VOLUME 9 ISSUE 34 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2024
NSJONLINE.COM
PJ WARD-BROWN / NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Start your engines Sen. JD Vance carries his son Vivek on his shoulders while walking to pit row during a visit to Charlotte Motor Speedway before Sunday’s NASCAR Royal 400 in Concord. Kyle Larson snagged his sixth victory of the season at the Roval. For more, turn to Page B1.
NCGA passes $278M in Helene funding
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BRIEF this week
Early voting begins in North Carolina Statewide Early voting is underway in North Carolina. Registered voters in the state were able to begin casting their votes at sites set up by local county boards of election on Thursday and may do so until Nov. 2. Election Day is Nov. 5. Early voting sites can be found at vt.ncsbe.gov/EVSite.
Biden approves $750M to Wolfspeed in Chatham County Washington, D.C. The Biden administration announced plans to provide up to $750 million in direct funding to Wolfspeed, with the money supporting its new silicon carbide factory in Chatham County that makes the wafers used in advanced computer chips and its factory in Marcy, New York. The new Wolfspeed facility in Siler City could be a critical symbol in this year’s election.
Democrats call on corporations to keep DEI programs New York A group of Congressional Democrats appealed to the largest U.S. companies to hold onto their diversity, equity and inclusion programs in a letter emailed Tuesday to the leaders of the Fortune 1000. Forty-nine House members signed the letter, including Congresswoman Alma Adams (N.C.-12). She was the only of seven N.C. Democratic representatives to sign the letter. The move follows several major corporations, including Ford, John Deere and Harley‑Davidson, saying in recent months that they would end or curtail their DEI initiatives.
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Legislative leaders said the funding, which passed unanimously, is just the first step
Report: School reading scores improve slightly The State Board of Education is seeing better K-3 performance By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — At its October meeting, the North Carolina State Board of Education heard an update on the state’s Read to Achieve program results for the 2023-24 academic year. This year’s report on Read to Achieve to the General Assembly, which was changed to be part of the Excellent Pub-
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal
lic Schools Act, shows steady improvement in reading proficiency for students in grades 1-3 over the past few years. The report parallels statewide test score gains presented at the September board meeting. For grades 1 and 2, the percentage of students at or above benchmark increased from 2020-21 to 2023-24, with Grade 1 improving from 39% to 70% and Grade 2 from 43% to 65%. For Grade 3, the overall proficiency rate (including Begin-
RALEIGH — The General Assembly approved a $273 million Hurricane Helene relief package that leadership says will be just the first of many, as recovery efforts from the storm will likely span years into the future. House Bill 149 will serve as the vehicle for the package. The bill’s original language will be stripped and replaced with the funding items, and the bill will be retitled to the “Disaster Recovery Act of 2024.” Both chambers passed the bill unanimously last Wednesday and was signed by Gov. Roy Cooper the following day. During a press conference Wednesday morning before the votes on the measure, Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) unveiled the funding package that includes $250 million to provide state agencies with spending flexibility to address critical needs. That is the exact figure requested by State Budget Director Kristin Walker in an Oct. 7 letter to the legislature.
See READING, page A2
See RELIEF, page A8
FEMA will use Greensboro facility for Helene recovery N.C. Congressional Republicans requested the empty 800-bed migrant facility be utilized By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — North Carolina Congressional Republicans’ request to the Biden administration to allow a migrant facility in Greensboro to be used to help aid Hurricane Helene efforts was granted. The Greensboro Influx Care Facility (ICF) was deemed operational March 15, but no children have been placed at the facility. HHS entered a nearly $50 million, five-year contract on June 9, 2022, that expires in 2027 with an option to renew. North Carolina’s Rep. Richard Hudson (NC-09) and Sen. Thom Tillis led a letter making the request, which was sent to Department of Health and
“Based on our understanding of this facility, we think that it could be incredibly useful in supporting the people of western North Carolina as the region recovers from Hurricane Helene.” NC Congressional Republicans letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Oct. 5. “Based on our understanding of this facility, we think that it could be incredibly useful in supporting the people of western North Carolina as the region recovers from Hurricane Helene,” the See FEMA, page A2
“The recovery that is going to have to be done is going to be something that is a Herculean task, but it is something that we will get done.” House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain)