Helene is gone, but its impact is far from over in N.C.'s Mitchell County
Good morning. It's Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, and in this morning's edition, we're covering Helene's continuing impact in North Carolina's Mitchell County, Virginia launches an investigation into Richmond's water crisis, Maryland could struggle with its climate goals.
Related: When natural disasters hit
Good morning. It's Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, and in this morning's edition, we're covering Helene's continuing impact in North Carolina's Mitchell County, Virginia launches an investigation into Richmond's water crisis, Maryland could struggle with its climate goals amid budget shortfall, South Carolina under federal investigation for mystery $1.8B and much more.
If you're a North Carolina resident and voted in the N.C. Supreme Court race that is still not certified, please check the list of over 60,000 votes that Jefferson Griffin is trying to discard after narrowly losing to Allison Riggs.
Stephen Whitlow from Triangle Blog Blog has more information. Readers can also visit the Orange County group's website The Griffin List to search names and more.
Media outlets featured in this edition: Carolina Public Press, Virginia Mercury, Inside Climate News, Triangle Blog Blog, South Carolina Daily Gazette, Minnesota Reformer, MinnPost, Verite News, Asheville Watchdog
by Jane Winik Sartwell January 13, 2025
With the county’s supermarket, downtown restaurants, manufacturing sites and prisons struggling to reopen in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene, Mitchell County now has the highest unemployment rate in North Carolina at nearly 9% — almost three times higher than roughly a year ago.
Recovery and rebuilding from the late-September storm has turned out to be a much longer and more arduous process than residents and officials had hoped. While residents continue to wait on insurance settlements and federal money, massive piles of trash and debris still line the streets.
Winter weather is now slowing things down even further.
And more people are joining the ranks of the unemployed.
Experts from the state Department of Commerce have tried to be reassuring in light of the bad news, but that is no easy sell for the residents of the mountain county. The land and its people are still in rough, raw shape.
“Scars of the storm are everywhere, and it’s hard to see progress some days,” Beth Holmes, a Town Council member in Spruce Pine, told Carolina Public Press.
“Downtown businesses are trying to build back, though many have already been mortgaged. I fear that once they do rebuild, we will have lost the workforce that it would take to open back up. Everything is moving slower than we imagined it would. The devastation here is just unbelievable.
“We are all in need of some movement, something to give us hope.”
Deep despair and job losses
In Mitchell County, 217 people claimed state unemployment assistance for the week ending Dec. 21 — 43% percent of whom were in the trade, transportation and utilities industry. Another 27% were from the leisure and hospitality sector.
The county’s two prisons — Avery-Mitchell Correctional Institution and Mountain View Correctional Institution — are a major source of employment. But once Helene disrupted the water system, it became necessary to move the inmates. Now the prisons sit empty, without need for guards or custodians.
“The Army Corps of Engineers is working on getting us more water so we can have the prisoners brought back,” Rocky Buchanan, Spruce Pine’s Mayor Pro Tempore, told CPP.
“All we’re waiting on right now is a Band-Aid for our river water intake. Prisons use approximately 5 million gallons of water a month, and right until that water source is up and running, we can’t bring those inmates back.”
An Ingles in Spruce Pine is the area’s main grocery store and Mitchell County’s sixth-largest employer. But major flooding closed the store and it’s not expected to reopen before May. That leaves a Walmart as the only place left where residents can buy groceries.
Virginia launches probe into Richmond water crisis as legislature begins work
By: Charlotte Rene Woods, Nathaniel Cline and Markus Schmidt - January 13, 2025
Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday that the state has already launched an investigation into last week’s water crisis in Richmond through the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Drinking Water, pledging to uncover the root causes of the failure.
“We need to wait to see what that tells us,” Youngkin said during his annual State of the Commonwealth address before a joint session of the General Assembly, which had been pushed back by several days because of the utility failure. “But I believe that there will be findings that there were operational challenges, technical challenges, and equipment challenges.”
The crisis, which also delayed the start of the 2025 General Assembly session, erupted after backup power systems at Richmond’s water treatment plant failed to reboot properly during a winter storm. The failure triggered “a cascade” of problems, including water pump malfunctions and flooding, according to Mayor Danny Avula, leaving thousands under a boil water advisory.
Lawmakers briefly convened last Wednesday to gavel in before returning home, leaving the city to grapple with the fallout.
Now, multiple investigations are in motion. Avula has called for an independent third-party review to uncover the root causes, while Youngkin stressed Monday that the state-led probe could offer additional answers.
The crisis has also reignited scrutiny of years-long neglect. The Richmond Times-Dispatch revealed last week that city officials had failed to replace key aging infrastructure for eight years, while WTVR found the federal Environmental Protection Agency had cited the city in 2022 for corroded and outdated equipment.
Avula noted how Richmond’s water woes could serve as a “springboard” for pushing state and federal governments to fund infrastructure upgrades.
Maryland’s climate goals under strain as budget gaps and looming federal cuts threaten progress
By Aman Azhar January 13, 2025
Maryland lawmakers enter the 2025 legislative session facing a trifecta of challenges—soaring energy prices, a deepening budget crisis and shaky federal climate funding under a Trump presidency. That has observers concerned about whether the state can sustain its ambitious climate commitments amid competing mandates.
A $2.7 billion budget gap by FY 2026 that could swell to $6 billion over the next five years poses a direct challenge to Democratic Gov. Wes Moore’s climate agenda. Many state programs, including building electrification, electric vehicle grants and rebates and renewable energy projects, depend on federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), elements of which Trump has vowed to rescind after his inauguration.
Last year, Moore closed the legislative session touting climate progress. But advocates argued that the administration fell short where it mattered most—securing funding to advance the state’s bold emissions targets. Despite successes—like the EmPOWER reform bill that firmed up energy efficiency goals, the WARMTH Act that advanced a geothermal heating pilot program and expanded incentives for rooftop solar and offshore wind—lawmakers failed to pass key revenue measures.
Those included the Responding to Emergency Needs from Extreme Weather (RENEW) Act, which sought to establish a $900 million Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Fund by making oil and gas companies pay for their pollution. A proposed cap-and-invest program would have netted $300 million for climate initiatives, according to an estimate from the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).
S.C. under federal investigation as auditors determine mystery $1.8B didn’t actually exist
By: Jessica Holdman - January 15, 2025
COLUMBIA — Most of the mysterious $1.8 billion discovered on South Carolina’s books last year was never real. The seeming windfall was just more bad accounting, according to a report by outside auditors released Wednesday.
But the state has spent actual taxpayer dollars — at least $7 million so far — on investigative and legal fees in the wake of a series of major accounting blunders that have cast a shadow over the state’s financial agencies for the past two years.
The $1.8 billion came to light a year ago as part of a larger Statehouse investigation into a $3.5 billion accounting error by the state’s former top accountant.
Forensic audit findings by a Washington, D.C., firm contracted by the state found that all but $200 million of the $1.8 billion, like the earlier snafu, was only on paper — not actual cash. And the $200 million that was real isn’t excess that can be spent.
But the discrepancies in the ledger have drawn the scrutiny of federal securities and financial regulators, which have been conducting their own, unpublicized investigation for at least a year, state legislators revealed this week.
“Today we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the money does not exist. It never existed. It was double counted,” said Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau, who has led the Senate panel investigating the debacle.
Even the $200 million that was in state coffers at some point should’ve been cleared from the books years ago, he said.
During hearings, state officials said the $1.8 billion worth of entries was overlooked in the wake of a chaotic, decade-long transition from the state’s old accounting system to a new one.
“The question now: Was that an error? Was it negligence? Was it malfeasance? Misfeasance? Was it fraud or whether there was a cover up, all these things matter,” Grooms said.
Depending on the severity of what investigators from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission find, the state could face penalties ranging from a hit to its sterling credit rating to hefty fines, he said.
“If we have a downgrade in our bond rating, it’s going to cost the taxpayers millions, tens of millions — possibly even hundreds of millions of dollars — over a period of years,” Grooms said.
That’s because any time a government entity sells bonds to raise money, it relies on that credit rating to determine interest payments.
“So, it’s important that we get our financial house in order,” Grooms said.
-- South Carolina Daily Gazette
Constitutional crisis: Minnesota House Republicans elect speaker after Simon adjourns session
Democrats boycott to prevent a quorum, but Republicans hold a floor session without them
By: Max Nesterak, Michelle Griffith and Madison McVan - January 14, 2025
The unprecedented start of the legislative session went on with the usual pomp and formality of years prior. As if the Democratic half of the chamber weren’t empty, and the rules on how to proceed not the source of vehement dispute.
Secretary of State Steve Simon, as the statutorily mandated presiding officer, shook House GOP leader Lisa Demuth’s hand on his way to the rostrum at the front of the ornate chamber. He gaveled three times to start the session. A chaplain said a prayer calling for unity. The members said the Pledge of Allegiance. Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover, called the roll, pausing on each Democrat’s name to allow for silence to note their absence. And the members present took the oath of office.
Then, Simon called the roll again and, as he informed Republican leaders in the days leading up to the session, declared that 67 members were not enough to fulfill a quorum. He said the House may not conduct any further business, declared the body adjourned with a bang of the gavel, and took a seat to the left of the rostrum.
Democrats’ boycott had worked, at least for the moment. They prevented Republicans from using their temporary, 1-seat advantage — sure to end after a Jan. 28 special election in a heavily DFL district — to elect a GOP speaker of the House.
The problem became evident moments later: Who would enforce Simon’s ruling?
Republican Rep. Harry Niska, ready on the microphone, quickly moved to overturn Simon’s ruling — interjecting as Simon closed the session. Niska called the oldest member present — Rep. Paul Anderson — to serve as presiding officer.
After learning how to turn on the microphone from the rostrum, Anderson took the role again and declared a quorum present.
House Republicans then nominated and voted unanimously for Rep. Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, to serve as House speaker, to applause.
Simon, sitting on the House floor, sat with his head down while Republicans continued to preside over the body.
Democrats boycotted the session over fears that Republicans would install Demuth as speaker while refusing to seat one of their members, Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee. His election was sharply contested by Republicans because election workers discarded 20 ballots before counting them. Tabke beat Republican challenger by Aaron Paul by just 14 votes, raising the prospect that those lost ballots could have swung the election in his favor.
OPINION: How the oft-forgotten urban pawn, the lowly bollard, can save lives
Tragedy on Bourbon Street brought into focus that simple urban infrastructure needs to be part of any prevention strategy.
by Bill Lindeke
When Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a 6,000-pound Ford F-150 Lightning into a dense crowd on Bourbon Street this month, the resulting carnage was one of those things that writer Rebecca Solnit has called “shocking but unsurprising.” Like so many things in the news these days — the Los Angeles wildfires being the latest — this kind of deadly violence is both predictable and uniquely tragic. I hate getting used to these events.
That said, two details of this incident caught my attention. First, the assailant used a massive Ford F-150 Lightning, a three-ton electric truck with a high front end, a trend these days in dangerous vehicle design. The second was that the city of New Orleans had, years before, installed expensive retractable bollards in reaction to a deadly 2016 vehicle attack in France. American planners and politicians had done the right thing to prevent a tragedy, but ironically failed to maintain their defenses. The bollards had been neglected for years, brought down in part by cheap plastic Mardi Gras beads.
Bollards background
The attack on the French Quarter, America’s foremost urban treasure, made me stop to reconsider the lowly bollards that could have saved lives. It turns out that bollards are surprisingly controversial for what amounts to the simplest possible piece of urban infrastructure. They’re not more than posts that can withstand a major impact, especially motorized vehicles, but it’s precisely their inflexibility that has long made them a sticking point for many engineers.
The standard bollard costs around $700 to manufacture and install (at least according to one estimate). That’s very affordable for a modern capital expense, which is probably one reason why they’re common in many European cities. For example, Amsterdam has long been famous for its iconic (and somewhat suggestive) Amsterdammertje bollards, which have lined the sidewalks and street-level canals for centuries. Over time, the city has been removing them in favor of grade-separated curbs, but some tens of thousands remain.
Fancy retractable ones, like those dormant in the French Quarter, can cost over $10,000 and require annual maintenance. They’re used only for special occasions and places, like surrounding the city of London landmarks or in James Bond films.
Environmental activists claim victory as Mitsubishi scraps $1.3 billion chemical plant in ‘Cancer Alley’
by Tristan Baurick January 15, 2025
Environmental groups are claiming victory after Mitsubishi Chemical Group dropped plans for a $1.3 billion plant in the heart of Louisiana’s industrial corridor.
In the works for more than a decade, the chemical manufacturing complex would have been the largest of its kind in the world, stretching across 77 acres in Geismar, a small Ascension Parish community about 60 miles west of New Orleans. Tokyo-based Mitsubishi cited only economic factors when announcing the cancellation last week, but a recent report on the plant’s feasibility noted that growing community concern about air pollution could also hamper the project’s success.
“The frontline communities are fighting back, causing delays, and that amounts to money being lost,” said Gail LeBoeuf with Inclusive Louisiana, an environmental group focused on the industrial corridor along the Mississippi River known as Cancer Alley.
The nonprofit group Beyond Petrochemical declared the project’s failure a “major victory for the health and safety of Louisianans.”
According to Mitsubishi, the plant could have produced up to 350,000 tons per year of methyl methacrylate, or MMA, a colorless liquid used in the manufacture of plastics and a host of consumer products, including TVs, paint and nail polish.
The plant was expected to be a major polluter, releasing hundreds of tons per year of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and other harmful chemicals, according to its permit information.
Mitsubishi cited rising costs and waning demand for MMA as the reasons for dropping the project. In a statement, the company indicated the plant likely wouldn’t have enough MMA customers to cover “increases in capital investment stemming from inflation and other factors.”
In July, a report on the plant’s viability warned that a global oversupply of MMA and fierce local opposition made the project a “bad bet.”
Mission Health appeals state’s awarding of 26 acute care beds to AdventHealth’s planned Weaverville hospital
by ANDREW R. JONES January 13, 2025
Mission Health has requested a judge reconsider the state’s decision to allow non-profit hospital system AdventHealth to bring 26 acute care beds to Buncombe County, potentially delaying the construction of a hospital in Weaverville meant to open in 2027.
Mission Health, owned by for-profit Nashville-based HCA Healthcare, filed an appeal Dec. 20 to the North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings, stating that the 26 beds were erroneously granted to AdventHealth. Mission, Novant Health, and AdventHealth, each applied in June for the 26 beds through the state’s mandatory Certificate of Need (CON) program. AdventHealth won the application last November, which would allow it to expand its planned Weaverville hospital from 67 beds to 93.
Mission’s appeal, brought against the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the Division of Health Service Regulation, says those agencies’ decisions curbed Mission’s expansion efforts.
“By denying Mission a CON for the Mission Application, the Agency’s Decision prevents Mission from expanding Mission Hospital to meet the needs of Mission’s existing and future patients and therefore directly limits Mission’s ability to engage in its lawful business,” the appeal said.
“AdventHealth is disappointed that our community will again face delays in receiving access to health care choice,” AdventHealth spokesperson Victoria Dunkle said Monday. “HCA/Mission’s appeal of the State’s decision to award the CON for 26 additional acute care hospital beds to AdventHealth will push back the timeframe for bringing those beds to the people of Buncombe, Graham, Madison, and Yancey counties.”
AdventHealth is confident that the state’s decision will be upheld and the company will continue with the design and architectural planning of the hospital in the meantime, “so we are ready to add these beds and expand care for our community as soon as we receive a decision on this appeal,” Dunkle said.
