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1 week ago | 
wfdd.org | April Laissle
The Forsyth County manager is recommending a decrease in the county’s tax rate, but officials say tax bills will likely still rise for homeowners this year. The county's property valuations jumped by an average of about 50% in 2025, though there were spikes of up to 300% in some areas. When valuations go up, tax rates typically go down, leaving many property owners with about the same bill. That’s according to Forsyth County Tax Assessor John Burgiss, who spoke to WFDD earlier this year.
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1 week ago | 
wfdd.org | April Laissle
Winston-Salem-based Christian college Carolina University has announced the loss of its president. Charles Petitt passed away Wednesday. Petitt led the school for more than two decades, presiding over its transition from Piedmont International University to Carolina University in 2020. During his tenure, the student population grew from around 200 to over 900. He is survived by his wife and two daughters. The university has not announced a timeline for naming his successor.
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1 week ago | 
wfdd.org | April Laissle
Recycling plant fire Omnisource Environment 0:00/3:36 There was an error loading the media player. Last month, a massive fire erupted at the Omnisource recycling plant in Kernersville, sending towering plumes of black smoke into the sky and drawing attention from as far away as Virginia.
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1 week ago | 
wfdd.org | April Laissle
The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners will soon vote on how to allocate another round of funding from North Carolina’s sweeping settlement with opioid manufacturers. This year, the county plans to distribute about $4.5 million. The largest proposed share — almost $500,000 — would go to Twin City Harm Reduction Collective. The group provides clean syringes, naloxone, and connections to recovery services for people with opioid use disorder.
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2 weeks ago | 
wfdd.org | April Laissle
Senator Thom Tillis has released a map labeling nine North Carolina counties “sanctuary jurisdictions” for undocumented immigrants. Among them: Forsyth, Guilford, and Watauga. But local law enforcement officials are pushing back. “That's not true, has no validity," said Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough. Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman echoed the sentiment:"Long story short, we are not a sanctuary county," he said.
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2 weeks ago | 
wfdd.org | April Laissle
A federal grant that supported a Greensboro citizenship education program for legal permanent residents has been terminated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The program is a collaboration between the New Arrivals Institute (NAI) and University of North Carolina at Greensboro, providing legal and educational services to people navigating the U.S. citizenship process.
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3 weeks ago | 
wfdd.org | April Laissle
The IRS recently extended the tax filing deadline to this fall for all North Carolina residents. IRS Spokesperson Eric Smith says the change is aimed at helping those affected by Hurricane Helene. “I think there was a recognition here that this was an unusually severe event with widespread impact," he says. The deadline had already been pushed back to May 1. But Smith says leaders decided earlier this month to further extend it to September 25 – one year after the storm hit.
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3 weeks ago | 
wfdd.org | April Laissle
Gov. Josh Stein visited Winston-Salem Tuesday to applaud the city’s economic growth, but he also warned that President Trump’s trade policies could jeopardize North Carolina’s long-term financial stability. In his remarks at Greater Winston-Salem Inc.'s State of the Economy event, he praised local officials for attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in capital investment and noted that North Carolina is now the third fastest-growing state in the country.
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1 month ago | 
wfdd.org | April Laissle
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is putting $6.5 million toward programs that steer people away from jail in communities hit hard by Hurricane Helene. The funding will support diversion programs in counties including Surry and Avery, where storm recovery continues. It will also go toward re-entry services for the recently incarcerated, which address needs like transportation, housing and employment.
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1 month ago | 
wfdd.org | April Laissle
Officials say a massive fire that broke out over the weekend at a Kernersville scrap metal recycling plant is contained. Smoke from the blaze at the Omnisource plant could be seen from as far away as Greensboro and Winston-Salem when it broke out on Sunday afternoon. Crews worked through the night to battle the two-acre fire, using more than a million gallons of water to bring it under control. One firefighter was injured in the process – they’re in stable condition at an area hospital.
