VOLUME 147 ISSUE 47 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2025
CHATHAMNEWSRECORD.COM
PJ WARD-BROWN / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
The calm after the storm Sunset on the Little Haw River serves up a perfect moment for some quiet contemplation on Monday evening in Pittsboro.
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BRIEF this week
Biden’s big semiconductor law adds Wolfspeed jobs at high cost A sweeping 2022 law, touted by President Joe Biden as a way to revive U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and reduce reliance on foreign-made computer chips, will “sharply increase production’’ of semiconductors in the United States — including at Wolfspeed in Chatham County. But it might not deliver the best bang for the buck. Researchers calculated that the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act will create about 93,000 construction jobs and 43,000 permanent manufacturing jobs. But each job created will cost the government about $185,000 a year — twice the average annual salary of U.S. semiconductor employees. “More production might not provide the best security for the money,’’ the researchers wrote.
U.S. inflation picked up in December, price pressures ease U.S. inflation picked up last month as prices rose for gas, eggs and used cars, yet underlying price pressures also showed signs of easing a bit. Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that the consumer price index rose 2.9% in December from a year ago, the highest since July. It was the third straight increase after inflation fell to a 31/2 year low of 2.4% in September.
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Chatham County Schools looking ahead to upcoming budget “Our superpower is that we’ve had stable leadership.” Anthony Jackson, Chatham County Schools superintendent
The district has a few key budgetary priorities for the upcoming year including a free breakfast and lunch pilot By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record PITTSBORO — As the new year gets underway, so too does the budget process for many local entities, including Chatham County Schools. The CCS Board of Education was presented with a preliminary look at the upcoming 2025-26 budget plan entitled the “Head’s Up Document.” The early projection calls for a request of nearly $3 million in total appropriation from the county commissioners, but without a clear picture of what state and federal funding will look like, this isn’t a concrete figure.
Most of those being challenged were cast by voters whose registration records lacked either a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number.
By Gary D. Robertson The Associated Press RALEIGH — A federal appeals court on Friday said it would hear more arguments involving an extremely close election in November for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat where the trailing candidate has argued that tens of thousands of ballots cast should not have been counted. After reviewing several legal filings this week, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Vir-
SATHI SOMA VIA AP
“We know very little at this point, in particular with transitions at the state and national levels,” said Superintendent Anthony Jackson. “We cannot at this point, really, with any sense of certainty, talk about funding to be quite frank. But we have taken what we know at this point and taken what we know our needs are going to be and started the plan.” The proposed budget priorities for 2025-26 include enhancing workforce excellence by reinstating the master’s supplement to attract and retain highly qualified employees as well
‘Pizzagate’ gunman killed by police during Kannapolis traffic stop
See BUDGET, page A9
See GUNMAN, page A2
More legal briefs sought in unresolved North Carolina Supreme Court election Federal and state courts are holding dueling hearings
Edgar Maddison Welch, of Salisbury, surrenders to police in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 4, 2016.
ginia, scheduled oral arguments for Jan. 27 as well as briefing deadlines. The order means that both the federal appeals court and the state Supreme Court likely will consider simultaneously substantial matters related to the race between Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs and Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin. Election results show Riggs ahead of Griffin by 734 votes from over 5.5 million ballots cast. But attorneys for Griffin — a state Court of Appeals judge — argued in formal election protests that well over 60,000 See COURTS, page A7
Edgar Maddison Welch was shot after pointing a handgun at an officer By Makiya Seminera The Associated Press A MAN WHO fired a gun inside a Washington, D.C., restaurant motivated by a fake online conspiracy theory called “Pizzagate” nearly a decade ago was shot and killed by North Carolina police during a weekend traffic stop. Edgar Maddison Welch was a passenger in a