YOU DON’T SAY

“I know we will find a new County Manager, but there will only be one Dena.”

Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners Chairman George Dunlap, on the announcement that County Manager Dena Diorio will be retiring after the end of the current budget year. (The Charlotte Observer, 8/08/24)

---

Fundraising Complaint

Laura Leslie, WRAL News, 8/08/24

A new complaint alleges that a politically connected group improperly used its nonprofit tax status to bankroll a prominent North Carolina House lawmaker. The petition against Greater Carolina Inc., Republican state Rep. Jason Saine and other GOP operatives was filed Thursday with the charitable solicitation division of the North Carolina Secretary of State’s office.

A copy of the complaint obtained by WRAL alleges that Greater Carolina has been used to evade the state’s ban on gifts to public officials. It alleges that the organization provides a cover for “covert and unreported lobbying” at luxury events that have benefited lawmakers, and that it raised and spent $1.5 million with no record of how or why it was spent. The copy WRAL obtained didn’t name the person or group behind the complaint.

“Expenditures have been made by Greater Carolina to continue Rep. Saine’s exorbitant spending habits,” the complaint said. “Petitioner further believes that Saine has also utilized the resources of Greater Carolina not merely for his own benefit but for the benefit of those lobbyists and legislators, as well as legislative staffers, whose interests he has chosen to advance.”

Those activities aren’t allowed because of the group’s tax status, the complaint said.

Saine, R-Lincoln, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the allegations. He announced last month that he would step down to “pursue several unique professional opportunities that have presented themselves.” His resignation takes effect on Monday.

Joseph Burleson, who was listed as Greater Carolina’s chairman on the group’s most recently available tax documents, also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Contrary to the allegations made in this unsigned complaint, Greater Carolina Inc. has and will continue to operate in accordance with all laws and rules that govern these types of organizations,” Jonathan Felts, a spokesperson for Greater Carolina, said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for the secretary of state confirmed that the office received the complaint and is reviewing it. She declined to make the petition immediately available to WRAL. Government agencies often shield such complaints from the public until a review is complete.

WRAL obtained a copy of the complaint from a person involved with the petition. The person’s identity is known to WRAL, but they spoke on the condition of anonymity and declined to name the petitioner. The person said the document was also filed with the Internal Revenue Service and state Ethics Commission.

The petitioner wants the Secretary of State’s office to investigate Greater Carolina and force it to disclose details about its contributions and spending, according to the complaint. It also wants the state Ethics Commission and the IRS to investigate whether the group violated lobbying and tax laws.

Greater Carolina is organized as a 501c4 social welfare organization. Under federal tax law, such nonprofit organizations must have as their primary objective the promotion of civic good.

Social welfare groups can lobby for legislation, but they can’t intervene in political campaigns, and political activities cannot be their primary purpose. They can raise unlimited amounts of money from individuals as well as corporations and don’t have to disclose their donors.

On its 2022 tax return, Greater Carolina said its mission is “to ensure North Carolina embraces the policies necessary to maintain and support our status as one of the best states in the nation for business and free enterprise.”

The complaint alleges that Greater Carolina’s actual purpose was to act as a passthrough for unlimited contributions from alcohol and gambling interests to a powerful lawmaker who helped those interests achieve their legislative goals while circumventing campaign finance laws and ethics rules.

Politicians are limited in how much money their campaigns can take, and from who. So-called dark money groups like Greater Carolina face no such restrictions.

During his 13-year tenure, Saine rose to become one of the most powerful members of state House leadership, serving as one of its primary budget-writers. He has also advocated for loosening the state’s alcoholic beverage control laws and legalizing sports betting and other forms of gambling.

Greater Carolina paid for a 2023 survey of the potential market for an expansion of casino gambling in North Carolina. Its findings were largely reflected in a 2023 proposal to legalize several more casinos.

The proposal was backed by Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, as well as Saine, but after a lengthy stalemate, it failed to advance. House Speaker Tim Moore said it did not have the support of a majority of the House Republican caucus. That’s despite substantial campaign contributions to several House leaders by individuals connected to the casino industry.

Saine and Greater Carolina made headlines most recently for a May junket for lawmakers and lobbyists on the Bourbon Trail in Louisville, Kentucky. An employee at one of the distilleries they visited later posted on social media that the group was drunk and disruptive when they arrived on their tour bus.

Saine didn’t deny he was present at the event at the time, but he said the unidentified worker’s account of it was a gross exaggeration.

The complaint filed Thursday mentioned the Kentucky event and alleged that it was funded by Diageo, a major multinational alcoholic beverage company. Diageo has at least two registered lobbyists in North Carolina, Secretary of State records show. [Source]

 

Political Media

Colin Campbell, WUNC Radio, 8/08/24

As traditional sources for local news continue to shrink, some North Carolina lawmakers are getting into the media world themselves. They’re using their own radio shows and other digital platforms to connect directly with the public.

Every morning on the radio station he owns, state Sen. Carl Ford, R-Rowan, mixes his opinions on state politics with Southern Gospel music. He recently took to the airwaves of his Salisbury-area district to blame fellow Republicans for a stalemate over private school vouchers. He urged the audience to “call your House member today” to pass the Senate’s proposal to fund the vouchers. He blasted renewable energy initiatives from Gov. Roy Cooper, who he nicknames “Roy Boy,” saying “this wind and solar stuff is a bunch of crock.”

Ford has been in the radio business for decades, long before he ran for office. Now he broadcasts from his legislative office in Raleigh during sessions. But several of his fellow state legislators have recently started producing weekly radio shows of their own.

Sen. Vickie Sawyer, R-Iredell, hosts an hour-long show on radio station WSIC every Friday. It’s also released as a podcast. She takes questions from listeners and shares an inside look at the legislature.

“We are at that time of season where the senators and House members look at each other across the battlefield and side eye and eye roll,” she said on a recent episode as the legislature’s short session wrapped up. “And some of us just laugh and chuckle in the background.”

Sawyer’s Republican colleagues in the House, Reps. Jason Saine of Lincoln County and Jeff McNeely of Iredell County, have also been hosting weekly shows on the same station.

In an era when most people can’t name their state representative, the radio shows give lawmakers a chance to raise their profile and explain the work they do in Raleigh. And they get a platform to advocate for their views on big partisan issues.

Saine says his show has been a great tool for connecting with constituents, including those who don’t agree with his politics. “It certainly can’t hurt you to be a known quantity,” Saine told WUNC. “But I think people get to see a different side of people in politics too, because you do an hour, and you really do get to see the personality of the person behind the microphone.”

He and Sawyer have each paid the radio station about $6,000 from their campaign accounts for the airtime over the past year. While it’s a campaign expense, having a radio show isn’t a guarantee of future success in politics: Former Gov. Pat McCrory hosted a daily radio show on WBT in Charlotte, but he ultimately lost his Republican primary for U.S. Senate in 2022.

WSIC owner Justin Ckezepis says he sees value in having more local voices instead of nationally syndicated talk shows. “I’m the guy who came in and slashed Sean Hannity on day one” when he bought the station, Ckezepis said. “That tells you, from my perspective, that I believe in locals, I believe in the power of that community, and engaging one-to-one with people is really the art and I think the secret to radio.”

While none of the Democrats in the legislature have their own radio shows, Sen. Graig Meyer, D-Orange, recently started a nonprofit to elevate left-leaning voices through local radio stations and newspapers. Meyer says Beacon Media will distribute syndicated radio shows and newspaper columns in rural communities that don’t get enough North Carolina news.

“We want to open up one more communication avenue to them to find out, here’s what’s happening around the state and how it’s going to impact you, and what you should be thinking and doing about that,” he said.

Beacon Media’s offerings include commentaries and radio shows in Spanish, including a recent one on safety for migrant farmworkers in North Carolina. Another radio show will likely air on Black radio stations and cover the intersection of faith, politics and race. Meyer says the organization’s mission differs from efforts to give politicians a bigger platform.

“A lot of people have asked us, ‘well, what are you going to do to impact the 2024 election?'” Meyer said. “And we’re not going to do anything to impact the 2024 election. That’s not our model at all, we’re not trying to, and we’re not trying to be an election organization. We’re trying to be a news and commentary organization.”

He says the goal is to help short-staffed newspapers and radio stations.

“A lot of people think that news deserts mean that like all the local papers have gone away, and they haven’t,” he said. “They just don’t have enough money to create a lot of content and so they actually need content. We want to offer them content that they would get for free.” Meyer says conservative organizations like the John Locke Foundation are already syndicating similar content, and the political left should be doing it as well.

And while the legislators on the air at WSIC in Statesville are all Republicans, Ckezepis says that’s because the area doesn’t have many Democrats in elected office. But he argues the shows welcome callers of all political stripes. “No matter how popular an elected official may be, there’s always varying opinions, and they’re all welcome,” he said. [Source]

 

Ad Dispute

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, The News & Observer, 8/08/24

Lawyers for Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein — who are running against each other to be the next North Carolina governor — are exchanging letters over a Stein campaign attack ad against Robinson.

Stein’s ad, which is still airing, focuses on the former childcare center owned by Robinson’s wife, Yolanda Hill, where Robinson also worked.

As of Thursday, three letters have been exchanged: one to the Stein campaign from Robinson’s campaign lawyers, a response from Stein’s lawyers, and a third from Robinson’s campaign lawyers in response.

In the first letter, attorneys from the Dickinson Wright law firm ask the Stein campaign to stop airing the ad, saying that the ad includes “false attacks” and that continuing to air the ad “will be considered malicious. Moreover, failure to comply with the demands in this letter will force our clients to seek legal recourse to the fullest extent of the law.”

The center of the dispute is the ad’s claim that the childcare center was unsanitary and endangered children, and the use of video that is not from the actual daycare.

The second letter, from the Elias Law Group on behalf of Stein’s campaign, defends the ad and says the accusations have no merit.

As of Monday, the latest letter, from Robinson’s lawyers, describe Stein’s lawyers’ response as “legal caterwauling.” The letter also says the Robinson campaign renews “our demand that Stein and his campaign cease and desist from these knowingly false attacks, or as they say, ‘dramatic visualizations,’” referring to the video used during descriptions of the daycare.

The ad takes some information from findings from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Division of Child Development and Early Education. In documents previously reported by The News & Observer and other news outlets, Precious Beginnings Child Development Center in Greensboro had several violations in 2005, 2006 and 2007 after visits from DHHS officials.

Records show that Precious Beginnings was notified of problems ranging from not having enough caregivers present for the required ratio of staff to children, not having accessible employee records, not labeling and refrigerating all formula and other beverages for children, not complying with rules about types of food served, an infant not placed on its back to sleep, and no dolls and other appropriate books and toys provided for younger children.

Even with demerits issued during compliance reviews, the daycare still received a “superior” rating in at least one report. In a 2005 unannounced follow-up visit from DHHS, documents show that several problems had been corrected, including staff-to-student ratios and supervision, but the center was cited for some employees not having records of required training. The report also says the “operator made attempts to falsify information” related to the training.

In July, Robinson told WFAE radio in Charlotte that there were not problems with the daycare and that “people are slinging mud at the wall.” Robinson told WFAE that “we simply sold it because my wife got burned out and decided to move on and do something else.”

In a statement to The N&O, Stein’s campaign manager, Jeff Allen, defended the ad. “The ad is factually accurate, based on publicly available information, and, to date, the Robinson campaign has yet to provide any new factual information to refute the ad’s claims.”

“Mark Robinson may want to hide his record from North Carolina voters, but the voters deserve to know it,” Allen said.

The letters also bring up a situation from the 2020 election for attorney general, when Stein defeated Republican Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill.

That dispute was also over an attack ad from Stein’s campaign, and led to an investigation by the Wake County DA’s office that was eventually resolved by the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2023, the Associated Press reported.

Stein’s campaign spokesperson said Thursday that the O’Neill ad “was true. The State Board of Elections agreed and recommended the matter be closed.”

O’Neill ran in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor this year, resulting in a second primary, which he lost to candidate Hal Weatherman.

“It is also true that Mark Robinson can’t run a daycare and we can’t let him run our state,” said Kate Frauenfelder, Stein’s spokesperson. As of Thursday afternoon, neither the Stein nor Robinson campaign has taken any additional action about the ad. [Source]

 

Guilford Seat

Paul Garber, WFDD Radio, 8/08/24

The Guilford County Democratic Party has chosen Greensboro businesswoman Tracy Clark to fill the vacant North Carolina House District 57 seat. Clark will fill out the unexpired term of Ashton Clemmons. During a virtual meeting to choose her successor, Clark said funding education is among her priorities.

“We must do more to support our public schools,” she said. “And that starts with stopping the expansion of the opportunity vouchers and redirecting that money back into public school systems.”

In a separate vote, party leaders also picked Clark to take Clemmons’ place on the November ballot. She’ll face Republican Janice Davis.

Clemmons announced in July she was leaving before the end of her term to take a position with the University of North Carolina System.

The district was redrawn during Clemmons’ term. It had included much of Northwest Guilford running to the Rockingham County border. The 2024 lines place it mostly in mid-Guilford with Summerfield areas removed. [Source]

 

Storm Damage

WTVD News and The News & Observer, 8/08/24

Gov. Roy Cooper held his second Tropical Storm Debby briefing Thursday after touring a middle school damaged in a tornado. “Thank God the children were not there when this storm hit. What a devastating blow to this school,” Cooper said.

Cooper spoke outside Springfield Middle School in Wilson County. He said the tornado devastated the 6th and 7th-grade classrooms but left the 8th-grade classrooms basically untouched. “Looked like an explosion. The window was blown out. What was amazing to me was–a strong brick structure, how many different bricks were everywhere. An explosion is the best way to describe it,” Cooper said.

He said school district leaders would be evaluating the school damage and working to develop a plan that allows students of the school to have minimal disruption to their education.

Also in Wilson County, a man was found dead inside his tornado-ravaged home. That man’s identity has not been released.

“Wilson County just experienced a tough time, but we’re going to get through it by the grace of God.” Wilson County Sheriff Calvin L. Woodard, Jr. said.

Thursday morning, Cooper visited the North Carolina Emergency Management Regional Coordination Center East and the North Carolina National Guard Armory in Kinston. Shortly after 11 a.m. Cooper, flanked by North Carolina Emergency Director Will Ray, spoke about the state’s response to Debby.

“North Carolina continues to face unrelenting rain and destruction from tropical storm Debby,” he said. “I’m grateful for the work of first responders and urge people to take precautions against this storm and listen to guidance from state and local Emergency Management officials.”

Cooper revealed that the state had activated another 24 National Guard members, increasing the total number to 374. Those members as well as other rescue teams have responded to multiple reports of tornado touchdowns throughout the eastern part of the state.

“We ask North Carolinians to be careful, to be safe, to pay attention to local officials. particularly if you live in low-lying areas prone to flooding,” Cooper said.

The state has reported more than 100 road closures statewide due to flooding and downed trees. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has more than 2,200 workers activated and ready to clear roadways as quickly as possible.

Thursday morning, Duke Energy reported more than 100,000 customers without power from Charlotte to the coast. By 9 p.m., that number had dropped to 26,160. With Central North Carolina expected to see more impacts from the storm through the rest of the week, there could be even more outages. Debby, categorized as a tropical storm most of Thursday, was downgraded to a tropical depression by late afternoon. [Source]

Democratic Delegates

Danielle Battaglia, McClatchy, 8/08/24

Delegates from North Carolina to the Democratic National Convention played an outsized role this year in choosing the party’s presidential nominee. Since the 1970s, a state’s primary helped dictate whom a delegate would vote for during the national party’s convention. When North Carolina’s Democrats voted in this year’s primary, their options were for President Joe Biden or “no preference.” And 87.3% of the state’s voters selected Biden. But the president ended his campaign on July 21, after a poor debate performance against his opponent, former President Donald Trump and several weeks of his own party leaders asking him to step aside. That left the Democrats looking for a new nominee after most states had already held their primaries.

Biden immediately endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, his running mate, to succeed him atop the ticket. Democrats quickly rallied around her, including North Carolina’s delegates to the DNC. They were among the first to announce they would fully back Harris and other states quickly followed.

“Tonight, all 168 delegates of the North Carolina Democratic Party made history,” Anderson Clayton, the state party chair, wrote on social media on July 21, after a conference call with the delegates. “Our delegates voted unanimously to endorse and put our party’s full support behind the nomination of @KamalaHarris to be the President of the United States. I’m proud of our party.”

When the national party took a virtual roll call vote, which began Aug. 1, Harris clinched the 1,976 votes she needed immediately. By Monday night, when Democrats made it official that Harris was the party’s nominee, she had secured 4,567 of the delegates votes — 99%.

The official nomination needed to be made by Wednesday, to ensure that Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, were included on Ohio’s ballot. Ohio requires that nominees be declared 90 days prior to the election.

According to party rules, provided to McClatchy, the Democratic National Committee will hold ceremonial and celebratory roll call votes at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in two weeks.

According to the North Carolina Democratic Party’s Selection plan, the party has 130 voting members made up of the 76 delegates representing the state’s 14 congressional districts, 25 at-large delegates, 15 pledged party leaders and elected official delegates, 10 alternates and 14 automatic delegates that include DNC members, Democratic members of Congress and the governor. Two additional automatic delegates were added after the NC plan was finalized because the DNC added members to its board from North Carolina. That brings the total number to 132 delegates.

DNC reported to CBS News that 131 delegates from North Carolina voted for Harris.

Hillsborough Town Councilman Matt Hughes, a DNC member, said he spoke Wednesday with the delegate who did not cast a vote and learned that the delegate was unable to due to internet connection problems in the mountains.

The party’s selection plan also stresses the importance of choosing an equal number of men and women, and including North Carolina’s nonbinary community, and members of the Black, Hispanic Native American, AAPI, LGBTQ+ populations, people under 35 and over 65, as well as veterans and people with disabilities. Democrats met that goal with delegates from a diverse background that included a variety of ages, races and genders and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Their careers range from recent high school graduates to educators to doctors to politicians.

See the full list of delegates here.

 

Medical Debt

Michelle Crouch, NC Health News, 8/09/24

At least 37 of the state’s 99 hospitals have so far signed up for a new state program that promises them extra federal money if they agree to wipe out low-income patients’ old medical debt and to take steps to help those patients avoid debt in the future, state health officials said.

All of the hospitals in the Novant Health, Cone Health, UNC Health and ECU Health systems are participating, state officials said. In addition, Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital in the far western town of Murphy and Hugh Chatham Health in Elkin have signed on.

With a deadline of 5 p.m. Aug. 9, the big question is: Will the state’s other large hospital systems — Atrium Health, Duke Health and HCA Healthcare/Mission Health — get on board?

None of the systems responded to Ledger/NC Health News requests for comment on Thursday. Atrium has previously said that many parts of its financial assistance policy already meet the program’s requirements. 
The medical debt program, believed to be the first of its kind nationwide, would give higher federal payments to hospitals that agree to forgive medical debt deemed uncollectible dating back to 2014 for low- and middle-income patients.

Hospitals would also have to abide by other conditions, such as offering 50 percent-100 percent discounts to low-income patients who don’t qualify for Medicaid, capping interest rates on hospital-held medical debt at 3 percent and agreeing not to report medical debt to credit agencies.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and N.C. Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley visited Charlotte on Wednesday to promote the program and, presumably, to increase public pressure on hospitals that are still on the fence.

“This makes sense for hospitals, their patients and their communities,” Cooper said. “Statistics show that hospitals only collect about 5 percent of their medical debt. … Under this program they will most likely — and their fiscal analysts are looking at this, you can bet your boots they are — they’ll earn more by forgiving medical debt than they would otherwise.”

For hospitals, the issue likely isn’t that straightforward, said Mark Hall, a professor of law and public health who studies health care finance at Wake Forest University. The program could require some hospitals to overhaul their financial assistance policies and offer free care to large numbers of patients who don’t qualify for Medicaid, such as people with temporary worker’s permits, he said. Hospitals also need to weigh the cost of implementation.

“They may be taking a wait-and-see approach, to see how it goes the first year,” Hall said. Hall noted that many hospitals are still figuring out the impact of Medicaid expansion on their bottom lines. Others may want to know exactly what their payment might be from the program. While larger health care systems stand to get millions in extra dollars for participating, smaller systems and rural hospitals would receive proportionally smaller payments.

A spokeswoman for the North Carolina Healthcare Association, which represents hospitals, said the group was waiting to comment until after the Friday deadline.

A few advocacy groups, including executive directors of Black-led nonprofits, faith leaders and medical students at Duke and UNC, have launched letter-writing campaigns to hospital CEOs encouraging them to participate. [Source]

 

Mecklenburg Manager

Mary Ramsey, The Charlotte Observer, 8/08/24

Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio, who took over during a tumultuous time for county government and later guided the county through a global pandemic, will retire next year after more than a decade in her post.

Diorio, who has led the county since 2013, will depart July 1, the county said in a news release Thursday. That’s after the end of the current budget year. The Board of County Commissioners learned about the decision in a closed session during their Wednesday meeting, according to the release.

“It has been the honor of my life to serve the residents and employees of Mecklenburg County,” Diorio said in the news release. “When I took this role, I wanted to make sure the County was always at the table to discuss issues, find solutions, and improve lives for our residents. I have always believed that to serve our community, we must be bold and have a vision of how things could be. We needed to see what is possible, and how best to help people.”

County commissioners will appoint a search committee to find her replacement, according to the release.

Board Chairman George Dunlap described Diorio, Mecklenburg’s first female county manager, as a “visionary” in the statement.

“I am sad this day has come, but she has earned this time for herself, and I wish her and her husband all the best. I know we will find a new County Manager,” he said. “But there will only be one Dena.” [Source]

 

Health Plan Warning

David Beasley, The Center Square, 8/08/24

North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell is sounding the alarm on the financial health of the state employee health care plan. Folwell this week called the health insurance plan “on the brink of insolvency” due to rising health care costs which have created a $106.3 million shortfall.

Also, the state Legislature still has not reimbursed the plan for $250 million spent on COVID-19-related expenses, the treasurer said.

“This is not a crisis that is going away,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s going to touch those who teach, protect and serve. We look forward to a very honest, open, mathematical conversation about where the state health plan is going forward.”

Funding from the General Assembly is not keeping pace with the rise of health care and prescription drugs, Folwell said. “Prescription and health costs are going up at least twice a higher rate than the amount of funding that the General Assembly has chosen to give us,” Folwell said.

Although the state was awarded federal grants for COVID-19-related expenses, the Legislature has not passed on all of those funds the the health care plan, the treasurer added. Each chamber is not scheduled to reconvene until Sept. 9.

“The plan can only pay its bills based on the premiums we receive and the appropriations we receive from the General Assembly,” the two-term Republican said. The state health care plan has “done everything humanly possible” to cut administrative expenses, Folwell said. “What it means is that the General Assembly will have to put more money in the plan like it has had to do at times in the past,” Folwell said.

The plan has used cash reserves to make up the shortfall but faces “imminent insolvency” with projections showing the reserves will fall below the required threshold by 2026, said Folwell.

“The money has to come from somewhere,” Folwell said. “We have a lot of state employees who are having to work one week out of four to pay the family premium. Going on premiums for those who are already struggling, I don’t think is the answer.”

In addition, the state is facing tens of millions of dollars in expected cost from the Medicare Advantage program for state employees because of a change in federal legislation, the treasurer said. Ultimately, Folwell said, the best long-term solution is to lower the cost of health care in North Carolina, including negotiating with hospitals for lower pricing. [Source]

 

COVID Funds

Lexi Solomon, CityView, 8/07/24

With just over four months before the U.S. Treasury Dept.’s deadline to obligate all American Rescue Plan Act funding, Cumberland County has roughly 15% of its $65 million budget left to address, county officials said this week.

The county began receiving ARPA funds in 2021 as part of a $1.9 trillion federal stimulus package signed by President Joe Biden to aid the nation’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. A CityView analysis shows that as of Aug. 6, Cumberland County has obligated 84.63% of its ARPA funds and has spent 45.37% of that money. “Obligated” means the county has signed some sort of contract or agreement designating how that money will be spent. The county has until Dec. 31, 2024, to do so for all its ARPA funds.

Despite its many benefits, ARPA funding also posed some unique challenges for municipalities, Cumberland County Chief of Staff Tye Vaught told CityView.

“Normally, the issuing agency, whether it be HUD [the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development] or Treasury or whoever, typically, they will approve projects,” Vaught said. “They did not do that with ARPA.”

Municipalities that were accustomed to clear frameworks and a definitive “yes” or “no” from federal officials on proposed projects instead had to adjust to hazier guidelines, Vaught said. 

“A lot of counties and cities were reluctant, I think, in the beginning, to just start spending money, because we didn’t know if it wasn’t acceptable or if it would pass the ‘smell test,’ as I say,” he said. “After the final rule came out [in] April of 2022, [that] is when we started putting projects together, because we had more stable ground to stand on.” 

That final rule from the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury clarified how the county could use its ARPA funding, mandating that ARPA-funded projects had to address an issue related to public health, infrastructure, public sector capacity, revenue replacement or negative economic impacts stemming from the pandemic, Vaught said.

“Those categories actually changed slightly between the interim rule and the final rule,” he said. “That was another thing where it was like, ‘Hey, we don’t know [if] this is going to be the actual approved spending authorization.’”

And even after final project categories were set, county staff ran into another problem, according to Vaught: as much as they wanted to tackle infrastructure matters, many municipalities across the state and country were doing the same, making it a struggle to find contractors and subcontractors. That became an issue as the county faced the Dec. 31, 2024, deadline for obligating funds — which is two years prior to the Dec. 31, 2026, deadline for actually spending them.

“The capacity wasn’t there in the near future to undertake these projects and have them done in a timely manner and have the money obligated and have it spent before 2026,” Vaught said. “Two years sounds like a long time, but it’s really a short turnaround.” [Source]

 

Ballot Misinformation

The (Elizabeth City) Daily Advance, 8/08/24

The N.C. State Board of Elections is hoping to debunk a social media meme officials say is misinformation. The memo, released Aug. 2, addresses social media posts suggesting that a voter’s ballot is invalid if an election worker writes on it.

“In North Carolina, this is false. These posts have been circulating for years and have resurfaced recently in many NC counties. They are still false,” the memo states.

The memo described the different reasons a poll worker might have to mark a ballot. In each case, the marks are made to allow specific ballots to be retrieved in some instances without associating the ballot with a particular voter’s name.

In North Carolina, votes are marked on a paper ballot by filling in “bubbles” on the form. An optical character reader then scans the ballot for the voter’s marks and tabulates the totals for workers.

This leaves the paper ballot available for re-counts in the case of an election dispute or for retrieval in the case of a provisional ballot, the memo states. Provisional ballots are cast when the law requires that a voter whose eligibility is questioned be allowed to vote pending a hearing on whether the voter should be allowed to vote in the election. [Source]

 

Lithium Mining

David Mildenberg, Business NC, 8/07/24

Mining is famously cyclical, but that doesn’t make the downturns any more pleasant. At Charlotte’s Albemarle Corp., the struggles have gotten so serious that CEO Kent Masters is asking for the U.S., other nations and automakers to help break China’s dominant control of markets for minerals that are essential in production of batteries for electric vehicles. His comments to the Financial Times followed a July 31 release citing “a comprehensive review of its cost and operating structure” at the world’s largest lithium mining company.

Employees at company headquarters have been told that consultant McKinsey is helping lead that effort, though a spokesman declined to confirm that. McKinsey is famous in corporate America for advising CEOs on payroll reductions. A 2022 book, “When McKinsey Comes to Town,” noted that the consultant’s clients had included Albemarle.

After the company’s earnings report last week, Masters cited a goal of putting Albemarle “within the cost structure and the supply chain that we can compete at the pricing that we see today, and if it stays that way long term, That’s what we’re planning for. And we don’t know when prices are going to rebound.”

Lithium prices have slumped more than 80% over the past 18 months because of abundant supply and slowing demand for electric vehicles, which rely on lithium batteries.

Masters told the U.K. newspaper over the weekend that “if we’re going to build western supply chains [for electric cars], then action needs to be taken now.”

The Inflation Reduction Act, hailed as President Joe Biden’s flagship climate change legislation, isn’t reducing the west’s reliance on China for Lithium and other materials, Masters said. “China is going to control these supply chains or we’re going to build western supply chains to compete,” he said. “I’m not sure it’s clear that the west is building those supply chains out right now.”

In his comments to analysts, the CEO said some rival miners are selling product below cost, which can’t go on forever. But last week the company said it would halt a production line and stop expansion of its Kemerton lithium hydroxide refinery in Australia. The move will create a $1 billion charge and cut 300 jobs.

China processes 65% of the world’s lithium, The Financial Times said. It benefits from cheaper construction costs, subsidies and technical know-how.

The $369 billion Inflation Reduction legislation sparked several electric car and battery factories in the U.S., including Toyota’s $14 billion battery operation under construction in Randolph County. Masters said the legislation “never really filtered down to critical minerals.”

Albemarle reported a $188 million net loss in the second quarter, compared with a $650 million profit a year ago. The Financial Times said that the company may need to raise $2 billion to fortify its capital position, citing Berenberg’s research. Masters said the company is well-positioned to weather a downturn.

Albemarle has more than 1,000 workers in Charlotte and 7,000 globally. Earlier this year, it said it was cutting back its technology park project in north Charlotte and a $1.3 billion lithium hydroxide processing plant in Chester County, South Carolina. The latter effort was expected to create 300-plus jobs and open in 2026. [Source]

Cancer Drugmaker

Brian Gordon, The News & Observer, 8/08/24

The Triangle will have one fewer company on the stock market after the Durham cancer treatment firm G1 Therapeutics announced Wednesday it is being taken private in a $405 million merger with the Danish pharmaceutical company Pharmacosmos.

The deal values G1 Therapeutics at a 68% premium above its final closing price. G1 has spent years developing its flagship drug trilaciclib, sold under the brand name Cosela.

In 2021, Cosela became the first and still only therapy approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to address a certain type of small cell lung cancer. But Cosela has stumbled in two recent clinical trials.

In early 2023, G1 stopped a late-stage study into the drug’s effects on treating a certain kind of colon cancer after disappointing trial results.

Then this June, G1 announced trilaciclib failed to improve life expectancy in a breast cancer trial. The shortcomings plunged the company’s stock price, which went from a high of $68 in 2018 to ending Tuesday at $4.11 a share. Following the disappointing breast cancer results, G1 said it would discontinue the study and “make targeted headcount reductions outside of the existing commercial organization.” The company informed The News & Observer it has already made these layoffs.

Pharmacosmos has agreed to purchase G1 Therapeutics at $7.15 per share. The Danish firm focuses on developing treatments for iron deficiencies, and in a joint statement, the two companies said the merger will make Cosela available to more people worldwide who live with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. [Source]

 

Recovery Center

Santiago Ochoa, WFDD Radio, 8/08/24

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners is one step closer to realizing a Women with Children Recovery Center after it unanimously approved a $377,000 service contract last week.

The contract was awarded to Volunteers of America of the Carolinas using funds from the county’s opioid settlement. Services offered in the center will focus on residential recovery treatment and withdrawal management for expectant mothers and mothers experiencing substance use disorder with children up to 12 years old.

Based on early estimates, Volunteers of America aims to operate a 28-bed facility serving around 150 mothers and their children annually.

The decision followed a recommendation from an evaluation committee consisting of behavioral and public health staff, Guilford County Department of Health and Human Services administrators and the county manager’s office. According to the committee’s written recommendation, Volunteers of America stood out among the three bids placed for the contract due to its track record working with similar populations, experience with health insurance organizations and for putting forth the lowest bid of three applicants.

The commissioner’s contract approval marks the start of the first of two phases for establishing the recovery center. Phase two of the plan will see the center opening after getting the proper licenses and permits and beginning the process of residential treatment. [Source]

 

Shelby Infrastructure

Rebecca Sitzes, The Shelby Star, 8/08/24

The city of Shelby is looking ahead to the future and how it can prepare for potential new development with the completion of the U.S. 74 Bypass project. The City Council approved the selection of an engineering company to complete a feasibility study to look at infrastructure needs near the bypass interchanges.

City Manager Rick Howell said as the bypass gets closer to completion, it’s important for city staff to look at city utilities and how it relates to future development.

Cameron Howell, utility projects coordinator with the city of Shelby, gave some background information on the bypass project, which was started in July of 2013 east of Mooresboro and will finish west of Stony Point Road at U.S. 74 Business. The whole bypass is expected to be completed by 2029.

“The U.S. 74 promotes and supports economic development around the city,” Cameron Howell said. “That includes Walmart Distribution, Clearwater Paper and Greenheck Fan Corporation, to name just a few. As the bypass comes through, it will help promote more businesses to come through. Along with that, there’s the possibility for more subdivisions to come through and be built, and we’ll need the infrastructure to be able to support those as well.”

Cameron Howell said currently, the city lacks that ability. He said staff decided they needed to have an engineer come in and complete a feasibility study to help them understand what needed to be done and how it could be done. [Source]

 

Truist Exec

David Mildenberg, Business NC, 8/08/24

Truist Financial named veteran Wells Fargo executive Steve Hagerman as chief information officer, starting Oct. 28. He will lead the enterprise technology team that oversees data and analytics, artificial intelligence, information security and other matters. He’ll report to CEO Bill Rogers

Since 2019, Hagerman has served as CIO for consumer technology, chief technology officer, and head of consumer lending technology at Wells Fargo. During the previous 17 years, he held leadership positions at JPMorgan Chase.

Former CIO Scott Case left in April after leading the unit since the merger of BB&T and SunTrust created Truist in 2019. He was among several changes in senior Truist executive posts in the past year. [Source]

NC Insider Legislative Report

LB: LEGISLATIVE BUILDING. LOB: LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BUILDING

HOUSE CALENDAR

Monday, Sept. 9, 2024

House Convenes at 12 P.M.

SENATE CALENDAR

Monday, Sept. 9, 2024

Senate Convenes at 12 P.M.

HOUSE & SENATE: Reconvening allowed under provisions of SB 916, if no sine die adjournment previously adopted.

• Monday, Sept. 9 to Wednesday, Sept. 11
• Wednesday, Oct. 9
• Tuesday, Nov. 19 to Friday Nov. 22
• Wednesday, Dec. 11 to Friday Dec. 13

Legislative Studies and Meetings

LB: LEGISLATIVE BUILDING. LOB: LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BUILDING

Thursday, August 22

• 2 p.m. | America’s Semiquincentennial Committee, 1228/1327 LB

Thursday, August 29

• 1 p.m. | Agriculture and Forestry Awareness Study Commission, Ed Emory Auditorium, Kenansville.

N.C. Government Meetings and Hearings

BOLD ITEMS ARE NEW LISTINGS

Tuesday, Aug. 13

• 11 a.m. | Economic Investment Committee  –  Regular Meeting, 301 N. Wilmington St, Raleigh.

Wednesday, Aug. 14

• 9 a.m. | North Carolina Real Estate Commission Meeting, 1313 Navaho Drive, Raleigh.

Monday, Aug. 19

• 2 p.m. | The Executive Committee of The North Carolina Partnership for Children meets, The meeting will be held via Zoom. You may contact Yvonne Huntley at 984.221.1242 or email at [email protected] for additional information.

UNC Board of Governors

23 S. WEST STREET, SUITE 1800, RALEIGH

Wednesday, Sept. 11

• Meeting of the Board of Governors, TBA.

Thursday, Sept. 12

• Meeting of the Board of Governors, TBA.

Thursday, Oct. 17

• Meeting of the Board of Governors, TBA.

Wednesday, Nov. 13

• Meeting of the Board of Governors, TBA.

Thursday, Nov. 14

• Meeting of the Board of Governors, TBA.

N.C. Utilities Commission Hearing Schedule

DOBBS BUILDING, 430 NORTH SALISBURY STREET, RALEIGH

Tuesday, Aug. 13

• 10 a.m. | Public Hearing – Annual Review of Gas Costs | G-5 Sub 675

Wednesday, Aug. 14

• 7 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Application for General Rate Increase for Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. | G-9 Sub 837

Tuesday, Aug. 20

• 6 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Application for Transfer of Public Utility Franchise and Approval of Rates of HISCO East, LLC in Carteret County to HISCO I in Carteret County | W-1297 Sub 17, W-1344 Sub 0
• 6 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Application for Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and for Approval of Rates to Provide Sewer Utility Service to Currently Served Cape Ponte Village Subdivision, Additional Phases for the National Park Service, Harkers Island RV Park and a Fe | W-1344 Sub 1

Wednesday, Aug. 21

• 7 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Application for General Rate Increase for Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. | G-9 Sub 837

Thursday, Aug. 22

• 7 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Application for General Rate Increase for Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. | G-9 Sub 837

Other Meetings and Events of Interest

BOLD ITEMS ARE NEW LISTINGS

Friday, Aug. 9

• 11 a.m. | Gov. Roy Cooper, Emergency Management officials to share an update on severe weather, Emergency Operations Center, 1636 Gold Star Dr, Raleigh. View live stream here: https://www.ncdps.gov/news/news-conference-live-streams

Friday, Sept. 27

• 2024 Lumbee Powwow, Lumbee Tribe Cultural Center, 638 Terry Sanford Drive, Maxton.