Morning, gang.

We hope you’re enjoying this holiday week as much as our staff, who are taking some time off during our winter publishing pause. We’ll bring you new newsletters starting January 5. Until then, we’re taking a look back at 2025 and some of the best stories from our Greensboro bureau this year.

At The Assembly and in our Greensboro bureau’s newsletter, The Thread, we tackle the things you won’t read about elsewhere. We go deep, bringing you watchdog stories on everything from the dismantling of a neighborhood food pantry and the fight over a gas pipeline expansion to what the city is doing about pedestrian deaths. Our stories don’t just tell you what happened, but how and why.

Today, we’re bringing you those stories and more. Whether you’re remembering them with us or seeing them for the first time, we hope you enjoy.

—Joe Killian

‘It Takes a Village’ to Dismantle a Food Pantry

The city eliminated a neighborhood pantry that had problems with cleanliness. The community says it should have worked with them to solve the problems.

Activists Fight Gas Pipeline Expansion

A planned expansion would add 24 miles to Transco’s pipeline running though four N.C. counties.

Changing Course

City officials and local groups aim to make Greensboro more bike friendly, and safer.

Facing The Music

After the cancellation of this year’s historic Eastern Music Festival over a labor dispute, the future of the organization hangs in the balance.

Battle of The Books

After a children’s book about penguins was removed from elementary bookshelves, parents and teachers pushed back.

Are Non-Partisan Races a Thing of the Past?

Partisan politics has taken hold in North Carolina’s municipal elections–even in the races that are supposed to be non-partisan.

From Pain to Progress

Guilford County organization helping people struggling with addiction could have their work transformed by a historic national settlement.

Thanks for reading The Thread, a 3x week newsletter written by Greensboro editor Joe Killian and reporters Sayaka Matsuoka and Gale Melcher. Reach us with tips or ideas at greensboro@theassemblync.com.

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Joe Killian is The Assembly's Greensboro editor. He joined us from NC Newsline, where he was senior investigative reporter. He spent a decade at The News & Record covering cops and courts, higher education, and government.

Gale is a Report for America corps member and Greensboro-based reporter for The Assembly. She previously covered local government and community issues for Triad City Beat. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from N.C. State University.

Sayaka Matsuoka is a Greensboro-based reporter for The Assembly. She was formerly the managing editor for Triad City Beat, an alt-weekly based in Greensboro. She has reported for INDY Week, The Bitter Southerner, and Nerdist, and is the editorial/diversity chair for AAN Publishers.