1 big thing: PBS North Carolina grapples with budget cuts
Lucille Sherman
Hello Thursday!
🌤️ Weather: Mostly sunny with a high in the low 90s and a chance for thunderstorms.
🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Raleigh members Rick Powell and Donna Crocetti!
PBS North Carolina, which reaches 14 million people in North Carolina and surrounding states, is set to lose around 15% of its funding over the next two years due to federal cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Why it matters: The funding reduction is equal to around $9 million over two years, PBS North Carolina's CEO David Crabtree tells Axios, and it will likely force the 70-year-old organization to make some tough budget decisions.
Already, it's made two separate cuts to non-personnel expenditures this year, including pausing some local production projects.
Driving the news: The downsizing made earlier this month to the Corporation of Public Broadcasting is expected to have significant ramifications on local NPR and PBS stations nationwide.
What they're saying: "Bottom line is, we have to play the hand we're dealt," Crabtree said. "Our budget is finite. It could go up a little again with donations coming in, but right now, we are looking at a substantial shortfall.
Zoom in: In addition to showing content produced by PBS, PBS North Carolina produces a host of its own shows and documentaries, operates four channels and creates educational resources for children in the state.
Its network of broadcast towers across the state also provides broadcasts for the state's Emergency Operations Center and is used by first responders for emergency communications.
Threat level: Crabtree said no cuts are off the table right now, but the goal is to find a way to not cut production or staff.
PBS North Carolina employs around 140 people in the state and has its headquarters in Research Triangle Park.
The organization is looking at new ways to keep the same level of local content, Crabtree said.
One move might be to scale back its own productions and instead purchase projects about North Carolina from other producers, a move that would lessen its editorial control.
The bottom line:"We will have to be more creative with what we have, without having content and quality suffer in any way. That is my commitment," Crabtree said. "How we're going to get there, I'm not sure, but we are working on it at least 18 hours a day right now."
2. Cooper Senate announcement nears
Stephen Neukam
Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is preparing to launch his Senate campaign next week, multiple sources told Axios.
Why it matters: Cooper is the Democratic Party's top recruit in 2026, bolstering their chances of flipping a critical seat from Republicans.
Cooper, a popular former governor, will instantly become the Democratic favorite to challenge the GOP for the open Senate seat next year.
The party's leadership, including Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), has lobbied Cooper for months to run.
The big picture: Cooper and Democrats will now await a decision from Lara Trump, President Trump's daughter-in-law, who essentially has the right of first refusal on the GOP side.
Democrats see their path as widening in the North Carolina Senate race after Sen. Thom Tillis' retirement announcement last month.
Cooper was floated as a possible vice presidential candidate in 2024, but opted instead for a stint at Harvard at the beginning of this year.
Former Rep. Wiley Nickel, a Democrat who served for one term before Republicans redrew his seat before the 2024 election, announced a Senate bid in April.
3. The Tea: Meredith's cuts
🎓 Meredith College, the Raleigh-based women's liberal arts school, is cutting 6% of its workforce as part of a restructuring of its budget. (Triangle Business Journal 🔒)
⛽️ Wawa, the popular Pennsylvania gas station and hoagie maker, will open its first location in Garner today. (WRAL)
🌲 Restoring North Carolina's peat bogs could help both store planet-warming carbon and soak up flood waters. (New York Times)
✈️ JetBlue will add a new direct flight between RDU and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., starting Oct. 26. (News & Observer 🔒)
4. Nash Street tower downsizes plans
The developer behind a planned condo tower on Nash Square are downsizing its plans for the tower from 36 stories to 20 stories.
Why it matters: The original plans from New York-based Alchemy Properties, which would be built on the former site of Berkeley Cafe at 217 W. Martin St., would have made it the tallest building in downtown Raleigh.
Zoom in: The new plans call for 82 condo units, starting at $795,000, according to a spokesperson for the company.
The building would also include: a pool deck, spa, fitness center and ground-floor retail space.
Alchemy plans to resubmit its adjusted plans to the city by the end of the year, with a goal of completing the tower in two and a half years.
5. Stat du jour: 🏈 The Belichick effect
UNC said Wednesday that all single-game and season tickets for games at Kenan Stadium have been sold out, the earliest in the calendar the school has ever been able to do that.
Why it matters: The sellouts provide evidence that the school's bet on hiring legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick is coming with some financial successes, at least in the short run.
Between the lines: UNC is funneling huge financial resources into its football program, and that investment is pushing the university to find new forms of revenue to keep up with college athletics' changing financial realities.
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