Latest news with #PhilBerger
Yahoo
10-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How much Stein, Berger, Hall and other NC politicians have been raising in 2025
Good Sunday morning to you, and welcome to our Under the Dome newsletter that focuses on the governor. I'm Avi Bajpai, filling in today for Dawn Vaughan. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein doesn't face reelection for another three years, but that doesn't mean he's stopped or slowed down when it comes to raising money. In fact, in the first six months of this year, Stein's campaign committee reported raising just under $2.5 million. By comparison, during the same period, Republican Senate leader Phil Berger reported raising over $1.7 million, and Republican House Speaker Destin Hall reported raising just under $750,000. Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch reported raising just over $141,000, and House Democratic Leader Robert Reives reported total receipts just shy of $25,000. Senate Majority Leader Michael Lee, who was elected by his caucus to that leadership position earlier this year, raised just under $234,000, while House Majority Leader Brenden Jones raised nearly $75,000. Senate Rules Committee Chairman Bill Rabon raised $39,000. House Rules Committee Chairman John Bell raised more than $92,000. On the Council of State, other top fundraisers were Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson, who reported raising around $587,000 in the first six months of the year; Democratic Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt, who raised nearly $133,000, and Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek, whose campaign brought in just under $34,000. These campaign finance reports covering the first half of the year, from Jan. 1 to June 30, reveal how even in an off-year and just months after the conclusion of the last election, political fundraising has continued apace. It's only going to accelerate as we get closer to next year's election, which will feature a U.S. Senate contest that is already generating expectations to become the most expensive of all time, and the fight for legislative power in the N.C. General Assembly, where Democrats will be hoping to end the Republican 'working supermajority' that has so far enacted eight bills over Stein's vetoes. Stein's fundraising and spending Taking a closer look at Stein's latest fundraising report, it shows the campaign had just over $1 million in operating expenses during the first half of this year. That included money spent on digital advertising, fundraising consulting, direct mail campaigns, texting campaigns, and payroll for staff. Combined with other expenses like contributions to other candidates and political committees, in-kind contributions, and refunds and reimbursements from the campaign, Stein reported total expenditures of $1.6 million. The $2.5 million the campaign reported bringing in is made up of a mix of thousands of small-dollar donations and a hefty share from more than 170 individuals who gave the maximum allowed amount of $6,800. Those max contributions on their own add up to more than $1.1 million. His campaign had $1.9 million in the bank coming out of last year's election, and at the end of June, the campaign said it had slightly more than $2.7 million on hand. In off-years, candidates and political fundraising committees are required to file reports twice a year. The first 'semi-annual' reports covering the first half of the year were due at the State Board of Elections by July 25. The second such report, covering the final six months of the year, will be due on Jan. 30, 2026. Catch up on more North Carolina politics news by listening to our Under the Dome podcast, which posts every Tuesday morning. On this week's episode, higher education reporter Korie Dean talks with our politics team colleague Sophia Bailly about the Trump administration's impact on international enrollment on college campuses, and whether North Carolina's campuses could see fewer international students come this fall. Read more from Korie and Sophia's new reporting on this here. Thanks for reading. Contact our team at dome@ Not a newsletter subscriber? Sign up on our website to receive Under the Dome in your inbox daily.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill sets rules on sales tax hike
GUILFORD COUNTY — State Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham and Senate president pro tem, is pushing a bill through the N.C. General Assembly to set guidelines on how revenue from a quarter-cent sales tax increase could be spent if the referendum is approved by Guilford County voters in the November 2026 general election. Berger, whose district includes parts of Guilford County, said Thursday that the Senate approved an amended version of House Bill 305 that addresses the referendum issue. During its meeting June 18, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to yet again place the measure before county voters. Voters have rejected the quarter-cent sales tax increase six times in the past 20 years, most recently in the November 2024 general election. While the commissioners have said they want to use the additional revenue to support education, existing law doesn't restrict the use of funds collected for education or any particular purpose, Berger said in a statement. House Bill 305 would specify funds collected through a quarter-cent sales tax increase can only be used for classroom teacher salary supplements, fire protection equipment and services, Guilford Technical Community College and a small amount for municipalities, Berger said. A quarter-cent sales tax increase is expected to generate $25 million annually. 'Voters going to the polls in November 2026 need to know exactly what they're being asked to vote on,' Berger said. 'House Bill 305 now provides them with information so they can make an educated decision. I believe putting strict guardrails on the revenue collected gives taxpayers relevant information and guarantees the funds will be used as promised.' Democratic Guilford County Board of Commissioners Chairman Skip Alston said that he welcomes Berger's initiative. Having the quarter-cent sales increase revenue specified for certain uses will reassure voters and make them more likely to cast a ballot for the referendum, Alston told The High Point Enterprise. House Bill 305 now goes back to the House for a concurrence approval vote. Since the legislation is a local bill, it isn't subject to veto oversight by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Shrimpers, restaurants on OBX worried about potentially ‘devastating' legislation
MANTEO, N.C. (WAVY) — Chef Alex Rodriguez at 1587 Restaurant tosses a handful of shrimp into a skillet with flair and flame, preparing a gumbo that will top a heaping mound of grits. But they're not just any shrimp — they're green-tails, harvested from nearby Pamlico Sound. The shrimping industry permeates life on the Outer Banks, from the boats to the restaurant tables. That's why is causing so much concern. The bill itself would have reestablished a recreational fishing season of no less than six weeks for flounder and red snapper — it has been a four-day season — but the North Carolina State Senate added a shrimp trawling ban for inland waters that would not allow it in the Sound or any inland waters. It would force shrimp trawling to be done out in ocean waters at least a half-mile offshore. The Senate also passed a bill that would bail out impacted shrimpers for the next three years. HB-442-shrimp-trawlingDownload Supporters of the ban argue the policy to be needed to help other fish species in the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System and help recreational fishing in the region. State Senate leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) has said the inland trawling ban would align the state with such bans in Virginia and South Carolina. Only four senators, all Republicans from coastal areas, voted against the bill, including Bobby Hanig, who represents much of northeastern North Carolina. North Carolina Senate votes to pass 'Shrimp on the Coast' bill The controversy here in the Outer Banks has become so heated that it's earned a nickname — shrimpgate. Britton Shackelford's ancestors have worked on the waters of North Carolina and Virginia for hundreds of years. 'My youngest son shrimped on a big boat. My oldest son, he shrimps on his own boat,' he said Tuesday at Wanchese Harbor. They are part of a rally in Raleigh trying to convince lawmakers to reverse course on the legislation. Governments along the coast of northeastern North Carolina, including those of , Dare County and Hyde County, have expressed their opposition to the bill. The state Secretary of Agriculture, Steven Troxler, also issued a letter Monday expressing his opposition to the trawl ban amendment. Local governments, fishermen speak out against bill limiting shrimp trawling Shackelford said pushing Pamlico Sound shrimpers out to the ocean is 'not even an option. You don't have the gear, you don't have the net. Just to be able to rig up to do that, it's a bigger boat, a bigger net.' Manteo chef Jill Thompson would be affected, too. 'It's not a big commercial shrimping structure here. It's small families running small trawling boats with small nets. And that's their livelihood. So I'm really worried for friends and family.' Thompson said there's not a replacement for the green-tail and brown shrimp that come out of the sound for taste and freshness. 'Just basically coast to table right here on your plate. They're amazing. They taste like lobster. They're absolutely delicious. And it would really, really affect the restaurants here and the chefs that serve them,' she said. If fishermen, restaurants and chefs can't get local shrimp, they say they'll have to get it from the other side of the world, likely Southeast Asia, and quality will suffer. 'Less than half of 1% is even inspected,' Shackelford said. 'There's so little follow through that all they do is take it to the next port. Totally unregulated, no quality control.' 'We don't know anything [about imported Asian shrimp],' Thompson said. 'There's very little known about the path of where these shrimp go before they come to our plate.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
19-06-2025
- Business
- Axios
Support for regulating psychoactive hemp gains momentum in NC
Bipartisan support for restricting hemp in North Carolina is gaining steam, with GOP lawmakers unveiling yet another proposal Tuesday that would regulate intoxicating weed-like products in the state. Why it matters: The new legislation, backed by the state's most powerful Republican, is one of several bills proposed in recent months that would crack down on psychoactive hemp products in North Carolina. Though marijuana remains illegal in any form, the state is among the most lenient in the country in its regulation of hemp-derived consumables, but a bipartisan movement to change that has been building. What they're saying: "Stores selling these hemp products are popping up in towns across North Carolina, and children are getting ahold of these products," Senate Leader Phil Berger said in a press release about the bill Monday night. "Without these regulations, the availability of these dangerous products is only going to get worse." Driving the news: On Tuesday morning, Republican lawmakers in North Carolina's state Senate rolled out the most restrictive yet viable proposal yet to regulate hemp while moving to ban products made with any hemp-derived cannabinoids other than delta-9, the psychoactive component of marijuana. The bill would also set age and dosage limits and licensing and testing standards for sellers and manufacturers. Yes, but: It would not legalize marijuana, however — a proposal that has been floated in previous sessions but has yet to surface this year. Flashback: "It's really ironic that in some ways, the most liberal, pro-marijuana adult-use state in the country is North Carolina," Democratic Gov. Josh Stein told WRAL in an exclusive interview earlier this month, in which he also announced he was launching a task force to explore regulations on THC products and marijuana legalization "It's not Colorado, it's not Massachusetts, it's not these states that legalized it and then created a regulatory structure to sell it. It's North Carolina, where we have no rules whatsoever." State of play: As of now, the state has no limits — or age restrictions — on any cannabinoids with psychoactive effects much like those of THC, including delta-9. The new bill unveiled Tuesday, however, would outright ban "synthetic" high-inducing hemp products that can be found on shelves just a few blocks from the state legislature, including delta-8, THC-A, delta-7 and delta-10. The bill also appears to ban CBD, another hemp-derived cannabinoid. The cannabis plant has more than 100 cannabinoids. Some of them produce a weed-like high, while others, like CBD, are not. The other side: House Rules Chairman Rep. John Bell, who is the president of CBD and hemp manufacturer Asterra Labs, is "disappointed in the bill," he told Axios in a text message Tuesday. "This bill will destroy the hemp industry and move it out of state. Not one stakeholder was involved." He had not expressed the same opposition to another bill proposed earlier this session that would regulate his industry, though he told Axios at the time that the legislation wouldn't necessarily be a slam dunk for his company because it would implement new licensing fees and require changes to how it packages its products, for example. Democrats and Republicans alike expressed support for the new legislation, however, when it was unveiled in a committee hearing Tuesday morning. North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson also attended the committee meeting. "This is long overdue," Jackson, a Democrat, told lawmakers. "One of the major themes in terms of feedback that I've gotten from law enforcement and from families over the last six months has been about this issue — and usually happens when a family learns that it is truly the Wild West, at least with respect to what children are allowed to buy in these places."
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Farmina Opens First U.S. Manufacturing Facility in Reidsville, North Carolina
Family-Owned Italian Pet Food Company Invests $115M Creating Hundreds of Jobs in Rockingham County REIDSVILLE, N.C., June 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Farmina Pet Foods, a global leader in premium pet nutrition, officially opened its first U.S.-based manufacturing facility in Reidsville, North Carolina marking a major milestone in the company's 50-year history. While new to U.S. manufacturing, Farmina has served North American pet owners for more than a decade, delivering premium pet food made with European ingredients, upheld by rigorous standards and cutting-edge technology. The 150,000-square-foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, located at 248 Sands Road, Reidsville, represents a $115 million investment and is expected to create 200 new jobs over the next five years, with 75 positions already filled. New roles include machine operators, veterinarians, chemical technicians, shipping clerks, maintenance technicians, managers, and supervisors. To celebrate Farmina's investment in the local and state economies, North Carolina State Senator Phil Berger, Assistant Commissioner for Consumer Protection, NC Department of Agriculture Chrissy Waggett, Chairman of the Rockingham County board of Commissioners Kevin Berger, and Mayor of Reidsville Donald Gorham, attended the official opening of the facility on June 11, 2025. Senator Phil Berger welcomed the expansion, stating "Farmina's decision to establish its U.S. operations in North Carolina is a strong endorsement of our skilled workforce and our growing reputation as a business-friendly hub for modern, innovative manufacturing." He continued, "We're thrilled to welcome this world-class technology to our great state and proudly open our arms to Farmina as they join our business community." The company's strategic investment in North Carolina is expected to contribute millions of dollars to the state's economy. Farmina's decision to manufacture in the U.S. allows the company to localize production, serving the growing North American market faster and more sustainably. Farmina sets a new standard in the American-based pet food industry with respect to quality and technology. This expansion brings unmatched excellence in manufacturing technology, quality of ingredients and European food safety and nutrition standards that adhere to and far exceed U.S. regulations. Through the production output of this new facility, Farmina sets a new standard of pet care for consumers across North America. "As Italians, family is at the heart of everything we do – and that includes our pets," said Loris Rinaldi, CEO of Farmina Pet Foods North America. "This belief drives us to create the highest quality nutrition for our four-legged family members. With our new Reidsville facility, we're proud to bring European standards, premium ingredients, and personalized support to pet parents across the U.S." The high-tech facility was years in the making and supported by a coalition including the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Rockingham County, the City of Reidsville, Duke Energy, and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC), with assistance from the state's Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG). To learn more about Farmina and its premier nutritional pet food products, visit: About Farmina Pet FoodsFarmina Pet Foods is a family-owned company that combines nature and science to create the most nutritious, all-natural, and scientifically validated pet food. With over 50 years of expertise, Farmina is dedicated to improving the well-being of pets by using carefully selected raw ingredients that meet the nutritional needs of dogs and cats. Guided by the philosophy of "Happy Pet, Happy You," Farmina ensures its products are free from GMOs, preserved using natural methods, and developed in collaboration with leading research institutions, such as Cornell University. Farmina goes beyond nutrition by offering personalized services to pet parents, including expert nutritional consultations and tailored meal plans to support pets at every stage of life. With North American headquarters in Reidsville, NC, Farmina provides pet families with specialized food lines, such as Farmina Vet Life and Natural & Delicious, all designed to promote the health and happiness of pets. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Farmina Pet Foods Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
