Good evening, North Carolina! 

A June poll conducted by Catawba College found that 72% of North Carolinians have had to scale back their regular monthly purchases. That’s an increase from 64% in January. 

As one Cardinal & Pine Instagram follower put it: “When all of your income is going into filling up your tank so you can get to a job that refuses to let you work remotely, there’s just no disposable income to spend on other things. It’s simple economics.”

Have you had to cut back on expenses this year? Reply to this email and tell us about it. You’re definitely not alone.

Gov. Josh Stein signs the North Carolina budget on July 7, 2026. (Christine Zhu/NC Newsline via Reuters Connect)

By USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

Gov. Josh Stein signed a historic $34 billion state budget Tuesday, enacting North Carolina’s first comprehensive spending plan since 2023.

Republican legislative leaders sent the long-overdue budget to Stein last week after more than a year of negotiations over items like income tax and teacher raises. The delay meant state agencies were running on budget levels approved nearly three years ago.

The 634-page budget includes a 3% raise for all state employees and lowers the personal income tax rate from 3.99% this year to 3.49% next year. It marks the largest starting teacher pay raise in nearly 50 years and the largest overall teacher pay raise in the past 15 years. The plan also fully funds Medicaid and appropriates $700 million towards Hurricane Helene relief in western North Carolina.

During her cooking demonstration, Chef Pyet DeSpain remembered her time introducing Native American cuisine to London on the first season of Gordon Ramsay’s “Next Level Chef.” (Alex Goldstein via Reuters Connect)

by USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

In its first Homecoming celebration since achieving federal recognition this past December after a 140-year fight, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina focused on food as a way of bringing tribe members together.

More than 100 community members gathered inside the Pembroke Boys and Girls Club amid blistering heat on July 2 for Lumbee Homecoming’s Storytelling through Food event. Award-winning chef Pyet DeSpain, who married into a Lumbee family, led a cooking demonstration and celebration of Lumbee culinary identity.

Gov. Josh Stein introduced DeSpain and stuck around to try traditional Lumbee fare.

“Food has a remarkable way of bringing people together,” Stein said in his opening remarks. “It does not care about politics, titles or even where you came from. When people sit at the same table, barriers begin to disappear.”

More NC news:

Officials on Masonboro Island came across a female loggerhead heading back to the ocean after laying a nest in early June 2026. (Masonboro Island Reserve via Reuters Connect)

If you’re headed to the coast this summer, you may be sharing the beach with some very special overnight visitors. Sea turtle nesting season is in full swing across North Carolina, and this year’s numbers are already telling an interesting story. 

Since May, more than 1,000 sea turtle nests have been spotted along our beaches, with hotspots including Cape Hatteras, Cape Lookout, Topsail Island, Oak Island, and Fort Fisher. 

Here’s a midseason look at how our sea turtles are doing—and why protecting their nests matters.

Thanks for reading. Today’s edition includes stories from Dylan Rhoney and USA Today Network via Reuters Connect. It was edited by Paula Solis.

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