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Morning News Briefs: Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Credit: Anthony Inswasty for Wikimedia

Winston-Salem Short On Gas, Bans Non-Essential Driving

Officials in Winston-Salem are curtailing some city services that use cars and trucks after missing a shipment of gasoline.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports the city says it hopes to get a gasoline shipment on Wednesday, but have instituted the ban on non-essential driving in case that doesn't happen. A shipment was expected on Monday, but the gas didn't arrive because of a leak in a pipeline in Alabama that has impacted states across the Southeast, including North Carolina.

Police officers and firefighters will still be doing their jobs and garbage trucks will still run, but officials say things like city inspections, park mowing and minor pothole repairs are being put on hold until the city's gas supplies can be replenished.

Charlotte's Mayor Stands Up To GOP, Is Cheered

Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts got a loud ovation when she walked into the city council chambers for Monday night's zoning meeting. Supporters are pleased with her response to Republican calls to repeal the city's ordinance that would enable LGBT people to seek protection from discrimination in hotels, restaurants and restrooms.

Some held signs calling for the repeal of North Carolina's HB2, which has kept the ordinance from taking effect and forbid any other local government from passing similar rules.

Roberts, a Democrat, was cheered again when she was introduced along with the rest of the council, and then again when she announced that she and the council would not discuss repealing the ordinance at the zoning meeting.

Trump Holding Two Rallies In NC Tuesday

Donald Trump is heading back to North Carolina's voter-rich Piedmont, but he's also making a stop where presidential candidates aren't normally seen — the rural Down East.

The Republican nominee scheduled two rallies in the battleground state Tuesday — first a midday event on the High Point University campus. Later in the afternoon Trump will be in Kenansville at the Duplin County Events Center, commonly a locale for agricultural shows and festivals.

New Poll Shows Tight Races In NC

The latest poll from Elon University shows tight races for both the governor's office and Senator Richard Burr's seat.

Republican Pat McCrory leads Democratic challenger Roy Cooper by less than three points among likely North Carolina voters.

And the senate race is even tighter. In a virtual dead heat, Democrat Deborah Ross is up by just one point on incumbent Senator Richard Burr.

Elon also surveyed North Carolinians on the controversial House Bill 2.

Nearly half of those polled said they were against it, while about 40 percent support it.

Duke Energy Offers Solar Panels For Schools In Lawsuit Deal

Duke Energy is looking for ten North Carolina schools that want rooftop solar power panels they can use to teach about renewable energy.

The country's largest electric company said Tuesday it will spend $300,000 to install the solar panels, provide monitoring equipment, and give training and curriculum to students and teachers. The panels also generate a fraction of the electricity the school uses.

The solar-panels offer is available to any school served by Duke Energy that applies by Dec. 2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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