“We know this is just a drop in the bucket to what’s going to be the total cost.”
House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, on the disaster relief bill to help western North Carolina. (WRAL News, 10/08/24)
Relief Bill
Laura Leslie, WRAL News, 10/08/24
State lawmakers will meet in Raleigh Wednesday to pass a $273 million disaster relief bill to help western North Carolina communities devastated by Hurricane Helene last month.
Senator Kevin Corbin, R-Macon, has seen the devastation all too close to home. He represents the eight westernmost counties in the state. Four have extensive and widespread damage, including Haywood County, where Corbin saw an landslide the width of a football field. “Based on the estimates I saw in the trees, it looked like it was 30, 40 feet tall as it came down the mountain,” Corbin told WRAL.
Corbin is taking a break from recovery efforts at home to head to Raleigh for Wednesday’s vote on disaster relief. He said the outpouring of help and donations from all across the country has been overwhelming, and he had high praise for DOT workers and other state employees who he says are working 16-hour days to help his district. But more help is needed.
“We still have a lot of folks that are hurting,” Corbin said. “We still have some people that have actually not gotten out.”
Disaster relief sessions are a fairly common occurrence for North Carolina lawmakers. In October 2018, they met to approve the first round of relief for Hurricane Florence. In 2016, they did the same after Hurricane Matthew and the western wildfires that autumn.
House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, said those disasters pale in comparison to what happened in western North Carolina. “This is the biggest natural disaster in the history of our state,” Moore told WRAL Tuesday.
Initial disaster response bills tend to follow a similar pattern. They create a disaster response fund, order the state controller to release a set amount of reserve money into that fund, and set up a structure to spend those funds within certain parameters or for certain purposes. They usually serve as the vehicle for later, much larger rounds of additional recovery funding.
“We know this is just a drop in the bucket to what’s going to be the total cost,” Moore said. “We’re well over $10,000,000,000 – and that’s a billion with a B – in damages, and it’s going to be higher than that.
Moore also said lawmakers have added on another one-day session on October 24 to take up any issues required for disaster response, including any additional funding needed.
Initial relief packages also usually contain waivers for school calendar flexibility for affected areas, other regulatory or licensing waivers as needed, and changes to election laws in affected counties if an election is imminent.
The bill they’ll take up Wednesday is House Bill 149, an unrelated measure that was already in conference committee. They’ll strip out the contents and replace it with their relief package. Because H149 is a conference report, it will require only one vote in each chamber, and no amendments can be made to it.
The state will get funding help from the federal government, but it also has plenty of money set aside to work with. According to the state controller’s office, the current balance of the state’s rainy day fund is $4.75 billion. The state also has $733 million in an emergency response and disaster reserve account, giving lawmakers nearly $5.5 billion in immediately available funding.
The state also has an array of other reserve funds totaling more than $3 billion. Those other reserve funds are earmarked for specific purposes, like Medicaid cost overruns or information technology, but are available if needed.
In an Oct. 7 letter to lawmakers, state budget director Kristin Walker made several requests to lawmakers, including making $250 million accessible to the state for relief and recovery operations and to supply required federal match funding. The Cooper administration also included a long list of waiver and policy requests from agencies across state government.
“North Carolina is facing an unprecedented disaster that requires an unprecedented response through a massive partnership among federal, state, local and non-profit partners to get Western North Carolina the help it needs to recover,” Cooper spokesman Jordan Monaghan said. “The Governor welcomes the General Assembly’s return to allocate critical recovery funding for communities hit by Hurricane Helene as a first of many steps in rebuilding Western North Carolina to be more resilient and stronger than ever.”
Monday, the state elections board voted to make a slate of flexibility options available to election officials in the 13 hardest hit counties. State elections director Karen Brinson Bell also said they’re asking for $2 million in disaster response funding to help administer elections in those areas. Spokesman Pat Gannon said the board doesn’t plan to ask lawmakers for any changes to election laws.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has asked for up to $166 million in the first round of disaster funding. Superintendent Catherine Truitt told the state Board of Education last week that the amount includes $150 million for repairs to schools and up to $16 million to pay hourly staff while schools in the affected areas are closed to students. Truitt is also asking for school calendar flexibility and permission for expanded use of remote instruction. [Source]
FULL REPORTING
Asheville Veterans: (Shawn Raymundo, Asheville Citizen Times, 10/08/24) For Asheville’s veterans who rely on the support of agencies and nonprofits like the North Carolina VA Health Care system and the Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry, Hurricane Helene has limited their access to care. In the past week, the VA and the charity have gotten their outreach services going, providing support to veterans at a time when it’s needed most. Across Asheville, more than 200 were displaced in the aftermath of Helene, most of them current residents of the Veteran’s Restoration Quarters, a shelter for homeless veterans, which also took significant damage during the storm.
ABCCM was forced to evacuate its facility prior to Helene and place everyone in the shelters around the county, Chief Administrative Officer Tim McElyea said on the group’s social media page Sunday. “All the residents are safe and accounted for and they’re currently being taken care of,” he noted.
Scott Rogers is ABCCM’s executive director. He said the bottom floor of the facility was under 6 feet of water. “It destroyed everything,” he said.
Architects and engineers are working to determine the building’s use, while insurance adjusters are still assessing the damage, Rogers said. With the VRQ down until renovations can get done, the group is working to locate an interim site to bring the residents back together.
“We’re trying to identify another location that could offer temporary housing, and we’re trying to identify the status of the current facility,” he said. “And then we’re in touch with identifying people who can either come in and clean up or take whatever steps are necessary.”
For the time being, ABCCM and the VA — which “work hand-in-glove,” Rogers said — are meeting with veterans at the four shelters set up around Buncombe County.
Hurricane Resources: (Sean Coffey, WTVD News, 10/08/24) As Hurricane Milton continues churning towards Florida, ABC11 spoke with federal officials about what that might mean for the ongoing disaster response in western North Carolina. Communities across the mountains continue to rely on donations and federal support as they rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Helene. But, FEMA officials are adamant — they’re in North Carolina to stay.
“This is a very robust response here in North Carolina, and that’s not going to change,” FEMA spokesperson John Mills said. Mills is part of FEMA’s Incident Management Assistance Team. He states that the arrival of Hurricane Milton will not affect the amount of resources the agency allocates to Western North Carolina. “We already had hundreds and hundreds of FEMA personnel in Florida because of previous hurricanes, including Helene,” Mills said. “And now we’re bringing in more resources there. But that is not doing anything to change the response here in North Carolina.”
Trout Stock: (Douglas Soule, Asheville Citizen Times, 10/08/24) Tropical Storm Helene’s rains raised and washed out the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ trout hatchery. Doug Reed, the tribe’s fisheries and wildlife manager, said the currents snatched away around 30,000 trout. That portion was meant to stock the Qualla Boundary’s waters until January. Some of the fish died in the muck, baking under the sun. Most made it out, filling a small stretch of stream near the hatchery where only tribal members can fish. For the thousands of non-member anglers who come in during the fall, Reed warns the number of fish they’ll see will be a “lot lower than normal.”
Michell Hicks, principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, called the situation “pretty significant.”
“We’ve got to figure out how we stock the rivers for all the fishermen who come in here,” he said. One study estimates that anglers bring in $26 million every year. But Hicks said that was a small issue compared to the devastation seen in neighboring swathes of Western North Carolina. “We’ve lost no lives,” Hicks said. “We’re blessed, but we feel for our neighbors.”
Park Roads: (Ryley Ober, Asheville Citizen Times, 10/08/24) Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is open 24 hours a day starting Oct. 8, though this main road connecting Cherokee in North Carolina to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, will remain closed to commercial vehicles. The National Park Service announced Oct. 8 that the park is lifting the overnight road closure of Newfound Gap Road, also known as U.S. 441. The opening is made possible through the help of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Government and Sevier County partners, “who will assist the park in turning around commercial vehicles at checkpoints on both sides of US 441/Newfound Gap Road overnight,” according to the news release.
“The park continues to see an influx of illegal, large commercial vehicles attempting to travel the road — the park has turned away 173 commercial vehicles over five days,” the release said. The release reiterated that even as other major routes being closed, Newfound Gap is not safe for large, commercial vehicles.
School Wells: (Iris Seaton, Asheville Citizen Times, 10/08/24) Asheville City Schools will not be “waiting for the municipal water system to be fully restored in order to open schools” according to Superintendent Maggie Fehrman. In a letter to families, Fehrman said the district has explored several options. Pressurized water tanks and rented restroom trailers were mentioned, but Fehrman also said that drilling wells at each school was the most promising option so far. The letter said that, if groundwater proves accessible through wells, the district could have water available on select campuses in roughly two weeks, expanding from that point onward.
Watauga Child Care: (Ben Humphries, Education NC, 10/07/24) The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation (BACCF) board of directors agreed last week to allocate $125,000 toward tuition payments for licensed early childhood development centers in Watauga County. The funds are for the month of October.
In a press release, Boone Area Chamber of Commerce (BACC) President/CEO David Jackson said, “Our foundation board felt this was a direct way to ensure stability in the critical early childhood industry, while also freeing up cash for families to cover other storm-related expenses at this time.” The BACCF has been soliciting donations to go toward business community stabilization and support in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The funds from this first allocation will be distributed through the Children’s Council of Watauga County (CCWC).
North Carolina joined more than a dozen other states and the District of Columbia in suing TikTok and its parent company ByteDance Ltd. The online video platform knew its addictive algorithm harmed children but promoted it anyway in pursuit of user engagement and profit, the lawsuit claims.
“We allege that TikTok designed its app to addict kids, lied to everyone about how dangerous the app was for children and deceived parents and the public by telling them that it had safety features in place to protect kids — safety features that they knew did not work,” Attorney General Josh Stein said Tuesday in Greensboro.
“TikTok put our children in harm’s way because they cared more about wealth than well-being, [more about] dollars than danger,” Stein said.
Stein said his office played a leading role in the investigation and the shaping of the complaint. Investigators obtained records showing TikTok employees had reached out to company leaders to say the app was dangerous to children and to propose ways the danger might be mitigated, he said.
“Most parents look at their children scrolling on their phones [and] can tell it isn’t good for them,” Stein said. “TikTok can too.”
The lawsuit, outlined in a news release from Stein’s office, alleges TikTok:
Designed its app to addict young kids through features including infinite scroll, autoplay, likes, filters, algorithmic recommendations, notifications and alerts.
Misrepresented that the app was safe for kids, when its executives and employees admitted they knew TikTok addicts and harms children.
Deceived parents and the public by advertising that TikTok had safety guidelines in place that protect kids, including screen time management and content moderation. Those features did not work as advertised.
Stein said the company’s actions broke North Carolina law. The lawsuit seeks injunctive and monetary relief, including asking the court to order TikTok to stop violating the law and to pay penalties.
“This lawsuit against TikTok has been more than two years in the making,” Stein said. “TikTok has fought us tooth and nail, refusing to turn over records or comply with our investigation because it knew what we would discover. TikTok knew that its product was hurting children.”
TikTok spokesman Alex Haurek told ABC News that the company was disappointed by the lawsuits. “We strongly disagree with these claims, many of which we believe to be inaccurate and misleading. We’re proud of and remain deeply committed to the work we’ve done to protect teens and we will continue to update and improve our product.”
The TikTok lawsuit is the second action the state has taken against social media giants. In October 2023, North Carolina joined 41 other states to sue Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook. That lawsuit also accused the companies of knowingly harming children and violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting t data from users under the age of 13 without parental consent.
Both lawsuits come in the wake of a call by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy for tighter regulation of social media platforms, describing them as a contributing factor in a surge in mental health challenges among youths.
Stein is joined in filing Tuesday’s lawsuit by the attorneys general of California, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia. The complaints were filed in state courts.
“We are going to hold them accountable and make them do better so that our kids are healthy and safe and have every opportunity to build a successful future,” Stein said.
Betting Numbers
Brian Murphy, WRAL News, 10/08/24
North Carolina bettors welcomed the return of football with lots and lots of wagers. Bettors in the state wagered more than $575 million in September, ending a three-month summer slump. The state collected more than $12 million – double what it collected in August – from the eight operators licensed to take bets in the state.
The $575 million wagered in September ranks behind only March ($659 million) and April ($648 million). Online sports betting launched in North Carolina on March 11.
September was the first full month of football since the launch.
That $575 million includes both paid and promotional wagers. The $538 million in paid wagers in September is the second-highest amount in North Carolina, trailing only April’s $569 million. The state has collected more than $75 million in taxes since the start of sports betting. North Carolina charges an 18% tax on gross gaming revenue.
The North Carolina State Lottery Commission, which regulates sports betting in the state, does not release information about which sports are bet on or which operators take the most (or least) wagers.
The amount wagered in each of June, July and August was below $400 million and tax revenues to the state were below $8 million each month – steep declines from the first two-plus months after the March 11 launch. North Carolina’s problem gambling helpline set records for calls taken in April, May and June. [Source]
SECU Election
David Mildenberg, Business NC, 10/08/24
Members of the State Employees’ Credit Union voted to re-elect four incumbent directors of the second-largest U.S. credit union. The results were announced Tuesday at the $50 billion institution’s annual meeting in Greensboro.
In July, the SECU’s board’s nominating committee recommended four incumbent directors be re-elected. That prompted members to nominate four other candidates, who expressed disagreement with some SECU policies.
Online voting occurred in September, along with ballots cast at today’s gathering. Both sides made extensive use of social media to promote their candidacies, and the contested election attracted coverage in national credit union publications.
The incumbent candidates were: McKinley Wooten, an assistant secretary of the N.C. Department of Revenue; Bob Brinson, a retired state information technology employee; Mark Fleming, a retired vice president of government relations at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina; and Stelfanie Williams, a Duke University administrator. The challengers were former SECU managers Susie Ford of Cary, Julian Hawes of Winston-Salem and Kirby Parrish of Johnston County, and Jean Blaine.
Jean Blaine is the wife of former SECU CEO Jim Blaine, who led the group from 1979 to 2015. Over the past two years, he has published a website critical of SECU’s board and leadership, emphasizing their decision to institute risk-based lending rates. The credit union had been among the few institutions nationally to charge the same rate on auto loans and other products, irrespective of a member’s credit rating or financial standing.
The four winning directors received from between 54,000 and 62,400 votes. The challengers received from about 22,000 to 32,000. SECU is a major force in North Carolina financial services with 2.8 million members, 275 offices in 100 counties and about 1,100 ATMs.
After the vote, SECU board Chair Mona Moon said she didn’t know what to expect from this year’s election after members last year ousted three incumbents favored by the board. But she said the results showed the candidates were respected by members, who believed the board was listening to their concerns.
After the vote, Julian Hawes said he was disappointed that he and other challengers didn’t win the balloting. He said SECU shouldn’t be charging its least affluent customers higher rates. Too few members remember the credit union’s heritage of providing financial services to North Carolinians of modest means who weren’t welcomed at commercial banks, he added. [Source]
Lieutenant Governor
Richard Craver, Winston-Salem Journal, 10/08/24
The controversy surrounding Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has brought attention to the race for a job that has been traditionally mostly procedural.
N.C. Sen. Rachel Hunt, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County and daughter of former longtime Gov. Jim Hunt, is running against Republican Hal Weatherman, a Wake Forest University alumni and chief of staff of former Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, who is seeking his first statewide office.
Also running are Wayne Jones with the Constitution Party and Shannon Bray with the Libertarian Party.
During his term, Robinson has been criticized for missing sessions, rarely presiding over the N.C. Senate and not attending meetings of the State Board of Elections.
A prominent poll that focuses on the Council of State races — the Cyngal polls sponsored by Carolina Journal, a right-leaning media outlet associated with the John Locke Foundation — had Hunt with a 41.6% to 40.1% edge of Weatherman in its latest poll released Sept. 24. The Cyngal poll was conducted before the airing of a Sept. 19 CNN story that alleged between 2008 and 2012, Robinson wrote many comments on a porn website. Weatherman said his “primary goal in seeking the office of Lt. Governor is to use the authority of the office to fundamentally remove the stigma our society has placed on working in the trades.”
Hunt said the “ongoing maternal health care crisis impacts all women and disproportionately impacts Black women. Child care must be more affordable. It’s well past time for North Carolina’s women, children and families to have an advocate in the Lt. Governor’s office, and I’ll be that advocate.”
The Hunt campaign — as expected — is attempting to link Weatherman to Robinson. Robinson has endorsed Weatherman. Weatherman posted on social media shortly after the CNN report that Robinson “should conclusively and quickly prove false the allegations against him.” [Source]
Durham Manager
Mary Helen Moore, The News & Observer, 10/08/24
The Durham County manager has been on paid leave for a month, and county leaders still won’t say why or if she will return. Kimberly Sowell, who was hired two years ago, is the county’s highest-paid employee and has received around $25,000 in gross pay since she went on leave on Sept. 9. Elected county commissioners have said they legally cannot comment on personnel matters.
Chair Nida Allam would only say Monday that Sowell remains on leave. However, North Carolina law requires some information about county employees be made available to the general public, including the date and type of an employee’s most recent “promotion, demotion, transfer, suspension, separation, or other change in position classification,” according to the statute.
Interim County Attorney Curtis Massey told The News & Observer last week that Sowell’s leave is paid, but county staff are still declining to release any information about the type of Sowell’s leave. Sowell has not responded to attempts to reach her by phone, social media or email. She does not have access to her county email account. [Source]
Southport Stormwater
Brenna Flanagan, Port City Daily, 10/08/24
As the city recovers from Potential Tropical Cyclone #8, the Southport Board of Aldermen met Monday to discuss the storm’s toll on its stormwater system and federal assistance. Deputy Fire Marshal Brian Kolhoff reported the progress to gain financial assistance from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and FEMA; he met with representatives from both agencies on Saturday to undergo initial inspections and discuss damage the city sustained during the storm.
The state has issued a state of emergency for Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus and New Hanover counties, allowing them to take advantage of disaster assistance. However, Kolhoff said the state is encouraging municipalities to try their chances at FEMA money first to reduce the burden on state government.
FEMA has two kinds of assistance available to Southport — individual and public. As of now, the federal agency has not made a declaration for either, though officials have requested both.
In anticipation of the declaration, Kolhoff said a $1.01-million request has been submitted on behalf of Southport for FEMA’s public assistance. [Source]
Cancer Lawsuit
Ben Gibson, The Statesville Record & Landmark, 10/08/24
Duke Energy is facing a lawsuit over the use of coal ash as a filling material in southern Iredell County and southeastern Catawba County. Attorneys representing plaintiff Tanya Hall held a press conference at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse to announce a lawsuit was filed against Duke Energy on Wednesday, Oct. 2, in Mecklenburg County.
The lawsuit accuses Duke Energy of negligence in handling coal ash contamination. The lawsuit states that Hall’s kidney cancer is linked to living for eight years near where coal ash was used as structural fill in Catawba County.
The lawsuit claims that hazardous materials, including arsenic and heavy metals, from Duke Energy’s coal ash operations were improperly used as structural filler as the Mooresville area developed. The lawsuit says that the coal ash is the cause of a higher number of thyroid cancer rates and other health concerns in the area.
In a statement provided by Duke Energy Communications Manager Caroline Fountain, the company said it followed the regulations of the time and adjusted to changing rules. Duke Energy also said that there was no scientific evidence to link the coal ash to increased cancer rates. [Source]
Health Care Staffing
Jack Hagel, WRAL News, 10/08/24
Health care staffing company Weatherby Locums Inc. is planning an expansion and relocation that would add 155 jobs in the North Hills section of Raleigh, state officials said Tuesday. The company — a unit of Midvale, Utah-based CHG Healthcare Services Inc. and operating under the Weatherby Healthcare umbrella — already employs 374 people in North Carolina. Most of those workers are in Durham. Weatherby says it plans to move those employees to Raleigh, where it plans to also create the new jobs.
The company, which helps medical facilities fill staffing gaps and cover difficult-to-fill specialties, expects to occupy 46,000 square feet of offices in One North Hills Tower, a new office building in the North Hills development just north of Interstate 440, Wake officials said.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce officials on Tuesday approved an incentives package worth at least $2.1 million, including a $1.8 million jobs grant to be paid out over 12 years if the company hits hiring and investment targets.
Weatherby expects to invest $7.6 million in the expansion by the end of 2025, commerce officials said. The majority of the new employees would be Weatherby sales employees who support individual physicians and health care organizations, officials said. [Source]
Johnston Commissioner
ABC 11 News, 10/08/24
A Johnston County commissioner was convicted Monday of taking indecent liberties with a child. A jury found Richard Braswell, 76, of Princeton, guilty on the single felony charge after a two-week trial in Johnston County Superior Court. Braswell was sentenced to serve an active prison term of 20 to 33 months and was required to register as a sex offender for 30 years. The incident happened in April 2022 and involved a 13-year-old girl. Braswell was arrested in June and ordered to have no contact with the child. Braswell was released after his arrest on a $35,000 bond. He then ran for election unopposed and won his District 3 seat that fall with over 50,000 votes, the newspaper previously reported. The Johnston County Board of Commissioners has begun the search to fill the District 3 seat, it announced Monday. [Source]
Hiring Settlement
Starletta Watson, WNCN News, 10/08/24
The U.S. Department of Justice and the City of Durham reached a settlement agreement after an employment test was found to unintentionally discriminate against Black applicants for entry-level firefighting positions with the Durham Fire Department.
In a process that lasted over four years, the DOJ found enough evidence to allege that the Durham Fire Department violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by using a standardized written test called the Comprehensive Examination Battery. This test would determine which applicants got interviewed. The City of Durham said it “denies violating Title VII,” but it welcomes the opportunity to work cooperatively with the DOJ to resolve the matter.
In the same statement, the City of Durham said the DOJ had found that data dating back to 2015 of the CEB test showed that “compared to white applicants, African American applicants disproportionally failed the test,” resulting in them being eliminated from consideration.
In a formal lawsuit against the City of Durham, the USDOJ said that data showed Black applicants for entry-level firefighter positions were eliminated at more than double the rate of white applicants. The document cites 11% of white applicants failed while 37% of Black applicants failed. After a consent decree was filed in court on Monday, The City of Durham was able to resolve the case from the DOJ on the allegations of discriminatory practices and formally responded to them.
“I am pleased that the DOJ’s comprehensive, four-year review confirmed no intentional discrimination in our hiring practices and that they are now working with us to develop a test that meets Title VII standards,” said Fire Chief Robert J. Zoldos II. [Source]
Surf City Development
Peter Castagno, Port City Daily, 10/07/24
A proposed residential development failed to garner support in Surf City after a council member raised concerns it could cause fire safety risks for residents. Surf City Council unanimously rejected the rezoning request last Tuesday to shift 20.2 acres of a 29.08 parcel from rural agricultural to conditional mixed use to build 99 townhomes on JH Batts Road. Applicant Jesse Zimmer previously sought to rezone the entire property at the June council meeting but the council similarly denied the proposal.
Council member Jeremy Shugarts said then he would need to see more details for the proposal because it was submitted without a site plan.
Zimmer included a specific plan for residential development at last week’s public hearing. However, the council and residents still took issue with the proposal’s single entry and exit on JH Batts Road. “I have trouble with any of these developments being put in where they only have one access,” council member John Koloski said. “We had a bad fire years ago on Atkinson Road. There was only one access in and one access out. And that’s something that’s done and overdone.” The fire destroyed seven homes on Atkinson Road in 2017. [Source]
Police Training
Chloe Collins, The Gaston Gazette, 10/08/24
Gaston College is planning to construct a new building near Rankin Lake Park that will serve as a de-escalation training center for future police officers getting their Basic Law Enforcement Training certifications and future Emergency Medical Technicians. Greg Smith, vice president for Economic and Workforce Development at the college, said the new training center will support appropriate interactions between residents and emergency service workers.
“This will help elevate training standards for law enforcement and other emergency services workers, benefiting departments and agencies as well as the citizens who interact with these emergency services workers in the future,” he said. The city has agreed to a 40-year lease with the college, during which time the college will pay $1 per year for the land and allow the city to utilize the space at times when no classes are happening. [Source]
Flight Cancellations
WTVD News, 10/08/24
Some flights at Raleigh-Durham International Airport to and from Florida are being canceled. Several airlines have issued travel advisories ahead of Hurricane Milton, usually allowing passengers to change their flights without changing fees. The rules, limitations and requirements vary by airline.
The storm is shutting down Florida airports, including Tampa International Airport and Orlando International Airport. The Tampa airport will close Tuesday at 9 a.m., and it will reopen once it’s safe to do so. The Orlando airport will close on Wednesday. [Source]
Honeywell Spinoff
Chris Burritt, Business NC, 10/08/24
Honeywell International said it intends to spin off its advanced materials unit, creating an independent publicly traded company from what the Charlotte-based technology company categorized as a “non-core” business. The tax-free spinoff to shareholders will create a specialty chemicals and materials company with expected 2024 revenue of about $3.8 billion and an EBITDA margin greater than 25%, Honeywell said a statement Tuesday. It expects to complete the transaction by the end of 2025 or 2026 so it won’t affect this year’s guidance.
The spinoff follows four acquisitions in the past year aimed at bolstering returns around three areas CEO Vimal Kapur described as “megatrends.” Those are: automation, the future of aviation and energy transition. The advanced materials unit sells semiconductor materials, fibers for protective armor and medical applications and refrigeration and heating technologies to help companies reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The “combination of strategic bolt-on acquisitions and subtractions of high quality but non-core business lines…will continue to enhance our portfolio mix,” Kapur said in the statement. [Source]
Cattle Referendum
Stanly News & Press, 10/08/24
The North Carolina Cattlemen’s Association (NCCA) has announced that the N.C. Cattle Industry Assessment Referendum vote will take place on Oct. 30. The North Carolina Cattlemen’s Association will conduct a referendum to continue the N.C. Cattle Industry Assessment. Arrangements have been made with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension to facilitate the voting.
Ryan Clark, president of the North Carolina Cattlemen’s Association, said that the referendum will be to assess all cattle sold and marketed in North Carolina at $1 per head for the purposes of advancing the cattle industry in the state. The money collected will continue to fund the following five areas: youth programs, cattle research, education, promotion of North Carolina cattle and beef, and issues management. The North Carolina dairy industry will also benefit from the funds collected. [Source]
Weyerhaeuser Fine
Caramia Valentin, The New Bern Sun Journal, 10/08/24
The North Carolina Department of Labor (DOL) cited Weyerhaeuser with three alleged serious violations as a result of the department’s occupational safety and health inspection that began after a deadly forklift accident at the Vanceboro Weyerhaeuser factory.
On March 17, an employee was fatally injured when a sudden loss of air pressure caused the carriage/forks of a Taylor forklift to fall onto the employee, according to the citation issued by the DOL. Craven County Emergency Services Director Stanley Kite said the employee was pronounced dead at the scene, as previously reported by the Sun Journal. The three alleged serious violations, which were issued on Sept. 11, come with a total penalty of $48,393, according to the DOL. [Source]
Cumberland High School
Paul Woolverton, CityView, 10/07/24
The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners voted 6-0 on Monday to build a new E.E. Smith High School, and they said it won’t be built on Fort Liberty. Other details — such as location and cost — are yet to be determined, Commissioners Chairman Glenn Adams and County Manager Clarence Grier told CityView.
There have been discussions for more than a year on whether to replace or upfit E.E. Smith, including a proposal to move the school to Fort Liberty. The existing 27-acre campus on Seabrook Road, in the Murchison Road corridor, is too small for the needs of a new school, school officials have said. [Source]
Epic App
Brian Gordon, The News & Observer, 10/08/24
Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games and North Carolina’s second-wealthiest resident, was in a celebratory mood Monday after a federal judge detailed the steps Google must take to erase anticompetitive barriers surrounding its Android app store.
“Big news!” Sweeney posted on X. “The Epic Games Store and other app stores are coming to the Google Play Store in 2025 in the USA — without Google’s scare screens and Google’s 30% app tax — thanks to victory in Epic v Google.”
Last December, a federal court jury unanimously found Google used an array of agreements to shield its Android app store from competitors, policies which ultimately hurt both developers and consumers. The verdict culminated a multi-week trial between the search engine giant and Epic Games, the Cary-based video game maker behind titles Fortnite, Gears of War and the visualization platform Unreal Engine.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge James Donato issued a list of remedies Google has to make by November. Google’s app store, called the Google Play Store, must distribute rival app stores and make all Android apps in the Google Play Store accessible to third-party stores. And for the next three years, Google cannot require that apps use its billing system, which charged 15% to 30% fees on transactions. (Apple levies similar commissions.) Nor can Google stop developers from informing customers of alternative (and potentially less expensive) third-party payment systems.
Apple and Google booted Fortnite — a popular youth-friendly fighting game — from their app stores that same day, stating Epic had violated their developer agreement policies. Years of litigation followed. Unlike Google, Apple mostly won its antitrust trial against Epic, with that verdict settled by a federal judge instead of a jury. On Monday, Google indicated it will appeal its ruling. “The Epic verdict missed the obvious: Apple and Android clearly compete,” Lee-Anne Mulholland, the company’s vice president of regulatory affairs, said in an online statement. “We will appeal and ask the courts to pause implementing the remedies to maintain a consistent and safe experience for users and developers as the legal process moves forward.” [Source]
“Recovering from Hurricane Helene will be no small task, but I believe we — the state of North Carolina, the people of North Carolina — are up to that task.” Senate leader Phil Berger, on the General Assembly’s initial disaster relief proposal. (State Affairs Pro, 10/09/24) Relief Bill Gary D. Robertson, The Associated Press, 10/09/24 …
“We were not able to come anywhere close, so that’s why we’re here today.” Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, on the insurance industry’s request to raise homeowner premiums. (The Associated Press, 10/07/24) Insurance Rates Gary D. Robertson, The Associated Press, 10/07/24 With many western North Carolina residents still lacking power and running water from Hurricane Helene, …
Straddling the line between Hollywood and hometown, comedian and actor Zach Galifianakis revved up a crowd of Josh Stein supporters at a beer hall in Raleigh on Sunday. Galifianakis is well credentialed on both counts. As an actor, he has starred in Hollywood films such as “The Hangover” and — more on point — 2012’s “The Campaign,” …
“I would vote for that fan over that other guy; I would vote for this piece of plastic over that other guy.” Comedian and actor Zach Galifianakis, listing the inanimate objects he’d vote for before supporting GOP candidate and Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. (State Affairs Pro, 10/06/24) Helene Relief Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan and Kyle Ingram, …
