Last month, a couple of high profile resignations in House Speaker Tillis's office drew attention to the lobbyist and legislator relationships in Raleigh.

In the fallout, reform to the current ethics laws is being discussed, but no one has any answers yet on how to legislate romance.

This report examines the issue of lobby ethics in reports that grew out of a national project called the State Integrity Investigation.

Zeb Alley was a state senator in the early 1970s and has been a lobbyist in Raleigh for over 30 years. Photo: Tanner Latham

Carolinas Healthcare System is taking its first step into the Triad area. The hospital chain has agreed to manage Cone Health facilities.

Cone Health has four hospitals located in Greensboro and one northeast of that city in Reidsville, so it's just a fraction of the size of Carolinas Healthcare System. For the past two years, Cone Health's CEO Tim Rice had looked at partnering with another hospital.

Yesterday, WFAE looked at the lack of ethics laws governing romance between lobbyists and lawmakers. The story grew in part from a national project called the State Integrity Investigation that examines government ethics.

Today, another story sparked by the investigation examines the North Carolina law that bans lobbyists from giving legislators gifts.

As Tanner Latham explains, that law has exceptions that some argue give lobbyists unfair influence.

Art Fettig is a professional public speaker. He sometimes performs as a character he calls "Almost Andy." Photo: Facebook.com/ArtFettig

Things aren't always as they appear to be... a fact that Republican nominee for governor Pat McCrory rediscovered this week in Raleigh. WFAE's Mark Rumsey checked out the story.

Cast Iron Filter reunited at Davidson reunions Saturday, June 9. From left, Dustin Edge, Mike Orlando, Tim Helfrich, Mason Bissett. Photo: Bill Giduz.

The bluegrass folk rock band Cast Iron Filter was a favorite on concert circuit in Charlotte and across the Southeast in the late 1990s and early 2000s before its breakup in 2004. Thursday night they'll return to their old Charlotte haunt, the Visulite Theater, as part of weeklong reunion.

The Charlotte City Council is still unable to agree on a budget or property tax increase for next year.

Nine of the city's eleven council members met for two hours Thursday afternoon to discuss alternatives to the 8 percent property tax increase which unexpectedly failed in a 6 to 5 vote Monday night.

They found no consensus, but several council members are interested in limiting the tax rate hike to 2.44 cents for every $100 in assessed value. That's the exact amount Mecklenburg County cut its tax rate.