Last Saturday was a rambunctious one in Raleigh, as the Carolina Hurricanes celebrated their first Stanley Cup Final championship in 20 years with a parade that saw a sea of black and red envelope the entirety of downtown.
A parade like that is destined to spawn its share of feel-good stories for Good News Friday, like this one from WNCN about a couple who got married at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Hillsborough Street then found themselves swept up in the celebration.
But while it was hopping in Raleigh on Saturday, it was also a hot one, with temps surpassing 80 degrees by noon and reaching 88 before the sun went down. Most folks out at the parade stayed hydrated and had air conditioning to return to, but being outside in that heat for hours at a time does make you think about the folks who don’t have such a luxury.
Fortunately, we have lawmakers like NC Sens. DeAndrea Salvador, Natalie Murdock, and Joyce Waddell who are thinking about them, too. Now will their colleagues follow suit?
NC Dems call on colleagues to keep constituents cool through the summer
Salvador, Murdock, and Waddell, three Democrat women from Mecklenburg and Durham counties, held a press conference in Raleigh on Wednesday to call on their fellow lawmakers to protect the state’s most vulnerable residents as the summer heats up.
The three legislators cosponsored Senate Bill 1027, which proposes to prohibit utility companies from shutting off or suspending power on customers who cannot pay their electric bills in the midst of a heat wave.
As reported by NC Newsline, Murdock shared a story on Wednesday about one of her constituents who could no longer keep up with the rising costs of food, medication, and energy.
“When someone’s power gets cut, when it’s over 90 degrees outside, we’re not simply talking about discomfort. We’re talking about a life-threatening situation for people who did nothing wrong except run out of money before the month ran out,” she said.
Similar measures are already in place to protect residents during extreme cold, but not heat. If passed, the policy would go into effect any time the National Weather Service declared a heat emergency in the area, making SB 1027 “a straightforward bill to fix straightforward problems,” as Murdock called it.
While the bill has been in committee since May, the three lawmakers called Wednesday’s press conference to urge their colleagues to bring it to the floor and vote before the current short session adjourns.
Gov. Stein signs bill to help spur more housing construction
With a long road ahead for Senate Bill 1027, let’s take a look at one that actually reached the finish line this week. On Monday, Gov. Josh Stein signed six bills into law, including Senate Bill 695, which saw only one opposing vote while passing through the House and Senate earlier in June.
Despite its extremely boring name (“Incent Development Finance District Funding”) this bill accomplishes some exciting things for housing advocates—and that should include anyone who’s an aspiring homeowner or interested in seeing the cost of rent come down anytime soon.
According to WRAL, SB 695 greenlights the creation of “special incentive districts” by municipal governments, mostly in underdeveloped areas, in which developers could pay upfront for certain infrastructure improvements then recoup the cash from the local government over a decade.
This would help municipalities fund more housing projects without draining their general funds.
“As housing costs continue to rise, this law encourages partnership between local governments and developers to increase housing availability and affordability for North Carolinians,” Stein said in a release on Monday.
Of course, gentrification becomes a concern with any legislation that aims to spur development in “underdeveloped” areas, so I would encourage advocates within any given town or city to lobby their local leaders to pass anti-displacement measures that are baked into the creation of these “incentive districts.”
State unveils new immersive history kiosks at rest stops
State officials on Wednesday unveiled a new “immersive kiosk experience” that covers North Carolina history from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War at the I-77 South Welcome Center in Charlotte, the first of nine Welcome Centers across North Carolina that will feature the interactive history experience.
Developed by the American Battlefield Trust in collaboration with the Charlotte-based Interactive Knowledge, the NC Department of Commerce, and America 250 NC, North Carolina History Explorer will transport visitors to the historic sites where the events and stories that shaped the state’s early history took place through maps, photography, and other multimedia content.
A flagship kiosk was first installed in the NC State Legislative Building in April.
“We are excited to be bringing North Carolina’s historic legacy to new audiences,” said Eric Veal, owner and president of Interactive Knowledge, before that installation in the spring. “North Carolina residents and out-of-state visitors alike will be able to use cutting-edge technology to learn about the state’s historic treasures and parks. North Carolina History Explorer will make the state’s past tangible and accessible.”
“North Carolina played a pivotal role in our nation’s formative conflicts, and people need to know this history,” said Trust President David Duncan. “This kiosk does an incredible job of telling the story of the Tar Heel State and will surely inspire people to see where this history happened for themselves.”
Check out this release from Wednesday’s ribbon cutting for more info.
