A new water quality management plan will divide the state into seventeen major river basins with an integrated, basinwide approach to replace previous piecemeal efforts. This plan calls for cooperation among local governments and the state.
The juvenile crime rate is rising at an alarming rate each year in North Carolina. The blame for this is shared, and the solutions should be shared as well.
During the next five years, Neighborhoods United of Greensboro and the city will cooperate in refurbishing a 65-acre neighborhood that has been plagued by crime and drug trade in the past few years.
The North Carolina League of Municipalities surveyed cities and towns to learn the extent of local smoking ordinances. Of 520 surveyed, 390 responded, and of those, 244 (62.6%) do not have a smoking ordinance.
Local officials are creating ways to deal with expensive government mandates regarding water, recycling, sewer, disability, and environmental regulations.
Facing sluggish revenues, rising costs, and a recession, many local governments, including Wilmington and Greensboro, are reducing expenditures and cutting back on hiring.
In the wake of the tragic fire in a Hamlet chicken processing plant, North Carolina's Building Code Council has approved rules mandating fire inspections for all businesses at least once every three years.
Several strategies, including drug courts that expedite prosecution of drug dealers, boot camps for first offenders, and an aggressive parole tracking system, are or will be used to combat the state's crime problem.