Latest news with #JoeyHopkins
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
NC leaders announce changes to shorten DMV lines
North Carolina leaders announced changes at the NC Division of Motor Vehicles during a press conference on Friday. Gov. Josh Stein, Secretary of Transportation Joey Hopkins, and NCDMV Commissioner Paul Tine spoke at the Raleigh East Drivers License Office to address long waits and difficulty booking appointments at the DMV, WRAL News reported. Hopkins said the newly elected Tine brings a 'wealth of experience' to help with the work the state plans to do. READ: NC leaders want changes to cut long DMV lines Tine said he planned to improve career benefits for examiners, update the DMV website and social media, reorganize the internal department, and reopen 20 locations to walk-ins on Saturdays. 'We have new core principles to promote problem-solving: service, efficiency, agility and accountability,' Tine said. Twenty locations will be open to walk-ins from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays starting on May 31, WRAL News reported. The following locations will be open to walk-ins on Saturdays: Andrews, 1440 Main St. Asheville, 1624 Patton Ave. Charlotte North, 9711 David Taylor Dr. Charlotte South, 201 W. Arrowood Rd., Suite H Clayton, 1665 Old U.S. Hwy. 70 W. (Shotwell Station) Durham, 101 S. Miami Blvd. Elizabeth City, 1164 U.S. Hwy. 17 S. Fayetteville, 831 Elm St. (Eutaw Village) Graham, 111 E. Crescent Square Greensboro, 2391 Coliseum Blvd. Greenville, 4651 N. Creek Dr. Huntersville, 12101 Mount Holly-Huntersville Rd. Jacksonville, 299 Wilmington Hwy. Kernersville, 810-A N. Main St. Monroe, 3122 U.S. Hwy. 74 W. Raleigh East, 4121 New Bern Ave. (Wilder's Grove) Raleigh West, 3231 Avent Ferry Rd. Salisbury, US 29 S, 5780 South Main St. Wilmington, 2390 Carolina Beach Rd., Suite 104 (South Square Plaza) Winston-Salem, 2001 Silas Creek Pkwy The DMV is also now offering several online services. Residents can now renew driver's licenses and ID cards, order duplicate licenses and ID cards, change their address, and apply for voter registration online. WATCH: NC leaders want changes to cut long DMV lines
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reentry program in North Carolina helps former felons find work
RALEIGH, N.C. (WAVY) – The N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) started a reentry program in 2024 to help those formerly incarcerated get jobs on transportation work crews. The program, which was created as a result of Executive Order 303, helps those who were incarcerated get identification cards to access housing and healthcare more easily. 'Removing barriers, creating job opportunities, and improving reentry services so participants can be successful and productive after they leave prison helps reduce crime and breaks the cycle of relapse,' said state Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins. The Executive Order was signed in January 2024 under former Gov. Roy Cooper and continued under Gov. Josh Stein. In addition to the reentry program, NCDOT's On the Job Training program trains formerly incarcerated people in operating heavy equipment, directing traffic in work zones or surveying property. 'Individuals with prior incarceration face significantly lower callback rates from potential employers compared to those without criminal records,' said NCDOT's Ebony Pittman, the agency's deputy secretary for Business Administration. 'This program provides a meaningful pathway to both short-term and long-term employment for people who may be losing hope due to their past. Ultimately, formerly incarcerated people deserve a second chance.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NC hits a major milestone in Helene recovery, but federal cutbacks awaken new worries
For the first time since late September, Interstate 40 reopened on March 1, 2025 to traffic in the Pigeon River Gorge. (Photo: NCDOT) For NCDOT engineers, road crews and certainly the residents of western North Carolina, Saturday was a day for smiles and celebration. For the first time since late September, Interstate 40 reopened to traffic in the Pigeon River Gorge near the North Carolina-Tennessee state line. The one-lane stretch extends approximately 12 miles from Exit 7 in North Carolina to Exit 447 in Tennessee. For the time being, drivers are cautioned to expect narrow lanes, a 35 mile per hour speed limit, and a 9-inch by 9-inch concrete curb separating traffic in opposite directions. That's far from the interstate speeds motorists enjoyed last summer, but it's a huge milestone in the recovery process. NCDOT engineers estimate that Helene washed away about three million cubic yards of dirt, rock and material from the side of I-40. The initial stabilization process involved driving steel rods into the bedrock, filling the rods with grout, applying a metal screen then sprayable concrete to the face of the walls. Crews installed 90,000 square feet of soil-nail walls across the 10 different damage locations, according to a release by the Department of Transportation. State Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins told legislators last week the biggest challenge remains the scale of the storm with nearly 9,400 individual damage sites including 800 bridges that need attention. The state's share of a federal match could cost North Carolina nearly a billion dollars. 'The governor and I did send a letter to the USDOT and others this past Monday, requesting them to fully fund our repairs. I don't know that we'll have success with that, but I'll tell this body that others have had success in the past,' said Hopkins. Hopkins said his agency has also asked the federal government to accelerate some of the programs that FEMA has in place. 'They have a program where they do expedited reimbursement, where they pay you 50 cents on a dollar. We've utilized that here, partially.' Hopkins said that could enable the state to reach more damage sites sooner. But North Carolina's desire to see more federal aid delivered faster comes at a time President Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are actively cancelling contracts and firing federal workers. Representative Maria Cervania (D-Wake) noted this unprecedented approach to governing at the federal level could impact not just western North Carolina's recovery, but also multi-modal commitments to high-speed rail, and improvements at the state's airports. 'What is your department doing to prepare if we don't get comparable level of federal funding along with the fact of western North Carolina, but just our general needs?' asked Cervania. 'How do we need to work in partnership to address our future needs in terms of transportation, especially in Wake County, Mecklenburg County, but all rural areas, too?' Hopkins acknowledged while the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) helped the state advance several projects, things in D.C. are 'a little up in the air now.' The much-celebrated S-line rail project, a billion-dollar investment, between Raleigh and Wake Forest has been put on hold until further notice. 'We've got a big grant for the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, Alligator River Bridge is another one. Those grants are also on hold,' said Hopkins in detailing how the new administration was reshaping construction projects for NCDOT. Sec. Hopkins said this week he will travel to D.C. to meet with his counterparts in the U.S. DOT in hopes of getting these projects back on track. 'I don't know that they will or not, but we're going to try to make that happen.' The state has also been appealing to Congressman David Rouzer, chair of the U.S. House Highway Subcommittee for Transportation. Yet another unknown is whether this month will bring a continuing resolution or a shutdown for the United States government. 'When [the] agencies that we work with aren't fully funded, then they can't fully fund the things we need, and so that kind of gets us in fits and starts until we can get things going,' Hopkins acknowledged. He believes the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) would like to make a larger commitment to North Carolina for Helene recovery, but its budget only runs through March 14th. 'They struggle with that because they can't guarantee those dollars moving forward,' he said.
