Happy first day of fall, North Carolina.

Below, we have the latest on a massively consequential hospital merger in NC,  and an uplifting story about a big conservation win in western NC, but first:

C&P’s Jessica F. Simmons reported this week on a solar-powered initiative that state leaders hope will be an ace up their sleeve in the next big storm or disaster. 

As Simmons explained, the state began a partnership last year to develop mobile solar-and-battery systems that they hope will prevent the huge communications and power lapses that made life much harder during and after Helene. 

Watch it here.

Video by Jessica F. Simmons/Cardinal & Pine

We’re on the other side of summer, NC. Here’s what you’ll find below in today’s C&P newsletter: 

Today’s View from NC comes from C&P reader Karla Timpani during a 2018 visit to the Lake Lure area. 

Lake Lure, of course, was hit hard by Helene two years ago. Check in on its recovery progress here. 

Do you have a View from NC? Send it to C&P today!

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Opponents of the Atrium-WakeMed combination raise signs during the Sept. 21 Wake County commissioners meeting. Supporters and opponents packed the room, with additional attendees watching from an overflow space. Credit: Rose Hoban / NC Health News

Generally, hospital mergers have not been good to most North Carolinians. They tend to lead to higher prices for consumers. 

But despite those concerns, leaders in North Carolina’s most populous county took a vote Monday to advance plans for Atrium Health’s takeover of WakeMed in Wake County. 

Supporters argued that the merger would lead to more services in Wake County. That’s because Atrium is one of the largest hospital chains in America. 

But concerns about the price of healthcare are front of mind for locals. 

North Carolina Health News has the story.

More at Cardinal & Pine:

1. North Carolina A&T crowned nation’s No. 1 public HBCU in U.S. News & World Report’s rankings. WXII

“A&T also moved up 13 spots in both the public university and national university rankings, reaching No. 116 among public universities and No. 219 nationally.”

2. Bad fuel at the pump: State records reveal confirmed problems at 37 North Carolina stations. WRAL

“A review found more than 100 fuel-quality complaints since 2022, including reports of water, sediment, and the wrong fuel being delivered into storage tanks.”

3. New bill would make changes to NC’s ‘archaic’ divorce laws. WCNC

“Advocates say the current 12-month separation rule creates unfair financial and emotional stress for North Carolina families.”

4. North Carolina mail ballot restrictions will cause ‘arbitrary disenfranchisement,’ new lawsuit warns. Democracy Docket

“The tighter rules around envelope errors and voting assistance ‘will inevitably disenfranchise scores of North Carolina voters,’ the North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans, North Carolina Asian Americans Together, Down Home North Carolina and two individual voters argue in the lawsuit.”

Conservationists scored a win recently. They purchased a “biodiverse” property near Chimney Rock State Park and preserved it from future development. (USA Today via Reuters)

Ecologist Owen Carson knew he was visiting a special place. 

As Carson explained, this particular tract of land near Chimney Rock State Park had boulders, creeks, ravines, and all sorts of natural characteristics that made it a kind of paradise for biodiversity.

That sounds like homework, but biodiversity just means the area has everything needed to support a variety of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. 

Conservationists realized that the property was appealing for that reason, but it also had value for home development. 

So they bought it and donated it to Conserving Carolina, an organization that preserves nature in parts of western NC and upstate SC. 

We’ve published a new story about the journey to protecting this 121-acre garden of beauty in Henderson County.

Read it here.

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Billy Ball. I’m an NC native and journalist. I tend to lean left on opinion, but I lean no way on facts. Today’s edition includes stories from Jessica F. Simmons, North Carolina Health News, and USA Today Network via Reuters Connect. It was edited by Crystal Niforos.

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