News – Carolina Connection

Students sue election officials for blocking early voting sites on three N.C. campuses

February 6, 2026 Henry Nicholls

Citing logistic and financial concerns, the state Board of Elections removed an early voting site at Western Carolina University and stopped efforts to add sites at two other campuses. Democrats say it’s an effort to suppress the youth vote.

Unless Congress reverses a new federal law, hemp products will be almost entirely banned this fall

February 6, 2026 Andrew Sellers

The hemp industry is facing “a near total ban,” after Congress amended the definition of hemp in last year’s continuing resolution that ended the government shutdown. An effort to reverse the ban is underway.

Carolina remembers ‘one of its treasures,’ Kenan Stadium director James Spurling

February 6, 2026 Anthony Guerra-Flores

Spurling, who managed the day-to-day operation of UNC’s iconic football stadium, became a local icon himself. He died this week at the age of 68.

In a pilot program, Raleigh will dispatch mental health clinicians to some 911 calls, instead of police

February 6, 2026 Alice Scott

Raleigh is piloting a crisis diversion program embedded within the city’s 911 call center. The initiative connects callers who may be experiencing a mental health crisis with licensed clinicians trained to de-escalate such situations, rather than a police dispatch.

More than 26,000 have signed a petition against moving UNC’s basketball arena off campus

February 6, 2026 Editor and Reyna Drake

The signers – including Roy Williams, Drake Maye, and Tyler Hansbrough – want UNC to renovate the Smith Center. But the university continues to study a plan to build a new arena as part of a mixed-used development north of campus.

Citing ‘constrained’ revenue, UNC-CH trustees call for $16.5 million more in budget cuts

January 30, 2026 Henry Nicholls

The Board unveiled an additional $16.5 million cut to administrative spending under the university’s “ServiceFirst” initiative. The move primarily targets UNC staff positions and pushes the university’s total planned cuts to nearly $87 million.

Protesters around the Triangle remember Minneapolis victims, call for national shutdown

January 30, 2026 Anthony Guerra-Flores

In the wake of the killing of Alex Pretti, a Veteran Affairs nurse, hundreds of people held a vigil outside the Durham VA Medical Center, while others protested in Chapel Hill.

Doctors fear a loss of ‘crucial’ care as UNC Health stops gender affirming treatment for people under 19

January 30, 2026 Alice Scott

UNC Health no longer provides gender affirming care to individuals under 19. Now, doctors at the Triangle’s largest health system are working to connect their younger patients with outside care.

Rents are rising for many area businesses, but some have found ways to minimize the impact

January 30, 2026 Allison Helms

Rent prices are high for Chapel Hill and Carrboro businesses, with some paying upwards of $10,000 a month depending on square footage. But, are there exceptions to this increasing threat towards Chapel Hill businesses?

For college students without cars, grocery shopping can be difficult and expensive

January 20, 2026 Rachel Moody

A UNC-Chapel Hill researcher has found that a significant number of North Carolina college students face challenges getting to a grocery store to buy healthy food.