4+ day, 12+ hour ago  (1326+ words) Felicia Dethea said she didn't expect to cry during a public hearing on Duke Energy's proposed electricity rate increase. But the 48-year-old single mother of two couldn't help it. She said it was overwhelming to put into words how monthly…...

5+ day, 12+ hour ago  (680+ words) State health regulators approved plans for two new hospitals in southeastern North Carolina, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday." Columbus Regional Healthcare System and Novant Health want to build facilities 7 miles apart near the Brunswick-Columbus county line…...

5+ day, 15+ hour ago  (819+ words) Debbie Lawrence was shocked when she got a letter from Scotland County in March saying the value of her home has increased 58% since 2019." During a recent revaluation, the county determined that Lawrence's three-bedroom, about 30-year-old home in Laurinburg was worth…...

6+ day, 9+ hour ago  (495+ words) Allen Dial was sworn in as the mayor of Pembroke on Monday, 874 days after voters elected him." Legal battles kept Dial out of office after the Nov. 7, 2023, election in which he defeated incumbent mayor Gregory Cummings by 19 votes. Cummings challenged…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago  (486+ words) Pembroke Mayor Gregory Cummings wants the state Supreme Court to suspend a lower court's ruling that said he did not have enough evidence to show irregularities in the 2023 election." Cummings filed the order with the state's highest court on Tuesday.....

2+ week, 4+ day ago  (386+ words) A busy street in downtown Lumberton will get some major upgrades." The N.C. Department of Public Transportation plans to make improvements along a 2.1-mile stretch of Second Street between Roberts Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive." A preliminary design calls…...

2+ week, 6+ day ago  (1574+ words) Using a blue pen, Bladen County Board of Commissioners chair Cameron McGill signed 18 letters to state lawmakers in late January. One was for N.C. Speaker of the House Destin Hall. Another for the state Senate's Republican leader, Phil Berger. Others were…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago  (932+ words) The jails in Richmond and Scotland counties have been overcrowded for years." An average of 150 to 165 people are held at the Scotland Detention Center each day, although the facility has a 109-bed capacity, county commissioners told the Border Belt Independent....

3+ week, 5+ day ago  (993+ words) The Bladen County school board voted 5-4 on Monday to close East Arcadia School, a decision that highlighted tensions among board members." Parents and residents of East Arcadia had pleaded with the board for weeks to keep the school open, saying…...

1+ mon, 2+ day ago  (107+ words) Bladen County Live Primary Election Results 2026Border Belt Independent Bladen CountyColumbus CountyRobeson CountyScotland County Update 7:30 p.m.: Voting at a site in Halifax County was extended an hour to 8:30 p.m., and results are not expected until after that final poll closure. Here are the…...