Carolina Public Press

Carolina Public Press is a nonprofit news organization that operates independently and focuses on providing nonpartisan, thorough, and investigative journalism. Our goal is to deliver the essential facts and context that the people of North Carolina require. With award-winning journalism, we aim to break down barriers and highlight important issues that are often ignored or underreported, serving the needs of our state's 10.2 million residents.

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'Not a silver bullet.' NC dams problematic during Helene flooding, future role unclear.

6 days ago | carolinapublicpress.org | Jack Igelman

Tropical Storm Helene underscored the dangers of aging dams and flood-control infrastructure in Western North Carolina. Leading up to the storm, some signs already indicated that something more needed to be done should a natural disaster strike. A substantial number of aging dams are in poor condition throughout the state with a risk of failure, posing a significant hazard to property or life if they fail. The cost of repairing them is often prohibitive.
Another rural NC community coping with recent loss of hospital's labor and delivery unit

1 week ago | carolinapublicpress.org | Jane Sartwell

Nearly 2,000 women in Harnett County give birth each year. But the county’s only hospital no longer has a space fully equipped for them to deliver. Betsy Johnson Hospital in Dunn closed its maternity care unit in 2023, citing financial trouble. Harnett County women must now travel to seek care, or give birth in an unequipped emergency room. Both scenarios leave both women and their children at risk.
Uncracking the system. NC had outsized number of Biden clemency recipients.

1 week ago | carolinapublicpress.org | Lucas Thomae

In one of the most sweeping clemency actions in U.S. history, hundreds of people convicted of federal nonviolent drug offenses in North Carolina will return home this year. Days before leaving office in January, former president Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 2,490 such individuals nationwide.
Reopening as new type of hospital in Williamston. Possible game changer for struggling NC rural health care.

1 week ago | carolinapublicpress.org | Jane Sartwell

Martin General Hospital has stood abandoned in Williamston for almost two years, leaving Martin County residents with limited access to local health care. But the hospital is now slated to reopen as a new type of hospital for North Carolina: a Rural Emergency Hospital. This new designation could be a game changer for other struggling hospitals across the state.
Painful cuts. NC VA workers fear financial surgery will maim the agency.

2 weeks ago | carolinapublicpress.org | Jane Sartwell

Darlene Fore is terrified. She’s a nurse at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Asheville: a hard, but stable, federal job. Last year, her family was devastated by Tropical Storm Helene. Now, as she reaches 60 years old, her job, and her retirement benefits, could be taken away at any moment. So too her union rights to bargain. Veterans Affairs, the federal agency responsible for providing veterans’ health care, benefits and support services, is cutting staffing by 15% in the name of efficiency.
All roads lead to Raleigh. NC unusual in state's near monopoly on roads.

2 weeks ago | carolinapublicpress.org | Lucas Thomae

When Tropical Storm Helene tore across North Carolina in September, it left behind more than just downed trees and flooded homes. It ripped open a hidden fault line in the state’s transportation system — one that has existed for the state’s roads, largely unquestioned, for nearly a century. North Carolina is one of just a handful of states where counties don’t own any public roads.
Is there a doctor on the beach? NC Outer Banks a tourism hub, but a health care desert.

2 weeks ago | carolinapublicpress.org | Jane Sartwell

This summer, 5 million tourists will descend on 200 miles of remote North Carolina coastline. The Outer Banks are idyllic — and popular. But for both those visitors and the area’s 38,000 year-round residents, the vacation paradise has one serious problem: health care access. Dare County Emergency Management Services evacuates about one person a day by helicopter. In the summer, that number can reach four or five.
Population boom or bust? Wilmington's growth spurt sparks larger debate on 'overdevelopment.'

3 weeks ago | carolinapublicpress.org | Jane Sartwell

WILMINGTON — This was once a quaint, coastal town, all cobblestone and sand dunes. When Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo graduated from high school in 1978, the vast majority of the graduating class hightailed it out of here as fast as they could. There were no jobs and no prospects. Now, it’s bursting at the seams with businesses and opportunities. How to manage this influx of people — many from the northeastern United States — is a topic of debate.
Rural maternity wards are closing all over. Just not this one in Siler City.

3 weeks ago | carolinapublicpress.org | Jane Sartwell

Over the last decade, 10 hospitals have eliminated maternity care in North Carolina. Just one has added it: UNC Health Chatham in Siler City. The Chatham County center serves as a rare counterexample to the wave of rural maternity closures across the state. That’s where a stark divide has emerged: While hospitals in cities like Charlotte and Raleigh have added dozens of new delivery rooms, many rural facilities have shuttered or downsized their units, citing financial struggles.
As tourism season gets hot, Western NC hopes it won't be a cruel summer

3 weeks ago | carolinapublicpress.org | Jane Sartwell

Summer tourism in Western North Carolina — hiking, fishing, driving up scenic mountain roads — is a perfect respite for many from the hot southern season. But those idyllic mountain scenes are competing in the public’s mind with images of Tropical Storm Helene’s aftermath: death, devastation and destruction. And for an area that is dependent on tourism, there’s a fear that this perception will keep people away during the valuable summer months.