Helene
NCDEQ awards $25 million in community recycling infrastructure grants for Hurricane Helene recovery
Funding supports projects to build resilient waste reduction, recycling, and composting programs in storm-damaged communities
Economy
Affordability a larger issue for Georgia voters
NC families with disabled children press lawmakers to maintain funding as federal Medicaid cuts loom; Ex-residents of Chicago apartment building targeted in massive immigration raid seek millions in damages
North Carolina
BRIEFS: N.C. DEQ announces $1.2M for flood resilience projects in Swannanoa and Rosman
Mecklenburg County's point-in-time count found 2,018 experiencing homelessness
North Carolina
First frieght train rolls into Asheville since Helene in 2024
NC lawmakers give initial OK to Medicaid bailout bill; VA voters back redistricting; 298 days: Iranian asylum seeker released after judge rules ICE violated his rights; Georgia’s ACA enrollment plunges, raising concerns for rural hospitals
Helene
N.C. announces $5.7M for Flood Resilience Projects in the French Broad River Basin
Down Ballot Staff Reports Today in Woodfin, Governor Josh Stein announced $5.7 million in grants from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Flood Resiliency Blueprint to reduce flood risk in the French Broad River Basin. The announcement includes eight projects that will create new floodwater storage,
ICE Minneapolis shooting
Feds bar Minnesota from investigating Minneapolis ICE shooting
Many L.A. fire survivors face insurance delays and can’t return home a year later
Helene
N.C. launches grants program to support communities harmed by Helene
Hendersonville taking applications for participatory budget process until Dec. 19
Federal Immigration Enforcement
Feds target Crescent City for immigration raids
Asheville, N.C. hospital just out of immediate jeopardy could face Medicare termination
Helene
Difficulties in getting FEMA housing assistance after Helene
Tech giants Open AI, Oracle behind $165 billion data center campus near El Paso; New Orleanians are being priced out of the city; NY MTA Locks in $3 Subway Fare to Start in January.
North Carolina
Helene relief ongoing a year later
Autopsy Finds Trey Reed’s Hanging Death at Delta State Was a Suicide; Kaepernick to Fund Private Autopsy, Mass. residents still lean toward in-person care as telehealth booms; Policy requiring Georgia college professors to put their class syllabus online to start in 2026
Helene
N.C. DEQ awards $3M for Helene debris removal, biochar for farms in Haywood County
Tropical Storm Helene devastated more than 800,000 acres of forestland across Western North Carolina, leaving behind massive amounts of downed trees and stream debris.
State and Local Government
Briefs: York County, SC boil water advisory lifted
N.C. accepting applications for Helene-related repairs; Asheville and Greenville, N.C. councils meet next week; Gas line rupture near Southport is mitigated