THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square file logo The Shelby Independent (The Center Square) – Early in-person voting ended Saturday and primary Election Day finishes the 51-day voting window in North Carolina on Tuesday. Polls close at 7:30 p.m. and winners advancing to the U.S. Senate race are expected to be known quickly – Roy Cooper for Democrats, Michael Whatley for Republicans. Two other congressional primaries are garnering attention: the redrawn 1st Congressional Distric

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 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 U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaks at the Department of Agriculture in Washington on June 12, 2025. Photo: Tom Witham / U.S. Department of Agriculture via Flickr (The Center Square) – North Carolinians receiving food assistance benefits from the federal government are yet to learn when and how their reapplication process will work. Or, according to a published report Thursday, if they even will have to reapply. In the interim