David Boraks

Duke Energy has reached financial settlements totaling $215 million with a group of insurers it sued four years ago to recover costs for cleaning up coal ash.

Saturday marks one year since the discovery of a massive gasoline spill on the Colonial Pipeline in Huntersville, north of Charlotte. Officials say they're still researching the extent of the spill and they aren't sure how long it will take to clean up. As one of the largest gasoline spills on land in the United States, it continues to raise concerns from neighbors and officials from Huntersville to Raleigh to Washington, D.C.

Climate activists gathered in downtown Huntersville Sunday afternoon and later staged an overnight protest at the home of U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis. Members of Sunrise Movement NC said they want more climate-friendly infrastructure investments and action against Colonial Pipeline over a massive August 2020 gasoline spill in Huntersville.

The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission voted Tuesday to begin rulemaking that would set limits on carbon emissions from energy plants to address climate change. The proposal also calls for North Carolina to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which includes 11 states from Maine to Virginia.

People behind on their rent because of the coronavirus pandemic got another reprieve last week: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended its moratorium on evictions for one more month. Evictions haven't come to a standstill during the moratorium, but legal and social service agencies are preparing for a wave of evictions when it ends.

A judge in Statesville last week barred Mooresville police from doing something that's increasingly common among local police departments in North Carolina: turning over cash seized from suspects to the federal government. In 2019 alone, police departments in the state got back more than $12 million through what's known as the Equitable Sharing Program.

Across North Carolina, police seize millions of dollars in cash and other assets from citizens on the mere suspicion it came from criminal activity. Experts say the state actually has strong laws to protect citizens. But a gaping loophole allows law enforcement across the state to circumvent those state laws.

On Wednesday, Cooper signed Executive Order No. 218, which calls for developing 2.8 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030 and 8 gigawatts by 2040. If that happens, the governor said that would power 2.3 million homes by 2040.

On the first day of the Atlantic hurricane season Monday, a North Carolina House committee approved a bill that would help communities plan for future storms and flooding.

Duke Energy is asking regulators to approve a $56 million plan to expand electric vehicle charging in North Carolina. It includes an option for privately owned charging stations at homes and businesses.