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Gov. Cooper: Republican $35M School Safety Plan Not Enough
Republicans at the General Assembly say the school safety funding package in the upcoming state budget is a good first step that will address critical needs, but Gov. Roy Cooper thinks it comes up short.
House and Senate GOP leaders announced Thursday that $35 million in the budget adjustment bill that could be voted on next week are dedicated to safety improvements. The money would hire school safety personnel, make security improvements and expand a student mobile app.
Cooper sought $130 million toward school safety for the coming fiscal year.
GOP Budget Includes 'Living Wage' Minimum For State Workers
Thousands of the lowest-paid state employees would receive substantial salary increases in the North Carolina budget bill moving quickly through the General Assembly.
Republican budget-writers announced Thursday that rank-and-file workers in state agencies would receive 2 percent raises, with all full-time worker salaries reaching at least $31,200. Currently the salary floor is just over $24,300, so raises could approach 30 percent for those near the current minimum.
The State Employees Association of North Carolina described the proposal as creating a "living wage" equating to $15 per hour. SEANC Executive Director Robert Broome says it would help those workers who haven't benefited much during the economic recovery.
Some Protest North Carolina Meeting On Coal Ash Problems
Some North Carolina residents are upset with the way state environmental officials conducted a meeting on coal ash ponds at two Duke Energy plants.
The meeting was held Wednesday evening at the Jamestown campus of Guilford Technical Community College.
The News & Record reports many neighbors of the Belews Creek Steam Station near Walnut Cove and the retired Buck Steam Station in Rowan County boycotted the meeting, saying it required travel on a weekday around dinner time.
The state Department of Environmental Quality said the hearing was set midway between the two plants so neighbors of each plant would have similar commutes.
There were four speakers at the session, one of them from Duke Energy. The whole meeting lasted just half an hour.
North Carolina's Public University Board Elects New Leaders
The panel that oversees North Carolina's public universities is changing leadership.
The University of North Carolina Board of Governors on Thursday elected Greenville businessman Harry Smith as chairman. Smith is replacing Asheville attorney W. Louis Bissette Jr., who headed the board for almost three years.
Smith is a graduate of East Carolina University, a member of the school's athletic booster club and a notable contributor to Republican politicians.
The panel also elected Randy Ramsey as its vice chair and Pearl Burris-Floyd as secretary.
New Waterpark Opens In Winston-Salem
As high summer temps get closer and closer, a new place for the community to keep cool is springing up in Winston-Salem. Winston Waterworks aquatic park is open for business.
The whole process began about eight years ago when the city says they identified a need to develop a pool in the area off Winston Lake Road. After a bond referendum was passed in 2014, $5 million was allocated to pay for it.
The facility features several pools, an interactive water play area and a lazy river. There's also a waterslide that stands 16-feet high and over 100-feet long.
There is a fee to enter the park, comparable to the cost of other city pools in the area.
Funeral On Friday For North Carolina Trooper Killed In Wreck
A North Carolina state trooper killed in a crash while chasing a suspect will be remembered in his hometown before being laid to rest.
Visitation for Trooper Samuel Newton Bullard will start at 10 a.m. Friday at the Walker Center at Wilkes Community College.
A funeral will follow at 1 p.m., then a procession will take his body to a private graveside service at Macedonia Baptist Church in Ronda.
The 24-year-old trooper was chasing a driver who fled a license checkpoint early Wednesday when his patrol car crashed into a bridge support along Interstate 77 in Yadkin County.
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