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State Urged To Drop ‘Tier’ System For Development Grants

RALEIGH — Saying the current plan is antiquated, a legislative agency on Monday recommended that the state scrap its three-tiered system for awarding economic development grants. “The economic development tier system, which was designed to award tax incentives, has outlived its purpose,” said Sara Nienow, senior program evaluator at the General Assembly’s Program Evaluation Division. “Measurement at the county level fails to identify struggling communities located within prosperous counties.”

Barry Smith
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Dog Boarding Facilities In Tug of War With Regulators

RALEIGH — Heidi Ganahl, owner of the Camp Bow Wow boarding centers and day camps for dogs in several states, says North Carolina’s regulations on pet boarding facilities aren’t consistent with those elsewhere and often appear to be arbitrary and not aligned with any demonstrated need to protect the safety of animals or staff.

Barry Smith
News

Governor Urges Parents, Children To Discuss Underage Drinking

RALEIGH — Gov. Pat McCrory last week pleaded with parents across North Carolina to talk to their children about underage consumption of alcohol. “This is an issue that we’ve got to tackle at the kitchen table and at the point of sale,” said McCrory, who was joined by former Lt. Gov. Jim Gardner, chairman of the ABC Commission, neuroscientist Bill Wilson from Duke University, and Kelly Langston, president of the North Carolina PTA.

Barry Smith
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State To Collect $1.8 Million For Unused Buildings

RALEIGH – The Council of State on Tuesday approved the sale of five buildings in downtown Raleigh, which will bring more than $1.8 million to state coffers. The General Assembly’s Program Evaluation Division and the State Property Office said the five properties are no longer used by state government. The five properties, located within walking distance of the state Capitol, contain preservation covenants.

Barry Smith
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Elections Board Chairman Stepping Down

RALEIGH — Josh Howard, the chairman of the State Board of Elections, has announced that he will step down effective Jan. 1, 2016. He made the announcement Tuesday during a board meeting. Howard told Carolina Journal he was stepping down because the unpaid job was taking about 20 hours weekly, and he wanted to manage his health better, saying his cholesterol levels had been rising to uncomfortable levels.

Barry Smith
News

State May Enroll Retirees in Medicare Advantage

RALEIGH — Moving retirees to a Medicare Advantage plan could save the state of $64 million annually, said David Vanderweide, a legislative fiscal analyst. However, savings eventually could drop years to between $30 million and $40 million a year if Medicare Advantage premiums increase faster than claims to the state’s traditional health insurance increase, he said.

Barry Smith

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NCGA Moving Forward on State Property Sales

RALEIGH — Lawmakers are moving forward with plans to sell houses and other real properties owned by the state that are unused, or have not been used to their full potential. They’re also preparing a plan to improve the management of state properties and prevent the state from entering into leases if it owns buildings that are vacant and satisfy the need of the agency seeking space.

Barry Smith
News

Lawmakers Grill Officials About Prison Contract

RALEIGH — Lawmakers spent two hours Wednesday grilling the state budget director and the public safety secretary over the extension of a prison maintenance contract by a contractor who kept mentioning that, as a campaign contributor, he thought he should get something from the state in return.

Barry Smith
News

McCrory: Transportation Projects Moving Faster

RALEIGH — Crediting budget reforms made by the recent session of the General Assembly, Gov. Pat McCrory announced on Thursday the acceleration of four major transportation projects, including the final leg of the eastern section of the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway, the Asheville Connector, The I-485 and Weddington Road interchange, and the Mid-Currituck bridge.

Barry Smith
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Charlotte Committee To Consider ‘Exclusion Zones’

CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte City Council’s Community Safety Committee on Wednesday will take up the idea of advancing “public safety zones” or exclusion zones in an effort to bring down criminal activity in high-crime neighborhoods, a proposal that has drawn criticism from the ACLU of North Carolina.

Barry Smith
News

Unemployment Insurance Surplus = $560 Million Tax Cut

RALEIGH — Gov. Pat McCrory on Thursday announced that the state’s unemployment reserve fund has ballooned to $1 billion, meaning that businesses across North Carolina will see the surcharges on their state unemployment taxes drop in January, resulting in more than a half-billion dollars in tax relief.

Barry Smith
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Tillis Talks Energy, Budget With Activists

MOORESVILLE — Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis talked Obamacare, energy policy, the federal budget, and the Export-Import Bank during a meeting with Americans for Prosperity activists during a luncheon Monday at the Langtree Plantation in Mooresville. He said that in some states, such as West Virginia, new emission standards from the Environmental Protection Agency would increase residents' energy bills on average an extra $1,200 annually.

Barry Smith
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