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Cooper Seeks Economic Aid For Businesses At Blast Site
Gov. Roy Cooper wants the federal government's help in assisting businesses in Durham feeling the results of a deadly natural gas explosion at cash registers.
Cooper has written the U.S. Small Business Administration asking it take action so that some Durham businesses can access disaster loans after the April 10 explosion. The blast killed one person and injured 25 others.
Cooper's office said the gas leak led to heavy damage to at least nine businesses, destroying four of them. Cooper's letter dated Friday says a survey of affected businesses shows a cumulative economic loss of 40 percent or more compared to the same period a year ago.
Ethan Allen Announces Layoffs In North Carolina, New Jersey
A Connecticut-based furniture manufacturer plans to lay off almost 400 workers at plants in North Carolina and New Jersey.
Ethan Allen Interiors said in a news release that it will lay off 325 workers from its manufacturing facility in Old Fort, N.C., and 55 employees in Passaic, N.J.
The company says the Old Fort plant will be converted to a distribution center. It will keep its lumber processing facility there while about half its case goods manufacturing will be consolidated at two plants in Vermont.
Meanwhile, the company plans to add 80,000 square feet to its three-building campus in Madison, N.C.
North Carolina's Earth Day: Invasive Species Out, Clean Power In
Environmentalists are honoring Mother Earth and discussing the work ahead to protect it.
North Carolina Earth Day events to demonstrate support for environmental protection are scheduled Monday in Raleigh, Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Asheville. Pilot Mountain State Park is organizing volunteers to help dig up or cut out invasive plants crowding out local species.
Renewable energy has grown fast, with the country producing nearly eight times more solar and wind power than in 2007. Legislation in the state's General Assembly would pick up the pace of change, with a goal of North Carolina operating fully on clean energy by 2050.
2 Children Shot In Road Rage Incident Involving Father
Authorities say a North Carolina man has been arrested after two children were shot in a road rage incident.
Surry County officials say 41-year-old Byron Donnell Green of Mount Airy is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, discharging a weapon into an occupied property causing bodily injury and assault by pointing a gun. Bond for Green was set at $600,000.
Investigators say a 9-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl were shot Saturday afternoon after Green became involved in a road rage incident with their father in the Flat Rock community of Mount Airy.
The children were driven to the hospital by their father. The boy was treated and released, and the girl was reported in stable condition after undergoing surgery.
Colbert Donates $400K From Book To NC Hurricane Relief
"The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert has donated proceeds from his Hurricane Florence-related book to disaster-relief efforts in North Carolina.
The News & Observer reports that the comedian sent a check for $412,412 to Gov. Roy Cooper. The governor posted a "thank-you" on Facebook.
Colbert and his writing staff composed the book "Whose Boat Is This Boat? Comments That Don't Help in the Aftermath of a Hurricane." It uses quotes from President Donald Trump's visit to North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence last fall.
The 24-page faux-children's book was inspired by Trump's question about a yacht that landed in the yard of someone living near the North Carolina coast.
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