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Key Legislator Wants Hearing On Cooper Pipeline Pact
A key Republican legislator wants the General Assembly to dig deeper into a $58 million agreement between Gov. Roy Cooper's office and utilities building a natural gas pipeline in eastern North Carolina.
Senate Rules Committee Chairman Bill Rabon announced Wednesday he wants the Atlantic Coast Pipeline pact discussed at the next meeting of the legislature's chief oversight committee. There's no date yet.
GOP leaders are unhappy how Cooper's office responded to written questions on the memorandum of understanding, which earmarked money for environmental mitigation and economic development. Legislators last month intercepted the funds for public schools. Cooper has rejected GOP accusations he tried to create a "slush fund."
FBI Opens Criminal Probe Of Police Beating In Asheville
Federal agents have opened a criminal investigation into a white North Carolina police officer shown on body camera footage beating a black man accused of jaywalking.
State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Patty McQuillan said in an email Wednesday that an FBI criminal investigation was launched into the actions of Asheville police officer Christopher Hickman on Aug. 25, 2017. She said the state agency is assisting.
Hickman was shown on body camera footage subduing and punching 33-year-old Johnnie Jermaine Rush after officers accused Rush of crossing outside of a crosswalk. Hickman resigned in January.
Tests Show Chemical Compound Found In North Carolina Well
A county health director in North Carolina says nearly all the wells tested in his county had a chemical compound that might cause cancer.
The Fayetteville Observer reports that GenX was found in 25 of the 27 wells tested in Robeson County.
Health director Bill Smith said the highest level in Robeson County wells was less than one-third of the state' goal for the compound used in making non-stick cookware and other products.
The wells tested are about 3 miles from the Chemours plant where GenX is made.
Citing Tax Reform, Reynolds American Offers Bonuses To Employees
One of Winston-Salem's marquee companies is giving bonuses to its employees.
Reynolds American is offering the extra cash in the wake of new federal tax laws.
The lower corporate tax rate passed by Congress in December meant a cash windfall for big companies in North Carolina and elsewhere. And many of those companies are passing some of the money along to employees.
Reynolds American, now a subsidiary of British American Tobacco, says it will be giving one-time $1,000 bonuses to most all of its employees, including managers. That amounts to about 4,500 people.
Business 40 Scheduled For Weekend Closure
A portion of Business 40 in Winston-Salem will be closed over the weekend to allow workers to remove a bridge.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports the N.C. Department of Transportation says the closure starts at 9 p.m. Friday, with all lanes scheduled to reopen by 11 a.m. Sunday. Contractors will be removing the Fourth Street bridge, one of many to be replaced during the project.
Pat Ivey, division engineer for the NCDOT in Forsyth County, said the temporary closure gives motorists a chance to try alternate routes ahead of the planned long-term closure, which starts this fall.
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