Pardon Our Dust
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Agriculture
CNBC: ‘We lost everything’: Dorian closes in on North Carolina farmers still recovering from Florence
Days after devastating the Bahamas, Hurricane Dorian pounded the North Carolina coast Friday, terrifying farmers still recovering from Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence last year. North Carolina farmers have had less than a year to recover from crop loss and flooding to their lands.
WRAL: Long-term plan envisions NC State Farmers Market as gateway to Dix Park
A master plan for the future of the North Carolina State Farmers’ Market in Raleigh envisions a major makeover, one that would add shops, restaurants, event space and even condos. But wholesalers who sell produce out of one building at the market were surprised to see they have no place in that plan.
Economic Development
CHARLOTTE AGENDA: Amazon’s new Charlotte robotics facility will hire hundreds and seed up local deliveries
On a warm September morning before dawn, dozens of employees with jobs paying at least $15 an hour walked into the new Amazon fulfillment center near the Charlotte airport for their first day of work. The 855,000-square-foot facility, the first in North Carolina to incorporate robotics, will soon ship hundreds of thousands of orders a day to customers throughout the region.
Environment
WRAL: 20 years after Hurricane Floyd, little has changed and flooding is still a threat
Hurricane Floyd was an environmental horror story. Doug Rader, chief oceans scientist for the Environmental Defense Fund, remembers “coffins floating, dead animals floating and coming up for many months after the storm.”
Healthcare
WUNC: How NC Is Revolutionizing Healthcare
North Carolina did not expand the number of adults eligible for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, but the state is pursuing other avenues of healthcare reform. The state Department of Health and Human Services and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina have teamed up to work on a program to shift how healthcare is paid for.
Government
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: NC House passes new maps, despite Democrat concerns about Eastern North Carolina
The North Carolina House of Representatives approved new political maps — drawn to replace the current unconstitutional maps — on Friday. The vote was divided along party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed.
Politics
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Dan Bishop, North Carolina Republican, Wins Special Election
Mr. Bishop’s narrow victory over Dan McCready in a conservative district demonstrated warning signs for President Trump in 2020.
Technology
U.S. NEWS: NC County Invests in Active Shooter Training Technology
A teaching unit at Wake Tech is walking law enforcement personnel through the most challenging situations possible – ones that require an officer to point his gun at another human being.
Transportation
THE LAURINBURG EXCHANGE: NCDOT receives national award for promoting transportation projects
The N.C. Department of Transportation has been honored nationally for an initiative started last year to promote investments in multimodal transportation projects. The 2019 NCDOT Mobi Awards has been honored with an Impact Award by the National Association of Development Organizations, a network of regional planning groups that promote economic development and quality of life. The first Mobi Awards program was held in April.
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Must I-95, I-40 always flood after big hurricane? NCDOT looks for ways to prevent it
Twice in the last three years, flooding caused by hurricanes has shut down Eastern North Carolina’s major interstate highways, I-40 and I-95, for days at a time, hampering relief efforts and the flow of people and commerce up and down the East Coast.