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Duke Energy Seeks 6% Rate Rise For Customers In Western NC
About 2 million Duke Energy customers in central and western North Carolina would face an average 6% rate increase if state regulators approve the country's largest electric company's request.
Duke Energy said Monday it needed another $290 million a year to recoup spending on grid upgrades, coal-ash cleanup, storm repairs and to increase its potential profit margin to 10.3%. The company also proposes recouping money faster for three coal-burning power plants, potentially leading to earlier closings.
The proposal would add about $8.06 per month to the typical residential customer's bill.
Uber Rides, Sex Abuse Are Subjects Of New North Carolina Laws
New North Carolina laws taking effect in October are designed to keep Uber and Lyft passengers safe, protect girls from sexual abuse and help people enter state-regulated trades.
One law adds new requirements upon ride-sharing drivers over time. Now they must display license tag numbers at the front of their vehicles so consumers can match them easier with what's on their smartphones.
Another law makes it a felony to perform female genital mutilation on a child.
Simplified licensing qualifications for dozens of state-regulated professions begin on Tuesday.
Judge Says Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Wake Forest University Can Move Forward
A federal judge is allowing a wrongful death lawsuit against Wake Forest University to go forward.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles has denied Wake's motion to dismiss the lawsuit blaming the school for the on-campus fatal shooting of a Winston-Salem State University student last year.
The lawsuit was filed by the mother of WSSU student Najee Ali Baker. The football player was fatally shot in January of 2018 outside The Barn, an event venue. Two people have been charged in his death.
Attorneys for the university say the school is not liable for Baker's death, and that there was no way of preventing or predicting the fatal shooting.
A campus sorority is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Uber Driver Charged With Kidnapping, Assaulting Passenger
Police say an Uber driver kidnapped and sexually assaulted a female passenger in the Triad.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports Kernersville police arrested 39-year-old Tarik Aitouali of Greensboro on Friday.
Kernersville police detective David de Mattos says the unidentified woman summoned the Uber service early Friday. He says the Uber driver didn't take the woman to her intended destination, but instead took her to a different location without her consent and committed the sexual offense against her while she was physically helpless.
Swimmers Warned To Avoid Ocean Due To Hurricane Lorenzo
The National Weather Service is warning swimmers in North Carolina to avoid the Atlantic Ocean because of rip currents created by Hurricane Lorenzo.
Although the National Hurricane Center puts the center of Lorenzo more than 1,000 miles southwest of the Azores, the weather service says elevated rip current risks exist along the coast for most of the week.
The warning targets the entire North Carolina coast.
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