YOU DON’T SAY
“We’ve got a good job market here, Apple or no Apple.”
David Ferrell, a Cary property developer, on Apple pausing on its RTP campus. (The News & Observer, 7/06/24)
Gambling Interests
Mehr Sher, Carolina Public Press, 7/05/24
Gambling interests donated more than $3 million to top N.C. lawmakers and political committees over the past two years in an effort to legalize forms of gambling in the state, a recent analysis shows.
The analysis that Bob Hall, the former executive director of Democracy NC and a campaign finance watchdog, shared with Carolina Public Press, shows that this amount was given to state lawmakers and political committees to support their reelection campaigns.
Contributions include a $50,000 donation from Baltimore-based casino development firm, The Cordish Companies, a developer of the proposed casino in Rockingham County and $635,850 from North Carolina-based Grover Gaming, a national video poker machine vendor.
Gambling industry executives gave about $1.1 million in direct campaign contributions to North Carolina candidates and parties, while donating $2.1 million to GOPAC and the Republican State Leadership Committee, both of which are federal 527 committees or IRS-designated, U.S. tax-exempt political organizations, Hall’s analysis of state and federal reports shows.
About 93% of the direct campaign contributions went to Republican legislative candidates and in-state party committees, according to Hall. While, the top 10 state lawmakers received more than $500,000 in direct campaign contributions since January 2022, according to his analysis. The donors include executives of national and multinational companies from other states and a few national companies from North Carolina.
Out-of-state companies include the following: Nevada-based Boyd Gaming Corporation and IGT, Kentucky-based Churchill Downs Inc., Maryland-based The Cordish Companies, Illinois-based J&J Ventures and Georgia-based Primero Games.
Churchill Downs Inc. made the largest contribution, based on Hall’s analysis, of $670,000 in donations, followed by J&J Ventures, which made a contribution of $638,500.
Three North Carolinians who own national video poker companies are also among the donors: Bobby Huckabee, the owner of Southland Entertainment, Garrett Blackwelder, the owner of Grover Gaming and Gardner Payne, who owns Legacy Arcade and Payne Operations.
In the past, Huckabee has been at the center of a video poker scandal. In the 2000s, the scandal exposed former Democratic state House Speaker Jim Black’s fundraising practices and corruption. Huckabee’s company, Southland Entertainment, made $234,600 in campaign contributions to state candidates and parties during the recent period.
Blackwelder’s Grover Gaming made the third largest contribution of a total of $635,850 contributions to state candidates, state parties as well as to the Republican State Leadership Committee, or RSLC, and GOPAC.
In November 2022, The Cordish Companies donated to state Senate leader Phil Berger and 10 other legislators, as reported by CPP. A subsidiary of the company also made a $50,000 donation to the RSLC – the company’s only donation to RSLC in records from the past decade according to Hall. Most of the legislative recipients were Republican lawmakers, with the exception of two Democrats, Rep. Robert Reives, D-Chatham, and Rep. Michael Wray, D-Northampton.
CPP reached out to the 28 lawmakers for comment and only one directly responded prior to publication. “It is typical for various groups to donate to leadership positions in the General Assembly,” said Reives, the House Democratic leader, in an emailed statement. “Many of those donations are unsolicited.”
The director of the N.C. Republican Senate Caucus, Dylan Watts, reached out to CPP to comment on the campaign contributions after a series of emails to state senators who received them. “Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate received donations from the contributors you’re asking about,” Watts said in an emailed statement. “Members of the Senate Republican Caucus receive donations from thousands of people every election cycle.” [Source]
Robinson Speech
Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, The News & Observer, 7/06/24
North Carolina’s Republican candidate for governor used a recent speech about freedom to talk about how he sees the United States “slipping away” from the Declaration of Independence and how he thinks “wicked people” should be punished by the military and police.
This is the second year in a row that Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has given an Independence Day-themed speech at an ultra-conservative church and made controversial comments.
In 2023, he talked about “hell’s gates” and targeted teachers and LGBTQ+ people. Before a speech on June 30 at Lake Church in Bladen County celebrating the Fourth of July, the pastor hosting Robinson said he thinks the devil is behind President Joe Biden.
Robinson’s speech, still available on the church’s Facebook page, has gained attention for his comments about why he thinks “some folks need killing,” referencing Germans and Japanese in World War II, but he talked beyond that.
As first reported by The New Republic, Robinson said, “There was a time when we used to meet evil on the battlefield. And guess what we did to it? We killed it. We didn’t quibble about it. We didn’t argue about it. We didn’t fight about it. We killed it. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, what did we do? We flew to Japan and we killed the Japanese army and navy.”
“We didn’t even quibble about it. I didn’t start this fight, you did! You want to be left alone, you should have left me alone. We didn’t argue and capitulate and talk about, ‘Well, maybe we shouldn’t fight the Nazis that hard.’ No, they’re bad. Kill them. Some liberal somewhere is gonna say that sounds awful. Too bad,” Robinson said to the congregation. “Get mad at me if you want to. Some folks need killing,” he said.
Robinson had spent most of his speech on the topic of freedom, praising Revolutionary War soldiers, Union soldiers in the Civil War and the sacrifices made by parents whose sons and daughters served in the Vietnam War. But he went beyond wartime when he spoke about the punishment he wants for “wicked people.”
“It’s time for somebody to say it. It’s not a matter of vengeance. It’s not a matter of being mean or spiteful. It’s a matter of necessity. We have wicked people doing wicked things — torturing and murdering and raping. It’s time to call out those guys in green, go have them handle it. Those boys in blue, have them go handle it. We need to start handling our business again,” Robinson said.
Robinson spoke during the church’s two-hour service. Before his speech, he had a conversation in rocking chairs by the pulpit with Lake Church pastor, the Rev. Cameron McGill. The church, which also has a lakefront retreat camp, is in White Lake, and is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. McGill also serves on the Bladen County Board of Commissioners.
McGill said the church will also host U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, who is running for attorney general, and Dave Boliek, who is running for state auditor.
In response to Robinson’s speech, McGill told The New Republic that “without a doubt, those he deemed worthy of death [were] those seeking to kill us,” adding that Robinson “certainly did not imply the taking of any innocent lives” and that the rest of his speech was “non-controversial.”
Mike Lonergan, Robinson’s campaign spokesperson, criticized news organizations and Democrats on social media, saying they took Robinson’s words out of context, claiming that they are “defending the Axis powers.”
Before Robinson’s speech, McGill also talked about President Joe Biden. “I said here last week, and I know it’s offensive, probably,” McGill said. “But people ask me all the time, Who’s behind President Biden, and that administration? Is it Obama, is it Clinton? Read your Bible. It is the devil. He is the father of lies. He is the deceiver. He is the divider. He is the manipulator.”
Biden-Harris campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika criticized Robinson for “following Trump’s lead in calling for violence against his enemies.”
“Donald Trump sows division and hatred, openly fantasizes about revenge against his opponents, and encourages political violence. Mark Robinson — the extremist Trump endorsed and compared to Martin Luther King Jr. — is following Trump’s lead in calling for violence against his enemies and saying that ‘some folks need killing,’” Chitika said in an emailed statement. “Mark Robinson and Donald Trump embrace a dangerous, violent, and anti-American vision of the country — it’s not who we are as Americans, and it’s why voters will put a stop to it in November,” she said.
Morgan Hopkins, a spokesperson for Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein’s campaign for governor, called Robinson “divisive and dangerous.” “Mark Robinson’s repeated and repulsively violent rhetoric fits into his pattern of spewing division and hate rather than serving North Carolina families. We cannot have a governor who calls for extrajudicial killings,” Hopkins said. [Source]
Biden Event
Danielle Battaglia, McClatchy, 7/06/24
All eyes are on President Joe Biden as some Democrats urge him to end his reelection campaign, but on Monday, his wife, first lady Jill Biden, will be back in North Carolina.
Political observers believe Jill Biden is her husband’s most influential adviser on whether he remains in the race. So her trip to Wilmington on Monday could draw more attention than is typical for a first lady’s visit due to speculation on what her husband plans to do next. WRAL reported that the first lady is expected to arrive at Wilmington International Airport at 11:30 a.m. and speak at a political event in Wilmington at 12:15 p.m. It marks the third time she has come to North Carolina in less than two weeks.
On June 25, Jill Biden visited Charlotte and told a small group of supporters that the campaign is not about age but character. That messaging became more pronounced when she returned to the state with her husband overnight on June 28, following a debate against former President Donald Trump that left many Democrats calling for Biden to end his campaign.
The debate, which Biden is now calling “a bad night,” left many wondering about the president’s cognitive abilities and whether he could lead the country through four more years in office. The next day, Biden held his first post-debate campaign event, in Raleigh, with his wife by his side. There, he addressed the fallout. “I know I’m not a young man,” Biden said.
Now, as Biden’s political future is in question, there is speculation about Gov. Roy Cooper’s future and whether that could include a run for president or vice president. Cooper and Vice President Kamala Harris have a relationship that reaches back to when they served as attorneys general of North Carolina and California, respectively. But so far, Cooper is standing firmly behind Biden and his desire to continue his campaign.
After meeting virtually with the president on Wednesday, Cooper released a statement on social media that Biden told him he would continue to run for reelection and “we’ll continue to do everything we can to deliver North Carolina for him.” Biden also mentioned at his Raleigh rally that if he is reelected, there may be a position for Cooper in his administration. [Source]
Nurses Strike
Joel Burgess, Asheville Citizen Times, 7/05/24
A potential nurse strike at Mission Hospital would likely be accompanied by strikes at multiple other hospitals, all owned by the nation’s largest health system HCA HealthCare, a member of the nurses’ bargaining team has said. Nurses at Mission said they are preparing for a strike after negotiations with management failed to reach an agreement by the July 2 expiration of their three-year contract. Disagreements persist over pay, staffing and guaranteed meal and bathroom breaks, nurses said.
“We think that you should also know that because we are negotiating 17 different contracts with various HCA hospitals in various states that include North Carolina, Florida, Nevada, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, there’s a potential for multi-hospital strikes that I would say that are likely. So, we won’t be going on strike alone,” said nurse and union bargaining unit member Mark Klein in a video posted to the local union’s Facebook page.
A spokesperson for Mission HCA declined to comment on the possibility of multi-state strikes or what impact it would have on HCA. The Tennessee-based corporation bought the formerly nonprofit Mission for $1.5 billion in 2019, with nurses unionizing a year later.
Last year, 2,400 nurses at HCA hospitals went on strike in California, citing workplace violence and low staffing, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.
The Citizen Times reached out to Klein through National Nurses United, but a spokesperson for the California-based union said he was unavailable. Another bargaining unit member, Kelly Coward, spoke to the Citizen Times July 3 and said while contracts at multiple HCA hospitals were being negotiated, nothing was “set in stone” in terms of a strike.
Still, Mission nurses are being told to pick up extra shifts to prepare for unpaid strike time, Coward said. “We’ve been telling people to go ahead and maybe work an extra day now in the next couple of weeks and put that money aside to prepare for a strike,” Coward said.
While nurses say they would only strike one day, Coward acknowledged the hospital could shut them out for longer.
On June 5, Mission nurses held a rally to highlight their demands. Similar rallies occurred at Florida HCA facilities, according to releases from the union, with Orlando area nurses rallying on June 26 and those in the western city of Largo holding a demonstration July 2. Demands were similar, with the Florida nurses protesting what they said were missed meal and rest breaks and short staffing.
At Mission, without a new agreement, nurses continue to work under the conditions of the expired contract. Negotiations are set to continue with the next bargaining meeting scheduled for July 16. But the bargaining unit could call for a strike vote, with participation from the 1,600 nurses represented by the union negotiators. If nurses authorize a strike through the vote, the union must give 10 days’ notice to the hospital by federal law.
The potential strike comes after Mission was sanctioned over what state and federal regulators said were deficiencies in staffing and other areas that led to patient deaths. [Source]
Election Spending
Elyse Apel, The Center Square, 7/04/24
Political advertising in North Carolina is projected to be $362 million in the 2024 election cycle, 11th-highest in the country. The Political Projections Report predicts a record $10.69 billion spent on advertising across the nation. North Carolina, one of seven consensus battleground states, trails Pennsylvania, Arizona and Michigan. The report was released on Monday by advertisement tracking company AdImpact.
While this is down $71.11 million from a previous report, significant funds from Republicans and Democrats during the presidential primary season making North Carolina seventh-highest in the nation at $172 million.
Political interest groups will play a major role in ad spending in the 2024 election.
Planned Parenthood is one of those, with North Carolina and other swing states in its sights for a targeted ad campaign looking to flip the state. For 60 years in 14 presidential elections, only Gerald Ford (1976, to Jimmy Carter) and John McCain (2008, to Barack Obama) among Republican candidates failed to carry the state.
The Political Projections Report anticipates a 19% growth in advertising in the upcoming election cycle over the 2020 election season. Already, up to June 30, AdImpact has “detected more than 7.4K unique political TV ads, 700 more than 2022 and 2.6K more than 2020 over the same period.”
Yet, with 124 days until the Nov. 5 election, AdImpact says “the true spending season has not yet started.” [Source]
Housing Costs
Chantal Allam, The News & Observer, 7/06/24
Someone earning North Carolina’s current minimum wage of $7.25 per hour would have to work 139 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom rental unit at the current fair market rate of $1,311, a new study says. That’s equal to three and a half jobs in 2024.
It’s also the stark reality facing some of the state’s 1.4 million renters, according to Out Of Reach, a new report released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
To afford this level of rent and utilities — without paying more than 30% of income on housing — a household must earn $4,370 monthly or $52,437 annually in North Carolina, the report said. Assuming a 40-hour work week, 52 weeks per year, that equates to $25.21 per hour. That’s more than triple the minimum wage and well above the $20.61 hourly wage of the state’s average worker.
The gap is even greater compared to the average hourly wage for nursing assistants ($17.11), restaurant cooks ($16.76) and retail salespersons ($14.73), making the Old North State the 28th most expensive in the United States for renters, the report said.
U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel said North Carolina is “in the middle of a housing crisis.” Citing the report, he noted that there are only 66 affordable and available rental units per 100 households at or below the 50% area median income (AMI) threshold in North Carolina.
“Statewide, that means that there are 185,186 fewer affordable homes available than are needed to affordably house working families,’ said Nickel, who introduced the Keep Housing Affordable Act last week. It provides incentives to developers for maintain affordable housing for extended periods. “It’s a crucial solution,” he said in the release.
Some parts of North Carolina are worse than others. The worst, the report said, is Asheville, where the fair market rate for a two-bedroom rental home is $1,680. A minimum wage worker would have to work 4.5 full-time jobs to afford that. The next most expensive is Raleigh. The fair market rate for a two-bedroom rental home is $1,646. A minimum wage worker would have to work 4.4 full-time jobs to pay that rent. Durham-Chapel Hill comes in third. The fair market rate for a two-bedroom rental home is $1,631. A minimum wage worker would have to work 4.3 full-time jobs to afford that home.
The report’s central statistic, the “housing wage,” estimates the hourly wage full-time workers must earn to afford a modest rental home at HUD’s fair market rent (FMR) without spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs — the accepted standard of affordability. [Source]
Lumbee Vote
Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, The News & Observer, 7/07/24
Republican candidate for governor, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, and Democratic candidate for governor, Attorney General Josh Stein, were in the same area campaigning this weekend during Lumbee Homecoming.
Robinson’s campaign announced Saturday that he would have a meet and greet during the Lumbee Tribe’s homecoming in Pembroke.
The Republican National Committee opened a community center there in 2022, The Robesonian reported.
There is only one Native American member of the General Assembly: Republican state Rep. Jarrod Lowery, who represents Robeson County.
Stein, meanwhile, posted on social media on Saturday afternoon that he had enjoyed being part of the Lumbee Homecoming events.
Stein and Robinson are rarely in the same place outside of monthly Council of State meetings held in downtown Raleigh. Both have offices in Raleigh within blocks of each other. The Council of State meeting scheduled for July 9 has been canceled. [Source]
Superintendent Firing
Shea Carver, Port City Daily, 7/06/24
Multiple organizations are responding to the New Hanover County School Board’s decision to terminate the contract of the superintendent earlier in the week. In a 5-0 vote late Tuesday night, the school board fired Charles Foust, the district’s first Black superintendent who was on the job for almost four years.
The New Hanover County NAACP sent a letter to its members and the New Hanover County School board denouncing the move, calling it “opaque.” Alternately, the New Hanover County GOP released a statement praising the Republican school board members in its efforts to stop what they perceive as a left-wing ideology permeating the district.
Both were released on July 3, with the NAACP asking for clarity and full disclosure from the board for letting go of Foust.
“As advocates for equity and justice, the NAACP firmly believes that states and local authorities must eliminate all forms of inequities and barriers to ensure equal educational opportunities for minority groups,” NHC NAACP President LeRon Montgomery wrote.
The board did not provide a reason for his termination after Pat Bradford read a motion to unilaterally terminate Foust’s contract around 11 p.m. on July 2. The motion received a unanimous vote, despite two board members, Stephanie Kraybill and Josie Barnhart, being absent (Kraybill was on vacation and Barnhart had a scheduling conflict, both of whom informed the board chair ahead of the meeting). Republicans Bradford, Pete Wildeboer, and Melissa Mason, and Democrats Stephanie Walker and Hugh McManus all voted in step.
The New Hanover County GOP is singing the praises of the Republican-led school board for taking the measure to part ways with the “Democrat Superintendent.” Party chair Nevin Carr III wrote in a statement that terminating Foust’s contract was a “pivotal moment” to change the culture in the school system and shift how kids are educated.
“As we look across the country we can see the priorities of radical Democrats running school systems,” Carr wrote. “We see flags representing radical gender ideologies replacing the American flag. We see kids being taught to be racist, that your skin color defines you as an oppressor, or oppressed. We see the teaching of history and love of country being replaced with hateful leftist propaganda. And never forget the ridiculous policies that were forced on our kids throughout COVID with the endless masking, social distancing, and forced vaccinations.” [Source]
Direct Support Professionals
Neal Charnoff, WFDD News, 7/05/24
North Carolina is ramping up efforts to address a shortage of direct support professionals, or DSPs, which provide in-home and community-based services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). In June, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released a multi-year plan aimed at addressing what it calls a critical shortage of DSPs.
The goal is to improve recruitment, retention and training strategies. Among the initiatives, the state will soon launch an awareness campaign targeting high school and community college students.
To that end, the state will partner with community colleges to implement curriculum and certification programs, with the promise of scholarships covering tuition and other fees. It will also offer provider recruitment and retention grants.
NCDHHS will further its goals next year by expanding existing initiatives and exploring new approaches toward growing the workforce.
Portions of the comprehensive workforce plan address directives from a recent consent order stemming from a lawsuit against NCDHHS and the state of North Carolina. The 2017 suit was filed on behalf of people with I/DD who were unable to access needed services in their communities. [Source]
Raleigh Mayor
Anna Roman, The News & Observer, 7/06/24
While Raleigh voters will have the chance to help pick a new president and governor this fall, another election much closer to home is also underway. Raleigh voters will pick a new mayor and new City Council members this November.
The eight-member council, including the mayor, oversees the city’s police, fire, traffic, trash and water departments, determines how the city should grow and sets the local property tax rate. Two-term Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin announced she would not seek a third term after being diagnosed with breast cancer and with members of her family needing medical treatment. All eight seats are up for grabs on the council, with all the incumbents except for Baldwin seeking another two-year term. Election day is Nov. 5. The filing period for candidates ends at noon July 19.
The mayor is elected citywide and, generally, has the same powers as other council members. Here are the candidates who have filed so far:
- Corey Branch, currently a District C City Council member
- Eugene Myrick, community advocate
- James Shaughnessy IV, pre-law student
Other candidates who are expected to file include:
- Janet Cowell, former Raleigh City Council member and state treasurer
- Paul Fitts, mortgage broker
- Terrance Ruth, N.C. State University professor [Source]
Apple Pause
Chantal Allam, The News & Observer, 7/06/24
When Apple first announced that it planned a $552 million campus in Research Triangle Park, home prices surged. Local experts called it “the Apple effect,” driving up prices by as much as 53% in nearby suburbs like Morrisville and west Cary. Now, more than three years later, the office market remains bleak, and the project in this fast-growing corridor along N.C. 540 is officially stalled.
What does that mean for house prices today? Not much, say experts. Long before Apple’s announcement, Morrisville and west Cary were already on “a meteoric rise,” said Cory Sherman, a broker with Homegrown Real Estate in Durham.
Apple is also leasing a building on MetLife’s technology campus in Cary as it waits to build its own offices.
Developers are pushing forward. David Ferrell, a longtime Cary resident and property developer, said he’s moving ahead with plans to build 140 single-family homes on a 103-acre site in west Cary after the Town Council recently approved rezoning and annexation. “We’re full steam ahead,” he said by phone. “We’ve got a good job market here, Apple or no Apple. We’ll be fine.”
Arizona-based homebuilder Taylor Morrison recently brought 190 two-story homes to the corner of Gilmore Bridge Drive and Morrisville Parkway. Heritage Capital Partners is also planning a mixed-use project on a vacant 46-acre site along N.C. Highway 55. [Source]
Dry June
Paul Garber, WFDD Radio, 7/05/24
North Carolina climate officials say last month was the driest June on record. An average of just 1.35 inches of precipitation fell across the state last month, making it the driest since 1895, according to the North Carolina State Climate Office.
The Piedmont and coastal plain were hit hardest, but not all of the mountain region was spared. In Boone, the roughly inch and a half of precipitation was its third driest since 1980.
At one point, Greensboro, Hickory and the Alleghany County community of Laurel Springs went 17 straight days with no measurable rainfall. Almost the entire state is considered abnormally dry or under drought conditions, according to the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council. Officials say the conditions are expected to lead to damage to the state’s corn, tobacco and soybean crops. [Source]
Manager Move
Kevin Griffin, Greensboro News & Record, 7/05/24
Greensboro’s former city manager has taken a job with an engineering consulting firm based in Chicago. Taiwo Jaiyeoba, who served as Greensboro’s manager for two years up until his resignation in March, will now work as the national transit planning director for Lochner, the company announced last week.
In the announcement, the company touted Jaiyeoba’s involvement in transportation planning in Greensboro and in Charlotte, where he served as planning director and assistant manager prior to coming to Greensboro.
Jaiyeoba is currently serving as the interim town manager of Zebulon, located in Wake County. He started with the town last month and his contract has been extended into July, Zebulon Communications Director Kaleb Harmon said in an email Friday.
Jaiyeoba’s resignation as Greensboro city manager year was the source of controversy. The city council was divided over whether to provide Jaiyeoba with severance, eventually voting 5-4 to continue paying installments of his $322,000 annual salary along with health benefits for an additional three months.
City officials gave conflicting accounts over Jaiyeoba’s departure, with Mayor Nancy Vaughan and Councilwoman Tammi Thurm saying the former manager violated city policy. A statement later released by the city said the city had not investigated and could not say a violation had occurred. The News & Record is also currently seeking the release of bodycam footage taken from a police response to an apparent altercation between Jaiyeoba and his two adult daughters. No charges were filed in the incident. [Source]
High Point Hire
DJ Simmons, WFDD Radio, 7/03/24
The city of High Point announced last week Curtis Cheeks III has been appointed as the new chief of police.
The hire comes after Travis Stroud retired from the role last year. Prior to the appointment, Cheeks served in many positions including interim chief of police, commander of the investigations section and lieutenant over the strategic intelligence unit. He has also served as field training supervisor.
Cheeks holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and a master’s degree from Florida Metropolitan University. He is originally from Winston-Salem.
According to the city of High Point, it conducted a national search for the position that saw over 50 applicants. [Source]
Closed Meeting
Kevin Griffin, Greensboro News & Record, 7/06/24
Guilford County commissioners will be meeting in a special closed session Monday to discuss legal matters. The meeting will take place at 10 a.m. in the old Guilford County Courthouse.
The section of state law cited in the county’s meeting notice allows for the board to have a closed-door meeting with its attorneys to preserve attorney-client privilege. Commissioner Melvin “Skip” Alston, chairman of the county board, said he was uncertain if the board will take public action following the meeting. He said if action is taken, it could come later in the week, possibly Tuesday or Wednesday. Alston declined to give any additional details on the topic to be discussed Monday. [Source]
Morganton Wildfire
The Morganton News-Herald, 7/05/24
A wildfire was burning on about 30 acres of land on Burkemont Mountain early Friday morning. The North Carolina Forest Service first learned of the fire around 1 a.m. Friday, said District Two Ranger Ethan Matherly. He said firefighters still are trying to get the fire contained. Resources from all over northwestern North Carolina are being called in to help fight the fire.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Matherly cautioned residents against burning.
“We are not under a burn ban at this time but it is extremely dry, drier than usual at this time of year, so I would recommend that all residents refrain from burning,” Matherly said. “Again, there is no burn ban, but I would refrain from burning until we get significant precipitation.”
The Forest Service will be using aircraft to help fight this fire, Burke County 911 said in the post. They asked people not to fly drones in the area to make sure those aircraft can access the scene. The fire was the largest active, not contained fire in North Carolina around 8:30 a.m. Friday, according to the Forest Service’s wildfire map. [Source]
Road Name
Rachael Riley, The Fayetteville Observer, 7/03/24
Maj. Gen. Sidney Shachnow will forever be remembered by his beloved special operations forces at Fort Liberty. The John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School hosted a ceremony Friday to officially designate Shachnow Lane after the school’s former commander and Holocaust survivor.
Formerly Mosby Street, the road in front of the school’s campus is one of nine roads identified by officials to be renamed after the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act mandate to rename Department of Defense assets commemorating the confederacy.
Shachnow, who died Sept. 28, 2018, at the age of 83, was the only general officer in the Army to have survived the Holocaust. He was born in Kaunas, Lithuania in 1934, and when he was 6, he was imprisoned for three years during World War II at the Nazi Kovno concentration camp before it was liberated by the Soviet army. Shachnow lived in Europe until he immigrated to the United States in 1950 followed by enlisting in the Army in 1955 and spending 32 in the Special Forces community. [Source]
Legislative Sessions, Studies and Meetings
LB: LEGISLATIVE BUILDING. LOB: LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BUILDING
Tuesday, July 9
- 9:00 A.M.
- House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform, Auditorium
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
- Noon, House and Senate Convene
HOUSE & SENATE: Reconvening allowed under provisions of SB 916, if no sine die adjournment previously adopted.
- Monday, July 29 to Thursday Aug. 1
- Monday, Sept. 9 to Wednesday, Sept. 11
- Wednesday, Oct. 9
- Tuesday, Nov. 19 to Friday Nov. 22
- Wednesday, Dec. 11 to Friday Dec. 13
N.C. Government Meetings and Hearings
BOLD ITEMS ARE NEW LISTINGS
Tuesday, July 9
- Cancelled | The Council of State meets. 1 South Wilmington St, Raleigh.
- 11 a.m. | Economic Investment Committee – Regular Meeting, 301 N. Wilmington St. Raleigh.
- 1:20 p.m. | The North Carolina Local Government Commission meets, 3200 Atlantic Ave. Raleigh.
- 1:30 p.m. | State Board of Elections will holds remote meeting via Webex (Password: NCSBE), Dial 415-655-0003, enter access code 2435 410 1914#, passcode 62723#.
Wednesday, July 10
Thursday, July 11
Monday, July 15
- 1:30 p.m. | NC Dept. of Agriculture – 3RD QUARTER BOARD OF AGRICULTURE MEETING, 4400 Reedy Creek Road, Raleigh.
Tuesday, July 16
- 10:30 a.m. | North Carolina Spiritous Liquor Advisory Council – 3rd Quarter Meeting, 2 West Edenton St, Raleigh.
Wednesday, July 17
- 9 a.m. | The North Carolina Real Estate Commission Meeting, 1313 Navaho Drive, Raleigh.
Thursday, July 18
- 8 a.m. | North Carolina Medical Board Meeting – July 2024 Meeting, 3127 Smoketree Court, Raleigh.
- 9:30 a.m. | North Carolina Turnpike Authority meets, 1 S. Wilmington St, Raleigh.
Thursday, Aug. 1
- 6 p.m. | The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality Public Hearing on Moriah Energy Center Draft Air Quality Permit, Vance-Granville Community College, 200 Community College Road, Henderson.
Tuesday, Aug. 6
- 9 a.m. | The Council of State meets. 1 South Wilmington St, Raleigh.
UNC Board of Governors
23 S. WEST STREET, SUITE 1800, RALEIGH
Wednesday, July 24
- T.B.A. | The UNC Board of Governors, UNC System Office.
Thursday, July 25
- T.B.A. | The UNC Board of Governors, UNC System Office.
N.C. Utilities Commission Hearing Schedule
DOBBS BUILDING, 430 NORTH SALISBURY STREET, RALEIGH
Monday, July 8
- 7 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Joint Application of Public Service Company of North Carolina, Inc. and Enbridge Parrot Holdings, LLC to Engage in a Business Combination Transaction | G-5 Sub 667
Wednesday, July 10
- 6:30 p.m. | Remote Public Witness Hearing – Dominion Energy North Carolina 2023 IRP | E-100 Sub 192
Thursday, July 11
- 10 a.m. | Expert Witness Hearing – Application for General Rate Increase for HH Water, LLC | W-1318 Sub 1
Monday, July 22
- 2 p.m. | Expert Witness Hearing – Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC and Duke Energy Progress, LLC 2023 Biennial CPIRP | E-100 Sub 190
- 2 p.m. | Expert Public Witness Hearing – Joint Application of DEP and NCEMC for CPCN to Construct a 1360MW Electric Generating Facility in Person County, NC | E-2 Sub 1318, EC-67 Sub 55
- 2 p.m. | Expert Witness Hearing – Application for CPCN for 850 MW Natural Gas-Fired Combustion Turbine Electric Generating Facility Located at 8320 NC Highway 150 E, Terrell, NC 28682 in Catawba County | E-7 Sub 1297
Other Meetings and Events of Interest
BOLD ITEMS ARE NEW LISTINGS
Saturday, July 20
- 7 p.m. | North Carolina Democratic Party Unity Dinner, Raleigh Convention Center.
Saturday, July 27
- 9 a.m. | North Carolina Federation of Young Republicans Convention, The Farm at 95, Selma.
