Latest news with #WNCN
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
12 North Carolina river sites fail fecal bacteria testing this week, group says
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Amid runoff from various storms in North Carolina this week, a dozen river swimming sites failed fecal bacteria testing, according to a group that samples more than 50 areas across the state each week. Sound Rivers' weekly Swim Guide report, released on Friday, found three sites in the Upper Neuse and nine sites in Tar-Pamlico and Lower Neuse watersheds that failed testing. 'These results are likely due to the rain we've seen lately, and the fact that all the bad stuff on land has gotten washed into the waterways,' Clay Barber, Sound Rivers' program director, said in a news release. Sound Rivers' staff test samples for E. coli in fresh water and enterococci in salt water and pass/fail results are released to the public, providing a quick way to check where it's safe to swim. A failing grade means elevated levels of fecal bacteria, which can increase the risk of gastrointestinal illness and skin infections for pets and humans, officials said. In the Upper Neuse area, the group said three sites failed this week: Clayton River Walk, Neuse Golf Club and Smithfield Town Commons. In the Tar-Pamlico watershed, just two sites failed this week. The failing sites were Port Terminal near Greenville and Yankee Hall Road – Pactolus. The vast majority of sites that failed this week were in the Lower Neuse watershed: Highway 11 boat ramp near Kinston Oak Bluff Road near Kinston Maple Cypress Boat Ramp Pollocksville Slocum Creek in Havelock Midyette Street in Oriental John Bond Beach in Oriental The Swim Guide is a water-quality program conducted locally by Sound Rivers, an environmental nonprofit based in Raleigh, New Bern and Washington, whose mission is to keep North Carolina's waterways fishable, swimmable and drinkable. This summer marks the eighth year of Swim Guide in the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico watersheds. The sites are tested weekly from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Urgent need for improvements' discussed at NCDMV press conference with Gov. Josh Stein
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Website upgrades, better pay, new positions and more efficient processes were some of the promises made by Gov. Stein and NCDMV Commissioner Paul Tine Friday morning as they addressed the widespread issues being felt by customers. They joined Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins at the agency's East Raleigh office to highlight the 'urgent need for improvements' amid statewide challenges and what the future looks like. The press conference began with Sec. Hopkins inviting a DMV customer named Jocelyn to share her personal experience getting her daughter her driver's license. After driving over an hour to make it to the DMV office, she said she pleaded with staff after standing in line outside so long that her feet swelled. She was not only advocating to get them a seat, but to also come in and out of the rain to be helped before they closed. They were the last people served that day, Jocelyn said. As the NCDMV's new leader, Commissioner Tine said there is 'no shortage of opportunities to improve in the department.' As part of a 'Team DMV' plan, Tine said he visited many offices from the mountains to the coast to see where improvements are most needed to make the offices function better for North Carolinians. In that time, he said he observed issued from systems and processes to the physical facilities. At the core, however, he said a great need is making sure staff have what they need from compensation to resources. 'I want us to become a premiere customer service organization and to do that we need to empower our frontline staff,' he added. With a long way to go and many changes yet to be made, Tine said this is just the tip of the iceberg. The future, he said will focus on these four pillars: service, efficiency, agility and accountability. Gov. Stein said stories like Jocelyn's should be unique, but are not. Her story resembles thousands of others, he said. In addition to prioritizing raising pay for the state's DMV examiners, Gov. Stein said efforts are underway to simplify the agency's website and to ramp up efficiency as soon as this summer by creating 85 new positions. See which NCDMV offices are starting Saturday summer hours this weekend 'The DMV is not political. It's about service — service to the people of North Carolina,' the governor said. CBS 17 asked what tangible changes customers can see in these next few days and weeks. Commissioner Tine said the first round of changes can already be seen on the DMV website and encourages people to take a look. Off the top, he pointed to their homepage which directs people to a few questions which can help people determine if that need a Real ID right now. It also displays the message that REAL ID is 'completely optional.' As they work to address a lot of issues head-on, all at once, the commissioner said if people do not have an urgent need for something today, to not come to an office right now. Also coming soon to DMV offices will be changes that target the way appointments are processed and the efficiency of training individuals conducting road tests. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
North Carolina students experience computer outage during End-of-Grade testing: NCDPI
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Students across North Carolina experienced a state-wide computer outage while taking their End-of-Grade tests Wednesday morning, officials said. According to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, NCTest stopped functioning properly due to a system error. The outage lasted approximately 40 minutes. All students in North Carolina who were taking the EOG test on Wednesday morning were affected by the outage, according to NCDPI. State officials said approximately 120,000 students went back to taking the EOG test after they were able to resolve the outage. In the Wake County Public School System, the computer systems went offline at around 9:45 a.m. and returned by 10:30 a.m. All Wake County students are believed to have been able to continue taking their tests, according to district officials. According to Cumberland County Schools officials, students taking the Read-to-Achieve assessment and students enrolled in the summer program were among those affected by the outage. Some were disconnected while taking the test and others could not log in. 'Most sites kept students in testing locations, provided snacks as needed, and resumed testing once the system was restored. Durham Public Schools officials said they also experienced a 40-minute outage before the system came back online. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools was not affected by the outage due to testing not scheduled to begin until Friday, according to district officials. Schools that did not continue the EOG tests on Wednesday may allow students to take the test on Thursday or begin a new test administration that day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Governor Stein talks clean energy at NC State forum
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Governor Josh Stein wants to bring more clean energy to North Carolina as he lays out his energy priorities while in office. 'We need to accelerate clean energy deployment, modernize and strengthen our utility grid, and innovate when it comes to energy sufficiency,' the Governor said at the Emerging Issues Forum at NC State University on Wednesday. He points to massive growth in the state, saying clean energy actually attracts major companies like Google and Meta to set up shop here. 'When these companies decided where to invest, they were looking for a strong workforce, a favorable business environment, an excellent quality of life, and places where they could get inexpensive, clean and reliable electricity,' Governor Stein said. And so he wants to continue to invest in clean energy across all sectors, including as a defense against climate change. As Western North Carolina continues to rebuild after major flooding from Hurricane Helene, Governor Stein says extreme weather is more and more likely and we need to be prepared. 'We must be mindful of the need to adapt to a changing climate and ensure greater resiliency for the future,' the Governor said. Governor Stein says state leaders also need to be mindful of potential cuts from the federal government and continue clean energy initiatives despite that. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NC House passes $65 billion GOP-drafted budget proposal
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Thursday, the North Carolina House of Representatives passed the 65 billion-dollar 2025 Appropriations Act. The third and final vote amongst the House was 86-20 in favor of the budget proposal at a packed General Assembly in downtown Raleigh. The House has debated this bill all week, with Democrats attempting to make dozens of amendments to the Republican-drafted budget. Governor Josh Stein said in a statement Wednesday that the budget is not perfect. 'Importantly, the House budget cuts taxes for working families while recognizing that North Carolina is a growing state and reduces personal income tax rates after this year only when the economy is growing.' One attempt that failed was to lower the corporate tax rate if and when the personal income tax rate is lowered. Another rejected attempt was an amendment to keep money in a fund for Medicaid recipients in lieu of any potential federal cuts to the medical assistant program. Now, the 2025 Appropriations Act will move on to the Senate for its vote of approval. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
