September 5, 2025 • 33 mins
The NC Appeals Court has denied Governor Stein’s request to delay the judicial and utilities appointment case, keeping it on track for review. John Deere is warning of steep losses as tariffs weigh on the agriculture sector. The NCDOT will honor 23 fallen state troopers by naming bridges in their memory. Winston-Salem has been ranked among the most dangerous cities in the U.S. for crime. In economic news, an energy company has halted operations at its $1.4 billion planned North Carolina factory. Meanwhile, the state will become home to a new USDA forest project aimed at conservation and land management.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
It's five oh five and welcome into a Friday edition
of The Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety
nine to three WBT. I'm Nick Craig, A good morning
to you. Earlier this week we talked about a legal
battle between Democrat Governor Josh Stein, the state Treasurer, and
the utility and the state Legislature. I should say we
(00:29):
do have an update on that this morning. The North
Carolina Court of Appeals yesterday rejected Governor Josh Stein's request
to delay proceedings in a dispute over his authority to
make appointments to vacant statewide judicial seats and the State
Utilities Commission. The case's name is Stein v. Hall, and
it pits the governor against State Treasurer Brad Briner and
(00:51):
the Republican led at General Assembly. The of course, Stein
the Governor, Hall, the speaker of the North Carolina House.
Stein's lawsuits sought to pause the appeal until another related
case called Cooper v. Berger is resolved, arguing that both
involve overlapping constitutional questions about executive appointments in North Carolina. However,
(01:13):
an appellatez court, while they had a different thought on
this judge's yesterday denied that motion and set a firm
schedule requiring briefs by September the twelfth, that's a week
from today, and having this case wrapped up and concluded
a month from now on October the sixth, with no extensions.
The trial court had ruled in June that lawmakers unconstitutionally
(01:36):
restricted the governor's power to fill judicial vacancies. However, they
did upheld changes granting State Treasurer Brad Bryan or one
of the Governor's Utility Commission appointments in altering the building
code Council voting rules. Both sides appealed. As it was
a split decision from the trial court. Briner's lawyers pressed
(01:57):
for an expedient review, arguing that with resolution was in
the public interest, while accusing Stein of trying to stall
after previously seeking to speed up the case. Legislative attorneys
agreed with the Treasurer, warning that blocking statute created uncertainty
and irreputable harm to state governance. Stein's team, however, countered
(02:20):
that waiting for the ruling in another case that is
at the Court of Appeals Cooper v. Berger, waiting for
that decision would prevent duplicate arguments and streamline the court's work.
Since both cases questioned legislative changes to executive appointment powers. However,
lawmakers dismissed that reasoning, saying that the issue that this
(02:40):
issue in this case was distinct and urgently needed to
be resolved so at debate in all of this is
provisions of Senate Bill three eighty two, which was passed
over then to Democrat Governor Roy Cooper. He did veto
that legislation, and the lawmakers came back to Raleigh and
dealt with the case and provided the governor his final
(03:01):
veto override after his eight years in office. This legislation
made structural changes to state government. The law required that
Governor Stein selected judicial appointments from a party recommended list
and shifts one of the utilities commissioned seats from the
Governor's appointment authority to the treasurers. The change allowed Briner
(03:22):
to appoint Donald van Dervart, a former McRoy administration official,
to the commission as of July first, where he has
been sitting since that period of time. The broader battle
touches a long standing separation of powers dispute that exists
in North Carolina with both parties appealing aspects of the
trial Court's ruling. The Appeals Court's expedited schedule ensures that
(03:45):
this ongoing debate over the governor's appointment authority will remain
front and center over the next month or so. Again,
the Court's denying the governor's attempt to slow walk this
and slow this thing down. All upon parties will have
to have all of their legal briefs in by next Friday,
and then the court will make its final decision on
(04:06):
October sixth. We'll keep an eye on this case and
the other one, Cooper v.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Berger.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Both of them deal with appointment authorities between the General
Assembly and the governor. Continued coverage over on our website,
Carolina Journal dot com and right here on the Carolina
Journal News Hour where it's now five oh nine News
Talk eleven ten ninety nine to three WBT. We have
been talking a lot about tariffs over the last couple
of months here on the Carolina Journal News Hour, and
(04:32):
of course over on our website Carolina Journal dot com.
We've got some new details this morning out of the
major tractor and pharm appliance manufacturer John Deere to walk
us through some of those details. Katie's under Carolina Journal
dot Com joins us on the news hour. Katie. Just
in the last couple of days or last week or so,
we've seen some legal challenges with tariffs. This continues to
(04:52):
be a major story across the United States and of
course here in North Carolina.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Right nixt so last Friday, a federal appeals court did
rule that President Trump's or the majority of his tariffs
are illegal. The court voted seven to four to allow
the tariffs to remain in place through the fourteenth of October,
which would give the administration time to file an appeal
with the US Supreme Court, which they have already done.
They did that on Wednesday, and so they are urging
the Supreme Court for a quick ruling on this. So
(05:21):
we'll be keeping our eye on that and see what's
going to.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Happen with that.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
There's probably going to be a lot of back and
forth with that. This is the same appeals court that
actually lifts at the block by the Court of International
Trade that was instituted earlier in the year. So that's
going on right now. And then you know, as you mentioned,
we've got John Deere, which is one of the nation's
largest heavy farm equipment manufacturers in the nation. They're predicting
major losses as tariffs settle in, and they have said
(05:47):
that they have already seen three hundred million in ter
if related costs just in the last in the most
recent fiscal quarter, according to their August report, and they
said they're down twenty nine percent of in their net
in come from earlier. This is according to a New
York Times piece. And then they're also predicting an additional
three hundred million by the end of the year. So
(06:08):
that's a total of six hundred million in financial losses
just because of the tariffs. In addition to these financial losses,
they've also laid off more than two hundred employees across
Iowa and Illinois, which is where a lot of their
factories are now.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Katie. This is relevant here in North Carolina for a
couple of different reasons. Obviously, some of the more large
scale tariff discussions do have an impact on North Carolina's economy.
But as we hone in on John Deere for some
of our new listeners, they may not be familiar with
the fact that the agricultural industry continues to be the
largest business in the state. Of North Carolina. I think
(06:42):
farming and green tractors from John Deere a kind of
synonymous one in the same there, Katie. So, this has
a major impact on a huge industry, built, multi billion
dollar industry across North Carolina.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
That's exactly right, Nick, So Agriculture is the biggest industry
here in North Carolina at a hundre an eleven point
one billion dollars, and one of the major crops here
in North Carolina is soybeans. It's a very machinery he
heavy crop. So this is something that's going to impact
John Deere is you know, because a lot of these
soybean farmers are using tractors and harvesters and whatnot to
(07:18):
cultivate their crop and to harvest their crop. And so
this is really expected to hit North Carolinian farmers particularly hard.
And when crop prices are high, farmers having a lot
of extra cash. So that's when they're purchasing new equipment
because they have a surplus of cash. But crop prices
have not been high recently. They've actually been down. In fact,
according to the New York Times, soybeans prices are down
(07:38):
forty percent from the mid twenty twenty two High and
North Carolina farmers are really kind of getting a double
whammy as far as being hit with tariffs because they're
getting hit with the tariffs from steel and aluminum at
fifty percent, and this is one of the tariffs that
was actually exempted from the appeals court ruling earlier or
later last week. Is that one is actually going to
(08:00):
stay in place no matter what the US Supreme Court
rules on Trump's appeal because those were filed under a
separate loss.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
So those steel and.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Illumined tariffs at fifty percent are actually going to remain
in place at least right now until we see, you know,
something happen with that. And so the farmers are getting
hit with that, not only from John Deere because obviously
they're using a lot of steel and aluminum to make detractors,
but you know, farmers use steel and aluminum in parts
they ordered for you know, farm equipment and in different
just areas of agriculture and farming. But then they're also
(08:30):
getting affected by the retaliatory tariffs that China placed on
US soybeans back in March.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Now.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
According to the US Office of the Trade Representative, North
Carolina exported four hundred and forty six million worth of
soybeans in twenty twenty two, and so I spoke with
John Sanders. He's the director of our Center for Food
Power and Life at the John Locke Foundation. He said,
we are beginning to feel the unintended negative consequences of tariffs.
Two years ago, John Deere enjoyed enjoyed record profits. Now
(08:59):
the company is seeing hair related spikes and steel and
aluminum costs and a steep drop in income, and it
has begun layoffs. Normal market ins and outs are hard
to navigate. That these impacts from policy changes resound throughout
the economy. And he goes on and to speak to
those layoffs, you know, I already said, you know, John
Diere has laid off more than two hundred employees, but
they employ more than thirty thousand employees across sixty facilities.
(09:23):
More than three quarters of their machines are assembled in
the United States, twenty five percent of their components are
used in products sourced abroad. And they also are predicting
a fifteen to twenty percent decrease in the sales of
large agricultural machinery. And they're expecting that decline in sales
to continue into twenty twenty six, So this is something
that we're going to continue to feel in the agriculture
(09:45):
industry for at least the next year or so.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Nick.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
And then just some some general stats on you know,
soybeans in North Carolina and the United States. According to
the USDA, they reported that app approximately one point sixty
three million eight of soybeans were harvested in North Carolina
in twenty twenty three, which is a little bit down
from one point sixty eight million in twenty twenty two.
Soybeans are the fifth cash crop, fifth in cash crop
(10:11):
receipts for North Carolina. Soybeans accounted for five point seven
percent of farm cash receipts in twenty twenty three in
North Carolina. And then a couple months ago I spoke
with Charles Hall. He's the executive director of the North
Carolina Soybean Producers Association, and he said that in twenty
twenty two, across more than five thousand farms produced soybeans
(10:31):
across all one hundred counties, but that's predominantly in the
Piedmont and Coastal Plains regions. And he also said that
most soybean farmers grow other crops such as corn, cotton, tobacco,
and sweep sited some of our other major North Carolina crops.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Now Katie, this morning, of course we're talking about the economy,
talking about some of the economic impact on John Deere
and some of the farms as it relates to that,
but we're not even talking, of course about the weather
and the impacts that storms have had on the state
of North Carolin. As we approached the one year unfortunate
anniversary of Hurricane Helena out in the western half of
the state, eastern flooding from tropical storms and subtropical systems.
(11:10):
The farmers just seemingly can't get a break on any
direction with everything going on. As you noted, low prices,
farm equipment costs going up of course mother Nature. I mean,
it's just such an unfortunate situation for such a big
business across our state.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
That's exactly right, Nick, And earlier in the year on
the North Carolina Department of Agriculture actually opened applications for
a kind of a grant program for farmers that had
sustained crop losses in twenty twenty four because of Hurricane Helene.
You know, we had a drought last year, like all
of these different things. So yeah, it's definitely been a
very difficult time for farmers between tariffs and all the
(11:47):
natural disasters that we've had in the last year.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
You can read some additional details this morning on our
John Dear story as well as some of the other
economic impacts on tariffs across various industries in North Carolina.
All those available over on our website Carolina Journal dot com.
We appreciate the time this morning, Katie Zender joins us
on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's five twenty three.
(12:14):
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal news Our news stock
eleven ten ninety nine three WBT. The North Carolina Department
of Transportation will soon name bridges across the state in
honor of twenty three fallen state troopers, including one who
died in the line of duty back in nineteen thirty seven.
Colonel Freddie Johnson, the commander of the North Carolina Highway Patrol,
(12:37):
had initiated the effort after hearing from several family members
who lost loved ones but did not receive bridge dedications.
The commander of SHP said in a press release quote,
we felt that it was very important to get everyone
recognized for the sacrifice that they made to the families,
It's like it happened yesterday, and to see the heartfelt
(12:58):
thanks from many of them has made this project so worthwhile.
The State Highway Patrol partnered with the North Carolina Department
of Transportation, which is the agency responsible for road and
bridge dedications, after discovering that the names of fallen soldiers
were of fallen officers rather were somehow overlooked at NCDOT.
(13:19):
Secretary Joey Hopkins said in a press release quote. For
many years, North Carolina has been naming bridges to honor
law enforcement officers killed on the job, but for many
different reasons, twenty three officers were never honored. So we've
been working with the State Highway Patrol since last spring
to make sure that these officers are probably recognized for
(13:41):
their sacrifice. Now, normally, when a law enforcement officer or
emergency responder is killed in the line of duty, a
family member or friend completes an application and petitions their
local government to pass a resolution requesting that the state
name a bridge to honor said fallen officer or for
first responder. The resolution is then referred to NCDOT and
(14:04):
they work with the Highway Patrol to research the officer
and the circumstances around the death. Following state policy, NCDOT
staffers must ensure that the request has strong support from
a local community and the family if they so want
that dedication to take place. NCDOT staff then drafts a
resolution which the North Carolina Board of Transportation considers, and
(14:28):
when it is approved, NCDOT staff coordinates an event with
officials to dedicate the bridge project. This project was a
major undertaking due to extensive research that was needed. Shelley Heath,
the staff contact for ncdot's Road and Bridge Naming Committee,
and her supervisor, A. Brian Mayhew, NCDOT State Traffic Engineer,
(14:53):
have been working with the state Highway Patrol for about
a year since this initiative first came along. He said
that the bridge naming effort was a major undertaking because
of extensive research that was needed to identify the fallen
officers and verify their stories with community members and their families.
Family and friends of the fall and she said, were
(15:14):
difficult to locate as several officers were killed many decades ago,
like Officer Moore, who was shot to death near Goldsborough
back in nineteen thirty seven when questioning two men hauling
a load of meat in a stolen vehicle. Sometimes family
or friends start an application, but unfortunately do not complete it.
(15:35):
According to DOT, In other cases, people may not have
realized that such an honor even existed, like the family
of a trooper Jackie Daniel. Daniel was killed in nineteen
ninety four after a tractor trailer hit his cruiser while
he was helping a stranded motorist in Charlotte. When Daniel's
daughter realized her father could be honored in this way,
(15:58):
she said she was very proud in the press release,
noting quote, it means that when people see his name,
they'll know he was such a great man who served
his community and would do anything for them. It makes
me and my family so proud to know that my
dad was such a legacy for all of the work
he did throughout the community. In its ninety six year history,
(16:19):
seventy members of the State Highway Patrol of unfortunately died
while on the line of duty. And since this project
began in the spring of twenty twenty four, NCDOT has
completed all but seven of the bridge dedications. DOT expects
to have all twenty three fallen officers honored across the
state of North Carolina, most of those honorary dedications taking
(16:42):
place in the area in which those individuals lived or served.
They hope to have that wrapped up here by the
end of twenty twenty five. A great story to pass
along this morning. You can read some additional details on
that end this process, which is i'll admit a rather
interesting one over on our website this morning, Carolina Journal
dot com. That story's headline, ncdot to honor twenty three
(17:05):
fallen state troopers with bridge namings. That's available over at
Carolina Journal dot com. It's five thirty five. Welcome back
to the Carolina Journal News Hour. Do Stock eleven, ten
ninety nine three WBT, Good Friday, Morning to you. Crime
has been a big discussion across the United States over
(17:27):
the last couple of weeks. President Donald Trump deploying National
Guard and taking control, at least in a temporary basis
of the Metropolitan Police Department. That has sparked some interest
across the nation on crime in cities. And while we've
got an interesting story this morning. Winston Salem ranks number
fourteenth on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's recently released list
(17:49):
of the top thirty cities with the highest crime rates.
This list has come under scrutiny following the President's attempt
to crack down on crime. In Washington, DC that made
the FBI's top thirty list had at least one hundred
thousand residents and had the highest number of violent crimes
per one hundred thousand people or per capita. John Gouse,
(18:11):
a senior fellow of Legal studies at the John Locke Foundation,
said it's no surprise that crime in the District of
Columbia has dropped sharply following Trump's National Guard deployment. He
pointed to multiple studies of policing tactics that have shown
very clearly that visible law enforcement discourages criminal activity. The
(18:31):
John Locke Foundation, as has long argued for putting more
police officers in high crime neighborhoods, but staffing levels have
unfortunately been moving in the opposite direction in recent years,
especially in the communities that need more officers due to
accelerating or increase worth of crime. Goose told The Carolina
(18:51):
Journal quote Winston Salem is a prime example of a
community that badly needs more police officers. On the streets.
But it's not alone. Crime rates in Durham, Fayetteville, and
Greensboro are also much higher than the rest of the state.
In fact, when it comes to murder, they have generally
been worse than Winston Salem. We need to find a
(19:11):
way to put more police officers on the street and
all four of those cities. Whether the President can or
should send National Guard troops is a different question. According
to Gousey, the District of Columbia falls under federal authority,
but North Carolina cities do not. Unless the governor makes
a request or there is an extreme situation such as
(19:33):
a natural disaster or other sort of event, the President
does not have the authority to deploy National Guard troops
into various states. We've seen that battle play out between
the governor of Illinois and the mayor of Chicago and
President Trump over the last couple of days. According to
a recent Carolina Journal poll, sixty three point two percent
(19:54):
of voters say that they are concerned about neighborhood crime
and safety. Of those, only twenty three p point eight
percent said they weren't very concerned at all, and thirty
nine point five percent were somewhat concerned. In the crime
dealing with crime in their areas. Other voters across the
state of North Carolina also remained heavily concerned about crime
(20:17):
in their neighborhoods. According to the poll, nearly sixty eight
percent of black voters said that they were concerned about crime.
Of those at thirty eight point five percent said they
were very concerned. Voters were also asked to select three
types of crime that they thought were that they were
the most concerned about. Traffic safety was number one at
forty six percent, followed by drug related crime issues at
(20:40):
forty three point four percent, property crime at thirty six
point one percent. The list goes on cybersecurity threats twenty
seven point eight, violent crime twenty five point eight, and
as well as a gang activity at twelve percent. This
has been a very interesting discussion to watch unfold. Earlier
in the week, we talked about some of the commentary
(21:01):
and played you some audio from representatives of North Carolina,
including Congressman Brad Nott, speaking in Washington, d c. About
the President's attempt to crack down and clean up crime
in the District of Columbia. This discussion does continue to
be a major national discussion pinning the President against the
(21:22):
cities and the states like Illinois and others with incredibly
high crime rates in cities like Chicago. You can read
some additional details on this FBI report that again does
show Winston Salem as the fourteenth state, fourteenth city rather
on the FBI list of a high crime across the
United States. That full study is available over on our website.
(21:44):
This morning, Carolina Journal dot com the headline Winston Salem
among top of US cities for crime. It's now five
point forty on the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk eleven,
ten ninety nine three WBT. Unfortunately, another company that was
planning to bring jobs to the state of North Carolina
is not coming to fruition to walk us through some
of those details this morning, Teresa Peca, Carolina Journal dot Com.
(22:08):
It joins us on the News Hour, Theresa, this has
been a pretty concerning trend. We've seen a couple of
these announcements over the last few months. A lot of
jobs promised, some decent salaries. Unfortunately it's falling by the wayside.
What are you tracking out of Edgecomb County this morning?
Speaker 4 (22:23):
Sure, Nick, Thanks for having me so.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Natron Energy is the latest company to make that announcement. There,
California based company that they plan to build the first
of its kind US Giggle wattscale sodium ion battery plant
in Edgecombe County near Rocky Mount.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
But they ceased operating on Wednesday.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Gave the notification to their employees in both California and Michigan.
But the big story here in North Carolina is that
a proposed factory that was supposed to be built. And
again it just seems like we have so many of
these announcements coming out each month.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Yeah, of course, this is another company that is in
a technology related field developing this first kind of battery
technology as folks look at maybe replacing lithium ion or
other sorts of battery and power delivery that are available.
So to Resa, I guess it's a relatively risky sector.
Earlier last year they tried going and getting some additional
(23:23):
rounds of funding for company expansion, and it just doesn't
look like they were able to raise the capitol or
get enough investors in the door to make something like
this a reality, that's right.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
So the board of directors put out this memo or
to their employees to let them know that and also
in the war notice, the notice for the employees when
they were closing, they could not raise the sufficient funding
to keep going with their current expenses and proposed expenses
(23:55):
for the North Carolina plant.
Speaker 4 (23:57):
So they did try that.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Fortunately it didn't come to fruition and they have to
cease operations in both California and Michigan. And then that
proposed plant that was supposed to it was supposed to
be one point four billion dollar factory at the Kingsboro
CSX select megasite and create a thousand jobs with an
(24:21):
average salary of over sixty four thousand dollars. And so
you know, that's the second big blow to that area
for proposed jobs.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
You talk about that salary, that's almost twenty thousand dollars
more at least on average than the median income in
Edgecombe County, Teresa. So not only were these thousand jobs
coming to the area, of course, bolstering the economy there,
but that's a very significant salary for that area of
the state.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
Right right correct.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
And it's a mainly rural area, so that would have
been a huge boost to the people there and who
need some really good paying jobs. You know, costs are
going up every day see that, you know, whether it's
a grocery bill, electric bill.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
So yeah, it's a pretty big loss.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
In addition, you say, I was supposed to have an
annual payroll impact of nearly seventy seven million dollars and
just bring so much, you know, money into the economy
of the state's economy one point four I believe it
was one point four billion dollars or rather, excuse me,
three point four billion into the state's economy. So yeah,
(25:27):
another huge blow to that area and also to the
state's economy as well.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
You mentioned that this was built on one of these megasites.
There's a these are kind of popping up around the
state areas that predominantly maybe in the past had large
manufacturing or kind of being revitalized and in trying to
entice new business to move there. That you said, this
is the second major announcement of a company that was
supposed to start some operations outside the Rocky Mount area.
(25:54):
That's no longer happening, correct.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
So, Chinese owned Triangle Tire in twenty seventeen announced that
they would be building a tire making operation at that
same site, promising about eight hundred jobs and roughly five
hundred and eighty million dollar investment, but unfortunately it may
have twenty twenty two, the company pulled out of the project.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
So, you know, it's just you try to be hopeful, especially.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
In a rural area where the economy is lacking as
opposed to maybe areas like Charlotte or Raleigh or you know,
different areas of that in nature.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
So yeah, it was.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
A not more not any good news for that area.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
We've talked about in the past. A couple of weeks ago, Teresa,
we were talking about VinFast and some other companies throughout
North Carolina that had this fruit dangled in front of
them known as a JDIG grant, a Job development Improvement
grant from the state of North Carolina, as well as
some other economic incentives including the state building out infrastructure
and roadways. Is this company that we're talking about this
(27:01):
morning in Edgecombe County, were they all eligible for j
DID grants and were they approved for any of that?
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Yes, So the state awarded the company twenty one point
seven million dollars ja DID grant for a twelve year term,
and also thirty million dollars from the North Carolina Megasite
Readiness Program that would get the site prepared to you know,
get you know, electricity, things of that nature, get it
(27:28):
already with the expectation the project would grow the state's
economy by with like we said, three point four billion,
And of course they.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
Did not receive any of that funding.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
It was all contention on providing the jobs that they
did agree to. What was noted in many different reports
is this is one of the fastest announcements of a
JA did grant gone bad if you want to go
that way, It just was a short announcement. They just
announced it last year that they were proposing this factory
and then pulled out this year.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Yeah, obviously a pretty quick turnaround time, and that's some
unfortunate news for those folks in Edgecombe County and the
surrounding areas that could have taken advantage of it. Teresa,
We've got some additional details on this company and some
other stories related to Jay dig in some state investments.
Where can folks go and get those details this morning?
Speaker 4 (28:18):
Sure they can head on over to Carolina Journal dot com.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
We appreciate the update. Teresa Opeka joins us on the
Carolina Journal News Hour. The sixth annual WBT Little Hero's
Blood Drive continues Headed your Way Thursday, September the eleventh.
WBT and the One Blood, Big Red Bus will be
at the brand new Woodies Auto Service Center in Rockhill
(28:45):
from ten am to three pm that we'll be broadcasting
live and encouraging you to make a life saving blood donation.
It's the sixth annual WBT Little Heroes Blood Drive Headed
your Way next Thursday, September the eleventh, at the Woody's
Auto Service in Rockhill. Visit WBT dot com this morning
for location details and to register your appointment. Today it's
(29:06):
five point fifty three. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal,
News Hour, News Talk eleven ten ninety nine to three WBT.
Earlier this week, the United States Department of Agriculture announced
that it would invest more than eight million dollars into
five new projects, including one in North Carolina. These projects
are set to improve forest health by reducing wildfire risk
(29:29):
and improving water quality. This is a very relevant and
timely issue for North Carolina, as Steve Troxler, the Commissioner
of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, told lawmakers earlier
this year that North Carolina is now the number one
state in the nation. At risk for wildfires. The state
does have two of those primary wildfire seasons, one that
(29:51):
passed in the spring and one that's right around the
corner in the fall. According to a press release from USDA,
the Joint Chief's LI Landscape Restoration Partnership Program is a
collaborative program between the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service and
the us Forest Service designed to address conservation challenges across
(30:16):
both public and private lands at a very large scale.
This year, eight million dollars will support new projects, completing
a thirty two million dollar project that has already be
invested in twenty four ongoing projects. According to Tom Schultz,
the Forest Service Chief, wildfires have no boundaries, and neither
(30:37):
should our prevention work. We need everyone at the table
to deliver this kind of active management that will return
our forests to health and productivity. Joint Chiefs put local
leaders in the driver's seat, enabling cross boundary work based
on shared priorities with states, partners, industries, and forest land owners.
(30:59):
A win win. The five new projects include efforts across
several states to restore and protect essential landscapes. Those projects
are going to be taking place in Alabama, Colorado, Wyoming,
as well as other natural forests and natural parks, including
here in North Carolina is going the project is going
(31:21):
to be taking place in the sand Hills where that
project is set to take place. It is a Phase
two project and it covers More, Randolph, Richmond, and Stanley Counties,
all of that in Congressional Districts eight and nine across
our state. The project aims to reduce wildfire risks to
communities and landowners by expanding the use of forestry best
(31:44):
practices as well as strengthening the capability and capacity of
private landowners to conduct safe and effective prescribed or controlled burns.
The natural forest lands that are going to be getting
this work done in North Carolina run roughly eighteen thousand
acres and are set to be restored and improved through
(32:06):
prescribed fires as well as other treatments from forest officials.
These efforts will lower fuel loads, enhance public and private safety,
and help protect communities from wildfire threats. In addition, the
project's forest management practices will boost downstream water yield in
critical watersheds as well as helping secure water quality in
(32:29):
water quality for residents and industries. Prescribe burns have proven
to be one of the most effective forms for wildfire management,
and North Carolina is one of eleven southern states that
currently have a full time burn management certification program. You
can read some additional details on these five projects that
(32:51):
are going to be taking place across the United States,
one of them in North Carolina over on our website
This morning, Carolina Journal dot com. The story's headline to
be home to new USDA forest project. Well, that's going
to do it for a Friday edition of The Carolina
Journal News Hour. WBT News is next, followed by Good
Morning BT. We're back with you Monday morning, five to
(33:12):
six right here on News Talk eleven, ten and ninety
nine three WBT
It's five oh five and welcome into a Friday edition
of The Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety
nine to three WBT. I'm Nick Craig, A good morning
to you. Earlier this week we talked about a legal
battle between Democrat Governor Josh Stein, the state Treasurer, and
the utility and the state Legislature. I should say we
(00:29):
do have an update on that this morning. The North
Carolina Court of Appeals yesterday rejected Governor Josh Stein's request
to delay proceedings in a dispute over his authority to
make appointments to vacant statewide judicial seats and the State
Utilities Commission. The case's name is Stein v. Hall, and
it pits the governor against State Treasurer Brad Briner and
(00:51):
the Republican led at General Assembly. The of course, Stein
the Governor, Hall, the speaker of the North Carolina House.
Stein's lawsuits sought to pause the appeal until another related
case called Cooper v. Berger is resolved, arguing that both
involve overlapping constitutional questions about executive appointments in North Carolina. However,
(01:13):
an appellatez court, while they had a different thought on
this judge's yesterday denied that motion and set a firm
schedule requiring briefs by September the twelfth, that's a week
from today, and having this case wrapped up and concluded
a month from now on October the sixth, with no extensions.
The trial court had ruled in June that lawmakers unconstitutionally
(01:36):
restricted the governor's power to fill judicial vacancies. However, they
did upheld changes granting State Treasurer Brad Bryan or one
of the Governor's Utility Commission appointments in altering the building
code Council voting rules. Both sides appealed. As it was
a split decision from the trial court. Briner's lawyers pressed
(01:57):
for an expedient review, arguing that with resolution was in
the public interest, while accusing Stein of trying to stall
after previously seeking to speed up the case. Legislative attorneys
agreed with the Treasurer, warning that blocking statute created uncertainty
and irreputable harm to state governance. Stein's team, however, countered
(02:20):
that waiting for the ruling in another case that is
at the Court of Appeals Cooper v. Berger, waiting for
that decision would prevent duplicate arguments and streamline the court's work.
Since both cases questioned legislative changes to executive appointment powers. However,
lawmakers dismissed that reasoning, saying that the issue that this
(02:40):
issue in this case was distinct and urgently needed to
be resolved so at debate in all of this is
provisions of Senate Bill three eighty two, which was passed
over then to Democrat Governor Roy Cooper. He did veto
that legislation, and the lawmakers came back to Raleigh and
dealt with the case and provided the governor his final
(03:01):
veto override after his eight years in office. This legislation
made structural changes to state government. The law required that
Governor Stein selected judicial appointments from a party recommended list
and shifts one of the utilities commissioned seats from the
Governor's appointment authority to the treasurers. The change allowed Briner
(03:22):
to appoint Donald van Dervart, a former McRoy administration official,
to the commission as of July first, where he has
been sitting since that period of time. The broader battle
touches a long standing separation of powers dispute that exists
in North Carolina with both parties appealing aspects of the
trial Court's ruling. The Appeals Court's expedited schedule ensures that
(03:45):
this ongoing debate over the governor's appointment authority will remain
front and center over the next month or so. Again,
the Court's denying the governor's attempt to slow walk this
and slow this thing down. All upon parties will have
to have all of their legal briefs in by next Friday,
and then the court will make its final decision on
(04:06):
October sixth. We'll keep an eye on this case and
the other one, Cooper v.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Berger.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Both of them deal with appointment authorities between the General
Assembly and the governor. Continued coverage over on our website,
Carolina Journal dot com and right here on the Carolina
Journal News Hour where it's now five oh nine News
Talk eleven ten ninety nine to three WBT. We have
been talking a lot about tariffs over the last couple
of months here on the Carolina Journal News Hour, and
(04:32):
of course over on our website Carolina Journal dot com.
We've got some new details this morning out of the
major tractor and pharm appliance manufacturer John Deere to walk
us through some of those details. Katie's under Carolina Journal
dot Com joins us on the news hour. Katie. Just
in the last couple of days or last week or so,
we've seen some legal challenges with tariffs. This continues to
(04:52):
be a major story across the United States and of
course here in North Carolina.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Right nixt so last Friday, a federal appeals court did
rule that President Trump's or the majority of his tariffs
are illegal. The court voted seven to four to allow
the tariffs to remain in place through the fourteenth of October,
which would give the administration time to file an appeal
with the US Supreme Court, which they have already done.
They did that on Wednesday, and so they are urging
the Supreme Court for a quick ruling on this. So
(05:21):
we'll be keeping our eye on that and see what's
going to.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Happen with that.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
There's probably going to be a lot of back and
forth with that. This is the same appeals court that
actually lifts at the block by the Court of International
Trade that was instituted earlier in the year. So that's
going on right now. And then you know, as you mentioned,
we've got John Deere, which is one of the nation's
largest heavy farm equipment manufacturers in the nation. They're predicting
major losses as tariffs settle in, and they have said
(05:47):
that they have already seen three hundred million in ter
if related costs just in the last in the most
recent fiscal quarter, according to their August report, and they
said they're down twenty nine percent of in their net
in come from earlier. This is according to a New
York Times piece. And then they're also predicting an additional
three hundred million by the end of the year. So
(06:08):
that's a total of six hundred million in financial losses
just because of the tariffs. In addition to these financial losses,
they've also laid off more than two hundred employees across
Iowa and Illinois, which is where a lot of their
factories are now.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Katie. This is relevant here in North Carolina for a
couple of different reasons. Obviously, some of the more large
scale tariff discussions do have an impact on North Carolina's economy.
But as we hone in on John Deere for some
of our new listeners, they may not be familiar with
the fact that the agricultural industry continues to be the
largest business in the state. Of North Carolina. I think
(06:42):
farming and green tractors from John Deere a kind of
synonymous one in the same there, Katie. So, this has
a major impact on a huge industry, built, multi billion
dollar industry across North Carolina.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
That's exactly right, Nick, So Agriculture is the biggest industry
here in North Carolina at a hundre an eleven point
one billion dollars, and one of the major crops here
in North Carolina is soybeans. It's a very machinery he
heavy crop. So this is something that's going to impact
John Deere is you know, because a lot of these
soybean farmers are using tractors and harvesters and whatnot to
(07:18):
cultivate their crop and to harvest their crop. And so
this is really expected to hit North Carolinian farmers particularly hard.
And when crop prices are high, farmers having a lot
of extra cash. So that's when they're purchasing new equipment
because they have a surplus of cash. But crop prices
have not been high recently. They've actually been down. In fact,
according to the New York Times, soybeans prices are down
(07:38):
forty percent from the mid twenty twenty two High and
North Carolina farmers are really kind of getting a double
whammy as far as being hit with tariffs because they're
getting hit with the tariffs from steel and aluminum at
fifty percent, and this is one of the tariffs that
was actually exempted from the appeals court ruling earlier or
later last week. Is that one is actually going to
(08:00):
stay in place no matter what the US Supreme Court
rules on Trump's appeal because those were filed under a
separate loss.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
So those steel and.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Illumined tariffs at fifty percent are actually going to remain
in place at least right now until we see, you know,
something happen with that. And so the farmers are getting
hit with that, not only from John Deere because obviously
they're using a lot of steel and aluminum to make detractors,
but you know, farmers use steel and aluminum in parts
they ordered for you know, farm equipment and in different
just areas of agriculture and farming. But then they're also
(08:30):
getting affected by the retaliatory tariffs that China placed on
US soybeans back in March.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Now.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
According to the US Office of the Trade Representative, North
Carolina exported four hundred and forty six million worth of
soybeans in twenty twenty two, and so I spoke with
John Sanders. He's the director of our Center for Food
Power and Life at the John Locke Foundation. He said,
we are beginning to feel the unintended negative consequences of tariffs.
Two years ago, John Deere enjoyed enjoyed record profits. Now
(08:59):
the company is seeing hair related spikes and steel and
aluminum costs and a steep drop in income, and it
has begun layoffs. Normal market ins and outs are hard
to navigate. That these impacts from policy changes resound throughout
the economy. And he goes on and to speak to
those layoffs, you know, I already said, you know, John
Diere has laid off more than two hundred employees, but
they employ more than thirty thousand employees across sixty facilities.
(09:23):
More than three quarters of their machines are assembled in
the United States, twenty five percent of their components are
used in products sourced abroad. And they also are predicting
a fifteen to twenty percent decrease in the sales of
large agricultural machinery. And they're expecting that decline in sales
to continue into twenty twenty six, So this is something
that we're going to continue to feel in the agriculture
(09:45):
industry for at least the next year or so.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Nick.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
And then just some some general stats on you know,
soybeans in North Carolina and the United States. According to
the USDA, they reported that app approximately one point sixty
three million eight of soybeans were harvested in North Carolina
in twenty twenty three, which is a little bit down
from one point sixty eight million in twenty twenty two.
Soybeans are the fifth cash crop, fifth in cash crop
(10:11):
receipts for North Carolina. Soybeans accounted for five point seven
percent of farm cash receipts in twenty twenty three in
North Carolina. And then a couple months ago I spoke
with Charles Hall. He's the executive director of the North
Carolina Soybean Producers Association, and he said that in twenty
twenty two, across more than five thousand farms produced soybeans
(10:31):
across all one hundred counties, but that's predominantly in the
Piedmont and Coastal Plains regions. And he also said that
most soybean farmers grow other crops such as corn, cotton, tobacco,
and sweep sited some of our other major North Carolina crops.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Now Katie, this morning, of course we're talking about the economy,
talking about some of the economic impact on John Deere
and some of the farms as it relates to that,
but we're not even talking, of course about the weather
and the impacts that storms have had on the state
of North Carolin. As we approached the one year unfortunate
anniversary of Hurricane Helena out in the western half of
the state, eastern flooding from tropical storms and subtropical systems.
(11:10):
The farmers just seemingly can't get a break on any
direction with everything going on. As you noted, low prices,
farm equipment costs going up of course mother Nature. I mean,
it's just such an unfortunate situation for such a big
business across our state.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
That's exactly right, Nick, And earlier in the year on
the North Carolina Department of Agriculture actually opened applications for
a kind of a grant program for farmers that had
sustained crop losses in twenty twenty four because of Hurricane Helene.
You know, we had a drought last year, like all
of these different things. So yeah, it's definitely been a
very difficult time for farmers between tariffs and all the
(11:47):
natural disasters that we've had in the last year.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
You can read some additional details this morning on our
John Dear story as well as some of the other
economic impacts on tariffs across various industries in North Carolina.
All those available over on our website Carolina Journal dot com.
We appreciate the time this morning, Katie Zender joins us
on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's five twenty three.
(12:14):
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal news Our news stock
eleven ten ninety nine three WBT. The North Carolina Department
of Transportation will soon name bridges across the state in
honor of twenty three fallen state troopers, including one who
died in the line of duty back in nineteen thirty seven.
Colonel Freddie Johnson, the commander of the North Carolina Highway Patrol,
(12:37):
had initiated the effort after hearing from several family members
who lost loved ones but did not receive bridge dedications.
The commander of SHP said in a press release quote,
we felt that it was very important to get everyone
recognized for the sacrifice that they made to the families,
It's like it happened yesterday, and to see the heartfelt
(12:58):
thanks from many of them has made this project so worthwhile.
The State Highway Patrol partnered with the North Carolina Department
of Transportation, which is the agency responsible for road and
bridge dedications, after discovering that the names of fallen soldiers
were of fallen officers rather were somehow overlooked at NCDOT.
(13:19):
Secretary Joey Hopkins said in a press release quote. For
many years, North Carolina has been naming bridges to honor
law enforcement officers killed on the job, but for many
different reasons, twenty three officers were never honored. So we've
been working with the State Highway Patrol since last spring
to make sure that these officers are probably recognized for
(13:41):
their sacrifice. Now, normally, when a law enforcement officer or
emergency responder is killed in the line of duty, a
family member or friend completes an application and petitions their
local government to pass a resolution requesting that the state
name a bridge to honor said fallen officer or for
first responder. The resolution is then referred to NCDOT and
(14:04):
they work with the Highway Patrol to research the officer
and the circumstances around the death. Following state policy, NCDOT
staffers must ensure that the request has strong support from
a local community and the family if they so want
that dedication to take place. NCDOT staff then drafts a
resolution which the North Carolina Board of Transportation considers, and
(14:28):
when it is approved, NCDOT staff coordinates an event with
officials to dedicate the bridge project. This project was a
major undertaking due to extensive research that was needed. Shelley Heath,
the staff contact for ncdot's Road and Bridge Naming Committee,
and her supervisor, A. Brian Mayhew, NCDOT State Traffic Engineer,
(14:53):
have been working with the state Highway Patrol for about
a year since this initiative first came along. He said
that the bridge naming effort was a major undertaking because
of extensive research that was needed to identify the fallen
officers and verify their stories with community members and their families.
Family and friends of the fall and she said, were
(15:14):
difficult to locate as several officers were killed many decades ago,
like Officer Moore, who was shot to death near Goldsborough
back in nineteen thirty seven when questioning two men hauling
a load of meat in a stolen vehicle. Sometimes family
or friends start an application, but unfortunately do not complete it.
(15:35):
According to DOT, In other cases, people may not have
realized that such an honor even existed, like the family
of a trooper Jackie Daniel. Daniel was killed in nineteen
ninety four after a tractor trailer hit his cruiser while
he was helping a stranded motorist in Charlotte. When Daniel's
daughter realized her father could be honored in this way,
(15:58):
she said she was very proud in the press release,
noting quote, it means that when people see his name,
they'll know he was such a great man who served
his community and would do anything for them. It makes
me and my family so proud to know that my
dad was such a legacy for all of the work
he did throughout the community. In its ninety six year history,
(16:19):
seventy members of the State Highway Patrol of unfortunately died
while on the line of duty. And since this project
began in the spring of twenty twenty four, NCDOT has
completed all but seven of the bridge dedications. DOT expects
to have all twenty three fallen officers honored across the
state of North Carolina, most of those honorary dedications taking
(16:42):
place in the area in which those individuals lived or served.
They hope to have that wrapped up here by the
end of twenty twenty five. A great story to pass
along this morning. You can read some additional details on
that end this process, which is i'll admit a rather
interesting one over on our website this morning, Carolina Journal
dot com. That story's headline, ncdot to honor twenty three
(17:05):
fallen state troopers with bridge namings. That's available over at
Carolina Journal dot com. It's five thirty five. Welcome back
to the Carolina Journal News Hour. Do Stock eleven, ten
ninety nine three WBT, Good Friday, Morning to you. Crime
has been a big discussion across the United States over
(17:27):
the last couple of weeks. President Donald Trump deploying National
Guard and taking control, at least in a temporary basis
of the Metropolitan Police Department. That has sparked some interest
across the nation on crime in cities. And while we've
got an interesting story this morning. Winston Salem ranks number
fourteenth on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's recently released list
(17:49):
of the top thirty cities with the highest crime rates.
This list has come under scrutiny following the President's attempt
to crack down on crime. In Washington, DC that made
the FBI's top thirty list had at least one hundred
thousand residents and had the highest number of violent crimes
per one hundred thousand people or per capita. John Gouse,
(18:11):
a senior fellow of Legal studies at the John Locke Foundation,
said it's no surprise that crime in the District of
Columbia has dropped sharply following Trump's National Guard deployment. He
pointed to multiple studies of policing tactics that have shown
very clearly that visible law enforcement discourages criminal activity. The
(18:31):
John Locke Foundation, as has long argued for putting more
police officers in high crime neighborhoods, but staffing levels have
unfortunately been moving in the opposite direction in recent years,
especially in the communities that need more officers due to
accelerating or increase worth of crime. Goose told The Carolina
(18:51):
Journal quote Winston Salem is a prime example of a
community that badly needs more police officers. On the streets.
But it's not alone. Crime rates in Durham, Fayetteville, and
Greensboro are also much higher than the rest of the state.
In fact, when it comes to murder, they have generally
been worse than Winston Salem. We need to find a
(19:11):
way to put more police officers on the street and
all four of those cities. Whether the President can or
should send National Guard troops is a different question. According
to Gousey, the District of Columbia falls under federal authority,
but North Carolina cities do not. Unless the governor makes
a request or there is an extreme situation such as
(19:33):
a natural disaster or other sort of event, the President
does not have the authority to deploy National Guard troops
into various states. We've seen that battle play out between
the governor of Illinois and the mayor of Chicago and
President Trump over the last couple of days. According to
a recent Carolina Journal poll, sixty three point two percent
(19:54):
of voters say that they are concerned about neighborhood crime
and safety. Of those, only twenty three p point eight
percent said they weren't very concerned at all, and thirty
nine point five percent were somewhat concerned. In the crime
dealing with crime in their areas. Other voters across the
state of North Carolina also remained heavily concerned about crime
(20:17):
in their neighborhoods. According to the poll, nearly sixty eight
percent of black voters said that they were concerned about crime.
Of those at thirty eight point five percent said they
were very concerned. Voters were also asked to select three
types of crime that they thought were that they were
the most concerned about. Traffic safety was number one at
forty six percent, followed by drug related crime issues at
(20:40):
forty three point four percent, property crime at thirty six
point one percent. The list goes on cybersecurity threats twenty
seven point eight, violent crime twenty five point eight, and
as well as a gang activity at twelve percent. This
has been a very interesting discussion to watch unfold. Earlier
in the week, we talked about some of the commentary
(21:01):
and played you some audio from representatives of North Carolina,
including Congressman Brad Nott, speaking in Washington, d c. About
the President's attempt to crack down and clean up crime
in the District of Columbia. This discussion does continue to
be a major national discussion pinning the President against the
(21:22):
cities and the states like Illinois and others with incredibly
high crime rates in cities like Chicago. You can read
some additional details on this FBI report that again does
show Winston Salem as the fourteenth state, fourteenth city rather
on the FBI list of a high crime across the
United States. That full study is available over on our website.
(21:44):
This morning, Carolina Journal dot com the headline Winston Salem
among top of US cities for crime. It's now five
point forty on the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk eleven,
ten ninety nine three WBT. Unfortunately, another company that was
planning to bring jobs to the state of North Carolina
is not coming to fruition to walk us through some
of those details this morning, Teresa Peca, Carolina Journal dot Com.
(22:08):
It joins us on the News Hour, Theresa, this has
been a pretty concerning trend. We've seen a couple of
these announcements over the last few months. A lot of
jobs promised, some decent salaries. Unfortunately it's falling by the wayside.
What are you tracking out of Edgecomb County this morning?
Speaker 4 (22:23):
Sure, Nick, Thanks for having me so.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Natron Energy is the latest company to make that announcement. There,
California based company that they plan to build the first
of its kind US Giggle wattscale sodium ion battery plant
in Edgecombe County near Rocky Mount.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
But they ceased operating on Wednesday.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Gave the notification to their employees in both California and Michigan.
But the big story here in North Carolina is that
a proposed factory that was supposed to be built. And
again it just seems like we have so many of
these announcements coming out each month.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Yeah, of course, this is another company that is in
a technology related field developing this first kind of battery
technology as folks look at maybe replacing lithium ion or
other sorts of battery and power delivery that are available.
So to Resa, I guess it's a relatively risky sector.
Earlier last year they tried going and getting some additional
(23:23):
rounds of funding for company expansion, and it just doesn't
look like they were able to raise the capitol or
get enough investors in the door to make something like
this a reality, that's right.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
So the board of directors put out this memo or
to their employees to let them know that and also
in the war notice, the notice for the employees when
they were closing, they could not raise the sufficient funding
to keep going with their current expenses and proposed expenses
(23:55):
for the North Carolina plant.
Speaker 4 (23:57):
So they did try that.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Fortunately it didn't come to fruition and they have to
cease operations in both California and Michigan. And then that
proposed plant that was supposed to it was supposed to
be one point four billion dollar factory at the Kingsboro
CSX select megasite and create a thousand jobs with an
(24:21):
average salary of over sixty four thousand dollars. And so
you know, that's the second big blow to that area
for proposed jobs.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
You talk about that salary, that's almost twenty thousand dollars
more at least on average than the median income in
Edgecombe County, Teresa. So not only were these thousand jobs
coming to the area, of course, bolstering the economy there,
but that's a very significant salary for that area of
the state.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
Right right correct.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
And it's a mainly rural area, so that would have
been a huge boost to the people there and who
need some really good paying jobs. You know, costs are
going up every day see that, you know, whether it's
a grocery bill, electric bill.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
So yeah, it's a pretty big loss.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
In addition, you say, I was supposed to have an
annual payroll impact of nearly seventy seven million dollars and
just bring so much, you know, money into the economy
of the state's economy one point four I believe it
was one point four billion dollars or rather, excuse me,
three point four billion into the state's economy. So yeah,
(25:27):
another huge blow to that area and also to the
state's economy as well.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
You mentioned that this was built on one of these megasites.
There's a these are kind of popping up around the
state areas that predominantly maybe in the past had large
manufacturing or kind of being revitalized and in trying to
entice new business to move there. That you said, this
is the second major announcement of a company that was
supposed to start some operations outside the Rocky Mount area.
(25:54):
That's no longer happening, correct.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
So, Chinese owned Triangle Tire in twenty seventeen announced that
they would be building a tire making operation at that
same site, promising about eight hundred jobs and roughly five
hundred and eighty million dollar investment, but unfortunately it may
have twenty twenty two, the company pulled out of the project.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
So, you know, it's just you try to be hopeful, especially.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
In a rural area where the economy is lacking as
opposed to maybe areas like Charlotte or Raleigh or you know,
different areas of that in nature.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
So yeah, it was.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
A not more not any good news for that area.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
We've talked about in the past. A couple of weeks ago, Teresa,
we were talking about VinFast and some other companies throughout
North Carolina that had this fruit dangled in front of
them known as a JDIG grant, a Job development Improvement
grant from the state of North Carolina, as well as
some other economic incentives including the state building out infrastructure
and roadways. Is this company that we're talking about this
(27:01):
morning in Edgecombe County, were they all eligible for j
DID grants and were they approved for any of that?
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Yes, So the state awarded the company twenty one point
seven million dollars ja DID grant for a twelve year term,
and also thirty million dollars from the North Carolina Megasite
Readiness Program that would get the site prepared to you know,
get you know, electricity, things of that nature, get it
(27:28):
already with the expectation the project would grow the state's
economy by with like we said, three point four billion,
And of course they.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
Did not receive any of that funding.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
It was all contention on providing the jobs that they
did agree to. What was noted in many different reports
is this is one of the fastest announcements of a
JA did grant gone bad if you want to go
that way, It just was a short announcement. They just
announced it last year that they were proposing this factory
and then pulled out this year.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Yeah, obviously a pretty quick turnaround time, and that's some
unfortunate news for those folks in Edgecombe County and the
surrounding areas that could have taken advantage of it. Teresa,
We've got some additional details on this company and some
other stories related to Jay dig in some state investments.
Where can folks go and get those details this morning?
Speaker 4 (28:18):
Sure they can head on over to Carolina Journal dot com.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
We appreciate the update. Teresa Opeka joins us on the
Carolina Journal News Hour. The sixth annual WBT Little Hero's
Blood Drive continues Headed your Way Thursday, September the eleventh.
WBT and the One Blood, Big Red Bus will be
at the brand new Woodies Auto Service Center in Rockhill
(28:45):
from ten am to three pm that we'll be broadcasting
live and encouraging you to make a life saving blood donation.
It's the sixth annual WBT Little Heroes Blood Drive Headed
your Way next Thursday, September the eleventh, at the Woody's
Auto Service in Rockhill. Visit WBT dot com this morning
for location details and to register your appointment. Today it's
(29:06):
five point fifty three. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal,
News Hour, News Talk eleven ten ninety nine to three WBT.
Earlier this week, the United States Department of Agriculture announced
that it would invest more than eight million dollars into
five new projects, including one in North Carolina. These projects
are set to improve forest health by reducing wildfire risk
(29:29):
and improving water quality. This is a very relevant and
timely issue for North Carolina, as Steve Troxler, the Commissioner
of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, told lawmakers earlier
this year that North Carolina is now the number one
state in the nation. At risk for wildfires. The state
does have two of those primary wildfire seasons, one that
(29:51):
passed in the spring and one that's right around the
corner in the fall. According to a press release from USDA,
the Joint Chief's LI Landscape Restoration Partnership Program is a
collaborative program between the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service and
the us Forest Service designed to address conservation challenges across
(30:16):
both public and private lands at a very large scale.
This year, eight million dollars will support new projects, completing
a thirty two million dollar project that has already be
invested in twenty four ongoing projects. According to Tom Schultz,
the Forest Service Chief, wildfires have no boundaries, and neither
(30:37):
should our prevention work. We need everyone at the table
to deliver this kind of active management that will return
our forests to health and productivity. Joint Chiefs put local
leaders in the driver's seat, enabling cross boundary work based
on shared priorities with states, partners, industries, and forest land owners.
(30:59):
A win win. The five new projects include efforts across
several states to restore and protect essential landscapes. Those projects
are going to be taking place in Alabama, Colorado, Wyoming,
as well as other natural forests and natural parks, including
here in North Carolina is going the project is going
(31:21):
to be taking place in the sand Hills where that
project is set to take place. It is a Phase
two project and it covers More, Randolph, Richmond, and Stanley Counties,
all of that in Congressional Districts eight and nine across
our state. The project aims to reduce wildfire risks to
communities and landowners by expanding the use of forestry best
(31:44):
practices as well as strengthening the capability and capacity of
private landowners to conduct safe and effective prescribed or controlled burns.
The natural forest lands that are going to be getting
this work done in North Carolina run roughly eighteen thousand
acres and are set to be restored and improved through
(32:06):
prescribed fires as well as other treatments from forest officials.
These efforts will lower fuel loads, enhance public and private safety,
and help protect communities from wildfire threats. In addition, the
project's forest management practices will boost downstream water yield in
critical watersheds as well as helping secure water quality in
(32:29):
water quality for residents and industries. Prescribe burns have proven
to be one of the most effective forms for wildfire management,
and North Carolina is one of eleven southern states that
currently have a full time burn management certification program. You
can read some additional details on these five projects that
(32:51):
are going to be taking place across the United States,
one of them in North Carolina over on our website
This morning, Carolina Journal dot com. The story's headline to
be home to new USDA forest project. Well, that's going
to do it for a Friday edition of The Carolina
Journal News Hour. WBT News is next, followed by Good
Morning BT. We're back with you Monday morning, five to
(33:12):
six right here on News Talk eleven, ten and ninety
nine three WBT
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