Month: February 2024

1. Canton mill owner seeking $2 million refund in local property taxes

Pactiv Evergreen wants a refund for property taxes it paid on equipment last year at the now-shuttered Canton paper mill. Property taxes on equipment and machinery are calculated based on whatever’s in place as of Jan. 1 for any given calendar year. And as of Jan. 1, 2023, the mill was operating normally. The company […]

Written by on February 29, 2024

2. Administration unveils $3B plan for cleaner air near ports

With a sizable cargo ship docked Wednesday at the N.C. Port at Wilmington on the Cape Fear River in the background, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan announced the launch of a federal program to improve air quality at U.S. ports. Regan was joined by Gov. Roy Cooper, Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo and North Carolina […]

Written by on February 29, 2024

4. Summerfield attorney tenders resignation amid rising challenges

Town Attorney Bob Hornik tendered his resignation last week, telling Summerfield it’s “clear to me that the time has come for us to go in different directions.” Hornik’s resignation, effective April 1, came a week after the majority of the Town Council voted to put Town Manager Scott Whitaker on notice that his employment contract […]

Written by on February 29, 2024

5. Mount Airy water rate hike hinted

In light of a warning from a state agency, an increase in water bills could be on tap for utility customers in Mount Airy, based on recent discussions among city officials. “I don’t think we have any choice,” Commissioner Tom Koch said during a strategic planning retreat earlier this month at Mount Airy City Schools […]

Written by on February 29, 2024

6. Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts assures connection to conservative donor’s company is nonpartisan

UNC’s interim Chancellor Lee Roberts currently serves on the board of directors of Variety Wholesalers, Inc., a private retail company whose CEO and chair is James Arthur “Art” Pope, a conservative donor, former state government official and current member of the UNC Board of Governors. During his tenure on the BOG from 2021-23, Roberts reported […]

Written by on February 29, 2024

8. Unsold Klaussner property abandoned

The receiver overseeing the liquidation of Klaussner Furniture Industries has sold all that it can and received a judge’s permission this week to abandon furniture and other property in dozens of shipping containers as well as at three former Klaussner sites in Randolph and Montgomery counties. The receiver, Focus Management Group USA, told Michael L. […]

Written by on February 29, 2024

2. Mike Causey under fire

Mike Causey has no shortage of enemies in his own party. The two-term insurance commissioner brought down a major North Carolina Republican donor for bribery in an FBI sting in 2019 that also entangled the head of the state GOP, a former congressman who’d once been the party’s nominee for governor. The scandal thrust Causey […]

Written by on February 28, 2024

3. USDOT grant to cover 50% of CFMB replacement gets boost from senators, other leaders

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has submitted the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge replacement project for federal grant consideration, which could cover up to half the cost of the over $400 million new bridge. The grant application for the federal Bridge Investment Program requests the maximum amount allowed, $242.15 million. The funds would go toward […]

Written by on February 28, 2024

4. Dentists lobby for higher Medicaid reimbursement rates

The phones at many dental offices across North Carolina have been ringing repeatedly in recent months with requests for oral health care from newly enrolled Medicaid recipients. The state’s expansion of Medicaid benefits to nearly 600,000 low-income residents on Dec. 1 opened a robust array of services such as dental exams, routine cleanings and more […]

Written by on February 28, 2024

5. A look at North Carolina’s state bonuses and supplements for teachers

Teacher turnover has remained “roughly constant” since the General Assembly introduced state-funded bonus and supplement programs for teachers in 2016, N.C. Fiscal Research Division analyst Mary Schuler told lawmakers on Tuesday during a Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee (JLEOC) meeting. The attrition rates highlighted by Schuler range from 8.7% in 2016-17 to 7.8% in 2021-22. […]

Written by on February 28, 2024