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Senate Budget Gets Final OK, Negotiations With House Next
Negotiations between legislative budget-writers now begin in earnest after the Senate completed voting on its version of a two-year spending plan for North Carolina government.
The Senate gave final approval on Friday to the budget bill written by Republicans. Three Democrats joined all GOP senators present in voting for the legislation, which would spend $24 billion next year.
The bill now returns to the House, which already passed a competing plan.
The Senate agreed Friday to restore three positions on the staff of new Chief Justice Cheri Beasley that Republican budget-writers earlier agreed to cut. Beasley is a Democrat and the first African American woman at the post.
Duke University Pays $54M To End Hiring Lawsuit
Duke University is agreeing to pay more than $54 million to settle claims that it and the nearby University of North Carolina conspired to hold down salaries of medical professors by agreeing not to hire staff away from each other.
Lawyers for the former Duke radiology professor who filed the class-action lawsuit called it one of the largest for employees claiming violations of federal anti-trust laws. An average of $10,000 was projected for more than 5,400 current and former workers.
Duke University spokesman Michael Schoenfeld said Friday the money would not come from tuition, gifts or research grants. The school denies the lawsuit's allegations.
Gateway YWCA To Permanently Close Pool
The Gateway YWCA in Winston-Salem is permanently closing its aquatic center.
It hasn't been open since last August, when a storm brought heavy rain and flooded the pool area. A lot of the equipment was damaged. The cost to reopen it is more than half a million dollars.
The nonprofit has been trying to find a sponsor to help pay for the repairs.
But the cost to maintain the pool area was also factor in the decision. It's more than $360,000 a year to operate.
Miss USA Cheslie Kryst To Return Home To NC And SC
Miss USA Cheslie Kryst is returning for several days to her native North Carolina, where she'll show her support for a group that helps women achieve economic independence and will also speak to legislators.
But first, the Charlotte native and attorney will visit Fort Mill School in South Carolina, which she attended. Later Monday, she'll visit South Park Mall in Charlotte to show her support for Dress for Success, which provides support, professional attire and development tools to help women.
On Tuesday, she'll speak with North Carolina legislators. On Wednesday, Kryst visits High Point, the home city of Miss North Carolina USA.
Kryst graduated from the University of South Carolina, then earned her law degree and MBA at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem.
Teen Girl Bitten By Shark At North Carolina State Park Beach
A park ranger says a 17-year-old girl was bitten by a shark at a North Carolina beach and suffered severe injuries.
Fort Macon State Park ranger Paul Terry tells WCTI-TV that the teen was attacked by a shark while swimming around noon Sunday. Atlantic Beach Fire Department officials said in a statement that the teen suffered "deep lacerations to her leg, pelvic, and hand areas."
She was flown by helicopter to the Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, around 80 miles north.
In a statement the hospital identified the victim as Paige Winter. The hospital says Winter is in "good condition."
North Carolina Lawmaker Pitches Inner Banks Ferry Trial Run
A North Carolina legislator says he's looking for his colleagues' support for a trial run of an Inner Banks ferry this fall.
Rep. Ed Goodwin, of Chowan County, tells The Daily Advance of Elizabeth City he hopes the trial run would lead to a project to link waterfronts across the Albemarle Sound.
The Harbor Town Ferry project was proposed more than a year ago by a business professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It recommends buying five fast ferries to connect Edenton, Hertford, Elizabeth City and several other communities along the Albemarle Sound.
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