by Melissa Howsam | Oct 27, 2026 | Buzz, November 2026
Nothing lasts forever. Welcome news, especially for people averse to paper records. Effective October, five new laws have taken effect, touching everything from your license plate and concert plans to the ski slopes.
STICKER SHOCK Paper haters, rejoice—NC has gone digital. RIP to paper registration cards and the days of dusting off the corner of your license plate to add another bulky sticker to the stack. The DMV now keeps and verifies those
records electronically.
BY THE BOOK New requirements expand cooperation between state and local government agencies and federal immigration authorities, including ICE, with additional rules around immigration-status checks and enforcement.
FEE AT LAST After years of #ticketgate fees, sellers must now show the full price upfront—with new rules cracking down on bots and fake listings, requiring resellers to ID themselves.
PARENT TRAP Eligible state employees are seeing a boost in paid parental leave—from 8 to 12 weeks—following birth, adoption, and foster or other legal placement.
SAVAGE SLOPES Bad behavior on the bunny hill can now land you in actual trouble. Misusing a ski pass, entering unauthorized areas or fleeing the scene of a ski collision can mean a Class 1 misdemeanor.
by Callie Honeycutt | Sep 29, 2026 | Buzz, September 2026
NC’s vape ban sparked a frenzy. But is it even being enforced?
In July 2025, panic broke out amid vapers. Unauthorized vape products (Read: most disposable products) were set to disappear from NC shelves thanks to a quietly passed bill signed by former Gov. Roy Cooper the year prior.
But was the panic necessary? A year later, the state is still shifting plans to implement that promise—and has done little to enforce it so far.
In Dec. 2025, the NC Department of Revenue—who were responsible for compliance checks and enforcement up until July—reported only eight inspections at vape retailers in Raleigh, with violations found at every one. Inspectors discovered 24,773 unauthorized products, but the report listed $0 in penalties assessed or collected. Revenue blamed “limited resources.”
To put that into perspective, Wake County currently has ~800 tobacco retailers.
The law itself is straightforward: Vapor products not listed in the directory shouldn’t purchased or sold in NC—period. Effectively upholding it has proved to be more complicated.
Since July 7, state and local law enforcement—including ALE, the State Bureau of Investigation, the NC Department of Justice and local police and sheriff’s departments—have been authorized to conduct compliance checks.
The SBI coordinates enforcement, and every retailer, distributor and wholesaler selling vapor products is now subject to at least one unannounced compliance check each year. If inspectors find a violation, they must return for a follow-up inspection within 30 days.
The new system has only been in place since July, and its annual inspection requirement has yet to reach its first deadline.
Penalties are getting steeper too, but whether they will make a difference is completely reliant on enforcement.
Beginning Oct. 1, a first violation will carry a $500 to $750 fine, a mandatory reinspection within 30 days, and a 30-day license suspension, according to the NC General Assembly. Unauthorized products may also be seized and destroyed. A second or subsequent violation could bring a fine of up to $1,500 and license revocation.
So, after another year of thousands of unauthorized vapes sitting on Raleigh shelves, NC is entering its next attempt at enforcement—and hoping it proves more effective.
by Lauren Kruchten | Oct 30, 2023 | Buzz, November 2023
What’s Hot
We gettin’ rich, rich, rich (!). According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Research Triangle became richer during the pandemic, as household income grew to $92,739 in the Raleigh-Cary metro area last year, and to $79,154 in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro.
Let’s hear it for the Pack! NC State ranked 28th on U.S. News and World Report’s 2024 Best Colleges list, its highest ranking to date.
Clearly no one likes sitting in traffic—Raleigh ranks third-best city for commuters in 2023 according to Clever Real Estate.
Daddy’s home! The state of North Carolina passed a new law giving teachers up to two months of paid parental leave after having a child.
New road, who dis? A half-mile stretch of Oberlin Road is undergoing a one-year overhaul that will remove car lanes and add wider sidewalks, on-street parking and protected bike lanes.
Who doesn’t love WFB (working from bed) in their PJs?! According to American Community Survey data, Raleigh ranked in the top five cities with the most remote workers.
The future of kids’ allowances is here—and it’s cash-free. You can now set up recurring payments through Apple Cash—no reminders needed.
Turns out you can buy love. Tinder recently launched a new invite-only membership tier dubbed Tinder Select with exclusive perks for a cool $499 a month.
What’s Not
by Raleigh Magazine | Jan 31, 2023 | Eat, February 2023
I like children. I like them so much I had five of my own. Yup, that’s right. I gave birth to five babies—which gives me the right to say what I am about to say: Children don’t belong in bars or sitting at the bar. I don’t care if it’s a restaurant bar—don’t belly up to the bar with your partner and three children taking up five bar stools.
It was once against the law in NC—and I would argue it still should be. But, beyond that, remember—bartenders make their living serving alcohol to people 21 and up. If your adorable little Emma is occupying a bar stool, the bartender is losing money.
Then, close your eyes and think back to life before kids. You are wearing heels, perfume—was your vision of date night posted up at the bar sipping $15 cocktails with a soundtrack of a child whining that their pizza is too hot or they want apple juice instead of milk? No! No one wants that.
I know what you’re thinking: “My kids are better behaved than other kids. I can take them anywhere.” Maybe they are—but it doesn’t matter. There’s no reason to take them into a bar—or worse, seat them at the bar.
Or maybe you’re thinking, well, the bartender didn’t stop us. Really? In today’s cancel culture, can you imagine a bartender trying to tell an entitled mama bear her kids can’t sit at the bar? All hell would break loose. The social media trolls would deem “XYZ restaurant or bar hates families.” … As if owning a business isn’t hard enough—that would be the kiss of death.
I had five children in eight years and the closest thing I had to an adult experience was stuffing a family of seven into a small booth at our neighborhood Mexican restaurant. It was always a race against the clock—fast and furiously ordering and eating like the table was on fire to avoid the inevitable meltdown. But at the first whimper or thrown morsel of food, one of us would take the tiny offender to sit in the car. I wasn’t going to let my kids ruin someone else’s date night or dinner.
So, the next time you venture out with the family in tow, skip the cocktail bar or restaurant bar. And even if the bartender is nice, remember: You are taking food away from their family if you sit on a bar stool and aren’t enjoying an adult beverage. Save the bar stool for a night when you have a babysitter.
—Signed “wish fam-friendly breweries existed when my kids came along”
*This rant is not endorsed by local bars/restaurants
Got a rant? Email it to [email protected] for consideration.
