North Carolina
Apple Delays Build Of Taxpayer-Subsidized North Carolina Campus
Close-up of blue logo on sign with facade of headquarters buildings in background near the … [+]
Apple Inc. appears to be delaying its plans to build a corporate campus in Research Triangle Park, which is sited on the boundaries of Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Durham in North Carolina.
Construction was originally slated to begin in 2026, but the tech giant has reportedly told state officials of its desire to delay groundbreaking for up to four years. The delay would be a considerable setback for the area, which anticipated substantial economic growth and job creation from the project.
The first phase of the project was expected to include six buildings across 41 acres, with a promise of a future expansion on a 281 acre site. The proposed project was intended to house roles in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and software engineering, with estimates of 3,000 jobs with salaries approaching $200,000.
As the region grapples with news of the delay, the broader implications in terms of economic development are somewhat less clear. The taxpayer-funded incentives bound up in the project may have made the development less of an unalloyed positive for North Carolinians.
Massive Taxpayer Contributions
The cost to North Carolina for securing Apple’s investment was substantial, with $845.8 million in tax breaks promised over 39 years and local incentives adding another $20 million. The all-in cost to taxpayers totaled nearly $1 billion, or roughly $333,000 per job added.
For context, this is just a few thousand dollars shy of a noted tax incentive boondoggle: the “border war” between Kansas City between Missouri and Kansas. There, some 414 jobs were created in Kansas at a cost of $340,000 per job.
The track record of the Job Development Investment Grant Program, which would facilitate the tax breaks accruing to Apple, has been mixed at best. Notable projects that have also been pushed back by the recipients of tax incentives include an agreement with Allstate to create 2,200 jobs which was made impractical by a shift to remote work and a commitment by a Vietnamese automaker to create 7,500 jobs which has been delayed until 2025.
Apple’s decision to delay the construction of its Research Triangle Park campus brings into question the future economic impact on the Raleigh-Durham area—but it is far from clear the result will be a net negative for North Carolina taxpayers.
Tax Incentives and Job Creation
The efficacy of tax incentives in fostering job creation more broadly has been long debated. While incentives are often touted as necessary to attract large companies and thereby spur economic development, evidence has for some time suggested that they may not be as effective as advertised.
One main criticism is that the incentives often result in a relocating of existing jobs rather than the creation of new ones—put differently, there is no net addition of jobs to the economy writ large, merely a subtraction from one region or state and an addition in another. This can have beneficial local effects, but those effects may be blunted by the broader net loss inherent where an expenditure is made to maintain the same total number of jobs.
The practice of offering tax incentives leads to a zero-sum game, where cities or regions engage in a destructive bidding war, each vying to spend more taxpayer money to the benefit of no one save for the corporations being fought over.
In fact, research suggests that the primary drivers of job growth are not older firms—but young firms. This would suggest North Carolina would be better off incentivizing the next Apple to start its business in the Research Triangle, rather than trying to attract existing behemoths. Newer firms inject competition, spur innovation, and are more likely to hire new workers.
Thus, policies that support the creation of new businesses, rather than providing tax incentives to existing ones, may be more beneficial for long-term sustainable development—but they don’t make the headlines.
This offseason has been a complete quarterback carousel for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Following the debacle of last season, it was obvious that North Carolina needed to make significant changes at quarterback.
In Bill Belichick’s first year as the head coach, the Tar Heels compiled a 4-8 record and failed to qualify for bowl eligibility for the first time since 2018. There were several factors that led to the lackluster season, but the production and effectiveness from the quarterback position may take the cake, in terms of who should be blamed the most for North Carolina’s failure of a season.
In 11 games, Gio Lopez threw for only 1,747 yards, 10 touchdowns, and five interceptions while attempting 6.7 yards per pass. If you don’t possess a quarterback who can operate at a competent level, it is virtually impossible to compete with that player leading the offense.
As mentioned, it was apparent that the front office had to venture out in the transfer portal to potentially find their next quarterback. The Tar Heels did land 2026 four-star quarterback recruit Travis Burgess, but it was not yet known that both Max Johnson and Bryce Baker would enter the transfer portal this offseason.
Not to mention, after recently announcing that he will return to Chapel Hill in 2026, Lopez became the latest quarterback to leave the program, making his intentions of entering the portal known on Monday. On Wednesday, Lopez officially signed with Wake Forest.
Here is what general manager Michael Lombardi and North Carolina’s front office orchestrated to add depth to the quarterback room, and how those moves affect that position.
Assessing the Tar Heels’ Quarterback Situation
With three total quarterbacks leaving the program, North Carolina needed to orchestrate multiple moves to improve the depth at the position. While the Tar Heels landed Billy Edwards Jr. and Miles O’Neill, those two additions do not instill a ton of confidence in a room lacking experience and proven production.
In four years, Edwards Jr. has one year of starting, while O’Neill has eight appearances over the last two seasons. The Texas A&M transfer possesses more potential than Edwards Jr., as he still has three years of eligibility remaining. There is more room to grow for O’Neill. We already know what Edwards Jr is: a backup quarterback who could play here and there as a starter.
Meanwhile, Au’Tori Newkirk played sparingly during his freshman season in 2025, and Burgess will be a true freshman in 2026. None of these quarterbacks provide both high potential and experience. They possess one or the other, which could become problematic if no one establishes themselves as the clear-cut starter.
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ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is responding to the most recent measles cases and a spike in respiratory illnesses in North Carolina.
In a meeting hosted by NCDHHS, health officials stressed the importance of staying up to date on vaccines.
Those officials were also asked about the vaccination status of the three kids who tested positive for measles in Buncombe County.
“The three cases in Buncombe County, all three of them, had at least one dose of MMR vaccine,” said Dr. Erica Wilson with NCDHHS.
News 13 reported on Tuesday that the three siblings contracted measles after visiting Spartanburg County, South Carolina, where there’s currently a large measles outbreak.
3 BUNCOMBE COUNTY CHILDREN CONTRACT MEASLES AFTER SOUTH CAROLINA VISIT, NCDHHS REPORTS
The Mission Hospital Emergency Department waiting room in Asheville was listed as a possible measles exposure location on Sunday, Jan. 4, between 2 a.m. and 6:30 a.m.
Mission Health sent News 13 a statement, saying in part, “Our hospitals work with state and federal health officials on proactive preparedness, and we are following guidance provided by the CDC.”
The hospital provided state health officials with a list of 26 people who may have been exposed to measles on Jan. 4, according to Mission Health.
It’s not just Buncombe County that has reported measles in North Carolina recently.
“One in Polk County and three in Buncombe County. Additionally, there was a measles exposure alert we released in Gaston County. All are connected to an ongoing measles outbreak in Spartanburg County, South Carolina,” said Dr. Kelly Kimple with NCDHHS. “About 90% of unvaccinated individuals who are exposed will become infected.”
POLK COUNTY CHILD CONTRACTS MEASLES AFTER SOUTH CAROLINA VISIT, NCDHHS REPORTS
In the meeting, health officials also addressed the increase in respiratory illnesses like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), COVID-19, and influenza.
“Whether it’s the childhood immunizations for things like measles, mumps, and rubella, or even the seasonal immunizations for things like RSV, COVID, and flu, vaccines are a critical and important part of remaining healthy and having healthy communities,” said NCDHHS secretary Dr. Devdutta Sangvai.
Additionally, as News 13 previously reported, there was a chickenpox outbreak in Buncombe County, with four cases confirmed at Fairview Elementary as of Jan. 6.
Health officials are reminding people that it’s not too late to get their seasonal vaccines. There are also additional preventative actions to protect oneself against respiratory viruses.
FLU CASES SURGE IN NC, STRAINING HOSPITALS AND INCREASING DEATH TOLL
“This includes regularly washing your hands with soap and water,” said Kimple.
Kimple suggests avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth. She also said to clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces that may be contaminated.
“Cover those coughs and sneezes with a tissue and then discard the tissue promptly. Stay home when sick, except to seek medical care or testing, and take steps to avoid spreading infection to others in your home,” said Kimple.
NCDHHS also has helpful resources on its website, like a measles immunity checker, information about vaccines, and a program that helps eligible families get free vaccines.
North Carolina
A town in western North Carolina is returning land to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
FRANKLIN, N.C. (AP) — An important cultural site is close to being returned to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians after a city council in North Carolina voted unanimously Monday to return the land.
The Noquisiyi Mound in Franklin, North Carolina, was part of a Cherokee mother town hundreds of years before the founding of the United States, and it is a place of deep spiritual significance to the Cherokee people. But for about 200 years it was either in the hands of private owners or the town.
“When you think about the importance of not just our history but those cultural and traditional areas where we practice all the things we believe in, they should be in the hands of the tribe they belong to,” said Michell Hicks, principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. “It’s a decision that we’re very thankful to the town of Franklin for understanding.”
Noquisiyi is the largest unexcavated mound in the Southeast, said Elaine Eisenbraun, executive director of Noquisiyi Intitative, the nonprofit that has managed the site since 2019. Eisenbraun, who worked alongside the town’s mayor for several years on the return, said the next step is for the tribal council to agree to take control, which will initiate the legal process of transferring the title.
CHEROKEE CHIEF SIGNS ORDINANCE FOR FIRST OFFICIAL DEER SEASON ON TRIBAL LANDS
“It’s a big deal for Cherokees to get our piece of our ancestral territory back in general,” said Angelina Jumper, a citizen of the tribe and a Noquisiyi Initiative board member who spoke at Monday’s city council meeting. “But when you talk about a mound site like that, that has so much significance and is still standing as high as it was two or three hundred years ago when it was taken, that kind of just holds a level of gravity that I just have no words for.”
In the 1940s, the town of Franklin raised money to purchase the mound from a private owner. Hicks said the tribe started conversations with the town about transferring ownership in 2012, after a town employee sprayed herbicide on the mound, killing all the grass. In 2019, Franklin and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians created a nonprofit to oversee the site, which today it is situated between two roads and several buildings.
“Talking about Land Back, it’s part of a living people. It’s not like it’s a historical artifact,” said Stacey Guffey, Franklin’s mayor, referencing the global movement to return Indigenous homelands through ownership or co-stewardship. “It’s part of a living culture, and if we can’t honor that then we lose the character of who we are as mountain people.”
LUMBEE TRIBE OF NORTH CAROLINA GAINS LONG-SOUGHT FULL FEDERAL RECOGNITION
Noquisiyi is part of a series of earthen mounds, many of which still exist, that were the heart of the Cherokee civilization. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians also owns the Cowee Mound a few miles away, and it is establishing a cultural corridor of important sites that stretches from Georgia to the tribe’s reservation, the Qualla Boundary.
Noquisiyi, which translates to “star place,” is an important religious site that has provided protection to generations of Cherokee people, said Jordan Oocumma, the groundskeeper of the mound. He said he is the first enrolled member of the tribe to caretake the mound since the forced removal.
“It’s also a place where when you need answers, or you want to know something, you can go there and you ask, and it’ll come to you,” he said. “It feels different from being anywhere else in the world when you’re out there.”
The mound will remain publicly accessible, and the tribe plans to open an interpretive center in a building it owns next to the site.
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