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Layoffs On The Horizon For IFB Solutions
IFB Solutions, a non-profit optical laboratory in Winston-Salem, is facing the loss of 137 jobs.
Many of those positions are filled by workers who are blind, with at least 15 veterans also being affected.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports the workforce reduction follows the expiration of three U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs contracts involving its optical labs.
IFB has been providing prescription eyewear products to the VA for almost two decades.
IFB officials are lobbying Congress to convince the VA to delay or halt the end of the contracts.
Without intervention, the first round of layoffs would come at the end of July with the elimination of 47 jobs.
Charlotte, Host Of GOP Convention, Condemns Trump's Comments
Lawmakers of the North Carolina city set to host the 2020 Republican National Convention have condemned recent comments by President Donald Trump as racist and xenophobic.
The Charlotte Observer reports the Charlotte City Council voted 9-2 Monday to pass a resolution calling out specific tweets and comments by Trump.
Trump tweeted this month that four minority congresswomen should return to "the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."
The resolution also criticized Trump saying that white supremacists in Charlottesville are "very fine people."
North Carolina Targets Robocalls And Scammers With Penalties
North Carolina lawmakers are cracking down on robocalls and telephone scammers in a bill that's passed both chambers of the General Assembly.
The state Senate voted 45-0 on Monday and sent the bill to Gov. Roy Cooper.
Under the bill, any telephone solicitor who masks their real number on caller ID so that the call appears to come from a local number or a familiar number can be fined up to $5,000.
North Carolina Closer To Setting Rules On Ride-Sharing Drivers
North Carolina legislators are nearing new requirements for drivers of ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft. This comes in reaction to the death of a university student in South Carolina who police say climbed into a car driven by an impersonator.
The state Senate on Monday voted 45-0 for a package of requirements that include making it a crime to impersonate a ride-sharing driver. The measure now heads back to the House for review of Senate changes.
31 Charged In Scheme To Smuggle Cigarettes To New York
Federal prosecutors have charged 31 people with running an operation to smuggle cigarettes from North Carolina and sell them in the New York area to avoid taxes.
A news release Monday says that the smugglers would buy thousands of cigarettes from businesses in Fayetteville, then pack them in vans or trucks and drive to New York after stopping in Virginia.
Raleigh-based U.S. Attorney Robert Higdon told reporters that the ring could make more than $50 in profit per carton because of the difference in sales taxes and retail prices for cigarettes in North Carolina and New York. Authorities say the scheme netted at least $12 million in illicit profits.
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