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Cooper Names 8 To North Carolina Elections And Ethics Board
Gov. Roy Cooper has made his initial choices for a new state board that administers both elections and ethics laws, even while he keeps challenging in court the law creating the combined panel.
Cooper announced his eight appointments Friday. Four are Democrats and four Republicans, as the law requires. Cooper received six nominees apiece from the chairman of each party.
Those eight members will then present to Cooper two choices from which he must appoint a ninth member. The two must be unaffiliated or Libertarian.
Cooper's office said earlier in the week he would appoint board members even though he believes the board's composition still violates the state constitution.
More Than 40 Percent Of North Carolinians Not Born Here
UNC demographers say that more than four out of 10 North Carolina residents were born elsewhere.
The Carolina Population Center at UNC-Chapel Hill said in a recent blog post that the percentage of the state's population born elsewhere has risen by a percentage point to 43 percent. They based it off data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
The demographers found that in eighteen counties, more than half the population was born outside the state.
Public Invited to Weigh In On New Bond Proposals For Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem is proposing another bond referendum this fall to pay for improvements around the city. Residents will have a chance to provide feedback on the proposed package during a series of community meetings.
The city wants to borrow $122 million dollars for several projects. Those include updates to more parks and playgrounds, new public safety facilities and affordable housing and revitalization in the East Ward.
Ben Rowe is the assistant city manager for Winston-Salem. Rowe says paying for the bonds will come with a 4 cent tax increase. That equals about $60 more a year for the owner of a $150,000 home.
If voters approve the measure in the fall, the tax increase would go into effect in July of next year.
North Carolina Islands Power Outage Could Yield $10M Settlement
A preliminary settlement would allow those who lost power for days last summer on two North Carolina islands to divvy up more than $10 million.
Documents filed in federal court last week show that PCL Civil Constructors would pay $8.1 million to businesses and $2.25 million to the permanent residents and renters on Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Late last July, underwater electric transmission cables were inadvertently cut, prompting the mandatory evacuation of 50,000 visitors from the two Outer Banks islands.
The outage lasted from July 27 until Aug. 3. A class-action lawsuit filed within days said those on the islands suffered damages including financial loss, stress and anxiety.
North Carolina African-American Veteran Dies At Age 100
A North Carolina woman believed to be one of the last living African-American women to serve overseas during World War II has died at the age of 100.
Haywood Funeral Home in Raleigh said on its website that Millie Dunn Veasey died March 9 and will be buried Monday at Raleigh National Cemetery. Her niece, Elsie Thompson, told WUNC that her aunt's "heart was tired."
After she graduated from high school in 1942, Veasey enlisted in what was called the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. Her unit was the only all-black, all-female battalion to serve overseas during World War II.
She later became the first female president of the Raleigh NAACP.