August 19, 2025 • 33 mins
Hurricane Erin could bring significant impacts across coastal North Carolina. Meanwhile, a new study suggests Raleigh and Charlotte are strong contenders for a future Major League Baseball team. In the courts, both sides have agreed to pause a lawsuit challenging the state’s ban on gender transition surgeries for minors. Additionally, more than 1,000 applications have been submitted for rebuilding homes destroyed by Hurricane Helene.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
It's five oh five and welcome into the Carolina Journal
News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety nine three WBT. I'm
Nick Craig. A good Tuesday morning to you all. Eyes
on the tropics this morning. As Hurricane Errant continues to
churn away, it is now a Category three storm, fortunately
expected to stay offshore. However, over the last couple of days,
(00:32):
the storm will bring some pretty serious impacts to the
north of Carolina coast, particularly those in the Outer Banks
later this week. While it was prominently a Category four
storm yesterday, was downgraded at eleven pm last night to
a category three storm, and as of the latest information
out of the National Hurricane Center just a couple of
(00:52):
minutes ago at five am, the storm currently has maximum
sustained winds at one hundred and fifteen miles an hour.
It's minimum pressure nine hundred and fifty five millibars, moving
northwest at seven miles per hour. Coastal flooding could begin
as early as a Tuesday, peaking on Wednesday and Thursday,
with a floodwatch being in effect for the entire North
(01:15):
Carolina coastline. However, the biggest impacts expected, especially in the
Outer Banks. As of a five pm last night, a
tropical storm watch was issued for portions of the Outer Bank,
including the Pamlico Sound. A tropical storm watch means that
tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area that
(01:36):
will be between Wednesday and Thursday. For those in the
Outer Banks, there's also a very important storm surge watch
that's for a cape lookout to Duck, North Carolina. In
some of those areas, there are mandatory evacuations that are
in place, as a North Carolina's Highway twelve, which runs
through the Outer Banks, could be in a situation where
(01:59):
it is impassable due to erosion and overwash from the storm.
States of emergency continue in places for Hide and Dare
Counties and even further south down and now outside of
the Wilmington area. The town of Wrightsville Beach issued a
no swimming advisory from today through Friday. This is due
(02:20):
to very strong rip currents that are already ahead of
this storm, as lifeguards at Wrightsville Beach reported between sixty
and eighty rip current rescues on Monday. A very dangerous
situation unfolding over at Wrightsville Beach, similar situation up at
Surf City. The Fire Department there reported more than twenty
(02:41):
rip current rescues on twenty and Camp Lejoun leaders will
temporarily close the Onslow Beach at noon today due to
dangerous rip currents, high surf, and other anticipated weather effects
from Hurricane erin The storm will stay like a couple
of one hundred miles off of the North Carolina coast. However,
(03:04):
some of those continued risk again high rip currents, parts
of Highway twelve becoming impassable, and especially for some areas
in the Outer Banks, some tropical storm force gusts are
possible with the most recent forecast of the storm that however,
those life threatening conditions could persist in some areas. Authorities
(03:25):
in the Outer Banks are noting they're not taking any chances.
With those states of emergency being issued for Darren Hyde
Counties this morning. Those coastal impacts will really could begin
later today, but are really set to peak Wednesday through Thursday,
as some of those systems and some of those folks
(03:46):
in those areas are not taking any chances and making
sure they are prepared. Fortunately, for the main track of
the storm, it is expected to again stay anywhere between
probably one hundred and fifty and three hundred miles off
the coast of the Outer Banks. However, the impacts will
continue to be felt. Fortunately, it will split that gap
between the United States and Bermuda. We'll keep an eye
(04:10):
on the details over the next couple of days as
this storm continues. If you have any plans to make
it to the beach throughout the rest of this week,
you are definitely going to want to stay out of
the water. That rip current risk is a killer unfortunately,
and doubt as I mentioned down in Wrightsville Beach, they
have put out a no swimming advisory, something not very
(04:31):
common for the very busy Wrightsville Beach town. All the
way through Friday. We'll continue to track Hurricane Aaron and
its potential impacts on North Carolina right here on the
Carolina Journal News Hour in some other statewide news this morning.
An interesting story we're tracking out of a new study
from North Carolina State University analyzing the economic impact of
(04:56):
a Major League baseball team in both Raleigh and Charlotte
following substantial damage from Hurricane Helene and Milton. For a
period of time, the Tampa Bay Rays were potentially looking
to relocate while their stadium underwent extensive repairs and construction.
This brought both Raleigh and Charlotte, as well as several
(05:19):
other cities throughout the Southeast, into the running for potential
new homes. However, a new study from doctor Michael Walden,
an NC state economist and professor, compared Raleigh and Charlotte
to eight other cities that have been mentioned as a
potential location for a Major League Baseball team. They include
(05:41):
places like Nashville, Orlando, San Antonio, San Jose, Salt Lake City,
as well as, as i mentioned Raleigh and Charlotte. The
analysis looked at these cities across several feasibility factors, including
regional population, projected future population growth, workers, earning, media size,
(06:02):
and distance from an existing MLB team. One of the
other primary contenders is Nashville, Tennessee. During a recent visit
to a Covenant Park Health for a Knoxville Smokies game,
that's the minor league team out in Nashville, Governor Bill
Lee advocated to get a full Major League Baseball team
(06:24):
in that area. According to the US Census, the Raleigh
Durham Chapel Hill area combined statistical region ranks as the
thirty first largest bipopulation out of one hundred and eighty
one in the nation. Comparatively, according to the study, the
Charlotte Concord CSA ranks nineteenth in population and was the
(06:47):
eleventh fastest growing during the same time period. According to
the study. Like Raleigh and Charlotte, Nashville has been an
up and coming city in the twenty first century. Nashville
already has an NFL and NHL team, so the city
has been tested at the major league level. However, residents
may come from MLB owners in Cincinnati, Saint Louis, and
(07:10):
Atlanta who would consider some of their fan bases to
still be in Tennessee. Looking at some other details out
of the study. Back here in North Carolina, an MLB
stadium would cost a pretty penny. Economists predict between somewhere
between one and two billion dollars. In recent decades, state
and local governments have footed the bill, expecting funds to
(07:34):
be recovered from economic growth and additional spending attracted to
the city as the home of an MLB stadium. There's
also precedent for local investors to partially or fully fund
the cost. Typically, teams are owned by a single individual
or family, or maybe in some cases a group of
(07:55):
investors with that. However, a recent column from the John
lockefound Nation, John Hood, who's a board member, has said
decades of academic research shows that public funding of ballpark
stadiums and arenas do not bring the economic benefit originally promised.
Hood states that local and state governments do not derive
(08:18):
sufficient return on investment in terms of job creation, economic gains,
as well as other factors to justify in some cases
multi billion dollar payouts. Money spent on tickets, concessions, and
advertising products would have been better spent on other goods
or services in the market besides building a physical stadium,
(08:41):
according to Hood, and taxpayers would get a better ROI
if the money were invested in the public services such
as public safety, education, or infrastructure. Economists have projected that
three effects including direct indirect induced costs according to the study,
(09:03):
would play this out and have something to do with
that one and a half to somewhere two billion dollar
price tag for a stadium. Now, nothing is guaranteed that
it's not like a North Carolina either the Charlotte or
Raleigh area or on the precipice of this major announcement. However,
the MLB Commissioner did make some interesting comments last week
(09:25):
hinting at relocation or expansion that of course puts two
major metropolitans in our state on a lookout. We've got
some additional details on this story this morning over on
our website Carolina Journal dot com the headline study Raleigh
Charlotte's strong contenders for MLB team. You can read those
(09:46):
details over there. Plus, we'll catch up with Katie Zender
from Carolina Journal dot Com coming up a little bit
later on in the show to discuss some more details
about this story. It's five twenty. Welcome back to the
Carolina Journal News our newstock eleven ten ninety nine three WBT.
(10:06):
Last week we talked about how there is a brand
new US Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
He spoke late last week in an introductory news conference
to outline his priorities for the coming year. Ellis Boyle
is an eastern North Carolina native. According to his new
position by Attorney General Pam Bondi as the US Attorney,
(10:29):
Boyle is the lead federal law enforcement officer for the
forty four counties that make up the Eastern District of
North Carolina. Boyle said late last week that his priorities
will be combating a legal immigration as well as cracking
down on fentanyl trafficking and use, being very blunt in
the news conference, saying, quote, we have a clear mission.
(10:52):
I will state it directly in the Eastern District. We
will protect law abiding citizens, we will win trials, and
we will hold criminals accountable. End quote there from Attorney Boyle.
He takes office after the departure of Michael Easley Junior,
who was appointed during the Biden administration. This is a
(11:12):
very common practice when administrations change, you get new US
attorneys across the United States, and that is exactly what
has gone on in the Eastern District of North Carolina,
which I'll note is a very large federal district forty
four counties taking place in the eastern half of the state.
Will continue to track any legal stories or cases that
(11:34):
are relevant to you out of the Eastern District, of course,
over on our website Carolina Journal dot com and right
here on the Carolina Journal News Hour where it's now
five twenty two news TAUK eleven ten ninety nine three WBT.
Back in twenty twenty three, the North Carolina General Assembly
passed a law banning a transgender surgery for miners across
(11:55):
the state of North Carolina. As you can imagine, immediately,
lawsuits filed that followed that decision, and since then the
legal process has been unfolding. However, as of late, there's
been a ask for a pause from both parties in
this case. To walk us through some of the details
this morning on why this is going on, Mitch Koki
of the John Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina
(12:16):
Journal News Hour a. Mitch, lawsuits happened pretty regularly, especially
on hot button political topics like transition surgery and things
of that nature. But it looks like both parties are
maybe asking the break to be tapped a little bit.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
What's going on there, Yes, and the reason is because
the US Supreme Court recently dealt with the similar parties
are saying that it's time to kind of take a
pause until some of these issues are worked out. You
reference the fact that in twenty twenty three, the General
Assembly passed House Bill eighth eight, which banned transgender surgeries
(12:52):
for minors. Almost immediately, a lawsuit called Vo v. Mansfield
was filed in federal court and The case has been
playing out over the past couple of years. But now
the parties in the suit, both the plaintiffs who are
challenging the law and the state General Assembly, which is
defending the law, have asked for a pause because of
(13:15):
the US Supreme Court's recent decision in a case called
Scurmetti out of Tennessee. Now, in that case, the Supreme Court,
in a split party line vote, you could say party line,
the conservatives on one side the liberals on the other,
said that Tennessee's law, which banned puberty blockers and hormone
(13:36):
therapies for miners, could stand. In the wake of that decision,
the US Supreme Court then said to the Fourth US
Circuit Court of Appeals, we're going to throw out your
ruling in a different case, a case involving North Carolina's
state health plan and whether it's going to cover medical
procedures that are typically pursued by transgender patients. The Circuit
(14:00):
had thrown out the law, saying the state health plan
would not cover those procedures, and ordered the state health
plan to cover them. But now that decision was thrown
out by the US Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court
said to the Fourth Circuit, reevaluate your decision in that
state health plan case based on what we said in
the Tennessee Scremti case. So now the people in the
(14:24):
v v. Mansfield case are saying, wait a minute, we
shouldn't do anything until we find out what the Fourth
Circuit says in the state health plan case. And once
the state health plan cases resolved, then we can go
back and decide what to do with the v V.
Mansfield case. I think all parties are saying to the
judge in the v. V. Mansfield case, it wouldn't make
(14:45):
sense for us to proceed, for there to be decisions
and then all of a sudden those get thrown out
by what the Fourth Circuit or eventually the Supreme Court
decides in this other case. Let's just pause, wait to
see how the rest of the cases are resolved, and
then we can go back and decide what, if anything,
(15:06):
needs to happen with this case dealing with the House
billl ADO eight and the ban on transgender surgeries for
minors in North Carolina.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
So match there's a lot of moving parts, pieces and
parts here. You've got court cases from other states having
in a potential impact here on North Carolina. The thing
I find interesting about it is you have multiple states
North Carolina and Tennessee, the two examples that were talking
about here, that have gone forward and passed a variety
of state laws and put things in place, only for
(15:36):
down the line for the court system to catch up
in it. I know dozens of other states have passed
similar legislation and regulations surrounding this same issue. It's an
interesting legal process to watch unfold as the General Assembly
here in North Carolina seemingly was a couple of years
ahead of the curve on what is now a much
more larger national issue that is now being dealt with
(15:57):
by the United States Supreme Court.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
A number of states have been dealing with this issue
over the years, and basically what you're seeing is as
these laws are passed almost immediately, lawsuits follow, and it
takes a while for these suits to get to higher
stages of court. And depending on where these cases take place,
various courts of appeals along with district courts, of course,
(16:22):
may have different opinions. In the Fourth Circuit, what happened
was in a very interesting split where the whole circuit
participated in a rare on bank hearing. It was an
interesting split where the Democratic appointed justices on one side,
who make up the majority, ruled one way, while the
Republican appointed judges on the other side ruled another way.
(16:46):
And because the Democrats outnumber Democratic pointed judges outnumber the
Republican appointed judges on the Fourth Circuit, it was the
Democratic position that ruled that is that the state health
plan had to cover these procedures that are covered by
that are sought by transgender patients. So that case was
(17:07):
appealed by the state Treasurer's office because the Treasurer's office
oversees the health bant that was appealed to the US
Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court basically just sat on
that case for a while. Then, once it came out
with this decision in Tennessee, went back to the Fourth
Circuit and said, we're vacating what you did before. Now
you have to reevaluate it based on what we just
(17:27):
said in the Tennessee case. And then it has a
domino effect on these other cases like the one that
we're talking about now on the ban on transgender surgeries
for minors. I think what impresses me most about this
is that both sides in the case realized that they
should have the case paused at this point. That other
(17:49):
cases are going to help decide whether this case can
move forward. And it makes sense from the idea of
judicial economy, saving time and money and expense of having
all of witnesses and depositions just to wait and see
how all of the rest of this plays out in
the courts before deciding what to do next with this case.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Yeah, no question about it. That domino effect is interesting
and it's likely to come up in other cases in
the state of North Carolina over a variety of other
hot button political issues that are seemingly rising to the
top over the last couple of months. We'll keep an
eye on this and all of those other cases. Mitch
Koki from the John Locke Foundation joins us on the
Carolina Journal News Hour. It's five thirty six. Welcome back
(18:38):
to the Carolina Journal News Hour news Stock eleven ten
ninety nine to three WBT. All eyes continue on the
Atlantic of this morning as Hurricane Aaron continues to churn
away as now a Category three storm. Out of the
five AM advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Maximum sustained
wins continue at one hundred and fifteen miles an hour,
(19:02):
as that storm is expected to get relatively close, likely
within a couple one hundred miles of the North Carolina
coast as we go through your Wednesday and Thursday of
this week. No direct impacting landfall effects from this storm
as it looks to split the gap between the United
States and Bermuda as it goes through the recurve a
(19:24):
period of the storm which is going on right now. However,
while the storm is not making a direct impact, there
are some major impacts that can be felt across, predominantly
the Outer Banks area. Coastal flooding is set to peak
Wednesday and Thursday, with a floodwatch in effect for the
entire North Carolina coastline. The biggest impacts being felt, as
(19:46):
I noted, across the Outer Banks, where a tropical storm
watch was issued at five pm last night for areas
of the Outer Banks including the Pamlico Sound, meaning that
tropical storm conditions are likely within the next two days,
so that'll be a coming up Wednesday and into Thursday.
And the very dangerous storm surge watch was also issued
(20:09):
at five am yesterday. That's for Cape Lookout to Duck
North Carolina, So that area is where that storm surge
watch has been issued. Coincidentally, that's the same area where
you've got some mandatory evacuations that are taking place as well.
Those mandatory evacuations going into effect throughout the rest of
(20:29):
your day today. Why is that the case, Well, portions
of Highway twelve in the outer Banks could become impassable
due to erosion and overwashed from high waves due to
hurricane airin a state of emergency, as we covered yesterday morning,
is in place for both Hide and Dare Counties, and
even further south down in Wrightsville Beach outside of the
(20:52):
Wilmington area, the town has issued a rare no swimming
advisory from Tuesday through Friday. This is due to very
strong rip currents and large waves from the hurricane, as
lifeguards at Wrightsville Beach reported more than eighty rip current
rescues just yesterday. Similar situation unfolding a little bit further
(21:13):
north in Surf City, where the fire department there reported
fifteen rip current rescues on Monday as well. Although aaron
center is forecasted to remain anywhere between about one hundred
and fifty and three hundred miles offshore. Life threatening rip currents,
coastal flooding, overwash, and extremely dangerous surf conditions do continue
(21:35):
to be likely for the coast. Extensive beach erosion is
also likely, with waves as high as fifteen to twenty
feet possible in some areas of the outer Banks. That's
where the abrunt of the impacts are set to be
felt here across the area. That is why authorities in
those areas are not taking any chances with those emergency
(21:57):
orders or state of emergency orders I should say issued
for a Dare and Hyde County, with Hatteras Island also
being under a mandatory evacuation this morning. We don't take
the tropics lightly some big time impacts over the last
ten years or so, with tropical events of both in
the eastern, central, and western parts of the state of
(22:19):
North Carolina. Fortunately, Aaron not expected to make a direct
landfall here on the state of North Carolina. However, those impacts,
impacts and risks will continue across the eastern half of
the state. Will continue to track it through Tomorrow, Thursday,
and Friday right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour
(22:40):
where it's now five point forty News Talk eleven ten
ninety nine to three WBT. Major League Baseball expansion is
a pretty large topic across the league for the last
couple of years. However, here in North and South Carolina,
you've got to go down to Atlanta, Georgia for the Braves,
are up to Washington, d c. For the Washington Nations
to see or get your baseball fix. To walk us
(23:02):
through some details on some potential expansion. This morning, Katie's
Ender Carolina Journal dot Com joins us on the News hour. Katie,
We've got a brand new study out of NC State
that's looking at the viability of two major metros across
North Carolina they could potentially host a Major League Baseball
team in the future. What are you learning from that?
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Right?
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Good morning, Nick, Thank you for having me on. And yeah,
so there's a new study from NC State professor and
economist doctor Michael Walden, and he looks at Raleigh and Charlotte,
as well as eight other cities that have been proposed
as a potential home for a new MLB team. MLB
team this discussion originally arose out of last year after
Hurricane Helene and Milton. The Tampa Bay Rays Stadium had
(23:44):
undergone significant destruction from those hurricanes, and so they were
looking for a new, at least temporary home, and so
that's where this discussion originally started. Now it looks like
the Tampa Bay Rays are probably going to be staying
within the state of Florida. Sale is currently pending to
a Jackville developer for one point seven billion dollars and
is expected to close as soon as September. But there's
(24:06):
still a lot of discussion about a new MLB team
and what city that might land in. So Charlotte and Raleigh,
to the biggest cities here in North Carolina, are both
in the running for that, as well as other cities
like Orlando, Nashville, Mexico City, and several other cities. And
so what this study does is really looks at all
these cities, compares them to each other, and looks at
(24:27):
feasibility and economic impact on these cities. And Raleigh and
Charlotte are top contenders in this study for the potential
future home of an MLB team.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Well, Katie, we look across the state of North Carolina,
and while we don't have a professional baseball team, we
do in the Charlotte area have a football, basketball, and
hockey team. You go up to the Raleigh area, you've
got a professional hockey team that operates under there. So
pro sports do exist pretty frequently across North South Carolina.
Go over to Tennessee, of course, you've got the Tennessee
(24:59):
Titans and some other teams over there as well. So
there is professional sports, just not a baseball team. The
economic impact of something like this could be pretty substantial,
could it not.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
That's exactly right, Nick, And so that's one of the
things that the study looks at, is what is the
economic impact on, you know, bringing jobs in, bringing economy in.
And you're right, So, you know, we've got, you know,
kind of professional sports all around us. We've got the
Carolina Hurricanes, and there is a minor league team in Charlotte,
I believe they're called the Charlotte Knights. And then if
(25:29):
you go over to Tennessee again, they don't have an
MLB team either, but they do have the Knoxville Smokies.
And then Governor Bill Lee, who's the governor of Tennessee,
is really advocating very strongly for Nashville to be the
future home of the LB team. He said recently, he said,
we need an MLB team in Tennessee, and I'm really
hopeful that that's coming in. This is the future and
(25:50):
it's an exciting development right here in this town, and
it's a part of what's to come in this state.
So Governor Lee of Tennessee is really strongly advocating for Nashville.
So the study looks at a few different factors for feasibility,
and there's a lot of factors that you know, kind
of work into what is the feasibility of, you know,
supporting an MLB team, And so you know, there's population growth,
(26:14):
and so the projected population rankings for twenty fifty show
you really strong growth. Raleigh stands out ranking second with
an anticipated forty five point eight percent increase, surpassing San Antonio,
which is one of the other studies in the running,
by an impressive sixty point seventy percent growth rate. Charlotte
comes in sixth, and both of these cities are expected
(26:37):
to outpace Nashville as far as growth, which is really
interesting to note because Nashville is another one of those
cities that has really been growing a lot in the
last few years, but again Raleigh has as well. We're
seeing a lot of growth in the Raleigh area and
in the Triangle area. One really important factor when it
comes to looking at an MLB team is of course
stadium location. Like more more than likely if it were
(26:57):
to come to Raleig, we're gonna have to build a
new stadium because we don't really have a current location
that's visible for an MLB team. It is highly unlikely
that the Durham Bulls Athletic Park would be converted, and
that only seats ten thousand, so that's unlikely to be,
you know, the future site of any potential MLB team.
They would either have to you know, rebuild or you know,
(27:19):
just find a different location because that facility just isn't
doesn't have the capacity to host an MLB team.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Well, kay, let me jump in on that, because that's
one of the big concerns and questions with this. We've
seen this take place in other states where you've got
the enticing factor of a new stadium for maybe an
expansion team or rebuilding a stadium for an already existing team,
and there has been in many of these cases some
public outcry about the amount of taxpayer dollars that are
(27:47):
being used to fund what is a very lucrative business
venture for the private industry, which of course would be
a major sports team, which many equate to purchasing some
sort of money printer with the amount that you're able
to generate in terms of rev.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
Right, that's exactly right, Nick. So a lot of times
these stadiums are funded by public money, which is of
course taxpayer dollars. It's going to come from state or
local government, which is of course coming from the tax payers,
and sometimes it's a combination of both state and local.
And the idea behind this is that they're going to
earn that back in revenue. They're going to earn that
back in you know, ticket sales money that's being poured
(28:23):
into the economy when people come in for these games.
It might be you know, you know, hotel reservations, it
might be you know, meals that they buy and concessions,
all of that kind of thing. Is that the money
that revenue that's put out by the government will be
earned back through those kind of expenditures that wouldn't otherwise
be brought in. But there's a lot of data that
(28:46):
doesn't actually back that up. And so one of our
John Locke Foundation board members, John Hood, said in a
recent column that he wrote that there are decades worth
of research that show that public funding of these you know,
ballpark stadiums, you know, entertainments, et cetera, do not actually
fulfill on the economic benefits promised. And he says that
state on local governments don't don't derive the sufficient return
(29:10):
on investment in you know, job creation, economic gains to
justify the significant payouts. So while you might be getting
some money back, it's not enough to justify putting out
so much taxpayer dollars. And money spent on tickets or
concessions or anything like that would otherwise have been put
back into other goods or services into that local market,
(29:31):
and so the taxpayers would actually get a better ROI
if their money were just invested into you know, public
services such as public safety, education, or infrastructure. And so there,
you know, there is a lot of you know, data
to back up that, hey, maybe this isn't the best
way to be spending our taxpayer dollars. And not always
(29:51):
are these funded by tax taxpayer dollars, but a lot
of times they are. Sometimes they're funded by private investors,
So that could be another option, you know, that that
can be looked at as far as funding these these stadiums.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
It's definitely a very interesting study. We've got some additional details,
including that full study from NC State on our website
this morning, Carolina Journal dot com. We appreciate, appreciate the update.
Katie z Ender joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
It's five fifty four. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal
(30:25):
News Our new stock eleven ten ninety nine to three WBT.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce recently announced that its
single family housing program, also known as renew and C,
has received more than one thousand applications. Construction is expected
to begin on the first home within the next month.
(30:45):
The program is administered through the Department's Division of Community Revitalization,
which assists in repairing and rebuilding homes destroyed or damaged
by Hurricane Helene. Governor Josh Stein saying in a press release, quote,
too many families in western North Carolina lost their homes
after Hurricane Helene. This program will help people rebuild their
(31:09):
homes and their lives after the storm. The renew NC
single family housing programs, supported by eight hundred and seven
million dollars in federal funding, is designed to meet the
remaining long term recovery needs of homeowners in western North Carolina.
The program prioritizes low to moderate income families living in
(31:32):
communities that suffered severe storm damage following the most destructive
storm in state history. North Carolina Commerce Secretary Lee Lilly
said in a press release, quote, getting people home is
where recovery really begins for survivors and their communities, and
renew NC is focused on getting our most vulnerable families home.
(31:56):
We will work, We will continue working closely with our
local and state partners to make sure that recovery reaches
every corner of the impacted areas in western North Carolina.
According to the press release, since its launch, renew NC
teams have been working directly in communities to connect with
residents and ensure recovery resources reach those that needed most.
(32:22):
To date, renew NC has conducted assessments on two hundred
and seven properties, including those with unrepaired damage from Hurricane Helene.
Those evaluations, according to renew NC, provide critical information for
environmental reviews and form the foundations for appropriate recovery applications.
(32:43):
Those applications are open to homeowners in twenty nine different
counties across the central and western half of the state.
These programs are supported by the United States Department of
Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, and a
more than one point four billion dollar grant given to
the state of North Carolina. Homeowners seeking more information about
(33:06):
this program can visit renew NC dot org or visit
our website This morning, Carolina Journal dot com. We've got
all of the application information linked up on our website.
Well that's gonna do it for a Tuesday edition of
The Carolina Journal News Hour WBT News is next, followed
by Good Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning,
(33:26):
five to six right here on News Talk eleven, ten
and ninety nine to three WBT
It's five oh five and welcome into the Carolina Journal
News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety nine three WBT. I'm
Nick Craig. A good Tuesday morning to you all. Eyes
on the tropics this morning. As Hurricane Errant continues to
churn away, it is now a Category three storm, fortunately
expected to stay offshore. However, over the last couple of days,
(00:32):
the storm will bring some pretty serious impacts to the
north of Carolina coast, particularly those in the Outer Banks
later this week. While it was prominently a Category four
storm yesterday, was downgraded at eleven pm last night to
a category three storm, and as of the latest information
out of the National Hurricane Center just a couple of
(00:52):
minutes ago at five am, the storm currently has maximum
sustained winds at one hundred and fifteen miles an hour.
It's minimum pressure nine hundred and fifty five millibars, moving
northwest at seven miles per hour. Coastal flooding could begin
as early as a Tuesday, peaking on Wednesday and Thursday,
with a floodwatch being in effect for the entire North
(01:15):
Carolina coastline. However, the biggest impacts expected, especially in the
Outer Banks. As of a five pm last night, a
tropical storm watch was issued for portions of the Outer Bank,
including the Pamlico Sound. A tropical storm watch means that
tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area that
(01:36):
will be between Wednesday and Thursday. For those in the
Outer Banks, there's also a very important storm surge watch
that's for a cape lookout to Duck, North Carolina. In
some of those areas, there are mandatory evacuations that are
in place, as a North Carolina's Highway twelve, which runs
through the Outer Banks, could be in a situation where
(01:59):
it is impassable due to erosion and overwash from the storm.
States of emergency continue in places for Hide and Dare
Counties and even further south down and now outside of
the Wilmington area. The town of Wrightsville Beach issued a
no swimming advisory from today through Friday. This is due
(02:20):
to very strong rip currents that are already ahead of
this storm, as lifeguards at Wrightsville Beach reported between sixty
and eighty rip current rescues on Monday. A very dangerous
situation unfolding over at Wrightsville Beach, similar situation up at
Surf City. The Fire Department there reported more than twenty
(02:41):
rip current rescues on twenty and Camp Lejoun leaders will
temporarily close the Onslow Beach at noon today due to
dangerous rip currents, high surf, and other anticipated weather effects
from Hurricane erin The storm will stay like a couple
of one hundred miles off of the North Carolina coast. However,
(03:04):
some of those continued risk again high rip currents, parts
of Highway twelve becoming impassable, and especially for some areas
in the Outer Banks, some tropical storm force gusts are
possible with the most recent forecast of the storm that however,
those life threatening conditions could persist in some areas. Authorities
(03:25):
in the Outer Banks are noting they're not taking any chances.
With those states of emergency being issued for Darren Hyde
Counties this morning. Those coastal impacts will really could begin
later today, but are really set to peak Wednesday through Thursday,
as some of those systems and some of those folks
(03:46):
in those areas are not taking any chances and making
sure they are prepared. Fortunately, for the main track of
the storm, it is expected to again stay anywhere between
probably one hundred and fifty and three hundred miles off
the coast of the Outer Banks. However, the impacts will
continue to be felt. Fortunately, it will split that gap
between the United States and Bermuda. We'll keep an eye
(04:10):
on the details over the next couple of days as
this storm continues. If you have any plans to make
it to the beach throughout the rest of this week,
you are definitely going to want to stay out of
the water. That rip current risk is a killer unfortunately,
and doubt as I mentioned down in Wrightsville Beach, they
have put out a no swimming advisory, something not very
(04:31):
common for the very busy Wrightsville Beach town. All the
way through Friday. We'll continue to track Hurricane Aaron and
its potential impacts on North Carolina right here on the
Carolina Journal News Hour in some other statewide news this morning.
An interesting story we're tracking out of a new study
from North Carolina State University analyzing the economic impact of
(04:56):
a Major League baseball team in both Raleigh and Charlotte
following substantial damage from Hurricane Helene and Milton. For a
period of time, the Tampa Bay Rays were potentially looking
to relocate while their stadium underwent extensive repairs and construction.
This brought both Raleigh and Charlotte, as well as several
(05:19):
other cities throughout the Southeast, into the running for potential
new homes. However, a new study from doctor Michael Walden,
an NC state economist and professor, compared Raleigh and Charlotte
to eight other cities that have been mentioned as a
potential location for a Major League Baseball team. They include
(05:41):
places like Nashville, Orlando, San Antonio, San Jose, Salt Lake City,
as well as, as i mentioned Raleigh and Charlotte. The
analysis looked at these cities across several feasibility factors, including
regional population, projected future population growth, workers, earning, media size,
(06:02):
and distance from an existing MLB team. One of the
other primary contenders is Nashville, Tennessee. During a recent visit
to a Covenant Park Health for a Knoxville Smokies game,
that's the minor league team out in Nashville, Governor Bill
Lee advocated to get a full Major League Baseball team
(06:24):
in that area. According to the US Census, the Raleigh
Durham Chapel Hill area combined statistical region ranks as the
thirty first largest bipopulation out of one hundred and eighty
one in the nation. Comparatively, according to the study, the
Charlotte Concord CSA ranks nineteenth in population and was the
(06:47):
eleventh fastest growing during the same time period. According to
the study. Like Raleigh and Charlotte, Nashville has been an
up and coming city in the twenty first century. Nashville
already has an NFL and NHL team, so the city
has been tested at the major league level. However, residents
may come from MLB owners in Cincinnati, Saint Louis, and
(07:10):
Atlanta who would consider some of their fan bases to
still be in Tennessee. Looking at some other details out
of the study. Back here in North Carolina, an MLB
stadium would cost a pretty penny. Economists predict between somewhere
between one and two billion dollars. In recent decades, state
and local governments have footed the bill, expecting funds to
(07:34):
be recovered from economic growth and additional spending attracted to
the city as the home of an MLB stadium. There's
also precedent for local investors to partially or fully fund
the cost. Typically, teams are owned by a single individual
or family, or maybe in some cases a group of
(07:55):
investors with that. However, a recent column from the John
lockefound Nation, John Hood, who's a board member, has said
decades of academic research shows that public funding of ballpark
stadiums and arenas do not bring the economic benefit originally promised.
Hood states that local and state governments do not derive
(08:18):
sufficient return on investment in terms of job creation, economic gains,
as well as other factors to justify in some cases
multi billion dollar payouts. Money spent on tickets, concessions, and
advertising products would have been better spent on other goods
or services in the market besides building a physical stadium,
(08:41):
according to Hood, and taxpayers would get a better ROI
if the money were invested in the public services such
as public safety, education, or infrastructure. Economists have projected that
three effects including direct indirect induced costs according to the study,
(09:03):
would play this out and have something to do with
that one and a half to somewhere two billion dollar
price tag for a stadium. Now, nothing is guaranteed that
it's not like a North Carolina either the Charlotte or
Raleigh area or on the precipice of this major announcement. However,
the MLB Commissioner did make some interesting comments last week
(09:25):
hinting at relocation or expansion that of course puts two
major metropolitans in our state on a lookout. We've got
some additional details on this story this morning over on
our website Carolina Journal dot com the headline study Raleigh
Charlotte's strong contenders for MLB team. You can read those
(09:46):
details over there. Plus, we'll catch up with Katie Zender
from Carolina Journal dot Com coming up a little bit
later on in the show to discuss some more details
about this story. It's five twenty. Welcome back to the
Carolina Journal News our newstock eleven ten ninety nine three WBT.
(10:06):
Last week we talked about how there is a brand
new US Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
He spoke late last week in an introductory news conference
to outline his priorities for the coming year. Ellis Boyle
is an eastern North Carolina native. According to his new
position by Attorney General Pam Bondi as the US Attorney,
(10:29):
Boyle is the lead federal law enforcement officer for the
forty four counties that make up the Eastern District of
North Carolina. Boyle said late last week that his priorities
will be combating a legal immigration as well as cracking
down on fentanyl trafficking and use, being very blunt in
the news conference, saying, quote, we have a clear mission.
(10:52):
I will state it directly in the Eastern District. We
will protect law abiding citizens, we will win trials, and
we will hold criminals accountable. End quote there from Attorney Boyle.
He takes office after the departure of Michael Easley Junior,
who was appointed during the Biden administration. This is a
(11:12):
very common practice when administrations change, you get new US
attorneys across the United States, and that is exactly what
has gone on in the Eastern District of North Carolina,
which I'll note is a very large federal district forty
four counties taking place in the eastern half of the state.
Will continue to track any legal stories or cases that
(11:34):
are relevant to you out of the Eastern District, of course,
over on our website Carolina Journal dot com and right
here on the Carolina Journal News Hour where it's now
five twenty two news TAUK eleven ten ninety nine three WBT.
Back in twenty twenty three, the North Carolina General Assembly
passed a law banning a transgender surgery for miners across
(11:55):
the state of North Carolina. As you can imagine, immediately,
lawsuits filed that followed that decision, and since then the
legal process has been unfolding. However, as of late, there's
been a ask for a pause from both parties in
this case. To walk us through some of the details
this morning on why this is going on, Mitch Koki
of the John Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina
(12:16):
Journal News Hour a. Mitch, lawsuits happened pretty regularly, especially
on hot button political topics like transition surgery and things
of that nature. But it looks like both parties are
maybe asking the break to be tapped a little bit.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
What's going on there, Yes, and the reason is because
the US Supreme Court recently dealt with the similar parties
are saying that it's time to kind of take a
pause until some of these issues are worked out. You
reference the fact that in twenty twenty three, the General
Assembly passed House Bill eighth eight, which banned transgender surgeries
(12:52):
for minors. Almost immediately, a lawsuit called Vo v. Mansfield
was filed in federal court and The case has been
playing out over the past couple of years. But now
the parties in the suit, both the plaintiffs who are
challenging the law and the state General Assembly, which is
defending the law, have asked for a pause because of
(13:15):
the US Supreme Court's recent decision in a case called
Scurmetti out of Tennessee. Now, in that case, the Supreme Court,
in a split party line vote, you could say party line,
the conservatives on one side the liberals on the other,
said that Tennessee's law, which banned puberty blockers and hormone
(13:36):
therapies for miners, could stand. In the wake of that decision,
the US Supreme Court then said to the Fourth US
Circuit Court of Appeals, we're going to throw out your
ruling in a different case, a case involving North Carolina's
state health plan and whether it's going to cover medical
procedures that are typically pursued by transgender patients. The Circuit
(14:00):
had thrown out the law, saying the state health plan
would not cover those procedures, and ordered the state health
plan to cover them. But now that decision was thrown
out by the US Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court
said to the Fourth Circuit, reevaluate your decision in that
state health plan case based on what we said in
the Tennessee Scremti case. So now the people in the
(14:24):
v v. Mansfield case are saying, wait a minute, we
shouldn't do anything until we find out what the Fourth
Circuit says in the state health plan case. And once
the state health plan cases resolved, then we can go
back and decide what to do with the v V.
Mansfield case. I think all parties are saying to the
judge in the v. V. Mansfield case, it wouldn't make
(14:45):
sense for us to proceed, for there to be decisions
and then all of a sudden those get thrown out
by what the Fourth Circuit or eventually the Supreme Court
decides in this other case. Let's just pause, wait to
see how the rest of the cases are resolved, and
then we can go back and decide what, if anything,
(15:06):
needs to happen with this case dealing with the House
billl ADO eight and the ban on transgender surgeries for
minors in North Carolina.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
So match there's a lot of moving parts, pieces and
parts here. You've got court cases from other states having
in a potential impact here on North Carolina. The thing
I find interesting about it is you have multiple states
North Carolina and Tennessee, the two examples that were talking
about here, that have gone forward and passed a variety
of state laws and put things in place, only for
(15:36):
down the line for the court system to catch up
in it. I know dozens of other states have passed
similar legislation and regulations surrounding this same issue. It's an
interesting legal process to watch unfold as the General Assembly
here in North Carolina seemingly was a couple of years
ahead of the curve on what is now a much
more larger national issue that is now being dealt with
(15:57):
by the United States Supreme Court.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
A number of states have been dealing with this issue
over the years, and basically what you're seeing is as
these laws are passed almost immediately, lawsuits follow, and it
takes a while for these suits to get to higher
stages of court. And depending on where these cases take place,
various courts of appeals along with district courts, of course,
(16:22):
may have different opinions. In the Fourth Circuit, what happened
was in a very interesting split where the whole circuit
participated in a rare on bank hearing. It was an
interesting split where the Democratic appointed justices on one side,
who make up the majority, ruled one way, while the
Republican appointed judges on the other side ruled another way.
(16:46):
And because the Democrats outnumber Democratic pointed judges outnumber the
Republican appointed judges on the Fourth Circuit, it was the
Democratic position that ruled that is that the state health
plan had to cover these procedures that are covered by
that are sought by transgender patients. So that case was
(17:07):
appealed by the state Treasurer's office because the Treasurer's office
oversees the health bant that was appealed to the US
Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court basically just sat on
that case for a while. Then, once it came out
with this decision in Tennessee, went back to the Fourth
Circuit and said, we're vacating what you did before. Now
you have to reevaluate it based on what we just
(17:27):
said in the Tennessee case. And then it has a
domino effect on these other cases like the one that
we're talking about now on the ban on transgender surgeries
for minors. I think what impresses me most about this
is that both sides in the case realized that they
should have the case paused at this point. That other
(17:49):
cases are going to help decide whether this case can
move forward. And it makes sense from the idea of
judicial economy, saving time and money and expense of having
all of witnesses and depositions just to wait and see
how all of the rest of this plays out in
the courts before deciding what to do next with this case.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Yeah, no question about it. That domino effect is interesting
and it's likely to come up in other cases in
the state of North Carolina over a variety of other
hot button political issues that are seemingly rising to the
top over the last couple of months. We'll keep an
eye on this and all of those other cases. Mitch
Koki from the John Locke Foundation joins us on the
Carolina Journal News Hour. It's five thirty six. Welcome back
(18:38):
to the Carolina Journal News Hour news Stock eleven ten
ninety nine to three WBT. All eyes continue on the
Atlantic of this morning as Hurricane Aaron continues to churn
away as now a Category three storm. Out of the
five AM advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Maximum sustained
wins continue at one hundred and fifteen miles an hour,
(19:02):
as that storm is expected to get relatively close, likely
within a couple one hundred miles of the North Carolina
coast as we go through your Wednesday and Thursday of
this week. No direct impacting landfall effects from this storm
as it looks to split the gap between the United
States and Bermuda as it goes through the recurve a
(19:24):
period of the storm which is going on right now. However,
while the storm is not making a direct impact, there
are some major impacts that can be felt across, predominantly
the Outer Banks area. Coastal flooding is set to peak
Wednesday and Thursday, with a floodwatch in effect for the
entire North Carolina coastline. The biggest impacts being felt, as
(19:46):
I noted, across the Outer Banks, where a tropical storm
watch was issued at five pm last night for areas
of the Outer Banks including the Pamlico Sound, meaning that
tropical storm conditions are likely within the next two days,
so that'll be a coming up Wednesday and into Thursday.
And the very dangerous storm surge watch was also issued
(20:09):
at five am yesterday. That's for Cape Lookout to Duck
North Carolina, So that area is where that storm surge
watch has been issued. Coincidentally, that's the same area where
you've got some mandatory evacuations that are taking place as well.
Those mandatory evacuations going into effect throughout the rest of
(20:29):
your day today. Why is that the case, Well, portions
of Highway twelve in the outer Banks could become impassable
due to erosion and overwashed from high waves due to
hurricane airin a state of emergency, as we covered yesterday morning,
is in place for both Hide and Dare Counties, and
even further south down in Wrightsville Beach outside of the
(20:52):
Wilmington area, the town has issued a rare no swimming
advisory from Tuesday through Friday. This is due to very
strong rip currents and large waves from the hurricane, as
lifeguards at Wrightsville Beach reported more than eighty rip current
rescues just yesterday. Similar situation unfolding a little bit further
(21:13):
north in Surf City, where the fire department there reported
fifteen rip current rescues on Monday as well. Although aaron
center is forecasted to remain anywhere between about one hundred
and fifty and three hundred miles offshore. Life threatening rip currents,
coastal flooding, overwash, and extremely dangerous surf conditions do continue
(21:35):
to be likely for the coast. Extensive beach erosion is
also likely, with waves as high as fifteen to twenty
feet possible in some areas of the outer Banks. That's
where the abrunt of the impacts are set to be
felt here across the area. That is why authorities in
those areas are not taking any chances with those emergency
(21:57):
orders or state of emergency orders I should say issued
for a Dare and Hyde County, with Hatteras Island also
being under a mandatory evacuation this morning. We don't take
the tropics lightly some big time impacts over the last
ten years or so, with tropical events of both in
the eastern, central, and western parts of the state of
(22:19):
North Carolina. Fortunately, Aaron not expected to make a direct
landfall here on the state of North Carolina. However, those impacts,
impacts and risks will continue across the eastern half of
the state. Will continue to track it through Tomorrow, Thursday,
and Friday right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour
(22:40):
where it's now five point forty News Talk eleven ten
ninety nine to three WBT. Major League Baseball expansion is
a pretty large topic across the league for the last
couple of years. However, here in North and South Carolina,
you've got to go down to Atlanta, Georgia for the Braves,
are up to Washington, d c. For the Washington Nations
to see or get your baseball fix. To walk us
(23:02):
through some details on some potential expansion. This morning, Katie's
Ender Carolina Journal dot Com joins us on the News hour. Katie,
We've got a brand new study out of NC State
that's looking at the viability of two major metros across
North Carolina they could potentially host a Major League Baseball
team in the future. What are you learning from that?
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Right?
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Good morning, Nick, Thank you for having me on. And yeah,
so there's a new study from NC State professor and
economist doctor Michael Walden, and he looks at Raleigh and Charlotte,
as well as eight other cities that have been proposed
as a potential home for a new MLB team. MLB
team this discussion originally arose out of last year after
Hurricane Helene and Milton. The Tampa Bay Rays Stadium had
(23:44):
undergone significant destruction from those hurricanes, and so they were
looking for a new, at least temporary home, and so
that's where this discussion originally started. Now it looks like
the Tampa Bay Rays are probably going to be staying
within the state of Florida. Sale is currently pending to
a Jackville developer for one point seven billion dollars and
is expected to close as soon as September. But there's
(24:06):
still a lot of discussion about a new MLB team
and what city that might land in. So Charlotte and Raleigh,
to the biggest cities here in North Carolina, are both
in the running for that, as well as other cities
like Orlando, Nashville, Mexico City, and several other cities. And
so what this study does is really looks at all
these cities, compares them to each other, and looks at
(24:27):
feasibility and economic impact on these cities. And Raleigh and
Charlotte are top contenders in this study for the potential
future home of an MLB team.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Well, Katie, we look across the state of North Carolina,
and while we don't have a professional baseball team, we
do in the Charlotte area have a football, basketball, and
hockey team. You go up to the Raleigh area, you've
got a professional hockey team that operates under there. So
pro sports do exist pretty frequently across North South Carolina.
Go over to Tennessee, of course, you've got the Tennessee
(24:59):
Titans and some other teams over there as well. So
there is professional sports, just not a baseball team. The
economic impact of something like this could be pretty substantial,
could it not.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
That's exactly right, Nick, And so that's one of the
things that the study looks at, is what is the
economic impact on, you know, bringing jobs in, bringing economy in.
And you're right, So, you know, we've got, you know,
kind of professional sports all around us. We've got the
Carolina Hurricanes, and there is a minor league team in Charlotte,
I believe they're called the Charlotte Knights. And then if
(25:29):
you go over to Tennessee again, they don't have an
MLB team either, but they do have the Knoxville Smokies.
And then Governor Bill Lee, who's the governor of Tennessee,
is really advocating very strongly for Nashville to be the
future home of the LB team. He said recently, he said,
we need an MLB team in Tennessee, and I'm really
hopeful that that's coming in. This is the future and
(25:50):
it's an exciting development right here in this town, and
it's a part of what's to come in this state.
So Governor Lee of Tennessee is really strongly advocating for Nashville.
So the study looks at a few different factors for feasibility,
and there's a lot of factors that you know, kind
of work into what is the feasibility of, you know,
supporting an MLB team, And so you know, there's population growth,
(26:14):
and so the projected population rankings for twenty fifty show
you really strong growth. Raleigh stands out ranking second with
an anticipated forty five point eight percent increase, surpassing San Antonio,
which is one of the other studies in the running,
by an impressive sixty point seventy percent growth rate. Charlotte
comes in sixth, and both of these cities are expected
(26:37):
to outpace Nashville as far as growth, which is really
interesting to note because Nashville is another one of those
cities that has really been growing a lot in the
last few years, but again Raleigh has as well. We're
seeing a lot of growth in the Raleigh area and
in the Triangle area. One really important factor when it
comes to looking at an MLB team is of course
stadium location. Like more more than likely if it were
(26:57):
to come to Raleig, we're gonna have to build a
new stadium because we don't really have a current location
that's visible for an MLB team. It is highly unlikely
that the Durham Bulls Athletic Park would be converted, and
that only seats ten thousand, so that's unlikely to be,
you know, the future site of any potential MLB team.
They would either have to you know, rebuild or you know,
(27:19):
just find a different location because that facility just isn't
doesn't have the capacity to host an MLB team.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Well, kay, let me jump in on that, because that's
one of the big concerns and questions with this. We've
seen this take place in other states where you've got
the enticing factor of a new stadium for maybe an
expansion team or rebuilding a stadium for an already existing team,
and there has been in many of these cases some
public outcry about the amount of taxpayer dollars that are
(27:47):
being used to fund what is a very lucrative business
venture for the private industry, which of course would be
a major sports team, which many equate to purchasing some
sort of money printer with the amount that you're able
to generate in terms of rev.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
Right, that's exactly right, Nick. So a lot of times
these stadiums are funded by public money, which is of
course taxpayer dollars. It's going to come from state or
local government, which is of course coming from the tax payers,
and sometimes it's a combination of both state and local.
And the idea behind this is that they're going to
earn that back in revenue. They're going to earn that
back in you know, ticket sales money that's being poured
(28:23):
into the economy when people come in for these games.
It might be you know, you know, hotel reservations, it
might be you know, meals that they buy and concessions,
all of that kind of thing. Is that the money
that revenue that's put out by the government will be
earned back through those kind of expenditures that wouldn't otherwise
be brought in. But there's a lot of data that
(28:46):
doesn't actually back that up. And so one of our
John Locke Foundation board members, John Hood, said in a
recent column that he wrote that there are decades worth
of research that show that public funding of these you know,
ballpark stadiums, you know, entertainments, et cetera, do not actually
fulfill on the economic benefits promised. And he says that
state on local governments don't don't derive the sufficient return
(29:10):
on investment in you know, job creation, economic gains to
justify the significant payouts. So while you might be getting
some money back, it's not enough to justify putting out
so much taxpayer dollars. And money spent on tickets or
concessions or anything like that would otherwise have been put
back into other goods or services into that local market,
(29:31):
and so the taxpayers would actually get a better ROI
if their money were just invested into you know, public
services such as public safety, education, or infrastructure. And so there,
you know, there is a lot of you know, data
to back up that, hey, maybe this isn't the best
way to be spending our taxpayer dollars. And not always
(29:51):
are these funded by tax taxpayer dollars, but a lot
of times they are. Sometimes they're funded by private investors,
So that could be another option, you know, that that
can be looked at as far as funding these these stadiums.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
It's definitely a very interesting study. We've got some additional details,
including that full study from NC State on our website
this morning, Carolina Journal dot com. We appreciate, appreciate the update.
Katie z Ender joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
It's five fifty four. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal
(30:25):
News Our new stock eleven ten ninety nine to three WBT.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce recently announced that its
single family housing program, also known as renew and C,
has received more than one thousand applications. Construction is expected
to begin on the first home within the next month.
(30:45):
The program is administered through the Department's Division of Community Revitalization,
which assists in repairing and rebuilding homes destroyed or damaged
by Hurricane Helene. Governor Josh Stein saying in a press release, quote,
too many families in western North Carolina lost their homes
after Hurricane Helene. This program will help people rebuild their
(31:09):
homes and their lives after the storm. The renew NC
single family housing programs, supported by eight hundred and seven
million dollars in federal funding, is designed to meet the
remaining long term recovery needs of homeowners in western North Carolina.
The program prioritizes low to moderate income families living in
(31:32):
communities that suffered severe storm damage following the most destructive
storm in state history. North Carolina Commerce Secretary Lee Lilly
said in a press release, quote, getting people home is
where recovery really begins for survivors and their communities, and
renew NC is focused on getting our most vulnerable families home.
(31:56):
We will work, We will continue working closely with our
local and state partners to make sure that recovery reaches
every corner of the impacted areas in western North Carolina.
According to the press release, since its launch, renew NC
teams have been working directly in communities to connect with
residents and ensure recovery resources reach those that needed most.
(32:22):
To date, renew NC has conducted assessments on two hundred
and seven properties, including those with unrepaired damage from Hurricane Helene.
Those evaluations, according to renew NC, provide critical information for
environmental reviews and form the foundations for appropriate recovery applications.
(32:43):
Those applications are open to homeowners in twenty nine different
counties across the central and western half of the state.
These programs are supported by the United States Department of
Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, and a
more than one point four billion dollar grant given to
the state of North Carolina. Homeowners seeking more information about
(33:06):
this program can visit renew NC dot org or visit
our website This morning, Carolina Journal dot com. We've got
all of the application information linked up on our website.
Well that's gonna do it for a Tuesday edition of
The Carolina Journal News Hour WBT News is next, followed
by Good Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning,
(33:26):
five to six right here on News Talk eleven, ten
and ninety nine to three WBT
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