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An abandoned flood-control fix

Reader Matthew Eisley points out that flooding has been an issue in the mountains for a long time, and that the Tennessee Valley Authority once had a plan for an extensive series of flood-control dams in the French Broad River basin. But it got killed by environmentalist opposition, he says....

By Ray Gronberg

October 3, 2024

Hurricane Helene’s flooding effects on Asheville’s water system

We’ve begun to get a little clarity on why Asheville’s water system is in such dire straits after Hurricane Helene’s flooding. City officials told the Asheville Citizen-Times that the storm washed out transmission lines at the North Fork Water Treatment Plant and the road leading to the William Debruhl Water...

By Ray Gronberg

October 3, 2024

Helene devastates N.C.; 30 dead in Buncombe, officials say

It’s going to be a while before the full extent of Hurricane Helene’s toll on western North Carolina is known, but it’s going to be historic. “People are desperate for help, and we are pushing to get it to them, a massive effort,” Gov. Roy Cooper told reporters Sunday afternoon....

By Ray Gronberg

September 30, 2024

Turning the lights on

As for electricity, Duke Energy reported hat about 375,000 customers in the west were without power as of 3 p.m. Sunday, along with 14,000 or so to the northeast of Charlotte. The largest cluster of Duke outages was in the Asheville area. There are also six electrical co-ops in the...

By Welcome

September 30, 2024

Getting the roads open again

The biggest problems, for the moment, are all related: Road, power- and water-supply outages. The storm closed about 280 roads, most prominently Interstate 40. A mudslide blocked the interstate near Old Fort Mountain to the east of Asheville. By early Sunday afternoon crews had opened “a path through the slide”...

By Ray Gronberg

September 30, 2024

America’s car-dealer networks’ future is focus of new report

The future of America’s car-dealer networks is a perennial question for North Carolina’s and every other legislature in the country, Congress included, so the National Automobile Dealers Association keeps the wheels of advocacy rolling. To underscore the continuing value of local-level dealerships, NADA asked the OliverWyman consultancy to have a...

By Welcome

September 26, 2024

New train service to Chicago

f you want to take the train, instead of dealing with all the hassles associated with air travel, it’s fairly easy to get to major cities like New York and Atlanta from North Carolina. But if your destination is Chicago, it’s been good luck. Up to now. Currently, your only...

By Ray Gronberg

September 26, 2024

Last call for Thistle & Shamrock

A bit of sad news from NPR, WUNC and Scotland: A Charlotte-original institution, The Thistle & Shamrock, is airing for the last time this weekend. The creator and host of the Celtic-music showcase, Fiona Ritchie, announced back in June that she was stopping production as of this fall. Assembling a...

By Ray Gronberg

September 26, 2024

Duke Energy’s application for solar-energy rates in 2023 stands

The North Carolina Utilities Commission mishandled Duke Energy’s application for solar-energy rates in 2023, but its decision was well-grounded enough that it can stand, the state’s Court of Appeals says. The 3-0 court ruling is drawing fire from pro-solar advocacy groups such as NC WARN, whose leader, Jim Warren, says...

By Ray Gronberg

September 24, 2024

N.C.’s rural bridges, traffic among worst in U.S.

A new report from Washington-based nonprofit research firm TRIP rated the conditions of North Carolina’s rural bridges as 19th worst in the U.S. Along the state’s rural roadways, the rate of traffic fatalities rated as sixth-worst. The report underscored TRIP’s findings earlier this month that more than a third...

By Ray Gronberg

September 23, 2024

Forge, Albermarle in line for DOE grants

Two North Carolina projects are among those across the country that could share a further $3 billion in subsidies from the U.S. Department of Energy as the Biden administration tries to promote the re-shoring of critical-mineral supply chains. The department’s announcement on Friday indicated that Forge Battery’s planned factory in...

By Ray Gronberg

September 23, 2024

Greenville sheriff’s prosecution, undone

Given that I covered both trials, this week’s report from the AP’s Gary Robertson about the N.C. Court of Appeals invalidating the criminal convictions of a former Granville County sheriff and one of his deputies made me sit up and take notice. Having studied the opinions and their antecedents, two...

By Ray Gronberg

September 20, 2024

N.C. is a step closer to playing the ponies

North Carolinians are a step closer to being able to legally play the ponies, as the state’s Sports Betting Committee has begun taking public comment on a rules package to implement pari-mutuel wagering. Officials from the State Lottery Commission will take comment through Oct. 18, and host an in-person comment...

By Ray Gronberg

September 19, 2024

A quarrel about offshore wind

It’s looking like the state’s Energy Policy Council is going to have a fight next month about whether its biennial report to legislators and the executive branch signals any support for offshore wind energy. A council committee focusing on “energy innovation” left offshore wind out of its recommendations for inclusion...

By Ray Gronberg

September 19, 2024

Roadblocks for Cabarrus County project?

State Treasurer Dale Folwell has come under fire from Local Government Commission members John Burns and Ron Penny, who are suspicious that he’s abusing his authority to unilaterally throw roadblocks in front of a Cabarrus County project. The upshot of the commission’s recent discussion is that it will vote next...

By Ray Gronberg

September 17, 2024