An amateur gardener thinks of winter as a dead season.

A pro sees it as a golden opportunity to get ahead of the heat, the bugs, and the weeds. 

With Cardinal & Pine contributor Tyler Francischine, let’s get ahead of those winter doldrums with our winter gardening guide. 

We’ve talked with local horticulturalists about the do’s and don’ts of gardening this time of year. Do: Water before a freeze. Don’t: Overwater, because plants generally need less in the winter. 

(Kateryna Hliznitsova/Unsplash)

Happy Tuesday, North Carolina. Here’s the news from today: 

Thanks to Cardinal & Pine reader Terrie Mayer for this parking lot view from the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

Cardinal & Pine’s Michael McElroy reported today that some North Carolina educators will be walking out of their classrooms Wednesday.

They’re protesting the state’s education funding, which ranks near the bottom of the nation in several huge metrics. One nonpartisan report in December ranked the state dead last for funding effort. 

McElroy reports that the protest will be observed in 52 schools across the state. The grassroots group behind it, NC Teachers in Action, says educators are “ready to rise up” to bring attention to the state’s chronic education funding shortfalls. 

For more on the protest and the state’s K-12 funding, you know what to do. 

1. NC Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls announces breast cancer diagnosis and successful surgery. Cardinal & Pine

“NC Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls said she was ‘fortunate that this disease was discovered so early,’ and urged women to make sure they receive regular cancer screenings.”

2. Five years after January 6th, dozens of pardoned insurrectionists have been arrested again. The 19th

“The charges for former January 6th insurrectionists range from possession of child pornography to sexual assault, child molestation, and aggravated kidnapping.”

3. North Carolina governor backs challenger of sitting Democrat in Charlotte-area primary. WRAL

“Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, is endorsing Rodney Sadler in his campaign against seven-term state Rep. Carla Cunningham in the Democratic primary to represent northern Mecklenburg County.”

4. Former inmate buys NC prison to help others who have served time. NC Newsline

“With the recent purchase of the former Wayne Correctional Center in Goldsboro, Kerwin Pittman is laying claim to an unusual title — he says he’s the first formerly incarcerated person in the US to purchase a prison.”

The snowy slopes of Beech Mountain, NC. Locals are hoping for a big snow year to power a comeback in the NC ski industry in 2026. (Photo via Shutterstock)

It’s no secret that Helene devastated tourism in western North Carolina. 

Many places became difficult if not impossible to reach. Considering how important visitors are to these local communities, especially in the winter months, there was a lot of pain.

We’ve published a new report from Carolina Public Press about the state of NC’s ski industry. They’re hoping for a lot of snow in 2026 to help them rebound. 

As Carolina Public Press’ Jane Winik Sartwell reported, last year was a good year for snow. They’re hoping for more this year, but staffing, overall economic woes, and climate change have made this a complicated situation. 

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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 Tyler Francischine, Michael McElroy, and Carolina Public Press. It was edited by Kim Lawson.

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