September 2, 2025 • 34 mins
A Canadian citizen has been indicted for illegally voting in North Carolina elections. Western NC has been approved for more than $124 million in federal recovery funding for Hurricane Helene, while AmeriCorps has released additional disaster relief money despite ongoing scrutiny over failed audits. A new Martin Center report criticizes DEI-driven curricula in medical schools, and State Treasurer Brad Briner has uncovered $170 million in unspent taxpayer funds.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
It's five oh five a good Tuesday morning, and welcome
into the Carolina Journal News Our News Tack eleven, ten
ninety nine three WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
We are following some updates on a story brought to
you late last week about an individual that is being
charged with illegally voting in the state of North Carolina.
(00:30):
Records indicate and show this individual having voted in the
state for over twenty years over the last since the
early two thousands. Here are the details as we've got
them this morning. A federal grand jury in dieted a
Canadian citizen late last week for allegedly registering to vote
and voting in federal elections in both twenty twenty two
(00:52):
and twenty twenty four across North Carolina. The individual's name
at Dennis Bouchard. He's sixty nine years old, and he's
falsely claimed to have been a US citizen to vote
in a federal election, including the most recent twenty twenty
four presidential election. Bouchard, who has resided in the United
States since the nineteen sixties, never went through the process
(01:15):
of obtaining US citizenship. Despite his immigration status, Bouchard certified
that he was a US citizen on voter registration applications
in twenty twenty two and twenty twenty four, when he
cast a ballot in the twenty four presidential election and
the twenty two midterm elections. US Attorney Ellis Boyle for
(01:37):
the Eastern District of North Carolina said, quote, every single
time a non citizen casts an illegal vote in North Carolina,
it steals and nullifies the vote of an actual citizen.
If the records are correct, this Canadian citizen appears to
have voted in New Hanover and Pender Counties, both in
southeastern North Carolina elections over the last twenty years. We
(02:02):
intend to prove his illegal conduct and court and put
it to an end. Sam Hayes, the executive director of
the North Carolina State Board of Elections, says that he
appreciates the collaboration between state and federal officials, noting, I
am proud of the efforts of our investigators who worked
this case prior to handing it off to our law
(02:23):
enforcement partners at the FBI. Nothing is more critical than
our democracy than confidence in our electoral process, which is
why vigorous enforcement of our election laws must be a priority,
said Hayes. The State Board of Elections team continues to
stand ready to assist the US Attorney's Office as they
(02:44):
investigate and prosecute voter fraud in North Carolina, So it
would appear, at least from Sam Hayes, that this was
an internal investigation, potentially starting locally, then making its way
up to the North Carolina State Board of Elections before
being turned over to federal officials, where it is now
being prosecuted. According to records from the State Board of Elections,
(03:07):
a voter with the exact same name has been casting
ballots in both New Hanover and Pender Counties going back
to the two thousand and four general election. Court records
a show prosecutor or a court records to this point
show that prosecutors have not yet indicated that they are
investigating any additional illegal voting outside of the twenty twenty
(03:29):
two to twenty twenty four elections. Andy Jackson, the director
of the John Locke Foundation CIVITA Center for Public Integrity,
told The Carolina Journal that this type of fraud is
pretty hard to protect against, saying, quote, this kind of
election fraud that mister Bouchard committed is difficult to detect
(03:49):
and prevent. North Carolina does not have citizenship verification for voting,
and checking a box on a registration form declaring that
you are a citizen will hardly deter someone who is
committed to committing fraud. This is set to be an
interesting story to a watch. We'll keep an eye on
(04:09):
the illegal filings out of the Eastern District of North Carolina,
where this case is being prosecuted by newly named Attorney
ed Ellisa Boyle in that position. Again, the Eastern District
is very large, serving forty four counties across the eastern
half of North Carolina. We've got some additional details, including
a screenshot and link to those previous voting records, over
(04:32):
on our website this morning, Carolina Journal dot com the
headline there Canadian indicted for illegally voting in North Carolina elections.
We'll keep a close eye on the details right here
on the Carolina Journal News Hour, where it's now five
to ten, News Talk eleven, ten ninety nine to three WBT.
Later this month will be the one year anniversary of
(04:54):
Hurricane Helene and its devastating impacts across the western half
of North Carolina. Over the last year or so, we
have been continually tracking recovery and relief efforts over on
our website, Carolina Journal dot com and right here on
the Carolina or Journal News Hour. To give us an
update as we get ever closer to that one year mark,
tereso Peka, Carolina Journal dot com. It joins us on
(05:16):
the news Hour, Teresa. Some money continues to flow from
the FEDS and state government into western North Carolina. What
are some of those figures starting to look like?
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Sure? Good morning, Nick, So we have some recently released
figures from a Homeland Security Secretary, Christine Noman FEMA. She
announced in the last week or so that the state
would receive a little over one hundred and twenty four
million dollars in recovery funding for damage that was caused
by Hurricane Helen. One of the announcements was twenty eight
(05:49):
million in funding, and they also had a previous announcement
of ninety six million in recovery funding. The funding will
help cover items like road repairs, critical infrastructure restoration, also
some debris removal and other emergency actions that were taken
to protect life and property following the storm. That money
(06:10):
is reimbursed through the FEMA's Public Assistance program and that
funds the state and local government's response and recovery work.
She also announced two date or government officials rather announced
to date that more than six hundred and fifty five
million has been provided to the state for all those
items mentioned, including the road repair debris removal, and since
(06:34):
January twentieth, more than three hundred and fifty million in
public assistance reimbursements has been approved to support those recovery
efforts here in North Carolina.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
You know, Teresa, this is an interesting article. I've read
some other articles over the last week or so seen
some commentary on social media indicating that really no money
at all has flown in from the federal government. That
is seemingly being called out as inaccurate by Christy Noman
some officials from FEMA. While it might not be necessarily
as fast as folks might want it to be, the
(07:06):
money is flowing, correct, correct.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Yeah, you're right again. We all know how government is,
and it doesn't matter who's in office government. Usually the
federal government's pretty slow about getting money out to you know,
to states and to other people that are in need. Unfortunately,
it's one of those red tape processes, but the money
is flowing. As we said, misnome, I just wanted to
(07:33):
you know, put out these press releases and to let
everybody know that, yeah, you know, the funding is coming
in North Carolina again. You know, Governor Stein held this
press conference for Hurricane Aaron a few weeks ago. At
that time, he said he expressed appreciation for you know,
FEMA and Homeland Security, but he noted that there are
(07:56):
still one hundred million dollars for other projects that needs
to be reimbursed. So yeah, it's slow, it's coming along,
you know, but yeah, there is definitely money coming into
the state.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
And obviously this reimbursement is going to be helpful for
a lot of those small municipalities, towns, and cities throughout
western North Carolina that have had to expend in some
cases two or three times their yearly budgets Teresa to
begin some of these cleanup and recovery projects. So some
good news there. On the other side of the coin,
the State of North Carolina since December of last year,
(08:29):
has continually been allocating funds to Western North Carolina. A
group called renew NC is continuing some of their workout
in western North Carolina. What are you following there?
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Sure, So, renew NC they have completed the repairs on
the first home in western North Carolina under their single
family housing program. They did name Madeline Waters was the
first applicant and the renew and C is funded by
(09:02):
a federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Grant CDBGDR
from hud And of the total one point four billion
dollars in that funding that was allocated to the state
for Western North Carolina recovery needs, eight hundred and seven
million is allocated to that renew and SEE single family
(09:23):
housing program. So it's just the first in a series
of recovery initiatives they are going to be offered by
North Carolina's Commerce Department's Division of Community Revitalization under that
program of renew and C. So there is more to
come on this, but yeah, they got the first home
repairs finished completed on that house.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
And it might be important to mention that this is
not all of the work that is going to continue
to go on out in the western half of the state.
This specific grant that we're talking about, this is predominantly
for low to moderate income households across the western half
of the st day. Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (10:02):
That is correct. We have a full listing of all
the counties that are approved and eligible in the story.
But that's just the first in a series of that.
Later this year, two additional renew and see housing programs
will be offered. That's going to address some multi family
housing and workforce housing for ownership. Also, infrastructure and economic
(10:22):
revitalization programs will also be launched in the coming months.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Absolutely, the recovery does continue, albeit maybe a little bit
slower than some folks would want it to, but it
is continuing across the western half of North Carolina. We'll
continue to track that as we get ever closer to
that one year anniversary of Hurricane Helen and the devastation
and destruction left behind. We appreciate the details. This morning,
Teresa Opeka joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
(10:55):
It's five twenty one. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal
News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety nine to three WBT.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson has announced that AMERICRPS
and the Federal Office of Management and Budget will release
hundreds of millions of dollars in previously a frozen of
federal funds. The move is set to reverse a Trump
(11:18):
administration directive that had halted the group's volunteer work earlier
this year amid concerns of waste and mismanagement, all of
this at the agency following multiple failed audits over a
pretty significant span of time. AMERICRPS, the federal service agency,
is tasked with coordinating national volunteer efforts and has allocated
(11:40):
a significant amount of money more than one point two
billion dollars worth of taxpayer funds every year in the
federal budget, but over the last couple of years, has
been under increased scrutiny following eight consecutive failed financial audits.
Earlier this year, Jackson signed North Carolina onto to an
existing lawsuit by dozens of other state officials, all of
(12:04):
whom are Democrats. In celebrated the release of taxpayer money
in a press release late last week. Jackson's announcement did
not reference the failed financial audits and mismanagement concerns that
continue to surround AmeriCorps. A November twenty twenty four independent
audit revealed that the federal entities financial statements could not
(12:27):
be verified, resulting in a quote disclaimer of opinion. Auditors
identified eleven material weaknesses and two significant deficiencies in internal controls,
financial reporting, and IT systems within the agency. Some of
these are reoccurring deficiencies date all the way back to
(12:48):
twenty seventeen and have yet to be corrected. In December
of twenty two, then once again in twenty twenty four,
AMERICRPS was forced was the focus rather of investment the
gate of hearings on Capitol Hill by US House Subcommittee
on Education and Workforce Development members. At the time, Subcommittee chairman,
(13:09):
Representative at Burgess Owens, the Republican out of Utah, said, quote, Unfortunately,
AMERICRPS has a long history of abusing taxpayer dollars. AMERICRPS
is entrusted with over one billion dollars worth of taxpayer
funds every year. With a result of failure of eight
consecutive audits. In twenty twenty three, AMERICRPS Inspector General issued
(13:33):
a management Challenge report detailing significant challenges that the entity faced.
This being unable to detect fraud. We have no real
idea when AMERICRPS will be able to have a clean
audit again. In fact, this year's audit includes seventy eight
recommendations that are still open even after AMERICRPS said that
(13:55):
it addressed twenty last year, and the quote ending the
quote there from the subcommittee chairman, Representative Burgess Owens out
of Utah. The audit findings and lawmakers investigations have raised
red flags of mismanagement and led the Trump administration earlier
this year back in April, to direct a Mayor Corps
(14:15):
to halt all recovery work by more than fifty full
time volunteers in western North Carolina. This was part of
a broader program freeze of over four hundred million dollars
and seven hundred and fifty service personnel nationwide. In response
to that freeze, Attorney General Jeff Jackson I, Democrat, joined
(14:36):
twenty two other Democratic Attorney generals, along with the Democratic
governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, ensuing the Trump administration. They
argued that the freeze unlawfully withheld funds that had already
been appropriated by Congress. A federal judge then issued a
preliminary injunction back on June the fifth, ordering the restoration
(14:59):
of grant funding and reinstatement of AMERICRPS. Members through staff. However,
staff terminations were not restored. In the President's budget for
twenty twenty six, the administration proposed closing AMERICRPS. A White
House spokesperson defended the administration's actions by saying, in June, quote,
(15:19):
AMERICRPS has failed eight consecutive audits and identified over forty
five million dollars in improper payments in just twenty twenty
four alone. President Trump has the right to restore accountability
to the excite and to the entire executive branch. That
was told to Politico back in the month of June.
(15:40):
Attorney General Jeff Jackson says the path is now clear
for immediate distribution of those funds, noting in a press
release quote, the federal government knew that it would lose
against dust in court because it had no right to
cut the funds of AMERICRPS that Congress had already authorized.
This money belongs to North Carolina and is crucial for
(16:01):
Western North Carolina recovery. According to Jackson, restoring funds will
now resume operations for several Western North Carolina recovery initiatives,
one known as Project Mars, which is funding of the
Big Brothers and Big Sisters Program of Western North Carolina
forty five staff members there, aiding eighteen counties with meals, supplies,
(16:25):
shelter and school support. Another entity called Project Conserve twenty
five staff members there, serving twenty five counties, though that
project focuses on debris removal, tree planting, and storm system repair,
as well as Project Power, which includes fourteen staff member
(16:45):
helping more than ten thousand residents in Buncom, Henderson, and
Madison Counties with food distribution, wellness checks, and clean up efforts.
Additional programs include literary services, community gardening, mental health support,
teacher assistance, and grocery distribution. Again, I'll note that Attorney
(17:07):
General Jeff Jackson did not include any of the very
checkered past in terms of financial history of AmeriCorps, some
of the huge deficiencies within the programs failing financial audits
over the last eight years. Last week's release of the
withheld funds allows AmeriCorps recovery programs in Western North Carolina
(17:29):
and elsewhere throughout the United States to continue even as
the entity remains under severe a federal audit scrutiny. This
case highlights an ongoing tension between addressing addressing waste and
financial mismanagement problems at the federal level, while some state
officials look to ensure that federal taxpayer funded programs proceed
(17:51):
without interruption, regardless of whether there's waste, fraud, and serious
financial concerns at foot. You can read some additional details
about this lawsuit the money being sent out now in
some of the programs that will be funded will continue
funding this morning. Those details over on our website Carolina
Journal dot com. The story's headline AmeriCorps freeze recovery funds
(18:15):
despite scrutiny over failed audits. Again. That full story available
over on our website, Carolina Journal dot com. It's five
thirty six, so welcome back to the Carolina Journal News.
Our newstock eleven ten ninety nine three WBTA concerning new
(18:36):
report out this morning showing the DEI agenda alive and
well at medical schools across the United States. This new
research report from the James G. Martin Center for Academic
Renewal shows that top medical schools across the nation have
integrated the diversity, equity and inclusion agenda across admissions, faculty hiring,
(18:58):
and their curriculum. The report, written by the Martin Center's
Jay Shallon argues for a return to merit based systems,
especially given the importance of other systems in such crucial
areas such as medicine. Jenna Robinson, who is the president
of the Martin Setter send at a statement quote medical
(19:20):
education must prioritize competence, not ideology. This report reveals the
extent to which DEI policies are weakening the physician pipeline
at a time when Americans need highly skilled, well trained doctors.
Most of the nation's leading medical schools openly emphasize diversity
(19:41):
in their mission statement. According to the Martin Center report,
Harvard Medical School, for example, places diversity at a core
of its purpose, with a commitment to quote alleviating suffering
through an inclusive community. All of the top ten of
rank of medical schools suggests some level of preference or
special consideration for applicants from underrepresented groups, often through subjective
(20:08):
criteria and tailored programs. Faculty requirements are similarly affected with
the DEI agenda. For example, at the John Hopkins School
of Medicine, it explicitly seeks candidates who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership, service, diversity,
and teamwork. Many schools, like the University of California's San
(20:31):
Francisco also known ASSSUCSF, require applicants to submit personal statements
that highlight their involvement in DEI initiatives or commitment to
working with diverse communities, a potential workaround to race neutral standards.
The author of the report, in Jay Shallon, notes that
(20:53):
an alignment with federal policies has recently tampered down some
of these practices. Shallon writing, quote, all over American universities,
including medical schools, appear to have backed off their aggressive
DEI agenda due to Trump's executive orders. The jury is
still out whether these institutions are reducing their emphasis on
(21:17):
DEI in fact, or are merely continuing them as before
without making them publicly known. Past examples reveal ongoing attempts
to bypass legal restrictions. Harvard's twenty twenty three Supreme Court
defeat led to a subtle but clear shift, replacing an
optional essay on applications with prompts designed to continue race
(21:42):
based considerations under different names. As Joshua Winen of the
Aspen Institute noted, such changes are clearly designed to allow
continued race constance administration, contrary to a ruling from the
nation's highest core. Jay Shallen writes that restoring merit based
(22:03):
standards in medical education is essential to preserving quality and
patient safety across the United States. Some of his recommendations
include abolishing all DEI policies that prioritize that rather politicize,
healthcare education, emphasizing that healthcare decisions must be driven by
(22:25):
competence and not social engineering. Some of the other include
requiring all applicants to submit standardize MCAT scores, ensuring that
future doctor processes are essential knowledge and cognitive skills. We've
got a list this morning of some of his other
recommendations and a full link to the new report from
(22:46):
the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal That is
all available over on our website this morning, Carolina Journal
dot com. The headline story there, Martin Center report exposes
DEI agenda in METAD schools. Again, those details available over
on our website, Carolina Journal dot com, where it's now
five forty, News Talk eleven, ten ninety nine to three WBT.
(23:10):
Sometimes you pull an old jacket out of the closet
and find, wow, there's twenty dollars sitting in the pocket.
How about if you did that and you found one
hundred and seventy million dollars, That's exactly what's going on
here in North Carolina. To walk us through those details,
Teresa Opeka, Carolina Journal dot Com. That's a Teresa. One
hundred and seventy million dollars is a pretty significant amount
of money to find in the Treasurer's office. What's going
(23:33):
on there?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Sure, good morning, Nick, Thanks for having me. Yeah, I
wish I could find one hundred and seventy million lying
around my pockets and my coats or whatever. But yeah,
big discovery, significant discovery made by the treasurer. He found
that as part of a detailed review of the state's
counts and what he said, you know, through the review,
(23:55):
we found that money sitting idle in the state's accounts
for years. Amazing. He said that money could be could
be put to good use, and they're intending to do
that and by reducing outstanding debt to improve the fiscal
health of the state. But they can you know, again,
they're limited to what they can do with it. So unfortunately,
(24:17):
you and I and the rest of the listeners aren't
getting any of that money. They're going to refund debt
fund capital projects approved by the General Assembly and maybe
in some instances projects approved by the states voters. Thanks,
we did vote on so it would come back to
us in a similar way. But yeah, what a chunk
of change to find after a number of years.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
And Teresa, obviously we don't have any details on additional
cases of this, but I don't think many folks would
be surprised or shocked to figure out there's similar amounts
of money, maybe a little bit more, maybe a little
bit less, sitting out there throughout other accounts in the
state of North Carolina. This is probably an overall problem
and government in general is accountability and really keeping track
of where money's going. We're talking about one hundred and
(24:59):
seventy million dollars here.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean you got to wonder, like
what else can be found?
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Right?
Speaker 2 (25:07):
You know that the treasure of Briner's department has gone
through such a review of all of that, Like he said,
his department has undergone reviews of internal policies and procedures
and practices of things of that nature. Maybe other departments
should maybe take a second look at, you know, different accounts.
And I'm sure they would find maybe not one hundred
(25:30):
and seventy million, but they probably could find a substantial
amount of money, and that would be great for everybody
for the state.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
In some other news out of the Treasurer's office, last week,
the North Carolina Investment Authority Board held its first organizational meeting.
I remember talking about this a couple of months ago
when it was first announced. What is this board's responsibility,
what are they going to be doing?
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Sure, so this came out of a bill that was
passed into law in June, the twenty twenty five State
Investment Modernization Act. It's going to revamp how the state
manages it's two hundred billion dollars in public funds, and
that includes one hundred and twenty nine billion from the
state's retirement systems and cash management other funds right now.
(26:19):
Before this took place, the state Treasurer was the sole
fiduciary on how to manage those funds. But Treasurer Briner,
you know, he campaigned on this. He thought, you know,
it really should go to a whole board, a number
of people to have a set of checks and balances
versus one person, because that opens up the door for
(26:40):
a possible fraud, not saying that there was any going on,
but that's he said. It would be a better model.
And also, you know, they could take a better look
at maybe maximizing more funds for people, growing those funds,
better investment decisions. So yeah, it was something that he
campaigned on and fought for, and that the bill was
(27:02):
signed into law by Governor Stein back in June. So
there we go.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
When you look at something like this, a Treasure Briner
is a Republican the governor of the state, and Josh
Stein is a Democrat. There's not much that the Council
of State and the governor have agreed on over the
last couple of months. However, this is one of the
issues Teresa, that seemingly Stein is all behind, is in
full support.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Of right right back in June, he did say, we
do have profound differences in our state, and we've had
those for a long period of time. But if we
could deliver one percent more, we'll be able to deliver
two billion, two billion dollars a year more to our
state budget, and that's why we're doing this. He also
emphasized the significance of the new law at the bill's
(27:45):
signing because it is Treasurer Briner says, brings more voices
to the table when it comes to making decisions about
the state's retirement system. So he's an agreement, you say,
it's very rare that the governor and council state comes
to such an agreement on such an on different issues.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
It's important to note with this that North Carolina was
kind of an outlier when it came to this responsibility. Yes,
the treasure is an elected position has to get presumably,
you know, could be tens of millions of votes across
the state of North Carolina to get elected into that office.
But very few states had a set up like this, Teresa,
(28:24):
which which made North Carolina kind of unique.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Yes, you're correct, it did. It did so. Yeah, So
it's bringing bringing the state into agreement with several other states,
you know, and we have seen a definite change. It
looks like a change for the better on different things
that treasure Briner has put into effects since he took office.
(28:49):
But you're correct, it's North Carolina was one of the
few states that still had that sole fiduciary model in place.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
There's some details this morning on who some of those
born members are of this brand new investment authority. Where
can folks go and get some of those details?
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Sure, they can head on over to Carolina Journal dot com.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
We appreciate the update. This morning, Teresa Opeika joins us
on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Hey Charlotte, it's time
for the sixth annual WBT Little Heroes Blood Drive heading
your way this Thursday, September fourth. WBT and the One Blood,
(29:30):
Big Red Bus will be at the Doghouse and Uptown
Charlotte from ten am to three pm. 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 this coming Thursday, September the fourth, at the
Doghouse in Uptown Charlotte. Visit WBT dot com this morning
(29:51):
for location details and register for your appointment. It's now
five point fifty three. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal
News Hour News Talk eleven ten ninety nine to three WBT.
As we get ever closer to the one year anniversary
of Hurricane Helene and the devastation and impacts left and
the western half of North Carolina. So far, the state
(30:13):
has been approved for more than one hundred and twenty
four million dollars in recovery funding from damage caused by Helene.
Secretary Christy Nome announced her late last week that the
state would receive twenty eight additional million dollars in federal funding.
This funding helped covers items like road repairs, critical infrastructure restoration,
(30:36):
debris removal, and other emergency actions taken to protect life
and property following the storm. FEMA reimburses the cost through
its Public Assistance program, which funds state and local government's
response and recovery work. Gnome announced on August the twenty
(30:56):
first that the state would receive ninety six million dollars
in additional recovery funding. Government officials have said to this
day to more than six hundred and fifty five million
dollars has been provided to the state for road repair,
debris removal, critical infrastructure repair, and more. Since January the twentieth,
(31:17):
more than three hundred and fifty million dollars in public
assistance reimbursement has been approved to support recovery efforts in
many of the small towns and communities in the western
half of our state. Turning our attention Stateside, Governor Josh
Stein announced on Wednesday that renew NC North Carolina is
(31:37):
a long term disaster recovery initiative finished making storm related
repairs to the first home approved through A four assistance
through renew nc's single family housing program. An individual living
out in Western North Carolina was the first applicant approved
through the disaster assistance program. Renew NC is funded by
(32:01):
a Federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery known as
a CDBGDR from the United States Department of Housing and
Urban Development, also known as HUD. Of the total one
point four billion dollars into federal grants funding that was
allocated to the state from Western North Carolina, more than
(32:23):
eight hundred and seven million dollars worth of that money
is allocated to the renew NC Single Family Housing program.
This program is the first of a series of recovery
efforts to be offered by the North Carolina Commerce Department's
Division of Community Revitalization under the program name renew and C.
(32:46):
Low to moderate income households from a plethora of counties
in the western half of the state of North Carolina
are eligible, and North Carolina is the first state affected
by Hurricane Helene to start its Home and Reconstruction program,
the fastest state in more than a decade since Hurricane
Sandy to begin rebuilding homes after a major hurricane, using
(33:11):
some of that federal money coming in from HUD. The
governor said in a press release quote, Rebuilding safe and
sustainable housing is crucial to helping western North Carolina get
back on its feet. Completing our first home is an
important milestone in the Hurricane Hallen recovery process. I applaud
(33:31):
my team for moving at a record speed. Let's keep
swinging hammers and getting more families back home. You can
read some additional details on this grant program, including all
of the counties eligible, as well as some of those
federal announcements. All of that available this morning over on
our website, Carolina Journal dot com. The headline WNC approved
(33:54):
for over one hundred and twenty four million dollars in
federal recovery funding. That's going to do it. For a
Tuesday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour, We're back
with you tomorrow morning, five to six right here on
News Talk eleven, ten and ninety nine three WBT
It's five oh five a good Tuesday morning, and welcome
into the Carolina Journal News Our News Tack eleven, ten
ninety nine three WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
We are following some updates on a story brought to
you late last week about an individual that is being
charged with illegally voting in the state of North Carolina.
(00:30):
Records indicate and show this individual having voted in the
state for over twenty years over the last since the
early two thousands. Here are the details as we've got
them this morning. A federal grand jury in dieted a
Canadian citizen late last week for allegedly registering to vote
and voting in federal elections in both twenty twenty two
(00:52):
and twenty twenty four across North Carolina. The individual's name
at Dennis Bouchard. He's sixty nine years old, and he's
falsely claimed to have been a US citizen to vote
in a federal election, including the most recent twenty twenty
four presidential election. Bouchard, who has resided in the United
States since the nineteen sixties, never went through the process
(01:15):
of obtaining US citizenship. Despite his immigration status, Bouchard certified
that he was a US citizen on voter registration applications
in twenty twenty two and twenty twenty four, when he
cast a ballot in the twenty four presidential election and
the twenty two midterm elections. US Attorney Ellis Boyle for
(01:37):
the Eastern District of North Carolina said, quote, every single
time a non citizen casts an illegal vote in North Carolina,
it steals and nullifies the vote of an actual citizen.
If the records are correct, this Canadian citizen appears to
have voted in New Hanover and Pender Counties, both in
southeastern North Carolina elections over the last twenty years. We
(02:02):
intend to prove his illegal conduct and court and put
it to an end. Sam Hayes, the executive director of
the North Carolina State Board of Elections, says that he
appreciates the collaboration between state and federal officials, noting, I
am proud of the efforts of our investigators who worked
this case prior to handing it off to our law
(02:23):
enforcement partners at the FBI. Nothing is more critical than
our democracy than confidence in our electoral process, which is
why vigorous enforcement of our election laws must be a priority,
said Hayes. The State Board of Elections team continues to
stand ready to assist the US Attorney's Office as they
(02:44):
investigate and prosecute voter fraud in North Carolina, So it
would appear, at least from Sam Hayes, that this was
an internal investigation, potentially starting locally, then making its way
up to the North Carolina State Board of Elections before
being turned over to federal officials, where it is now
being prosecuted. According to records from the State Board of Elections,
(03:07):
a voter with the exact same name has been casting
ballots in both New Hanover and Pender Counties going back
to the two thousand and four general election. Court records
a show prosecutor or a court records to this point
show that prosecutors have not yet indicated that they are
investigating any additional illegal voting outside of the twenty twenty
(03:29):
two to twenty twenty four elections. Andy Jackson, the director
of the John Locke Foundation CIVITA Center for Public Integrity,
told The Carolina Journal that this type of fraud is
pretty hard to protect against, saying, quote, this kind of
election fraud that mister Bouchard committed is difficult to detect
(03:49):
and prevent. North Carolina does not have citizenship verification for voting,
and checking a box on a registration form declaring that
you are a citizen will hardly deter someone who is
committed to committing fraud. This is set to be an
interesting story to a watch. We'll keep an eye on
(04:09):
the illegal filings out of the Eastern District of North Carolina,
where this case is being prosecuted by newly named Attorney
ed Ellisa Boyle in that position. Again, the Eastern District
is very large, serving forty four counties across the eastern
half of North Carolina. We've got some additional details, including
a screenshot and link to those previous voting records, over
(04:32):
on our website this morning, Carolina Journal dot com the
headline there Canadian indicted for illegally voting in North Carolina elections.
We'll keep a close eye on the details right here
on the Carolina Journal News Hour, where it's now five
to ten, News Talk eleven, ten ninety nine to three WBT.
Later this month will be the one year anniversary of
(04:54):
Hurricane Helene and its devastating impacts across the western half
of North Carolina. Over the last year or so, we
have been continually tracking recovery and relief efforts over on
our website, Carolina Journal dot com and right here on
the Carolina or Journal News Hour. To give us an
update as we get ever closer to that one year mark,
tereso Peka, Carolina Journal dot com. It joins us on
(05:16):
the news Hour, Teresa. Some money continues to flow from
the FEDS and state government into western North Carolina. What
are some of those figures starting to look like?
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Sure? Good morning, Nick, So we have some recently released
figures from a Homeland Security Secretary, Christine Noman FEMA. She
announced in the last week or so that the state
would receive a little over one hundred and twenty four
million dollars in recovery funding for damage that was caused
by Hurricane Helen. One of the announcements was twenty eight
(05:49):
million in funding, and they also had a previous announcement
of ninety six million in recovery funding. The funding will
help cover items like road repairs, critical infrastructure restoration, also
some debris removal and other emergency actions that were taken
to protect life and property following the storm. That money
(06:10):
is reimbursed through the FEMA's Public Assistance program and that
funds the state and local government's response and recovery work.
She also announced two date or government officials rather announced
to date that more than six hundred and fifty five
million has been provided to the state for all those
items mentioned, including the road repair debris removal, and since
(06:34):
January twentieth, more than three hundred and fifty million in
public assistance reimbursements has been approved to support those recovery
efforts here in North Carolina.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
You know, Teresa, this is an interesting article. I've read
some other articles over the last week or so seen
some commentary on social media indicating that really no money
at all has flown in from the federal government. That
is seemingly being called out as inaccurate by Christy Noman
some officials from FEMA. While it might not be necessarily
as fast as folks might want it to be, the
(07:06):
money is flowing, correct, correct.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Yeah, you're right again. We all know how government is,
and it doesn't matter who's in office government. Usually the
federal government's pretty slow about getting money out to you know,
to states and to other people that are in need. Unfortunately,
it's one of those red tape processes, but the money
is flowing. As we said, misnome, I just wanted to
(07:33):
you know, put out these press releases and to let
everybody know that, yeah, you know, the funding is coming
in North Carolina again. You know, Governor Stein held this
press conference for Hurricane Aaron a few weeks ago. At
that time, he said he expressed appreciation for you know,
FEMA and Homeland Security, but he noted that there are
(07:56):
still one hundred million dollars for other projects that needs
to be reimbursed. So yeah, it's slow, it's coming along,
you know, but yeah, there is definitely money coming into
the state.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
And obviously this reimbursement is going to be helpful for
a lot of those small municipalities, towns, and cities throughout
western North Carolina that have had to expend in some
cases two or three times their yearly budgets Teresa to
begin some of these cleanup and recovery projects. So some
good news there. On the other side of the coin,
the State of North Carolina since December of last year,
(08:29):
has continually been allocating funds to Western North Carolina. A
group called renew NC is continuing some of their workout
in western North Carolina. What are you following there?
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Sure, So, renew NC they have completed the repairs on
the first home in western North Carolina under their single
family housing program. They did name Madeline Waters was the
first applicant and the renew and C is funded by
(09:02):
a federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Grant CDBGDR
from hud And of the total one point four billion
dollars in that funding that was allocated to the state
for Western North Carolina recovery needs, eight hundred and seven
million is allocated to that renew and SEE single family
(09:23):
housing program. So it's just the first in a series
of recovery initiatives they are going to be offered by
North Carolina's Commerce Department's Division of Community Revitalization under that
program of renew and C. So there is more to
come on this, but yeah, they got the first home
repairs finished completed on that house.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
And it might be important to mention that this is
not all of the work that is going to continue
to go on out in the western half of the state.
This specific grant that we're talking about, this is predominantly
for low to moderate income households across the western half
of the st day. Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (10:02):
That is correct. We have a full listing of all
the counties that are approved and eligible in the story.
But that's just the first in a series of that.
Later this year, two additional renew and see housing programs
will be offered. That's going to address some multi family
housing and workforce housing for ownership. Also, infrastructure and economic
(10:22):
revitalization programs will also be launched in the coming months.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Absolutely, the recovery does continue, albeit maybe a little bit
slower than some folks would want it to, but it
is continuing across the western half of North Carolina. We'll
continue to track that as we get ever closer to
that one year anniversary of Hurricane Helen and the devastation
and destruction left behind. We appreciate the details. This morning,
Teresa Opeka joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
(10:55):
It's five twenty one. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal
News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety nine to three WBT.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson has announced that AMERICRPS
and the Federal Office of Management and Budget will release
hundreds of millions of dollars in previously a frozen of
federal funds. The move is set to reverse a Trump
(11:18):
administration directive that had halted the group's volunteer work earlier
this year amid concerns of waste and mismanagement, all of
this at the agency following multiple failed audits over a
pretty significant span of time. AMERICRPS, the federal service agency,
is tasked with coordinating national volunteer efforts and has allocated
(11:40):
a significant amount of money more than one point two
billion dollars worth of taxpayer funds every year in the
federal budget, but over the last couple of years, has
been under increased scrutiny following eight consecutive failed financial audits.
Earlier this year, Jackson signed North Carolina onto to an
existing lawsuit by dozens of other state officials, all of
(12:04):
whom are Democrats. In celebrated the release of taxpayer money
in a press release late last week. Jackson's announcement did
not reference the failed financial audits and mismanagement concerns that
continue to surround AmeriCorps. A November twenty twenty four independent
audit revealed that the federal entities financial statements could not
(12:27):
be verified, resulting in a quote disclaimer of opinion. Auditors
identified eleven material weaknesses and two significant deficiencies in internal controls,
financial reporting, and IT systems within the agency. Some of
these are reoccurring deficiencies date all the way back to
(12:48):
twenty seventeen and have yet to be corrected. In December
of twenty two, then once again in twenty twenty four,
AMERICRPS was forced was the focus rather of investment the
gate of hearings on Capitol Hill by US House Subcommittee
on Education and Workforce Development members. At the time, Subcommittee chairman,
(13:09):
Representative at Burgess Owens, the Republican out of Utah, said, quote, Unfortunately,
AMERICRPS has a long history of abusing taxpayer dollars. AMERICRPS
is entrusted with over one billion dollars worth of taxpayer
funds every year. With a result of failure of eight
consecutive audits. In twenty twenty three, AMERICRPS Inspector General issued
(13:33):
a management Challenge report detailing significant challenges that the entity faced.
This being unable to detect fraud. We have no real
idea when AMERICRPS will be able to have a clean
audit again. In fact, this year's audit includes seventy eight
recommendations that are still open even after AMERICRPS said that
(13:55):
it addressed twenty last year, and the quote ending the
quote there from the subcommittee chairman, Representative Burgess Owens out
of Utah. The audit findings and lawmakers investigations have raised
red flags of mismanagement and led the Trump administration earlier
this year back in April, to direct a Mayor Corps
(14:15):
to halt all recovery work by more than fifty full
time volunteers in western North Carolina. This was part of
a broader program freeze of over four hundred million dollars
and seven hundred and fifty service personnel nationwide. In response
to that freeze, Attorney General Jeff Jackson I, Democrat, joined
(14:36):
twenty two other Democratic Attorney generals, along with the Democratic
governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, ensuing the Trump administration. They
argued that the freeze unlawfully withheld funds that had already
been appropriated by Congress. A federal judge then issued a
preliminary injunction back on June the fifth, ordering the restoration
(14:59):
of grant funding and reinstatement of AMERICRPS. Members through staff. However,
staff terminations were not restored. In the President's budget for
twenty twenty six, the administration proposed closing AMERICRPS. A White
House spokesperson defended the administration's actions by saying, in June, quote,
(15:19):
AMERICRPS has failed eight consecutive audits and identified over forty
five million dollars in improper payments in just twenty twenty
four alone. President Trump has the right to restore accountability
to the excite and to the entire executive branch. That
was told to Politico back in the month of June.
(15:40):
Attorney General Jeff Jackson says the path is now clear
for immediate distribution of those funds, noting in a press
release quote, the federal government knew that it would lose
against dust in court because it had no right to
cut the funds of AMERICRPS that Congress had already authorized.
This money belongs to North Carolina and is crucial for
(16:01):
Western North Carolina recovery. According to Jackson, restoring funds will
now resume operations for several Western North Carolina recovery initiatives,
one known as Project Mars, which is funding of the
Big Brothers and Big Sisters Program of Western North Carolina
forty five staff members there, aiding eighteen counties with meals, supplies,
(16:25):
shelter and school support. Another entity called Project Conserve twenty
five staff members there, serving twenty five counties, though that
project focuses on debris removal, tree planting, and storm system repair,
as well as Project Power, which includes fourteen staff member
(16:45):
helping more than ten thousand residents in Buncom, Henderson, and
Madison Counties with food distribution, wellness checks, and clean up efforts.
Additional programs include literary services, community gardening, mental health support,
teacher assistance, and grocery distribution. Again, I'll note that Attorney
(17:07):
General Jeff Jackson did not include any of the very
checkered past in terms of financial history of AmeriCorps, some
of the huge deficiencies within the programs failing financial audits
over the last eight years. Last week's release of the
withheld funds allows AmeriCorps recovery programs in Western North Carolina
(17:29):
and elsewhere throughout the United States to continue even as
the entity remains under severe a federal audit scrutiny. This
case highlights an ongoing tension between addressing addressing waste and
financial mismanagement problems at the federal level, while some state
officials look to ensure that federal taxpayer funded programs proceed
(17:51):
without interruption, regardless of whether there's waste, fraud, and serious
financial concerns at foot. You can read some additional details
about this lawsuit the money being sent out now in
some of the programs that will be funded will continue
funding this morning. Those details over on our website Carolina
Journal dot com. The story's headline AmeriCorps freeze recovery funds
(18:15):
despite scrutiny over failed audits. Again. That full story available
over on our website, Carolina Journal dot com. It's five
thirty six, so welcome back to the Carolina Journal News.
Our newstock eleven ten ninety nine three WBTA concerning new
(18:36):
report out this morning showing the DEI agenda alive and
well at medical schools across the United States. This new
research report from the James G. Martin Center for Academic
Renewal shows that top medical schools across the nation have
integrated the diversity, equity and inclusion agenda across admissions, faculty hiring,
(18:58):
and their curriculum. The report, written by the Martin Center's
Jay Shallon argues for a return to merit based systems,
especially given the importance of other systems in such crucial
areas such as medicine. Jenna Robinson, who is the president
of the Martin Setter send at a statement quote medical
(19:20):
education must prioritize competence, not ideology. This report reveals the
extent to which DEI policies are weakening the physician pipeline
at a time when Americans need highly skilled, well trained doctors.
Most of the nation's leading medical schools openly emphasize diversity
(19:41):
in their mission statement. According to the Martin Center report,
Harvard Medical School, for example, places diversity at a core
of its purpose, with a commitment to quote alleviating suffering
through an inclusive community. All of the top ten of
rank of medical schools suggests some level of preference or
special consideration for applicants from underrepresented groups, often through subjective
(20:08):
criteria and tailored programs. Faculty requirements are similarly affected with
the DEI agenda. For example, at the John Hopkins School
of Medicine, it explicitly seeks candidates who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership, service, diversity,
and teamwork. Many schools, like the University of California's San
(20:31):
Francisco also known ASSSUCSF, require applicants to submit personal statements
that highlight their involvement in DEI initiatives or commitment to
working with diverse communities, a potential workaround to race neutral standards.
The author of the report, in Jay Shallon, notes that
(20:53):
an alignment with federal policies has recently tampered down some
of these practices. Shallon writing, quote, all over American universities,
including medical schools, appear to have backed off their aggressive
DEI agenda due to Trump's executive orders. The jury is
still out whether these institutions are reducing their emphasis on
(21:17):
DEI in fact, or are merely continuing them as before
without making them publicly known. Past examples reveal ongoing attempts
to bypass legal restrictions. Harvard's twenty twenty three Supreme Court
defeat led to a subtle but clear shift, replacing an
optional essay on applications with prompts designed to continue race
(21:42):
based considerations under different names. As Joshua Winen of the
Aspen Institute noted, such changes are clearly designed to allow
continued race constance administration, contrary to a ruling from the
nation's highest core. Jay Shallen writes that restoring merit based
(22:03):
standards in medical education is essential to preserving quality and
patient safety across the United States. Some of his recommendations
include abolishing all DEI policies that prioritize that rather politicize,
healthcare education, emphasizing that healthcare decisions must be driven by
(22:25):
competence and not social engineering. Some of the other include
requiring all applicants to submit standardize MCAT scores, ensuring that
future doctor processes are essential knowledge and cognitive skills. We've
got a list this morning of some of his other
recommendations and a full link to the new report from
(22:46):
the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal That is
all available over on our website this morning, Carolina Journal
dot com. The headline story there, Martin Center report exposes
DEI agenda in METAD schools. Again, those details available over
on our website, Carolina Journal dot com, where it's now
five forty, News Talk eleven, ten ninety nine to three WBT.
(23:10):
Sometimes you pull an old jacket out of the closet
and find, wow, there's twenty dollars sitting in the pocket.
How about if you did that and you found one
hundred and seventy million dollars, That's exactly what's going on
here in North Carolina. To walk us through those details,
Teresa Opeka, Carolina Journal dot Com. That's a Teresa. One
hundred and seventy million dollars is a pretty significant amount
of money to find in the Treasurer's office. What's going
(23:33):
on there?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Sure, good morning, Nick, Thanks for having me. Yeah, I
wish I could find one hundred and seventy million lying
around my pockets and my coats or whatever. But yeah,
big discovery, significant discovery made by the treasurer. He found
that as part of a detailed review of the state's
counts and what he said, you know, through the review,
(23:55):
we found that money sitting idle in the state's accounts
for years. Amazing. He said that money could be could
be put to good use, and they're intending to do
that and by reducing outstanding debt to improve the fiscal
health of the state. But they can you know, again,
they're limited to what they can do with it. So unfortunately,
(24:17):
you and I and the rest of the listeners aren't
getting any of that money. They're going to refund debt
fund capital projects approved by the General Assembly and maybe
in some instances projects approved by the states voters. Thanks,
we did vote on so it would come back to
us in a similar way. But yeah, what a chunk
of change to find after a number of years.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
And Teresa, obviously we don't have any details on additional
cases of this, but I don't think many folks would
be surprised or shocked to figure out there's similar amounts
of money, maybe a little bit more, maybe a little
bit less, sitting out there throughout other accounts in the
state of North Carolina. This is probably an overall problem
and government in general is accountability and really keeping track
of where money's going. We're talking about one hundred and
(24:59):
seventy million dollars here.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean you got to wonder, like
what else can be found?
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Right?
Speaker 2 (25:07):
You know that the treasure of Briner's department has gone
through such a review of all of that, Like he said,
his department has undergone reviews of internal policies and procedures
and practices of things of that nature. Maybe other departments
should maybe take a second look at, you know, different accounts.
And I'm sure they would find maybe not one hundred
(25:30):
and seventy million, but they probably could find a substantial
amount of money, and that would be great for everybody
for the state.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
In some other news out of the Treasurer's office, last week,
the North Carolina Investment Authority Board held its first organizational meeting.
I remember talking about this a couple of months ago
when it was first announced. What is this board's responsibility,
what are they going to be doing?
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Sure, so this came out of a bill that was
passed into law in June, the twenty twenty five State
Investment Modernization Act. It's going to revamp how the state
manages it's two hundred billion dollars in public funds, and
that includes one hundred and twenty nine billion from the
state's retirement systems and cash management other funds right now.
(26:19):
Before this took place, the state Treasurer was the sole
fiduciary on how to manage those funds. But Treasurer Briner,
you know, he campaigned on this. He thought, you know,
it really should go to a whole board, a number
of people to have a set of checks and balances
versus one person, because that opens up the door for
(26:40):
a possible fraud, not saying that there was any going on,
but that's he said. It would be a better model.
And also, you know, they could take a better look
at maybe maximizing more funds for people, growing those funds,
better investment decisions. So yeah, it was something that he
campaigned on and fought for, and that the bill was
(27:02):
signed into law by Governor Stein back in June. So
there we go.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
When you look at something like this, a Treasure Briner
is a Republican the governor of the state, and Josh
Stein is a Democrat. There's not much that the Council
of State and the governor have agreed on over the
last couple of months. However, this is one of the
issues Teresa, that seemingly Stein is all behind, is in
full support.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Of right right back in June, he did say, we
do have profound differences in our state, and we've had
those for a long period of time. But if we
could deliver one percent more, we'll be able to deliver
two billion, two billion dollars a year more to our
state budget, and that's why we're doing this. He also
emphasized the significance of the new law at the bill's
(27:45):
signing because it is Treasurer Briner says, brings more voices
to the table when it comes to making decisions about
the state's retirement system. So he's an agreement, you say,
it's very rare that the governor and council state comes
to such an agreement on such an on different issues.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
It's important to note with this that North Carolina was
kind of an outlier when it came to this responsibility. Yes,
the treasure is an elected position has to get presumably,
you know, could be tens of millions of votes across
the state of North Carolina to get elected into that office.
But very few states had a set up like this, Teresa,
(28:24):
which which made North Carolina kind of unique.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Yes, you're correct, it did. It did so. Yeah, So
it's bringing bringing the state into agreement with several other states,
you know, and we have seen a definite change. It
looks like a change for the better on different things
that treasure Briner has put into effects since he took office.
(28:49):
But you're correct, it's North Carolina was one of the
few states that still had that sole fiduciary model in place.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
There's some details this morning on who some of those
born members are of this brand new investment authority. Where
can folks go and get some of those details?
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Sure, they can head on over to Carolina Journal dot com.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
We appreciate the update. This morning, Teresa Opeika joins us
on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Hey Charlotte, it's time
for the sixth annual WBT Little Heroes Blood Drive heading
your way this Thursday, September fourth. WBT and the One Blood,
(29:30):
Big Red Bus will be at the Doghouse and Uptown
Charlotte from ten am to three pm. 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 this coming Thursday, September the fourth, at the
Doghouse in Uptown Charlotte. Visit WBT dot com this morning
(29:51):
for location details and register for your appointment. It's now
five point fifty three. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal
News Hour News Talk eleven ten ninety nine to three WBT.
As we get ever closer to the one year anniversary
of Hurricane Helene and the devastation and impacts left and
the western half of North Carolina. So far, the state
(30:13):
has been approved for more than one hundred and twenty
four million dollars in recovery funding from damage caused by Helene.
Secretary Christy Nome announced her late last week that the
state would receive twenty eight additional million dollars in federal funding.
This funding helped covers items like road repairs, critical infrastructure restoration,
(30:36):
debris removal, and other emergency actions taken to protect life
and property following the storm. FEMA reimburses the cost through
its Public Assistance program, which funds state and local government's
response and recovery work. Gnome announced on August the twenty
(30:56):
first that the state would receive ninety six million dollars
in additional recovery funding. Government officials have said to this
day to more than six hundred and fifty five million
dollars has been provided to the state for road repair,
debris removal, critical infrastructure repair, and more. Since January the twentieth,
(31:17):
more than three hundred and fifty million dollars in public
assistance reimbursement has been approved to support recovery efforts in
many of the small towns and communities in the western
half of our state. Turning our attention Stateside, Governor Josh
Stein announced on Wednesday that renew NC North Carolina is
(31:37):
a long term disaster recovery initiative finished making storm related
repairs to the first home approved through A four assistance
through renew nc's single family housing program. An individual living
out in Western North Carolina was the first applicant approved
through the disaster assistance program. Renew NC is funded by
(32:01):
a Federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery known as
a CDBGDR from the United States Department of Housing and
Urban Development, also known as HUD. Of the total one
point four billion dollars into federal grants funding that was
allocated to the state from Western North Carolina, more than
(32:23):
eight hundred and seven million dollars worth of that money
is allocated to the renew NC Single Family Housing program.
This program is the first of a series of recovery
efforts to be offered by the North Carolina Commerce Department's
Division of Community Revitalization under the program name renew and C.
(32:46):
Low to moderate income households from a plethora of counties
in the western half of the state of North Carolina
are eligible, and North Carolina is the first state affected
by Hurricane Helene to start its Home and Reconstruction program,
the fastest state in more than a decade since Hurricane
Sandy to begin rebuilding homes after a major hurricane, using
(33:11):
some of that federal money coming in from HUD. The
governor said in a press release quote, Rebuilding safe and
sustainable housing is crucial to helping western North Carolina get
back on its feet. Completing our first home is an
important milestone in the Hurricane Hallen recovery process. I applaud
(33:31):
my team for moving at a record speed. Let's keep
swinging hammers and getting more families back home. You can
read some additional details on this grant program, including all
of the counties eligible, as well as some of those
federal announcements. All of that available this morning over on
our website, Carolina Journal dot com. The headline WNC approved
(33:54):
for over one hundred and twenty four million dollars in
federal recovery funding. That's going to do it. For a
Tuesday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour, We're back
with you tomorrow morning, five to six right here on
News Talk eleven, ten and ninety nine three WBT
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com