Damages from Hurricane Irene likely will top $70 million in North Carolina, based on preliminary damage estimates announced by Governor Bev Perdue’s office.
The governor surveyed the damage on Tuesday along with N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. It was Gov. Perdue’s third day spent assessing emergency response and visiting with local officials in Eastern North Carolina, which suffered extensive flooding after receiving more than 12 inches of rain in some areas.
“Thousands of families and business owners have suffered because of this storm,” said Perdue. “They are resilient. They are strong. They are determined to rebuild, and we will do everything possible to help.”
So far Gov. Perdue has requested a federal disaster declaration for individual assistance for nine counties: Beaufort, Cateret, Craven, Dare, Hyde, Pamlico, Tyrrell, Halifax and Lenior. The declaration helps residents and businesses in those counties pay for uninsured damages caused by Hurricane Irene.
The declaration allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide low-interest loans or grants to pay for property repairs and medical costs. Secondary residences are not eligible for the federal assistance.
Gov. Perdue also has requested that 20 counties be added to the state’s federal disaster declaration request for public assistance, which would help local governments cover the expenses associated with the storm response. The 20 counties included in the request for public assistance are: Beaufort, Brunswick, Cateret, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Halifax, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Tyrrell and Wilson.
According to the governor’s office, seven North Carolinians died as a result of Hurricane Irene, and swift water teams conducted more than 100 rescue operations. As of Wednesday, 13 shelters were still open in the state, housing nearly 600 people. More than 135,000 homes and businesses remained without power, down from a high of 660,000 outages following the storm.
The governor’s office reported that nearly 2,000 transportation crews were working to reopen blocked roads and bridges, and the N.C. Department of Transportation has been asked to devise a short-term solution to get traffic flowing in the next few weeks on N.C. 12, which was breached by a tidal surge.
The N.C. Disaster Relief Fund, operated in partnership with the United Way of North Carolina, is accepting donations to provide financial assistance for hurricane survivors. Visit www.ncdisasterrelief.org for more information.
Evacuation orders remain in effect for Hatteras Island. However, most of the state’s other coastal communities said they are ready to accept visitors for the busy Labor Day weekend holiday.
– source: www.governor.state.nc.us; press releases from 8/30/2011 and 8/31/2011
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AAA said it expects fewer people will be traveling by air this Labor Day holiday weekend, partly because of concerns over the economy, but lower gas prices may cause more travelers to take a road trip.
AAA estimated about 31.5 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more this weekend, a 2.4 percent drop from last year’s total. However, AAA estimated about 27.3 million people will travel by car, an increase of about 0.5 percent.
Going into the weekend, the average cost of a gallon of gas in North Carolina was $3.57, which was down from $3.70 a month ago, but still well above the statewide average of about $2.56 a year ago.
– sources: www.bizjournals.com/charlotte, 8/24/11; www.northcarolinagasprices.com
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North Carolina has one of the highest gas taxes in the country, according to an analysis by CCH Group of Illinois. CCH Group, which provides tax, accounting and auditing services, said North Carolina currently has the third-highest gas tax rate in the nation at 35 cents per gallon, and it is one of seven states that raised gas taxes this year. North Carolina trails only Washington state and California, which have rates of 37.5 cents and 35.7 cents, respectively, according to CCH Group.
North Carolina increased its gas tax 3.1 cents per gallon from 31.9 cents last year. The largest rate increase this year was six cents per gallon in Oregon. Nebraska was the only state to lower its gas tax, dropping it 0.8 cents this year to 26.3 cents per gallon.
The differences in state tax rates do not fully account for disparities at the pump. Although North Carolina’s gas tax is 27.5 cents per gallon higher than Georgia’s rate, average pump prices in Georgia were only five cents less than in North Carolina, based on a recent AAA survey.
Georgia continues to have the lowest gas tax rate in the nation after leaving it unchanged this year at 7.5 cents per gallon. South Carolina also left its rate unchanged this year and it continues to have one of the lower rates in the nation at 16 cents per gallon.
– source: www.bizjournals.com/charlotte, published 8/31/11
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The 41st Annual Smoky Mountain Folk Festival is returning to Lake Junaluska in North Carolina this weekend. The festival, featuring two nights of traditional Southern Appalachian music and dance, will be held on Sept. 2 – 3 in the Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska, beginning at 5 p.m.
Festival performers also will share their music under the big tents on the grounds of the auditorium from 5 p.m. to near midnight.
In addition, a special Smoky Mountain Folk Festival show for children also will be provided under the big tents beginning at 5 p.m. All of the performances on the grounds of the auditorium are free.
The wide variety of performances is expected to include fiddlers, banjo players, string bands, ballad singers, buck dancers, square dance teams, folk ensembles, musicians performing on jew’s harp, bagpipes, spoons and saws and more.
The Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center is located at 689 N. Lakeshore Drive, Lake Junaluska.
– source: www.smokymountainfolkfestival.com
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North Carolina is home to more than a dozen businesses that made the 2011 Inc. 500 list of top companies in the country. FLS Energy of Asheville was the top North Carolina company on the magazine’s list, which ranks companies based on revenue growth.
FLS Energy, founded in 2006, is a solar energy generation company offering engineering, installation and financing services for commercial and utility scale thermal and photovoltaic energy systems. The company has achieved a three-year revenue growth rate of 4,303 percent. FLS has added more than 80 employees as annual revenue has climbed in recent years to $36 million, double what it was just a year ago.
FLS Energy CEO and co-founder Michael Shore said his company, started with the goal of making solar energy mainstream, has a unique business model that allows it to operate similar to a small utility. The company provides power to government offices and businesses from their rooftops.
HomeInsurance.com of North Carolina joined FLS this year in the magazine’s top 100, coming in 61st with a three-year growth rate of 3,458 percent.
Eight of the 13 North Carolina companies on the magazine’s list this year are from the Triangle area. Web Design of Raleigh led the group of Triangle area businesses with a ranking of 158th and a revenue growth rate of 1,836 percent.
The high rankings for Triangle area businesses mirror a recent “CNN Money” listing of the top 25 counties in the nation for job growth. Wake County came in 15th in the United States on the “CNN Money” list.
– sources: N.C. Department of Commerce staff, www.thrivenc.com, 8/29/11; www.bizjournals.com/triangle
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The Gates Four community said it has acquired enough signatures from residents to block a planned annexation by Fayetteville that it’s been fighting for years.
Gates Four joins Biltmore Lakes as one of the communities taking advantage of a new North Carolina law that allows communities to block annexations if at least 60 percent of residents in the proposed annexation area sign a petition.
The Gates Four Homeowners Association said it has acquired signatures from about 80 percent of property owners. Even though it met the requirement under the state law, the county board of elections is continuing to accept signatures through November 21. The board will then review, certify and report the results to Fayetteville.
The city approved in 2008 an ordinance to involuntarily annex Gates Four, a community of about 650 homes, an 18-hole golf course and a clubhouse in western Cumberland County. Homeowners in Gates Four sued the city, but they have been unable to reach a successful outcome in court.
The N.C. Supreme Court recently denied an appeal from the homeowners association. The association had appealed a decision by the N.C. Court of Appeals that upheld Fayetteville’s annexation ordinance.
Mike Molin, secretary of the Gates Four Homeowners Association, said he expects the community will get more signatures before the Nov. 21 deadline, and he hopes an even higher percentage will send a message to Fayetteville that it should not pursue the annexation again.
Under the new state, approved last year, a city must wait at least three years after a successful petition before it can pursue the annexation again.
– source:
www.fayobserver.com, 9/1/11
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The family of Darryl Wayne Turner of Charlotte was awarded $10 million in damages in a lawsuit stemming from a tasing incident in March 2008.
The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Taser International in 2010. A jury found Taser International was at fault because it failed to provide sufficient warning or instruction about the stun gun to Charlotte police.
Turner died after going into cardiac arrest. According to court documents, an officer fired the Taser twice, holding the trigger for 37 seconds and then for five seconds.
The incident took place at a Food Lion in northeast Charlotte, where Turner worked. Turner was reportedly arguing with his boss and police were called to the store. Surveillance video shows Turner arguing with the police officer before he was shocked by the taser.
The company claimed Turner had a heart condition, but the county’s medical examiner disagreed with that contention in testimony.
Taser International said it plans to appeal the decision to the 4th Circuit Court if its request to overturn the verdict is not granted by the court. The Arizona-based company said it had beaten 127 cases and lost only one prior to the Turner case decision.
– source: www.wcnc.com, 7/20/11
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The town of Cornelius, N.C., is turning to iPads to help reduce the quantity of paper it uses for town meetings. Town commissioners agreed to start using iPads to replace meeting agenda packets, which often run about 200 pages long.
The town of about 25,000 residents bought 16 iPads (16GB Wi-Fi) at a cost of $500 per unit. By eliminating the need to print the large agenda packets, the town expects to pay for the investment in about 1.5 years.
Town manager Anthony Roberts said the town was printing about 4,000 pages for each meeting with 20 agenda packets of about 200 pages each. He said the town also is saving the time of putting the packets together, which included about eight hours each in administrative time and additional time for the police department to deliver the packets to commissioners.
– source: www.nytimes.com, 7/22/11