Activity Updates

Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grants

Last week the US DOT awarded $60 million for additional transportation projects in NC. The money is allocated as follows:

  • $18 million for loading and discharging containers on and off the rail at the new intermodal facility at the Port of Wilmington;

  • $20 million for a road project in Rutherford County;

  • $10.7 million to rebuild 28 western-NC bridges; and

  • Funding for several smaller projects in Elizabeth City, Wake Forest, and Winston-Salem.

Resiliency Funding 

August 11, Governor Cooper and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, announced funding for FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) and the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) programs.

NC BRIC Funding:

  • Gastonia – Stream restoration and infrastructure protection along Duharts Creek – $5.9 million

  • Siler City – Blood Run Pump Station Relocation and Sewer Line Replacement – $5 million

  • Sawmills – South Caldwell Sewer Pump Station Elevation Project – $189,000

  • Greenville – St. Andrews Drive Infrastructure Protection and Stream Restoration – $3.45 million

  • Pollocksville – Building Elevations to Restore the Town’s Commercial Corridor – $1.08 million

  • Fair Bluff – Fair Bluff Park Phase 2 – $2.44 million

  • Hillsborough – Resilient Regional Water Supply Project- $1.01 million

  • Salisbury – Water Supply Resiliency Project for Pump Station Along Yadkin River -$22.5 million

  • Fayetteville – Wayland Drive Drainage Improvements – $2.61 million

  • Hillsborough – River Pumping Station Relocation from Floodway – $5.81 million

NC FMA Funding:

Clean Energy Workforce 

Governor Cooper and U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo announced $73.7 million in federal funding for a program to create a clean energy workforce training program at NC A&T.. The “Good Jobs Challenge” is funded by the American Rescue Plan.

The NC A&T Good Jobs Challenge grant will create STEPs4GROWTH, a clean energy workforce training program that will start in high school and continue through college. There are 4 partnerships in energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean vehicles, and grid and storage.

Quotes from Press Conference Participants

  • “North Carolina is quickly becoming the center of our country’s emerging clean energy economy,” Governor Cooper said. “This transformative grant will invest in our state’s diverse workforce as we continue to create high paying clean energy jobs and bolster NC A&T’s reputation as a national leader preparing students for the economy of the future.”

  • “President Biden is committed to expanding career opportunities for more Americans to secure good-paying jobs,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. “This EDA investment will create a workforce training program for the clean energy sector, providing quality, demand-driven training for workers and a workforce to grow and expand the industry.”

  • “North Carolina is leading the charge in the clean energy economy,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “This EDA Good Jobs Grant will position our state’s clean energy workforce model as top in the nation – with an equity focus to ensure all North Carolinians can participate in this growing sector.”

  • “Expanding the pre-apprenticeship program to provide opportunities for more students will help North Carolina meet our Clean Energy Plan goals as we transition to a clean energy economy,” said DEQ Secretary Elizabeth S. Biser. “DEQ is proud to be a partner in the program’s development and will continue to support the great work being done here at NC A&T.”

  • “NCBCE is proud to continue to work with leaders at NC A&T, NC State, the State Energy Office, the NC Community Colleges, and the Department of Public Instruction to offer work-based learning opportunities in clean energy to students in North Carolina,” said Carolina Sullivan, Executive Director of the North Carolina Business Committee for Education. “This grant will enable us to offer more work-based learning opportunities to K-12 students across the state and to scale LiNC-IT, North Carolina’s internship program for early career autistic professionals, and to provide more students of all abilities with opportunities to participate in this growing sector.”

COVID

Numbers as of August 6, 2022:

  • 3,047,625 total cases

  • 25,724 deaths

  • 1,322 people – 7 day average of those hospitalized

  • 73% of adult population fully vaccinated, 63% of total population fully vaccinated

Election News

Governors Association Election Engagement

Eastern NC GOPAC Poll Results

AG Stein Campaign Investigation

Other Important Items

National Homebuilder Expanding in Cleveland and Cumberland Counties

NVR, Inc., owner of three home brands, will create 261 new jobs in an expansion involving Cleveland and Cumberland counties with an investment of more than $33.9 million to expand its capacity in Kings Mountain and build a new facility in Fayetteville. “When companies already in North Carolina choose to expand here, it’s a great vote of confidence,” said Cooper. A Job Development Investment Grant (of up to $1,635,000 over 12 years) was approved as the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by more than $516 million. “We are excited to welcome these additional jobs and increased investment to Cleveland County,” said Sen. W. Ted Alexander, R-Cleveland. “This announcement further validates that North Carolina is indeed the best place to do business.”