[Good News Friday is Cardinal & Pine’s weekly roundup of positive news stories from around NC. For past editions, tap here.]
Below, we have an update on NC Republicans’ controversial hemp ban, plus a big jobs announcement in central NC, but first:
Looking back, the 2015 Carolina Panthers were my high-water mark for NFL fandom.
You may read that sentence and think to yourself, “Duh, Ryan. They went 15-1 and made it to the Super Bowl. That’s called being a fairweather fan.”
Fair enough, but there was something about that team that felt like a family. The personalities just worked together: Cam, Jonathan “J-Stew” Stewart, Greg Olsen, Josh Norman, Thomas Davis, and Luuuuuuuuke Kuechly.
If only Steve “Smitty” Smith Sr. had stuck around until 2015 it would have been the perfect team.
I’m feeling nostalgic now as I look ahead to Saturday’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which will see Luke Kuechly take his place among the greats. I respect him as much for what he did on the field as I do for his work in the community and his decision to retire after just eight seasons in consideration for his own health.
It will be a long time before Carolina sees another player like him.
Luke Kuechly to be inducted into the Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame comprises the best of the best in the history of the NFL and the leagues that came before it. When you can make such an impact that you make it to the Hall after playing just eight seasons, that’s something even more special.
Former Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly will do just that when he’s inducted into the prestigious institution in Canton, Ohio on Saturday. The first player from the Panthers’ 2015 Super Bowl squad to be voted in, Kuechly rides an impressive resume that brought him to seven Pro Bowls in those eight seasons.
Making an impact early, Kuechly set a franchise record with 205 tackles in his rookie season after the Panthers drafted him with the ninth pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. He never slowed down, setting an NFL record with 26 tackles in a single game during his second season on his way to becoming the youngest recipient of the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award in that award’s history. He would go on to log more than 100 tackles in each of his eight seasons.
Kuechly stepped away from the field of play following the 2019 season, retiring rather than risk the compounded effects of increasing concussions. Yet the legacy he built over that brief career will remain in the memories of Panthers fans forever.
The 2026 Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony will begin at noon on Saturday, Aug. 8. It will be televised live on both ESPN and NFL Network.
Ding, dong, the hemp ban is…not dead but delayed
Resistance can feel so moot these days, as lawmakers who came to power through gerrymandering pass unpopular measures above the cries of those they are supposed to represent.
That’s why it’s important to highlight what happened—or didn’t happen—in Raleigh on Tuesday.
With hundreds of hemp and cannabis advocates lining the hallways of the NC legislative building to oppose House Bill 328, which would effectively ban all hemp products from being sold in North Carolina, NC House Speaker Destin Hall actually listened.
Hall tabled HB 328 rather than kick protesters out of the chambers and push the bill through, as lawmakers have been wont to do during recent sessions. He said he won’t bring it back up for a vote until a new session begins in November, at the earliest.
Hall and his colleagues apparently took into account the pleading from hundreds of small business owners around the state who have been helping to cultivate a $4 billion industry that now employs some 16,000 people in North Carolina.
Hall said House members “want to make sure they’re solving the problem and not making the problem worse, or doing something with unintended consequences,” according to NC Newsline. “What I plan to do is put together a group of our members to take a look at this issue and figure out the right path forward.”
Read more about what’s at stake in this piece from June.
Healthcare company to invest $600 million in new Sanford facility
Gov. Josh Stein announced Wednesday that Ohio-based healthcare company STERIS will create 335 jobs in Lee County, investing $600 million in the development of its new Chemistries Manufacturing Center of Excellence, a manufacturing and distribution facility in Sanford.
Founded in 1985, STERIS is “a global provider of products and services that support patient care with an emphasis on infection prevention,” according to a release announcing the new investment.
“STERIS is making a major investment in North Carolina, which reinforces our state’s reputation as a powerhouse in the life sciences industry,” said Stein on Wednesday. “Decades of excellence in manufacturing and innovation have developed the world-class talent, research, and supply chain that continues to attract global companies and drive long-term economic growth across our state.”
Though the range of pay will vary widely, the average salary for the newly created positions will be $68,704, which exceeds the average salary of $59,903 in Lee County.
