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Western, Central North Carolina Expect Freezing Rain
Western North Carolina is now bracing for freezing rain or drizzle even as parts of eastern North Carolina are still trying to recover from last week's snowstorm.
The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for more than three dozen counties in western and central North Carolina. Light snow or sleet is possible at the higher elevations of the North Carolina mountains. Frozen precipitation will range from Murphy in far western North Carolina as far east as Greensboro.
A number of schools are closed or delayed in western North Carolina because of the anticipated frozen precipitation.
Meanwhile, some schools were still closed or delayed in central and eastern North Carolina because of the snow and ice from last week's storm.
Expert Says He Didn't Set Racial Targets In Maps
A redistricting expert says he set no numerical targets on the percentage of black adults in North Carolina legislative districts he was asked to redraw by federal judges now deciding whether to accept his alterations.
Nathaniel Persily gave a presentation Friday to a three-judge panel meeting in Greensboro. The Stanford University professor is the "special master" in litigation challenging state House and Senate boundaries drawn by Republicans at the General Assembly. The judges previously found GOP mapmakers improperly used race in drawing districts.
Lawyers for GOP legislators say updated maps they drew last summer should be used in this year's election — not Persily's. They say they didn't use racial data with their updated maps, and that Persily did, so the GOP boundaries should stand.
Cooper Wants Lawmakers To Address Teacher Funding This Week
Gov. Roy Cooper is trying to increase pressure upon General Assembly leaders to address an upcoming class-size mandate by providing school districts more money for additional teachers and classrooms.
Cooper visited Friday a Charlotte elementary school, where he urged legislators to take up the issue during a special session this week.
Lawmakers last year delayed the mandates for kindergarten through third grade until next fall. School leaders are worried they'll have to eliminate art, music and physical education teachers to comply, or raise class sizes in higher grades.
NC Communities Lose Water Supplies As Cold Snaps Lines
Water lines supplying communities across North Carolina are failing due to the extreme cold.
Repair crews were at work Sunday from Wake Forest in Wake County to Marshville in Union County after water lines broke.
Cumberland County's water utility on Saturday directed consumers to boil water because cracking water mains increased the potential for harmful bacteria.
WCTI reported that a sprinkler pipe burst inside a terminal at Pitt-Greenville Airport Saturday night. There were no flights on Saturday and there was minimal damage.
Asheville Considers Rule To Curb Short-Term Vacation Rentals
Asheville leaders are considering new rules to sharply limit short-term vacation rentals downtown.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that the city's planning and zoning commission voted to recommend the policy sent to the City Council for a final say on Jan. 9.
If the policy receives final approval, property owners would have to be registered with the city to rent out apartments and homes on a short-term basis to vacationers. Owners not previously registered would have to get special zoning permission to rent for less than 30 days.
Critics say that the practice of renting to vacationers as opposed to longer-term residents has made the city's housing shortage worse.
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