Charlotte Shooting Leaves 4 Officers Dead
Four officers were killed in a shooting while attempting to serve a warrant at a home in Charlotte, North Carolina, including one deputy US marshal and two local task force officers, authorities say.
A total of eight law enforcement officers were shot during the incident, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings said at a Monday evening news conference. He described the shooting as “the most tragic one” he had been involved with in his 32-year-long law enforcement career.
The shooting unfolded in the 5000 block of Galway Drive as members of the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force were serving a warrant for possession of firearm by a convicted felon, Jennings said. Read More at https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/29/us/officers-shot-charlotte-north-carolina/index.html
NC Republican Run Offs Underway!
Early in-person voting started on Thursday across North Carolina for next month's runoff elections, including one congressional and two statewide primary contests.
Voters are choosing this fall's Republican nominees for lieutenant governor, state auditor and the 13th Congressional District seat. These May 14 runoffs, also known as "second primaries," occurred because the candidate with the most votes in the March 5 primaries for these races failed to receive more than 30% of the vote. The second-place candidate had to formally ask for a runoff.
The lieutenant governor's GOP runoff is between Hal Weatherman and Jim O'Neill, while the nomination for state auditor is between Jack Clark and Dave Boliek. Kelly Daughtry and Brad Knott are seeking the 13th District nomination. The winners will face Democratic rivals — and in some cases Libertarian Party candidates — in the fall.
These GOP primary runoffs are open to all registered Republicans in the state, or in the case of the congressional race, registered Republicans within the 13th District.
Unaffiliated voters who either didn't vote or voted Republican in the March primaries also can participate, the State Board of Elections said in a news release.
Early voting in all 100 counties continues through May 11. Generally, most counties have just one early-vote site for the runoffs.
A GOP primary runoff is also being conducted for a Gaston County commissioner's seat. And there's a race to fill a seat on the nonpartisan Orange County Board of Education that had different runoff rules.
Same-day registration is unavailable during early voting because the registration of new voters is not permitted between the first and second primaries. But people who become eligible to vote during the two primaries can both register and vote on May 14, the state board said.
Traditional mail-in absentee voting for the runoffs began in late March when county boards started sending ballots to those who requested them.
Governor Cooper proposes Final Budget
Before the short session began in the General Assembly Wednesday, Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper laid out his recommended budget proposal for the last time as governor.
A major part of the budget, entitled “Securing North Carolina’s Future,” focuses on education and school funding. Cooper’s proposal would spend over $1 billion on additional funding for public schools.
Under the plan, starting teacher salaries would rise to more than $47,500, including local and state supplements—the highest in the Southeast. The budget would also reinstate Masters Pay, raise teacher pay by 8.5% plus a $1,500 retention bonus for most teachers, increase salaries for school-based administrators, and invest $34.7 million to expand Read to Achieve to middle school students.
It would also provide funding for 700 elementary school teaching assistants in grades K-3, $11 million to attract new teachers, and expand the Teaching Fellows program eligibility to more education schools and in more subject areas.
$745 million would be dedicated to subsidizing child care and early education; $217 million would go toward support programs for disadvantaged students, children with disabilities, and students with limited English proficiency; and, $44.6 million to support student mental and physical health by hiring more school counselors, nurses, psychologists, and social workers.
Cooper said the budget also addresses the $13 billion need for new school buildings by recommending that voters approve a $2.5 billion school construction bond on the November 2024 ballot.
In addition, he would put a moratorium on taxpayer-funded private school vouchers and redirect the money to public schools.
Cooper declared a “State of Emergency” for public education in May 2023, with a red banner across the top of the governor.nc.gov website that would normally be dedicated for true emergencies such as hurricanes. He has been against school choice, including Opportunity Scholarships, which are designed to enable families to choose a private school education for their children.
A record-breaking 72,000 applications were received for the program this year.
The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority, or NCSEAA, announced on March 30 that 13,511 new students in the first award tier have been offered scholarships. Renewal families — those already enrolled in the program — were also offered scholarships.
In his proposal, Cooper sets aside $200 million for Child Care Stabilization Grants to keep child care centers open and $128.5 million for child care subsidies that will increase reimbursement rates for providers in rural and low-wealth communities.
The budget also includes $197 million to cover the full cost of care for NC Pre-K students and $24.4 million to provide summer programs for students once they complete NC Pre-K and before they enter kindergarten. The budget further reduces childcare costs for North Carolina families by providing a refundable tax credit for child and dependent care.
“This budget is an opportunity to build on our state’s momentum and make up ground in areas like public education, quality child care and clean drinking water, where legislators have fallen short,” Cooper said in a press release. “As the number one state to do business in the country for two years in a row, we have the formula for success in our high-quality public schools, talented workforce and thriving economy. We must make targeted investments strengthening public education, boosting economic development, and protecting our natural resources to secure a bright future for North Carolina.”
His budget allots $251.8 million to guarantee at least a 5% across-the-board salary increase for state employees and non-certified public-school employees and close to $400 million for a retention bonus for all state-funded employees, with most receiving a $1,500 retention bonus.
The budget also gives $195.8 million in funding for the Enhanced Labor Market Adjustment Reserve to give agencies, universities, and community colleges flexibility to address hard-to-retain and hard-to-fill roles.
The budget allocates $40 million for the Moore Manufacturing and Biotech Solutions Center for high-need job training, more than $18.5 million to expand the state’s capacity to produce more healthcare professionals, $49 million in unemployment insurance tax cuts, and $9 million to help small businesses pursue federal funds through One NC.
It establishes a rural youth apprenticeship program based on existing models and invests $5 million in job coaching for people with barriers to employment. The budget also includes $12.8 million in funding for local reentry councils and support services for former prison inmates upon release.
The proposed budget also suggests more spending on manufacturing readiness with investments in the Certified Sites program and a $50 million investment in Radio Island infrastructure improvements.
Cooper’s budget would also establish a $100 million fund to help communities clean their water from pollutants such as Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). It would also reinstate the Conservation Tax Credit, as well as additional funds for the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund and the North Carolina Land and Water Fund.
Finally, about $20 million in grants would be used to improve draining and reduce flooding with waterway upgrades and increase funding for the Flood Resilience Blueprint. The budget includes just under $5 million for equipment to enhance the North Carolina Forest Service’s capacity to battle wildfires.
Secretary of Energy Granholm visits Triangle
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm visited Raleigh on Friday to announce $18.3 million in funding to support Siemens Energy as the company plans to produce equipment needed to integrate more renewable energy into the grid. The funding is available through new tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act that focus on clean energy projects.
“Through the historic Advanced Energy Project Credit, we are leveraging the infrastructure, expertise, and grit of America’s energy communities — where the workers that powered our energy past, will power our energy future," said Granholm in a statement.
Siemens, an energy technology company based in Germany, has a strong presence in Charlotte. In February, the company announced plans to expand its operations and build a manufacturing facility in Mecklenburg County. The project is estimated to cost $150 million total.
The facility, set to open in 2026, will produce large power transformers, which is equipment needed to integrate more renewable energy into the existing grid.
"This factory will help lead in the modernization and expansion of our electrical grid so it can handle the influx of renewables coming online," said Rich Voorberg, President of Siemens Energy in North America. "Support from the state and the federal government is fostering an atmosphere where it is advantageous to invest in America and strengthen the U.S. domestic clean energy manufacturing supply chain.”
The funding for Siemens Energy is part of a larger announcement from the U.S. Department of Energy, which outlines details for 35 projects across 20
states that are receiving a total of $1.93 billion. She also ended her day on Friday at Wake Tech Community College Northern Campus, sharing her views on the Green Industrial Revolution and the significant Job Creation taking place in the nation, much of it here in North Carolina!
UNC System Plans to Scrap DEI Offices
The University of North Carolina System's Board of Governors plans to vote next month on a new policy targeting diversity and inclusion efforts at state universities and eliminate positions related to diversity and inclusion.
A committee approved the new policy at a Wednesday meeting without discussion. If approved by the full 24-member board next month, it would repeal and replace the system’s existing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policy, which was adopted in 2019.
The item will be placed on the consent agenda at the May meeting, which is scheduled for May 23.
The change would affect all 16 public colleges and universities across the state, including UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, plus the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.
Earlier in April, a key UNC-Chapel Hill trustee with ties to Republican legislative leaders said he expected the university system to scrap some DEI policies.
Not only are DEI goals and initiatives at stake, but several jobs and job titles are on the line. The new rules would require those jobs to be changed or eliminated by Sept. 1.
Members of the Board of Governors are appointed by the state House and Senate to staggered four-year terms. Both chambers have been controlled by Republicans since 2011, meaning all current members have been appointed by Republicans.
The current policy, entitled "Regulation on Diversity and Inclusion Within the University of North Carolina" calls for each institution to have a senior-level administrator as its diversity and inclusion officer. The current policy establishes "system-wide diversity and inclusion metrics and goals" and created a "UNC System diversity and inclusion council.
The new proposed policy rewrites the section entirely, beginning with the title: "Equality Within the University of North Carolina." It requires by Sept. 1 that each institution certify that it "fully complies with the university's commitment to institutional neutrality and nondiscrimination.
Further, it requires "a report on reductions in force and spending, along with changes to job titles and position descriptions, undertaken as a result of implementing this policy and how those savings achieved from these actions can be redirected to initiatives related to student success and well-being."
Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, came out against the move.
Read More at https://www.wral.com/story/unc-system-may-eliminate-diversity-goals-and-jobs-at-17-campuses-across-the-state/21383986/
WAKE COUNTY SCHOOL COVID FUNDS DRYING UP
The Wake County school system will propose a few alternative budgets for next year that include raises for employees — and the current school programming they could cut afford them.
Board members have posed but not necessarily agreed on various cuts to new programming funded using one-time federal pandemic relief dollars. That money will disappear next year, and the school board — like others around the country — is facing a decision on whether and how to keep what it funded.
This shortfall includes includes a $2.5 million before- and after-school supervision program for some students, $4 million for dozens of full-time school-level substitute teachers and $13.8 million for more than 100 behavioral health support professionals. Not all board members agreed to cut those things or on the extent to which to cut those things.
Meanwhile, the district is still struggling with staffing. It had 324 open bus driver positions in March — a 36.8% vacancy rate that has not stopped rising for years, even with periodic wage increases. Teacher vacancies in Wake County were about 2.1% in March — a slight improvement over the past two years, although the district has experienced high attrition in recent years — 16.7% from March 2022 to March 2023, according to the latest state attrition report.
d feelings on how to move forward during a work session Tuesday afternoon. They’ll meet again during another afternoon work session on April 30, hoping to agree on a final budget proposal by the end of it. The board would then vote on May 7 on a proposal to send to county commissioners.
In June, Commissioners will likely vote on how much local funding to provide for the school system.
Read More at https://www.wral.com/story/that-s-a-tough-choice-wake-school-board-considers-cuts-adjustments-to-fund-raises/21383197/
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