The Assembly

Our friends at Down from DC, a newsletter focused on decisions coming out of Washington and how they shape our lives here in North Carolina, published a lovely piece this week on how history is remembered around the state. We’re republishing it here for the holiday weekend. The events around the 250th in Washington feel like a culmination of President Trump’s second-term efforts to promote his preferred version of American history.

Animal lovers are getting some good news by way of the state’s long-overdue budget: the North Carolina Zoo will finally have enough funding to open its Asia Continent to the public. The provisions will add 54 full-time employees, $6.2 million in recurring funds, and a one-time $1.3 million payout for the expansion. The request, pushed by state Rep. Neal Jackson, a Moore County Republican, is a bit less than the 69 employees and $8.4 million in total spending Gov. Josh Stein had requested.

State lawmakers sent Gov. Josh Stein a comprehensive budget on Thursday, ending a year-long impasse between House and Senate Republicans. The bill cleared the General Assembly with substantial bipartisan support, including about half of Democrats in each chamber during an initial vote on Wednesday and final procedural vote on Thursday.

Internal conflict over hiring and retention has plagued UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Civic Life and Leadership since it was launched in 2024, and turnover has continued this summer. Theologian and civil discourse scholar John Rose was among the first faculty members Dean Jed Atkins hired in 2024, but he will join Johns Hopkins University’s School of Government and Policy this fall. “We’re thrilled to welcome John Rose as a senior fellow,” said the school’s dean, William Howell.

The neighborhood known either as Cameron Park or Forest Park, depending which side of the debate you’re on, is one of Raleigh’s oldest and stateliest. Tucked off of Hillsborough Street, it’s a patchwork of genteel Colonial and Queen Anne-style homes situated on ample lawns and shaded by oaks, ashes, and elms. Most of the 800 or so residents are wealthy and liberal. Some are politicians and university chancellors. The vibe is friendly: People know their neighbors.

The country’s only state-funded agency devoted to investigating post-conviction innocence claims has survived an attempt by state Senate Republicans to abolish it last year. And it has a new name. Once known as the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission, it is now the N.C. Post-Conviction Review Commission, a name its executive director, Laura Pierro, says more accurately reflects the agency’s purpose. The commission not only frees innocent people but also helps law enforcement confirm people’s guilt.

When members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina rejected a pathway to open a casino on June 23, the tribal chairman said he wouldn’t pursue gaming for the remainder of his 18 months in office. But the Lumbee Tribal Council could have other plans. Two days after members voted against a proposal to amend their tribal constitution, the council directed its attorney to explore “legal pathways” to gaming. The recent vote dealt a blow to leaders’ casino dreams.

Republican state Rep. John Sauls of Lee County has become a rare sight in Raleigh. But when he showed up to the General Assembly last week for the first time in over a month and fourth time in the past year, it gave his party the votes to override four of Gov. Josh Stein’s vetoes. The surprise appearance caught the attention of Democratic Rep. Tracy Clark, who swiftly took to Facebook to voice her frustration with the process and raise concerns about Sauls’ health.

At about 2:30 a.m. on July 6, 2025, Jameka Autry awoke to a frantic call from her neighbor. Floodwater had pooled into their house, they said, and Autry and her mother, Winona, needed to leave fast in case their home was next. Autry, still half asleep, opened the back door of her house on Peppercorn Street. “There was no porch. There were no steps. We were literally surrounded by water and couldn’t get out,” she said.

North Carolina lawmakers released a long-overdue budget on Tuesday, over a month after Republican legislative leaders first announced a framework. The plan is a year late, and is the first comprehensive budget agreement since 2023. The 600-plus page bill includes a number of provisions related to higher education funding and makes some statutory changes that will affect schools across the state. Lawmakers plan to approve the budget later this week and send it to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s desk.