrightsville Beach
Louisburg, N.C. leaders decry surprise election change passed without local input; Pennsylvania broke decades of promises to build a better system for people with mental illness; Mississippi broadband expansion moves forward despite federal changes.
