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Cost of Living
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Latest housing grants include $850,000 for Brunswick County |
Feb 2, 2007 - Brunswick County and the town of Navassa are among 18 North Carolina communities that will share in Community Development Block Grants.
The grants totaling $13.7 million were announced by Gov. Mike Easley last week.
Brunswick County and Navassa, located in the northern portion of the county, are to receive $850,000 each.
The grants are used for community revitalization, infrastructure improvement and construction of affordable housing.
“These grants will help improve the economic well-being and quality of life for North Carolina families across the state,” Easley said.
CDBG funding, he added, provides local governments with resources to help address environmental, health and housing needs “and make our communities better places to live, work and raise a family.”
Three towns, Oxford, Lumberton and Tabor City, are to receive a total of $740,000 in CDBG Housing Development funds to help pay for construction of 148 apartment units offering affordable housing for low- to moderate-income families.
The other 15 other recipients, including Brunswick County and Navassa, will receive CDBG Community Revitalization funding totaling $13 million.
The towns of Lawndale, Lexington and Maxton will receive $1 million each.
Other communities to receive $850,000 are Columbia, Lewisville-Woodville, Rockingham, Raeford, Selma, Washington and Stanly County. Other allocations include $847,000 for Conover, $841,000 for Enfield and $700,000 for Onslow County.
The grants, according to information from Easley, will be used to help renovate or replace 194 apartments and fund construction of 59,000 linear feet of water and sewer lines, street improvements and flood drainage to improve low- to moderate-income residential neighborhoods. By Laura Lewis |
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Nov 8, 2007 - Results are unofficial. Tuesday's referendum allowed voters to decide whether to give county commissioners the green light to impose a .4 percent land transfer tax on all transfers of real property within the county. If the tax had been approved, tax proceeds were slated to benefit road and school construction and improvement projects.
The Land Transfer Tax Act was approved by the General Assembly and included in this year's state budget.
County commissioners took the first step toward the implementation of the tax in August when they passed a resolution in support of the transfer tax, rather than a second option approved by the General Assembly, a quarter-cent sales tax.
But as soon as commissioners announced their plans to place the transfer tax referendum on the ballot, a committee was formed to oppose it. The aggressive attack launched by the opponents of the land transfer tax proved too much for its supporters, as voters rallied against the tax 15,234 votes to 3,905 votes on Election Day.By Caroline Curran |
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How might the transfer tax be used for roads? |
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Oct 11, 2007- If voters approve the .4 percent land transfer tax on Election Day, a portion of tax proceeds would fund the county's ailing roads. The tax would be imposed on all transfers of real property within the county, including within town jurisdictions and paid for by the property's seller.
House Bill 1399 allows counties to construct road projects currently on North Carolina Department of Transportation's Transportation Improvement Plan. A similar bill passed in the N.C. Senate permits counties to construct or improve roads on the state highway system. Both bills stipulate that counties enter an agreement with NCDOT before proceeding with road projects.
NCDOT Division 3 Engineer Allen Pope said the two bills are "breaking new ground" for road construction and improvement projects in the county. "There are not a lot of procedures worked out," Pope said.
Pope said county representatives and NCDOT officials have begun initial conversations to determine what projects would be a priority. Pope said the county has two avenues to move forward with road construction or improvement projects. By Caroline Curran |
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North Carolina black households lag in income, employment |
Sep 27, 2007 - Black households make 40 percent less money than their white counterparts in North Carolina and have nearly twice the unemployment rate, according to census data released Thursday.
Median household income for blacks was just over $29,000 in 2006, according to the Census Bureau. That's 12 percent less than Hispanic households, 40 percent less than whites and slightly less than American Indians. Unemployment among blacks increased to 7.5 percent compared to the state average of 4.2 percent. - AP |
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Dry, hot weather damaging field crops on N.C. farms |
August 7, 2007 - The dry, hot weather hitting North Carolina this week is expected to cost farmers millions of dollars in field crop losses.
In Robeson County alone, about a quarter of what's in the fields now - roughly worth $20 million - has been lost to the drought conditions, according to the director of the county's Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service. Everett Davis said he is trying to win support from Gov. Mike Easley to have the county declared a disaster area so farmers can apply for government aid, such as feed stock for animals or low-interest loans. "Every day that it goes without raining, it is going to get worse in the county," he said. Like two-thirds of the counties statewide, Robeson County is in moderate drought, according to the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council. In the southwestern part of the state, 27 counties are in severe to extreme drought. Six coastal counties are classified as extremely dry. Corn, tobacco, wheat, soybeans, cotton and other field crops normally generate between $75 million and $80 million in gross receipts for county farmers. This year, they'll be lucky to get half that, said Kent Wooten, an agent with the county's extension service. - AP |
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