Latest news with #NCNewsline
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
NC DMV, now under new leadership, wants to ‘triage' long lines and ID backlogs
Customers wait outside the DMV office in east Raleigh on Friday, May 30, 2025.(Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline) Every day at the east Raleigh DMV office, customers begin lining up at 7 a.m. Most of them wait around three and a half hours for service. For a few minutes on Friday, Gov. Josh Stein joined them. North Carolina's Department for Motor Vehicles is facing a months-long backlog of appointments — with a typically busy summer season ramped up further by demand for REAL I.D. Stein has tapped a new commissioner for the department, who's outlining both a series of quicker fixes and a longer-term 'overhaul.' He and top transportation officials visited one of the offices as they delivered remarks on the plans. 'Know that we're working,' said Paul Tine, who was named DMV commissioner at the end of April. 'Know that these folks have not been empowered in the way that they need to, and that's my job to do that.' Tine's first order of business, he says, is improving working conditions and morale in the understaffed offices. The department is moving to increase pay for examiners. They're beginning to upgrade some long-outdated equipment, and issue new uniforms 'for the first time in five years.' And they're shuffling employees around to reinforce frontline desks — assigning both volunteering central staff and summer interns into high-demand offices. Motorists visiting DMV offices in the coming months can also expect to see some changes, Tine said. Staff are beginning to 'triage' walk-in customers — meeting them as they walk up and making sure they have correct documents so they don't waste time in line. Four additional offices, and 20 total, are now open for some hours on Saturdays. And the DMV has been aiming to streamline its website, making it easier to navigate options and clearly identify if you need a REAL I.D. — and if so, what documents you need to bring. Tine says a longer-term strategic plan to transform the department is in the works. But part of that plan depends on the General Assembly — and whether lawmakers choose to invest more money into hiring additional examiners and bolstering DMV resources. House Republicans' proposed budget largely follows the governor's lead, allocating money to fund dozens of new examiner positions. That budget also green-lights efforts to modernize the DMV's technology and proposes a study to determine whether the DMV could be privatized. The Senate budget does not include such additions, with Senate leader Phil Berger expressing skepticism that the department deserves more tax dollars. State Auditor Dave Boliek's office is currently conducting an audit of the department, with results expected in the coming months. Tine, who currently owns Midgett Insurance Agency, is a former state representative. He was elected as a Democrat but left the party later, calling himself an independent and choosing to caucus with Republicans. He co-chaired the transportation appropriations committee while in the General Assembly.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump to western North Carolina: 'Drop dead'
An Asheville cyclist pedals toward a "WNC Strong" billboard moving past an enormous debris pile from Helene on his right. (Photo: Clayton Henkel/NC Newsline) Sometimes, it's hard to keep track of the wild policy swings that are the signatures of the second Trump administration. From tariffs and trade to Russia and Ukraine, it often takes just hours for supposedly strong policy stances to be contradicted or abandoned by the president or his aides. And now, this chaotic pattern is directly impacting North Carolina. Both last fall and this past January, Trump blasted the Biden administration's response to Hurricane Helene and made bold promises that he would rebuild storm-ravaged areas better than ever. Unfortunately, that was then and this is now. This fact was made clear last week when the administration abruptly turned off the federal funding spigot by rejecting Gov. Josh Stein' request to continue providing matching funds for the state's Helene recovery appropriations. The decision leaves the state on the hook for $200 million or more in additional expenses for debris cleanup and other emergency work. The bottom line: Once again, the president has said one thing and done another, and sadly, North Carolinians will pay the price. For NC Newsline, I'm Rob Schofield.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Stein calls on Congress to preserve electric vehicle industry tax credits in Raleigh speech
Gov. Josh Stein speaks with reporters after addressing attendees at the 2025 Emerging Issues Forum: "Future Forward Energy." (Photo: Christine Zhu/NC Newsline) North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Wednesday voiced strong support for retaining and strengthening the state's electric vehicle industry. Speaking at an Institute for Emerging Issues forum entitled 'Future Forward Energy,' at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, Stein said he has communicated with the state's congressional delegation about the urgency of keeping tax credits designed to support the EV industry. U.S. House Republicans passed a budget reconciliation bill last week that would eliminate several tax credits for electric vehicles, a move that advocates say will harm North Carolina's EV industry. The cuts would undo tax credits leading to 16,300 jobs and $20.4 billion in investments in the state, according to nonprofit Electrification Coalition. 'Companies make investments based on policy, and there has to be certainty, there has to be settled expectations, or else they do not know how to invest,' Stein told reporters. He emphasized the importance of drawing businesses to the state to boost its economy and create jobs. 'Many of them have made major business decisions about investing in North Carolina,' Stein continued. 'We've got to preserve those credits so that the companies get the bargain that they struck.' Addressing the conference, Stein spoke about the Energy Saver North Carolina program that he launched with Secretary of Environmental Quality Reid Wilson. This initiative offers more than $200 million in rebates for income-eligible households for the installation of energy efficient appliances and other products, like heat pumps and insulation. Stein said the program is an example of moving forward toward a clean energy economy, strengthening the economy, and putting money back into people's pockets. 'It is about moving forward. That is true nowhere more than western North Carolina,' he said, pointing to the devastation wrought last fall by Hurricane Helene. Stein added that his administration has been 'laser-focused' on helping western North Carolinians recover since his first day in office. He also addressed the issue of climate change and its effects on the state. 'As we do the difficult work of seeking the federal and state dollars and putting them to work and communities, we cannot ignore the fact that North Carolina is experiencing more extreme weather with increasing frequency,' he said. 'As we rebuild our energy infrastructure out west, we must be mindful of the need to adapt to a change in climate and insure greater resiliency for the future.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
NC firm says its bid to manage Helene homebuilding was improperly disqualified
Flood debris piles left in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Bat Cave, North Carolina. (Photo by) A North Carolina-based firm that submitted a bid to manage the state's Hurricane Helene homebuilding program is alleging that its proposal was improperly disqualified. IEM International, which is based in Morrisville, said in a statement to NC Newsline that it had filed a complaint with the NC Department of Commerce, which oversaw the contract process. And the firm is seeking to have the critical contract re-bid. 'The decision to disqualify IEM's compliant proposal without review or scoring is highly irregular and concerning,' the firm said in its statement. The NC Department of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment sent Friday. State officials awarded the contract earlier this month to Horne LLP, a Mississippi-based company, for $81.5 million. The firm is charged with implementing a $1.4 billion federal housing grant and overseeing multiple construction contractors to rebuild from the deadliest storm in state history. Horne's selection has already drawn scrutiny from state lawmakers after the firm's previous contract, part of a troubled rebuild process in eastern North Carolina, was not renewed. IEM was one of four other bidders on the state's solicitation for Helene. But its bid was deemed 'non-responsive' due to inadequate financial information, according to state officials and documents. 'The vendor did not submit required financial documentation, and per DCR's legal analysis, it was deemed non-responsive,' according to a memo from the department. That same memo shows that IEM's bid was not formally graded. IEM said in their statement that the firm 'approached this (solicitation) with the seriousness it deserves,' and had provided 'three years of audited financial data.' A copy of IEM's full offer, obtained by NC Newsline through public records request, includes a page that details the firm's balance sheet, income statement and cash flow data from three fiscal years. The firm checked 'yes' when asked if the financial figures were based on audited statements. Under a section of the bid asking for a link to annual reports, the firm wrote: 'As a privately owned company, IEM's financial statements are not public. IEM can provide to DCR upon request.' Financial details for Horne, whose bid was awarded and also obtained through public records, were redacted. The firm appears to have included pages of consolidated financial statements from 2022 and 2021 in an appendix to its bid. Stephanie McGarrah, who leads the Department of Commerce division tasked with Helene recovery, told lawmakers on Thursday that she was 'personally very disappointed' about the result of IEM's bid. 'There are very few vendors in this space, and they had partners we were familiar with,' McGarrah said. And asked if she would re-bid the contract with the knowledge of a recent settlement agreement by Horne, McGarrah said she would not. 'I do think we made the right decision,' she said. IEM's proposed partners included Deloitte, Fahe, and Tetra Tech, according to the bid. And the firm had proposed tapping multiple partners based locally in western North Carolina: B-K Construction and Brucemont Communications. According to North Carolina's administrative rules, a bidder can submit a protest within 30 days of an award being granted, detailing their reasoning and supporting documents. That protest is received by the 'executive officer' for the department that made the purchase — in this case, Commerce. That official can determine the protest is 'meritless' and refuse a protest meeting within 10 days. If the protest meeting is granted, it will be scheduled within 30 days of the bidder's request. Details of the decision, regardless of outcome, are sent to the state purchasing officer, David O'Neal. IEM, which has contracts globally, has worked with the state before. The firm won a bid in 2018, after Hurricane Matthew. Three years later, it sued ReBuild NC, the troubled office that oversaw hurricane recovery in eastern North Carolina, for failing to pay related to contract work. That case was settled outside of court. IEM Helene bid
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former director of the State Board of Elections, Karen Brinson Bell, on her tenure, accomplishments
Karen Brinson Bell joins NC Newsline's Rob Schofield to discuss her six year tenure as director of the NC State Board of Elections. (Photo: Clayton Henkel/NC Newsline) Over the past six years, few public servants in North Carolina have had a bigger or more positive impact under more difficult circumstances than former State Board of Elections executive director Karen Brinson Bell. Despite woefully inadequate appropriations from the state legislature and relentless attacks from uninformed conspiracy theorists, Brinson Bell persevered, strengthened North Carolina elections and kept them among the nation's most efficient and honestly run. Unfortunately, those accomplishments were of little interest to the newly installed and hyper-partisan members of the board appointed by Republican state auditor Dave Boliek, who summarily fired Brinson Bell at their first meeting and refused to even allow her to deliver farewell remarks. Happily, Brinson Bell was kind enough join Newsline's Rob Schofield this past week for a special extended conversation and in Part One of our chat, we explored some of the accomplishments from her term in office that she thinks will be the most impactful. In Part Two, we turned our attention to some of the broader issues and challenges facing American elections – including the increasingly intense partisanship that led North Carolina GOP lawmakers to withhold election funding and, more recently, add seven new political appointees to the agency's staff, and the unfortunate phenomenon of politicians spreading unfounded conspiracy theories and refusing to concede close elections. Click here to listen to the full interview with Karen Brinson Bell. Read the prepared remarks of Brinson Bell delivered at the Board of Elections meeting on May 7, 2025.
