By David Beasley | The Center Square File graphic photo | The Shelby Independent (The Center Square) – A strong statistical case for home ownership over renting is made in a new analysis from the Office of State Budget and Management in North Carolina. From 2020 to 2024, the cost of rent in North Carolina rose 10% over the previous five years, according to the report's interpretation of newly released U.S. Census numbers. In contrast, the cost for homeowners with mortgage

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square The North Carolina Legislative Building, home to the General Assembly, stands on Jones Street in Raleigh, N.C. Photo: Alan Wooten / The Center Square (The Center Square) – Stalled recovery in Hurricane Helene is blamed on “stifling bureaucracy utterly lacking in common sense and resourcefulness,” say seven Republican members of the North Carolina House of Representatives in a statement directed at first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. This

Alan Wooten | The Center Square An electric substation with high-voltage power lines and equipment stands in North Carolina. Photo: Alan Wooten / The Center Square (The Center Square) – Six months in, the North Carolina Energy Policy Task Force is thinking about tariffs among its identification of nine recommendations. Included is large-load tariffs, says the administration of first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, so that large-load customers like data centers are ensured of

By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor Courtesy photo The Center Square (The Center Square) – For North Carolina residents struggling to buy homes, it’s not their imagination that prices seem to be going through the roof, according to a newly released study. The state as a whole had an average listing price in North Carolina of about $520,000, which is 20% below the national average of $647,000, the John Locke Foundation study notes. Even so, it can be hard to find

By Annie Dance | WCAB News State Auditor Dave Boliek  announced  the creation of the Modernization of Election Data Systems (MEDS) Commission on Feb. 5, a bipartisan 22-member panel aimed at guiding efforts to update North Carolina’s election management system. The commission will advise on the three-phase modernization of the Statewide Elections Information Management System (SEIMS), which is managed by the North Carolina State Board of Elections. The Office of the State Au

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square Alan Wooten | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Property tax reform options will be examined and recommendations made by a 10-member committee of the Senate in North Carolina. Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, the president pro tempore, chose Appropriations Committee Cochairmen Brent Jackson, R-Sampson, and Michael Lee, R-New Hanover, to lead the group. Policy proposals “to rein in runaway property tax practices being implemented acro

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square A pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution rests on an American flag.  Alan Wooten / The Center Square (The Center Square) – Eighty-nine of 100 counties in North Carolina have America 250 NC committees, and more than $2 million in grants have already been distributed to 74 counties by the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The first of multiple signature events begins in three weeks at the First in Freedom Festival. “In 20

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Between 6 and 12 inches of snow and sleet were reported over the weekend near North Carolina’s border to Virginia and Tennessee and also in Buncombe County. A major winter storm gripping the nation from New Mexico to New England led to at least a dozen states getting federal emergency declarations from second-term Republican President Donald Trump. North Carolina is among them. The emergency declaration unlocks federal

By Alan Norman | The Center Square (The Center Square) – More than 11.1 million are braced for hazardous winter weather this weekend from Murphy to Manteo in North Carolina. Preparations are ongoing for nominal snow accumulation from the mountains to the Outer Banks. Not all areas are expected to get snow or accumulation; many will get rain and freezing slick surface conditions. An emergency has been declared by first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. The state price gouging l

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square State law permits unaffiliated voters to choose either a Democrat or Republican primary ballot, though not both. (The Center Square) – Switching parties by a deadline was the easy part. Fooling voters with a letter attached to a name on the ballot rather than actions? A half-dozen former Democrats will need more than luck after failing one of the first tests for any stripe of politician: trust. Six people now registered Republicans running

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square North Carolina’s agriculture and agri-business economic impact is an estimated $111.1 billion annually. | The Shelby Independent file graphic (The Center Square) – Plausible reductions in agricultural exports because of retaliatory trade policies stemming from aggressive U.S. tariffs could cost North Carolina farmers $695 million, a new report says. Dr. Jeffrey Dorfman of N.C. State University, for the conservative-leaning John

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square File photo, courtesy of The Center Square (The Center Square) – Review of North Carolina’s non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses shows 54% were illegally issued. ( Non-domiciled is a person living in a country, such as the U.S.A., but their permanent home (domicile) is another country, mostly for tax purposes ). The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration analysis sets up withholding of $50 million in federal funding by the U.S. De

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square file image (The Center Square) – Taxpayers in North Carolina have new levels in three areas impacting everyday life. Arguably the most times transacted against least noticed will be at the gas pumps. Starting on New Year’s Day and running to Dec. 31, the motor fuels and alternative fuels excise tax rate is 41 cents per gallon or gallon equivalent, the state Department of Revenue says. Individual and corporate income tax rates are also droppi

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square The North Carolina state flag. file photo (The Center Square) – Of the state’s more than 7.6 million voter registrations, 38.8% are not choosing any of the lawful parties with which to register – Green and Libertarian are the others, each with less than 1%. Democrats gained 290 voters, have a 30.3% share and are a mere 604 ahead of Republicans. The Grand Old Party picked up 339 voters and has a 30.2% share. The unaffiliated bloc – gaining

By Alan Wooten I The Center Square Courtesy file photo (The Center Square) – Answers are being sought for why overall percentage of contributions from the North Carolina Education Lottery to public schools has slid from 23% to 16% in the last three years while total revenues have increased by more than $3 billion. The annual statutorily required audit, delegated to Cherry Bekaert by the state auditor, were found “free from material misstatement.” First-term Republican state

Staff Reports | The Shelby Independent, press release The Spy and the lady of the Night by J. Charles Thompson (kindle edition book cover) click or tap on the photo to go directly to the link SHELBY / WILMINGTON, N.C .  – A murder, a mysterious woman, a young private detective back from the Pacific Front, a newspaper reporter with a strong southern drawl – What do all these characters have in common? They’re part of a new novel written by J. Charles Thompson, set in 1944 W

Staff reports Shelby Independent created logo image file photo Cleveland County Register of Deeds Betsy Harnage announced that beginning Jan. 1, 2026, Registers of Deeds across North Carolina will be authorized to issue certified copies of adoptive birth certificates under provisions of Senate Bill 248, Birth Certificates for Persons Adopted. Senate Bill 248 (SB 248) was enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly in June and signed into law by Governor Josh Stein on Ju

Staff Reports | The Shelby Independent, North Pole Media Office Stocking hung, by the chimney with care. Santa's got a brand new sleigh! Recently, The Shelby Independent was able to obtain some inside information regarding Santa replacing his sleigh. While the reports remained unconfirmed from October, when we received the alleged information, The North Pole did send a press release confirming that Santa did indeed replace the sled that he has used since 1937. In the stateme

Staff Reports Congressman Time Moore, 14th Congressional District. Official photo   WASHINGTON, D.C. — Already this week, the House Committee on Financial Services advanced the bipartisan Housing for the 21st Century Act (H.R.6644). Congressman Tim Moore (NC-14) voted to pass this legislation out of the committee, recognizing the importance of this legislation to streamline housing development and affordability by updating outdated programs, removing regulatory roadblock

By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor Shelby Independent graphic file photo RALEIGH – North Carolina legislators called for solutions to rising property taxes, describing them as a threat to both homeowners and renters in the state during a legislative hearing Wednesday. The elderly in particular often struggle to pay their property taxes, State Rep. Carla Cunningham, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, told fellow members of the House Select Committee of Property