Student advocate Morgan Taylor speaks to a crowd in front of the NC Legislative Building on April 21, 2026. (Photo: Ahmed Jallow/NC Newsline)

Greetings all, it’s Wednesday April 22. North Carolina’s General Assembly is back in session and many are waiting for lawmakers to finally pass a comprehensive state budget (after more than two years without one). NC political reporters have been busy looking at Governor Stein’s proposed budget, an emerging agreement to fund Medicaid and the lawmakers and advocates pushing for legislation to fund the Leandro public school reforms.

What else is in store this session? Today, we chat with NC Local State Issues Reporter Will Michaels about what to expect from the GA in the coming days and weeks. 

Also in the mix:

• “Progress over perfection.” WNC Grassroots Media launches a print product and grows from 1 to 60+ distribution sites in about a month.
  
  

• RJI & Wordslaw invite newsrooms to apply for their pilot Public Storytelling Program: learn how to connect with your local IDD community and organize events with them.
  
  

• And, find your next gig! Our job board has opportunities for audience, engagement and events positions in addition to reporting and newsroom leadership roles. 

Glad you’re here, let’s get started.

5 things to track as NCGA starts 2026 session

A Q&A with NC Local's Will Michaels

The GA is back for a "short" session and the long overdue budget is a big priority. What are the key areas lawmakers need to resolve?

Will Michaels: The key issue is still tax policy. Senate Republicans want to cut the state's income tax rate more aggressively than leaders in the House. That, of course, has a huge bearing on how much revenue North Carolina brings in, and with a projected shortfall in how much we need to spend on Medicaid, revenue becomes a very important figure.

What could reporters look at this week to capture the local impact of the budget impasse?

Will Michaels: We wrote a story on this last month, but since we still don't have a budget, it's still relevant. One of the biggest impacts is on teachers and state employees. They never got year-over-year raises they were expecting. A big question for this short session—also related to the budget—is whether those employees will get raises retroactive to last summer when the legislature was supposed to pass a budget, or whether lawmakers will pass something else like a one-time bonus for them.

Committees have been meeting since January—are you seeing any draft legislation that might advance this session?

Will Michaels: Yes. There were around 50 bills filed on the first day of the short session. Some of them come from committee work this year. I would expect to see legislation about mental health support in schools, AI literacy in education, and new policies about involuntary commitment among other proposals.

Anything else local newsrooms should be watching for?

Will Michaels: Keep an eye on issues that are "budget-adjacent." That could include anything from funding local infrastructure projects, election bills, or any efforts to advance policies through mini-budgets that the legislature has passed periodically since last year. They've done that a few times to set aside money for Helene recovery in western North Carolina.

Finally, any expectations for how "short" this session will be?

Will Michaels: House Speaker Destin Hall told us he expects the session to end by early July, but we just have to wait and see how expectations compare to reality. With the budget fight, Medicaid funding, and whatever else lawmakers want to push through, this feels more like an extension of the 2025 session than a "short session," which is usually meant mainly to make budget adjustments.

Newsrooms: We’ve been piloting a new feature for NC Local’s upcoming Partnership Network which includes “Republication Alerts” and “A Legislative Background Brief,” written by Will and sent every Friday to help you plan for the next week. If you’d like early access to these, send a note to catherine@nclocal.org. 

Will also just launched a new public-facing newsletter, Shape of the State, which dives into the issues, decisions and debates shaping NC and explains why it matters to everyday life. 

Want to highlight one of the NCGA's newest members? NC Local's Lilly Knoepp has this republishable story: Republican Anna Ferguson is the first enrolled tribal member in the NC House of Representatives. 

👏 Well done 👏

👏 For The Technician, Damien Reed looks at the medical and legal implications following UNC Health’s decision to stop providing gender-affirming treatment to transgender people under 19. The restrictions, put in place last Fall, exceed state law that sets the ban at under 18. Through an interview with a student, Reed’s piece highlights misconceptions about treatment, the role of personalized care and health risks involved when people can’t access care. “Over and over I have read coverage that lacks detail and perspective. I hope that other trans people can read this article and see themselves and their concerns represented accurately. I hope cis people can read it and get a new perspective on the impacts this kind of policy has on real people,” Reed wrote on LinkedIn. 

👏 For The News & Observer, Twumasi Duah-Mensah shines a light on the harrowing experiences of Benitez Diaz, one of hundreds of people arrested last November as part of the federal immigration actions in North Carolina. With such little information from federal officials on who was arrested, Duah-Mensah’s piece provides important details on the arrest, multiple transfers, and the crowded and unsafe conditions at the detention center in Georgia. It also illuminates the larger and deeper impacts: the health repercussions experienced by family members because of the stress; the economic hit from loss of work; and the costs, hurdles and length of time involved in trying to get legal status. 

👏 WUNC, BPR and WFAE have collaborated on a six-part series exploring data centers in North Carolina. “Hyperscale, Hyperspeed: Inside the data center boom reshaping North Carolina communities”  examines community opposition, land-use policies, the economic and environmental impacts and the developers behind these projects. “(Up until now) most of the new data centers (were) built … for storing grandma's pictures at some level. It's just beginning now to shift into that AI phase," said Rob Cox, a UNC Charlotte energy expert, in this piece by Celeste Guajardo and Zachary Turner. The project also includes a printable “Community Guide to Data Centers,” by WUNC’s Eli Chen. 

Help us recognize the important work being done across the NC news and information ecosystem. Send us “Well Done” nominations for any beat by replying to this email or emailing us at catherine@nclocal.org. 

📰 News about the news 📰

BPR announces new news director

Eddie Garcia is stepping into a new role: news director at Blue Ridge Public radio. Garcia previously led the news team at WFDD and its coverage of a 32-county listening area. At BPR, Garcia will lead a team of six.

“I had the opportunity to work with BPR on the Sold on a Promise series, where I got to see firsthand the curiosity, depth and professionalism that the team brings to their stories, and I knew I wanted to work with the team again when possible,” said Garcia. “BPR centers people, and amplifies voices that too often go unheard.”

Garcia started at WFDD in 2007 and served in a range of roles, including operations, audio production, editing and hosting before a promotion to managing editor, then news director. Eddie begins his new role at BPR this week.

WNC Mountain Reporter launches print newsletter

Bulletin Board

Jobs

📌 Public Programming Director, The Assembly (Remote in NC, Triangle preferred)

📌 Deputy Director, Audience and Growth, The Assembly (Remote in NC, Triangle preferred)
📌 Local Government Reporter, INDY, Durham 💰

📌 Sports Editor, The Courier-Times, Person County

📌 Freelance Bilingual Journalist, Enlace Latino NC, Jackson and Macon Counties 💰

📌 Freelance Bilingual Journalist, Enlace Latino NC,  Burke County 💰

📌 Environmental Reporter, News & Observer, Raleigh 💰

📌 News & Public Affairs Director, WNCU, Durham 💰

📌 News Director, WFDD, Winston-Salem

📌 Morning Edition Producer, WFDD, Winston-Salem

📌 AM Reporter, WUNC, Chapel Hill-Durham 💰 

📌 Editor-in-Chief, Asheville Watchdog, Asheville 💰

📌 Director of Messaging, USA Today (Remote) 💰

📌 Engagement Reporter, ProPublica (Remote) 💰

Opportunities & events

📅 From Newsroom to Network: Mapping the Community Roles That Fuel Local News. Join the Journalism + Design Lab to learn about their framework of “Community News Roles,” which reframes journalism as a set of actions — such as documenting, sensemaking, facilitating, and navigating — that people fulfill everyday to contribute to the flow of local news. Participants will leave with a tangible ecosystem map of individuals and organizations playing these roles in their own communities, as well as other practical tools to strengthen trust, resilience, and democratic participation. Today/April 22, 2:00-3:00 pm ET.

📅 PBS North Carolina The Librarians Screening & Community Conversation: Join PBS North Carolina and the Durham County Library for a special screening and discussion featuring a new documentary from Independent Lens, The Librarians. The film examines the rising movement to challenge library collection standards particularly targeting books that address race, history, and LGBTQIA+ identities. Following the screening, join us for a community conversation and Q&A featuring librarians and educators. Together, we’ll discuss the real-world impact of book challenges, the role of libraries as civic institutions, and how communities can engage thoughtfully around issues of access, inclusion, and intellectual freedom. Durham County Main Library, Saturday April 25 at Noon.

📅 The Climate Newsroom Spring Cohort: Covering Climate Now’s training program is for reporters, editors, newsroom managers, and digital journalists and spans three one-hour Zoom sessions over three weeks, followed by six months of ongoing support and feedback. Sessions cover: the three pillars of climate journalism, including solutions, to ensure the stories you cover resonate with your audience; how to use attribute science to make the climate connection to stories across any beat; and how climate change affects everyday life — from extreme weather to health, jobs, the economy, and politics. Application deadline: May 8th.

📅 CJC Local News Impact Summit 2026: The Charlotte Journalism Collaborative’s 5th annual gathering brings together journalists, community leaders, nonprofits, and residents for a day of conversation, connection, and action. Sessions include discussions around CJC’s Shifting Ground project & the impact of federal funding cuts; libraries as civic infrastructure and how the community response and resilience following heightened immigration enforcement. May 21, 10:00-4:00 pm at Queens University. 

🌱 Public Storytelling Program: Reynolds Journalism Institute and Wordslaw invite newsrooms to test a new public storytelling event guide created to connect with members of the intellectual and developmentally disabled (IDD) community. They’ll guide you through the process of hosting a public storytelling event and working with the IDD community. This will include a step-by-step event planning guide, support in finding storytellers with IDD and best practices for interacting with the IDD community. Application deadline: May 1.