4/17/2026
WNC-relevant political and governmental news
This week’s Around NC section, below, has a collection of articles about data centers, AI, and NC electricity costs. If you feel like you’re a bit behind on this, it’s a good opportunity to catch up.
Scroll down for this week’s NC-related national and NC state governmental and political news. And scroll clear to the bottom for this week’s seasonal photo from our WNC homestead. If your email service cuts this post short, you can read it online here.
If you see something in any NC News Digest post that’s incorrect … PLEASE let me know so I can publish a correction. Truth matters. Thanks for your help.
Don’t-miss stories are marked 💥
Around WNC
Severe drought covers 100% of western North Carolina WLOS 4/16/26. We had a good rain here last night, and hope for more over the weekend.
Tug-of-war for NC mountain hospital beds takes a turn Carolina Public Press 4/10/26 “DHHS award of new beds to HCA’s troubled Mission Hospital over AdventHealth’s new Weaverville facility leaves many puzzled.”
The saga continues: After sheriff’s removal, attorneys discuss lessons learned and upcoming appeal Smoky Mountain News 4/15/26. Followup after Graham County sheriff loses in court, promises appeal.
Illegal solitary confinement found in review of NC juvenile detention Carolina Public Press 4/15/26 “One juvenile facility [in Madison County] closed over solitary confinement findings. Despite denials from locals across NC, state warns them to change practices.”
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NC-Related National Politics & Policy
Hundreds gather in Asheville, many voicing opposition to proposed ‘Roadless Rule’ rollback WLOS 4/15/26 “MountainTrue, the Sierra Club and other nonprofits organized the public hearing. The organizers will send the audio recording from the meeting and the written comments to the federal government.” See also Mountain Xpress 4/16.
ICE deported two Durham kids and their parents after routine check-in, Siembra NC says Cardinal & Pine 4/10/26 ““This family was lured into the check-in office under a false pretense of safety, and they were ripped away from their lives, from their school, and deported in about 48 hours,” Siembra said.”
Future of federal forest plan for NC mountains in doubt after court ruling Carolina Public Press 4/13/26 “Federal court found Forest Service relied on flawed analysis of impact on animals when it crafted forest plan favoring timber harvesting.”
2026 Elections
Voting rights watch:
💥💥 NC elections board tweaks rules for considering voter citizenship challenges WRAL 4/16/26 “In the coming days, the Republican-led North Carolina State Board of Elections plans to upload voter information — names, dates of birth, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers — through the federal SAVE database that can help election officials determine someone’s citizenship status. The state elections board on Thursday gave preliminary approval to a set of rules for reviewing a voter’s citizenship status if the database flags voters who are potentially ineligible to vote.” See also NC to feed voter data to Homeland Security under new noncitizen removal rules Raleigh N&O 4/16/26 (gift link) “The state could begin uploading voter data to DHS as early as Friday.” And NCNewsline 4/16 (NC specific), NCNewsline 4/16 (about the SAVE database), Carolina Journal 4/16 (comments made at elections board meeting), Democracy Docket 4/16, Carolina Public Press 4/16.
National context, a detailed sum-up: Inside Trump’s Effort to “Take Over” the Midterm Elections ProPublica 4/13/26
Memo: Berger’s post-election protest based on ‘highly unlikely’ claim WRAL 4/10/26. See also Carolina Journal 4/10.
US Senate campaign:
💥 Cook Political Report shifts NC Senate race from toss-up to lean Democrat Carolina Journal 4/14/26. See also The Hill 4/14.
Cooper leads Whatley by 8 in High Point Poll Center Square 4/16/26
Cooper outraised Whatley in early 2026, as millions poured into both campaigns WRAL 4/14/26 “People and political groups have already given more than $50 million to the U.S. Senate campaigns for Roy Cooper and Michael Whatley. Each campaign says momentum is on their side.” See also NOTUS 4/16 and AP 4/16 (national context).
Opinion: A Republican super PAC is about to lie about Roy Cooper. A lot Cardinal & Pine 4/16/26 “The same group that pushed lies about Cooper and the Charlotte light rail murder is spending $71 million to promote a false narrative about Cooper and crime.”
NC-11 NC House campaign:
💥 Moderate Democratic Group Backs New Candidates in Key Congressional Races NOTUS 4/17/26 “The New Democrat Coalition announced a slate of six new candidate endorsements it says are critical to winning back the House in November.” Includes Jamie Ager.
Political possibility or ‘hallucination’? NC Democrats aim to flip Republican congressional seats WRAL 4/12/26 “Democrats say they are growing optimistic about their odds of competing for North Carolina congressional districts that lean Republican…. The races for both the 3rd and 11th congressional seats are on the DCCC’s list of “districts in play.””
Ager’s campaign haul grows to $1.6 million — from 5,600 donors Hendersonville Lightning 4/11/26 “Jamie Ager, the Democratic nominee for the 11th Congressional District seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, has announced that his campaign raised more than $950,000 from over 5,600 donors in the first quarter of 2026, bringing the campaign to a total of over $1.6 million raised with more than $1 million cash on hand.” See also Carolina Journal 4/16, NOTUS 4/16.
Jamie Ager shares his environmental stances and how they inform his campaign for U.S. 11 Mountain Xpress 4/16/26 “His opponent, incumbent Chuck Edwards, did not respond to requests to participate.”
Rep. Chuck Edwards talks Helene, tax breaks and immigration at recent CIBO meeting Mountain Xpress 4/15/26. At business owners’ meeting in Asheville.
State legislature:
Republicans select replacement for late Rep. Clampitt Smoky Mountain News 4/11/26 “Jackson County’s Anna Ferguson, who … had finished second to Clampitt in the March 3 Primary.” Ferguson will serve the remainder of Clampitt’s term and appear on the November ballot for that state House seat. She is the first enrolled EBCI member to serve in the state legislature. See also NC Local 4/16, BPR 4/13, One Feather 4/16.
Yet another blast from NC-11 congressmen past: Ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows seeks reimbursement from DOJ for legal fees incurred in Trump-related probes CBS News 4/14/26
Helene Recovery
18 months after Helene, this western NC lawmaker [Lindsey Prather] is still fighting for funding to rebuild Cardinal & Pine 4/14/26 “Western North Carolina has received less than 20% of the $60 billion needed to recover from Hurricane Helene.”
Helene exposed cracks in western NC’s health care safety net NC Health News 4/15/26 “New analyses of emergency room use and one doctor’s scramble to reopen his clinic raise questions about how to shore up primary care before the next big storm.”
Researchers study long-term health effects of Hurricane Helene across central Appalachia Cardinal News 4/7/26 “Research has found that life expectancies can decline for more than a decade in communities hit by severe flooding. A new study seeks to explore why that happens.”
HUD gave Asheville $225M for Helene repair. Why is there only enough money to fix 8 houses? BPR 4/14/26 “The state is putting $800 million towards home repair, but due to a city policy decision, Asheville has to pay its own way.”
WNC [local] parks awarded more than $4M in state grants for Helene recovery Asheville C-T 4/10/26
Around NC
💥 On data centers, AI, and the cost of electricity:
Need a primer on data centers? Our zine’s got you covered WUNC 4/14/26
‘We’d be sitting in the dark if it goes up any higher’: residents worry about rate hikes to power new AI data centers WUNC 4/10/26 “A single data center can require as much energy as an entire power plant produces in a year. North Carolina’s largest utility [Duke Energy] has proposed the country’s most ambitious capital plan to meet the projected demand from these power-hungry facilities.”
Will your Duke Energy bill go up? Newly GOP-majority Utilities Commission will decide WUNC 4/10/26 “... whether Duke Energy can increase residential electric rates by up to 18% over two years. It’s the first big decision for the commission since it shifted to a Republican majority.” See also Gov. Stein opposes $800M Duke Energy plan WLOS 4/16/26. And 💥Fight the power: Residents oppose Duke rate hike as business leaders break ranks Smoky Mountain News 4/16/26 (report on hearing in WNC).
North Carolina data center developers are moving hyperscale projects forward at hyperspeed WUNC 4/10/26 “There are about 100 data centers in the state that account for up to 3% of the state’s energy demand. That demand is expected to more than double by 2030, as the market for larger facilities grows to accommodate these rapidly evolving technologies.”
Opposition to data centers is ‘catching a fire’ across North Carolina, spurring political challenges WUNC/NC Newsroom 4/10/26
Amid the possibility of a new data center, Clyde residents urge town leaders to act now WLOS 4/10/26. Followup: WLOS 4/13.
Cherokee County residents were upset about crypto mines - then came AI WUNC 4/10/26
Data centers use a lot of water. What does that mean for NC water quality and availability? WUNC 4/10/26
The good, the bad and the unknown: The future of AI in North Carolina NCNewsline 4/15/26
NC has given data centers tax breaks for 20 years. It doesn’t know exactly how much Raleigh N&O 4/13/26. At an April 8 meeting, Gov. Josh Stein “Stein recommended the state reconsider its exemptions. “When this tax break was enacted in 2006 and then expanded again in 2015, we lived in an entirely different world,” he said.” See also Many states don’t report losses from data center tax breaks, study says NCNewsline 4/15/26 “North Carolina is one of the 14 states that don’t disclose their losses.”
How one state agency is going all-in on AI in North Carolina Raleigh N&O 4/13/26 (gift link) “Brad Briner, North Carolina’s elected state treasurer, has not written a single speech this year.... Instead, he’s largely delegated that task to artificial intelligence — a technology he says everyone must rapidly adopt or risk being left behind. “It touches everything we do, and it makes it all more efficient,” Briner, a Republican elected in 2024, told The News & Observer in an interview last week.”
From Iowa to North Carolina, neighbors are gathering—and asking what’s next Cardinal & Pine 4/10/26 “As economic strain deepens across the country, neighbors like Marvinna, Cindy, and Allen are starting small—by gathering around coffee tables and dinner tables to talk about what’s next, how to cope, and how to rebuild community together.”
NC State Government
Executive Branch
Governor
Stein calls for full Medicaid funding during Black maternal health event NCNewsline 4/15/26
See also Around NC Duke rate hike article, above.
State Attorney General
Attorney General Jeff Jackson Wins Live Nation/Ticketmaster Case on All Claims NC DOJ press release 4/15/26
North Carolina has sued Trump more than 20 times. Here’s how it’s going Raleigh N&O 4/17/26 (gift link)
See also State Legislature, below.
Other State Executive Branch News
NC charter review board questions need for accelerated applications Carolina Journal 4/10/26
State Legislature
💥 NC lawmakers press Sangvai, Jackson on Medicaid fraud, waste NCNewsline 4/16/26 “The Medicaid program is facing a $319 million funding gap, jeopardizing healthcare for about 3 million North Carolinians.” See also WRAL 4/16, WUNC 4/16, NCNewsline 4/16 (national context), NC DOJ press release 4/16.
💥 NC House committee advances constitutional amendment limiting property tax increases NCNewsline 4/15/26 “The committee also endorsed a proposal to close a tax loophole for affordable housing.” See also WRAL 4/15, WUNC 4/15, and Carolina Journal 4/15 (GOP spin).
NC lawmakers recommend reforms to mental health system, but funding questions loom NC Health News 4/16/26 “House committee calls for telehealth evaluations in jails, expanded data collection and other reforms tied to North Carolina’s mental health and criminal justice systems.” See also NCNewsline 4/14.
NC lawmaker seeks to ban books on sexuality and gender identity in elementary libraries WRAL 4/10/26 “House majority leader Brenden Jones is looking to expand the scope of a 2023 law known as the “Parents Bill of Rights,” which already limits instruction on gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexual activity in Kindergarten through fourth grade.”
On school funding:
Asheville/Buncombe Public education advocates to lobby in Raleigh for greater school funding Mountain Xpress 4/10/26
NC school construction fund stretched as lottery’s education share shrinks Carolina Journal 4/10/26
District 49 Sen. Julie Mayfield on ‘forever chemicals,’ infrastructure and resiliency Mountain Xpress 4/15/26
NC lawmakers use campaign funds for travel, rent and dining. Is that allowed? Raleigh N&O 4/15/26 (gift link)
The Completely Avoidable Embarrassment of the Literacy Test in North Carolina’s Constitution Anatomy of a Purple State 4/13/26 “We’ve failed [to eliminate it] eight times. Here’s why this time should be different.”
Our first two hummingbirds returned this past week. And dwarf irises are blooming:
