VOLUME 147 ISSUE 49 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2025
CHATHAMNEWSRECORD.COM
PHOTOS COURTESY BOOM AEROSPACE
BOOM! XB-1, the Boom Aerospace test plane, reached Mach 1.122 — or about 750 mph — breaking the sound barrier for the first time on Tuesday. The test, flown by Boom Chief Test Pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg, marked the first time that an independent company broke the sound barrier in a plane not backed by a military or government. The company’s Superfactory in Greensboro will build as many as 66 of its Overture aircraft every year once production begins. Boom says Overture will carry 64 to 80 passengers at Mach 1.7, about twice the speed of today’s subsonic airliners.
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BRIEF this week
DA review of former treasurer’s use of state cars ends without charges Raleigh An investigation into how then‑North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell used state government vehicles is ending with no charges filed. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Monday the review found any alleged policy violations were insufficient to support a successful criminal prosecution. Freeman said Folwell agreed to pay more than $6,200 for commuting costs he should have been charged and the reimbursement for some miles driven. Folwell, a Republican, completed eight years as treasurer and lost a bid for the GOP nomination for governor last year. Folwell said he was “relieved.”
Trump offers all federal workers buyout with 8 months’ pay Washington, D.C. The Trump administration says it is offering buyouts to all federal employees who opt to leave their jobs by next week — an unprecedented move to shrink the U.S. government at breakneck speed. A memo Tuesday from the Office of Personnel Management says it will begin subjecting all federal employees to “enhanced standards of suitability and conduct” and ominously warns of future downsizing. The email sent to employees says those who leave their posts voluntarily will receive about eight months of salary but must to chose to do so by Feb. 6.
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Commissioners approve Two developments may bring 500 implementation of new housing units tax relief program to Chapel Hill “We’re trying to create something that we feel we can stretch through the season to be able to be part of an ongoing service for the year.” Jason Smith, director of Housing and Community Development
Qualified applicants can receive up to $500 in direct payment By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record PITTSBORO — Chatham County is launching a new program to assist those struggling with property tax payments. At its Jan. 21 meeting, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners approved implementing a new property tax assistance program. “Last year, the board approved allocating $200,000 to begin a tax relief program for low-income residents within Chatham County,” said Director of Housing and Community Development Jason Smith. To qualify, applicants must be Chatham County residents who own and have resided in their home as their primary residence for at least five years.
They must also be current on all property taxes as the relief cannot be used toward unpaid or delinquent tax bills, and they cannot be receiving any other tax relief or assistance. In addition, applicants must have a current earned income at or below 60% of the area median income as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. “We’re trying to create something that we feel we can stretch through the season to be able to be part of an ongoing service for the year,” Smith said. “One of the challenges we have going into this is that we don’t know what we don’t know. We don’t know how many people are going to step forward and need this service or request this service. We have a fixed amount of money in the first year to determine what the scope of the problem looks
The Town Council reviewed plans for a medium- and a high-density residential development
See BOARD, page A7
See CHAPEL HILL, page A10
UNC, Duke Health will build NC’s first standalone children’s hospital in RTP This will “impact the people in our state and region in ways that I know we can’t even imagine yet.” Dr. Wesley Burks, CEO of UNC Health
The new 500-bed facility is coming to the Triangle The Associated Press RALEIGH — Two of the state’s largest university health systems plan to construct the state’s first standalone children’s hospital — an undertaking that its boosters said will change lives physically and economically for decades to come. UNC Health and Duke Health on Tuesday revealed the agreement to build the proposed 500-bed pediatric hospital in the state’s Research Triangle region, which includes Raleigh,
Durham and Chapel Hill. The “NC Children’s” project also will include a children’s outpatient care center and behavioral health center. Research and education operations backed by the system’s two medical schools will also be onsite, the health systems said in a news release. Groundbreaking on a more than 100-acre campus — the specific location yet to be identified — is expected by 2027, with campus construction to take about six years. The price tag for the project is expected at more than $2 billion. A massive fundraising effort is anticipated. See HOSPITAL, page A7
By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record CHAPEL HILL — The Town of Chapel Hill continues to grow, and there is a big need for housing in the face of that growth. The Chapel Hill Town Council is working to address those concerns, and at its Jan. 15 regular business meeting, it reviewed both a high‑and medium-density development project. The council first held a legislative hearing for a conditional zoning application for approximately four acres of property located at 200 South Elliott Road to be rezoned from Residential (R-5) and Office and Institution (OI-2) to Mixed Use – Village – Conditional Zoning District (MU-V-CZD). The purpose of the rezoning is to develop a five- to six-story building with approximately 330 multifamily units and a ground-floor retail component within the Blue Hill District. There were discussions between the council