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When she pulled into a parking space at Boss Hog’s Chicken & BBQ in Washington two days before Thanksgiving, Beaufort County health inspector Vera McConnell knew she couldn’t dawdle. The county seal and “ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH” sticker on her car door give her away.
“They know I’m here, so let’s get moving,” she said, slinging on her backpack and tucking her hair into a leopard-print cap.
For the next 45 minutes, McConnell moved through Boss Hog’s like, well, a boss. She stuck her digital thermometer into hot pans of beans and cold fillets of catfish, wiping it clean with alcohol swabs between measurements. She washed her hands at every sink, checking that the water was hot enough and the drains fast enough.
In 2023, Beaufort was one of just 26 counties to complete every restaurant inspection required by state law. Jimmy Ryals explains why environmental health departments are struggling to keep up.
Why Most Counties Aren’t Doing All Required Restaurant Inspections
Lawmakers, regulators, and scientists are look for ways to ease the burden on food inspectors and develop new talent.
Defame and Fortune
Mark Robinson’s defamation case against CNN and former Greensboro porn shop clerk Louis Money appears to have ended with a whimper on Friday. The former lieutenant governor conceded in a press release that “continuing to pursue retribution from CNN is a futile effort.”
Robinson filed suit after articles in The Assembly and CNN derailed his campaign for governor, but now says he has asked his legal team “to terminate any continued attempt to litigate with CNN on my or my family’s behalf.”
“The price we have paid in entering the political arena will never be recognized,” Robinson continued. “There is no dollar amount high enough.”
Robinson also said he would not seek office in 2026—apparently closing the door on a rumored primary challenge to U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis—and does not “have plans to seek elected office in the future.”
Read more from reporter Jeffrey Billman.
Have a news tip for our team? You can reach us at scoops@theassemblync.com.
What We’re Reading
Keep It Coming: ReBuild NC is asking lawmakers for $217 million in new funds, three months after leaders revealed that the agency had run up a deficit of more than $221 million, per NC Newsline.
News You Can Use: The N&O spoke with an immigration attorney and the Siembra NC organization to learn what people should know about dealing with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
PowerLess: School data communication system PowerSchool has begun notifying North Carolina teachers and students if their data was exposed in a December 2024 hack, WRAL reports.
A Message from Our Sponsor, Robinson Bradshaw
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