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Duke Energy still seeks rate hikes even as profits are up

By Alanna Joyner / February 18, 2020 / Comments Off on Duke Energy still seeks rate hikes even as profits are up

Duke Energy turned a profit of $660 million for the last three months of 2019, up 42% from a year ago. This comes after Duke Energy’s proposed rate hike request to raise over $123 MILLION on the backs of rate-payers to pay for their toxic coal ash clean up.  From WFAE: Duke CEO Lynn Good…

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NC Senate leader Phil Berger made $80,000 selling his house to a lobbyist

By Alanna Joyner / February 17, 2020 / Comments Off on NC Senate leader Phil Berger made $80,000 selling his house to a lobbyist

Long-time government watchdog Bob Hall, filed a complaint last week with the General Assembly’s Legislative Ethics Commission, alleging that NC Senator Leader Phil Berger benefited financially from the sale of a campaign-bought townhouse in Raleigh. Berger sold the townhouse to a lobbyist, pocketing $80,000 in the process. In addition to the $80,000 profit, Berger previously…

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Judge voids UNC’s shady settlement over confederate statue

By Alanna Joyner / February 17, 2020 /

Last week was a win for UNC students, faculty and alumni as a state judge vacated the UNC settlement over Silent Sam. Judge Allen Baddour held a hearing to reconsider his initial approval of the deal back in November, now ruling that the SCV did not have standing to bring the lawsuit in the first…

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Crisis at a Durham public housing complex reflects neglect and calls for change

By Alanna Joyner / February 14, 2020 / Comments Off on Crisis at a Durham public housing complex reflects neglect and calls for change

Friday, residents of McDougald Terrace are set to go home after more than a month in hotels. The Durham Housing Authority hoped to have 12 units ready for occupancy by the end of the week. However, some families are finding out their homes are not ready, and they feel they are not safe yet. Since…

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News & Observer: One ECU trustee resigns, another is censured after they meddled in student election

By Alanna Joyner / February 11, 2020 / Comments Off on News & Observer: One ECU trustee resigns, another is censured after they meddled in student election

One member of the East Carolina University Board of Trustees abruptly resigned and another was censured during a hearing before the UNC Board of Governors last Friday.  ECU Trustees Phil Lewis and Robert Moore were brought before the BOG after evidence revealed the two members offered money for an ECU student to run for SGA…

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NC Policy Watch: Duke Energy says it will fully excavate coal ash from unlined ponds, but that won’t fix the legacy of contamination

By Alanna Joyner / February 11, 2020 / Comments Off on NC Policy Watch: Duke Energy says it will fully excavate coal ash from unlined ponds, but that won’t fix the legacy of contamination

For the next two weeks, the NC Department of Environmental Quality is hosting six coal ash cleanup public meetings across North Carolina. Duke Energy’s closure plans for the ash basins at the remaining six plants in North Carolina will be up for discussion in Person, Wayne, Chatham and Robeson counties. Monday kicked off the first…

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NC Policy Watch: Leandro funding recommendations: Much lower than reported, readily affordable

By Alanna Joyner / February 10, 2020 / Comments Off on NC Policy Watch: Leandro funding recommendations: Much lower than reported, readily affordable

During the last meeting of the Governor’s Commission on Access to Sound Basic Education, WestEd’s “Leandro report” authors provided additional information showing that the recommended spending levels are quite reasonable and within the state’s capacity to readily implement. North Carolina’s 26-year-old Leandro education finance lawsuit came to a close last month as a state Superior…

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Trump Touts Economy, Blasts ‘Failed Impeachment Hoax’ In Charlotte Speech

By Alanna Joyner / February 10, 2020 / Comments Off on Trump Touts Economy, Blasts ‘Failed Impeachment Hoax’ In Charlotte Speech

On the heels of the impeachment acquittal, Trump visited Charlotte’s Central Piedmont Community College for the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit. With no surprise, Trump commented on his impeachment trial, claiming it was an “impeachment hoax” and gave special praise to North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis for choosing party over country, as he voted not…

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Staggering levels of forever chemicals found in Cape River Basin

By Alanna Joyner / February 6, 2020 / Comments Off on Staggering levels of forever chemicals found in Cape River Basin

A water sample taken from the Sanford sewage treatment plant that discharges into the Deep River, revealed a shocking concentration of forever chemicals.  Documents released from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality uncovered high levels of potentially carcinogenic chemicals in rivers and streams throughout the Cape Fear River basin in North Carolina — from Reidsville…

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Burr, Tillis vote to acquit Trump

By Alanna Joyner / February 6, 2020 /

On Wednesday, the U.S Senate acquitted Trump on the charges that he abused his power by pressuring a foreign government to interfere in a U.S. presidential election and then obstructed a congressional investigation into his actions. The vote was entirely partisan with an exception to Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who voted to convict…

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