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Mayors Vaughan, Joines will join other officials in White House visit

Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan and Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines are among a group of city officials who will be heading to the White House next week. 

The city leaders will be meeting with White House officials on Thursday to discuss federal funding for local governments.

In a news release, Mayor Joines highlighted the importance of support the cities have received through the American Rescue Plan Act, as well as money expected through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. He says the grants have helped address needs such as affordable housing and bridging the digital divide.

Mayor Vaughan says she is pleased the most recent round of ARPA funds went directly to cities, as opposed to state and county governments. She says she’s looking forward to joining her mayoral colleagues in bringing that message to White House officials.

"We all have the same issues," says Vaughan. "Whether it is housing or infrastructure, water and sewer, that as our cities are aging, there is a need for federal help when it comes to things like water and sewer and transportation."

In addition to hosting Vaughan and Joines, the White House has invited mayors of eight other North Carolina cities, along with the chairpersons of Guilford and Wake counties’ boards of commissioners.

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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