Raleigh tops Milken Institute ranking of top cities
Business NC 1/15/25 Raleigh’s relative affordable housing is a big factor in its jump to the No. 1 spot on the Milken Institute’s rankings of the country’s best-performing cities. Raleigh ranked second in 2023, surging to the top after last year’s top-ranked city, Austin, Texas, slid to sixth. The Raleigh ranking reflects the metropolitan statistical area…
Durham lifts ban on giving tents to homeless amid ‘astronomical’ rise in unsheltered
The News & Observer | December 28th, 2024 As wet and cold winter weather settles in, Durham city workers can resume giving tents to people without shelter. Last week, the City Council said it wants HEART workers to be able to hand out tents again, while a broader encampment policy is being worked on. HEART…
On WNC visit, Gov.-elect Josh Stein encourages tourism to return
WUNC North Carolina Public Radio | December 13th, 2024 North Carolina Governor-elect and Attorney General Josh Stein visited Asheville on Thursday to support local businesses and thank individuals for their work helping others during and after Hurricane Helene. “Folks need to understand that Asheville, that the rest of Western North Carolina is open for business,”…
North Carolina Aviation Industry contributes $88B annually to state economy; economic output data reported for local airports
Greater Fayetteville Business Journal | Janauary 4th, 2025 North Carolina’s aviation industry contributes $88 billion each year to the state’s economy and supports more than 427,000 jobs statewide, according to the 2025 North Carolina: The State of Aviation report released today, Jan. 3. The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Division of Aviation released the report to highlight the…
Study Shows Economic Value of North Carolina Ski Industry
From Ski Area Management– Banner Elk, N.C., Dec. 22, 2023—A study commissioned by the North Carolina Ski Areas Association (NCSAA) found that the state’s six operating alpine ski areas had an overall economic value of $244.3 million for the 2022-23 winter season, including visitor expenditures and ski area revenues as well as indirect and induced…
Effective July 1, 2025: New human trafficking awareness requirements for NC vacation rentals
House Bill 973 changed the laws relating to human trafficking in lodging establishments and vacation rentals. Starting July 1, 2025, property managers listing vacation rentals in North Carolina must implement a procedure for reporting suspected human trafficking. This new mandate is part of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42A-39(b) and requires property managers, along with their employees and…
Asheville tourism marketing restarts amid worries over a post-Helene ‘economic disaster’
Citizen Times: Even as the city remains without clean water after Tropical Storm Helene, the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority and Explore Asheville have restarted marketing efforts as the region braces for sustained economic unrest. After the Biltmore announced it’s reopening date of Nov. 2 and the NC Arboretum’s reopening on Oct. 28, the BCTDA plans to continue…
Raleigh citizens form group to address public safety
North State Journal: A concern for public safety in the nation’s third fastest-growing big city has culminated in the formation of Citizens for a Safe and Secure Raleigh, a 501(c)(4) nonpartisan nonprofit organization. Over the last decade, Raleigh’s population has grown by 13%, but the city government’s integral responsibility of keeping its citizens safe and…