Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers:
Question: Any idea why FEMA trailers are not here, and people are still living in tents?
My answer: I don’t know about you, but I was 100 percent expecting to see hundreds of these trailers being flown in beneath the ubiquitous Chinook helicopters we kept seeing after the flood. Disappointing.
Real answer: The first FEMA trailer was set to arrive in Buncombe this week, according to Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder, who addressed the topic at the daily Helene briefing on Thursday.
I’ve been checking with FEMA this week, and I can say the tent situation might be more complicated than you think. More on that in a minute, but let’s get to Pinder’s details offered Thursday.
“Right now we’re siting our first one,” Pinder said. “We’re working through the permitting process, and we have a homeowner who has land that is not in the floodway (where) we can place that house. So this is the first one that we’re working on getting placed this week.”
Pinder said FEMA has three more homes that have been manufactured and are on their way to Buncombe.
“So hopefully by the end of the next week, we will total out four homes that are now sited in Buncombe County,” Pinder said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will begin delivering emergency housing trailers to Buncombe County this week. These trailers are being staged in Hickory. // Photo courtesy FEMA
FEMA external affairs officer John Mills told me Wednesday that the FEMA homes are being staged in Hickory and that some would be arriving this week in Buncombe County.
“I think they are trying to begin helping survivors who are eligible for these temporary units to begin moving in this month, and even as soon as, I think, this week,” Mills said Wednesday.
Mills said he expects the number of these homes coming into the mountains to number “in the hundreds rather than the thousands, across western North Carolina.”
In the case of disasters like Helene, FEMA provides funds for families to help with housing, and that can include an array of choices to secure shelter.
“That can mean making repairs,” Mills said. “It can mean renting a new place to live or buying a new place to live with the money that FEMA is providing.”
Mills said the FEMA assistance is “designed to jump start someone’s recovery to give them a hand up to begin the recovery process.”
It will take the whole community, including charities and nonprofits, as well as private donations for people who’ve lost everything, to make sure everyone is housed.
As far as folks living in tents, multiple reasons could come into play. Some people have concerns about the security of their homes and want to be near the property. Some may want to use the FEMA funds for rebuilding and not spend it on hotels or other lodging.
Mills noted that survivors are not required to apply for FEMA disaster assistance, although the agency certainly encourages them to do so.
“We are committed to working with every household, every survivor, on a case by case basis,” Mills said. “And if someone is living in an unsafe situation, we encourage them to get in touch with us and let us know what their needs are, and we may be able to provide financial assistance so that someone can get the place to live temporarily. And we may also be able to make someone eligible to stay in a hotel at no cost, and we pay the hotel directly.”
Pinder explained that FEMA has a “Mass Care Team” that has been working individually with “every single person in the shelter to help address what specific needs they have.” As far as the people remaining in county shelters — 164 people as of Thursday — Pinder said the majority of them were previously unhoused.
“So they don’t have a home to go back to, or land that FEMA can help them to put a mobile home or travel trailer on that site at the moment,” Pinder said. “So we’re working through, ‘How do we address that population in our community?’”
Question: When we moved to Asheville in 2006, we lived just 1.2 miles off the Blue Ridge Parkway entrance on Old Charlotte Highway. I would drive what is called “The Commuter Route” every day going to work and coming home — going to work to help set my mind for the day and after work as a reward. I miss those days. As we are seeing portions of the BRP opening, what exactly is the damage from Hendersonville Road to Old Charlotte Highway; Old Charlotte Highway to Tunnel Road; and back at Hendersonville Road to Brevard Road? I dare say, these were the three most traveled routes inside Asheville.
My answer: For the life of me, I cannot understand why the nickname, “The BRP,” never caught on for the Parkway. I mean, you could actually say it, or burp it out. Person one: “What are you doing today?” Person two: “I’m just going up and driving the BRRRRRRPPPPP!” It’s genius.
Real answer: As fate would have it, the National Park Service issued a press release Nov. 6 on this very topic, noting that it had restored access to 11 miles of the Parkway within the Asheville corridor. The reopening spans from milepost 382.5, at U.S. 70 near the Folk Art Center, to milepost 393.6, at N.C. Route 191 near the North Carolina Arboretum, including the French Broad Overlook at milepost 393.8.
“With today’s opening, we have now restored access to over 310 miles of the Parkway,” Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent Tracy Swartout said in the release. “Incident teams and contractors have been working on this section for over a month, with large numbers of damaged trees, vast amounts of tree debris in the roadway, and heavy equipment at work simultaneously throughout the corridor.”
The Parkway spans 469 miles from Virginia through North Carolina.
The Asheville Visitor Center (milepost 384) has resumed year-round operations daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Folk Art Center (milepost 382) will resume operations on Saturday, Nov. 9.
The Park Service said trails in this section of the Parkway are open “but extreme caution is advised for trail users who may experience hazards resulting from landslides, downed or leaning trees, washouts, and other damage.”
Also, don’t park on the roadside in any location other than official, paved parking areas, as heavy equipment is still active in the area.
Helene left an enormous amount of debris and washouts on the parkway, including the Asheville section.
“Since storm recovery began, National Park Service staff and contractors have moved more than 350,000 cubic feet of storm debris from this 11-mile road segment,” the release states. “This volume of woody debris could fill nearly 150 shipping containers.”
The Park Service does not have projected opening dates for areas of the Parkway immediately north and south of the 11-mile road segment that opened Wednesday.
“Ongoing roadway and roadside damage evaluations, significant debris removal, and miles of technical hazard tree work remain north of U.S. 70 and south of State Route 191,” the release states. “The NPS will provide updates on those sections when additional information is available.”
Question: Like so many people, I am curious about how Explore Asheville will work with organizations that benefited from the Charlotte Concert for Carolina, which raised nearly $25 million. Is there some form of accountability to ensure that money is spent wisely and that it helps businesses, families, and individuals in need in our communities?
My answer: I’m pulling for it to go toward building more hotels.
Real answer: “All proceeds — estimated at more than $24.5 million — from Concert for Carolina are being split 50/50 between Luke Combs and Eric Church to administer to organizations of their choosing in support of relief efforts across the Carolinas and the Southeast,” Ashley Greenstein, spokesperson for Explore Asheville, said via email. “Combs’ portion is being distributed between Samaritan’s Purse, Manna Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC and Eblen Charities.”
Greenstein said Explore Asheville paid its $1 million sponsorship directly to the concert to then be split equally between these four charities.
“Church’s portion will be directed to his Chief Cares Foundation,” Greenstein said. “Church’s Chief Cares is focused on helping established charities and organizations that are well-managed and organized and capable of swiftly delivering aid directly to the families affected by Hurricane Helene. In a video aired during the concert, Church committed to building 100 homes in Avery County.”
Update on the Always Asheville Fund: Last week I fielded a question about the Explore Asheville Always Asheville Fund, which the organization started to help small independent travel and hospitality businesses throughout Asheville and Buncombe County recover from Helene. A reader had asked why it was taking so long for Explore Asheville to field an application for the grants.
Greenstein’s explanation came in after the deadline, so I’m publishing it now.
She said Explore Asheville announced the new fund on Oct. 7, seeding it with $300,000 from their earned revenue budget.
“Through multiple fundraising efforts, we were able to grow the fund to $770,000 and counting within three weeks,” Greenstein said. “The Always Asheville fund application opened 3.5 weeks after it was announced. on Oct. 31, and is one of the few grant programs currently available for small, independent businesses.”
Explore Asheville is also administering the fund “through an abbreviated process, with the goal of beginning award disbursements before Thanksgiving.”
“We know it’s overwhelming for many businesses to navigate recovery, so we also created a list of available financial resources for businesses and individuals, which we shared in our board meeting last week and can be found at https://always.exploreasheville.com/business-resources,” Greenstein said.
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-05-01 08:16:00
(The Center Square) – Taxpayers in North Carolina will face an average tax increase of $2,382 if the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expires at the end of the year, says the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.
Results of analysis were released Thursday morning by the nonprofit organization billing itself a “nonpartisan research and educational affiliate of the National Taxpayers Union.” Its four state neighbors were similar, with South Carolina lower ($2,319) and higher averages in Virginia ($2,787), Georgia ($2,680) and Tennessee ($2,660).
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of eight years ago was a significant update to individual and business taxes in the federal tax code. According to the Tax Foundation, it was considered pro-growth reform with an estimate to reduce federal revenue by $1.47 trillion over a decade.
Should no action be taken before Jan. 1 and the act expire, the federal standard deduction would be halved; the federal child tax credit would decrease; higher federal tax brackets would return; the federal estate tax threshold will be lower; and some business tax benefits will be gone.
The foundation, in summarizing the impact on North Carolina business expensing, says the state conforms to Section 168(k). This means “only 60% expensing for business investments this year and less in future years. State policymakers could adopt 100% full expensing, particularly since the state conforms to the Section 163(j) limit on interest expense and the two provisions were meant to work together.”
The foundation says business net operation loss treatment policies in the state “are less generous than the federal government and impose compliance costs due to lack of synchronization with the federal code and are uncompetitive with most other states.”
The National Taxpayers Union Foundation also says lawmakers “should at least be conscious of any retroactive provisions when selecting their date of fixed conformity.” North Carolina is among 21 states conforming to the federal income tax base “only as of a certain date” rather than automatically matching federal tax code changes – meaning definitions, calculations or rules.
The foundation said nationally the average filer will see taxes raised $2,955. It estimates an increase for 62% of Americans. The biggest average increases by state are in Massachusetts ($4,848), Washington ($4,567) and Wyoming ($4,493) and the lowest are in West Virginia ($1,423), Mississippi ($1,570) and Kentucky ($1,715).
Individual wages, nationally, are expected to go down 0.5%, reducing economic growth by 1.1% over 10 years.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The content primarily reports on the potential impact of the expiration of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, relying heavily on analysis from the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, which describes itself as a nonpartisan organization but is known to advocate for lower taxes and limited government intervention, positions typically aligned with center-right economic policies. The article uses neutral language in presenting facts and data and does not explicitly advocate for a particular political viewpoint; however, the emphasis on tax increases and business expensing challenges following the expiration suggests a subtle alignment with pro-tax-cut, business-friendly perspectives associated with center-right ideology. Thus, while the article largely reports rather than overtly promotes an ideological stance, the framing and source choice reflect a center-right leaning.
www.thecentersquare.com – By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-30 21:25:00
(The Center Square) – Authorization of sports agents to sign North Carolina’s collegiate athletes for “name, image, and likeness” contracts used in product endorsements is in legislation approved Wednesday by a committee of the state Senate.
Authorize NIL Agency Contracts, known also as Senate Bill 229, is headed to the Rules Committee after gaining favor in the Judiciary Committee. It would likely next get a full floor vote.
Last year the NCAA approved NIL contracts for players.
Sen. Amy S. Galey, R-Alamance
NCLeg.gov
“Athletes can benefit from NIL by endorsing products, signing sponsorship deals, engaging in commercial opportunities and monetizing their social media presence, among other avenues,” the NCAA says on its website. “The NCAA fully supports these opportunities for student-athletes across all three divisions.”
SB229 spells out the information that the agent’s contract with the athlete must include, and requires a warning to the athlete that they could lose their eligibility if they do not notify the school’s athletic director within 72 hours of signing the contract.
“Consult with your institution of higher education prior to entering into any NIL contract,” the says the warning that would be required by the legislation. “Entering into an NIL contract that conflicts with state law or your institution’s policies may have negative consequences such as loss of athletic eligibility. You may cancel this NIL agency contract with 14 days after signing it.”
The legislation also exempts the NIL contracts from being disclosed under the state’s Open Records Act when public universities review them. The state’s two ACC members from the UNC System, Carolina and N.C. State, requested the exemption.
“They are concerned about disclosure of the student-athlete contracts when private universities don’t have to disclose the student-athlete contracts,” Sen. Amy Galey, R-Alamance, told the committee. “I feel very strongly that a state university should not be put at a disadvantage at recruitment or in program management because they have disclosure requirements through state law.”
Duke and Wake Forest are the other ACC members, each a private institution.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article primarily reports on the legislative development regarding NIL (name, image, and likeness) contracts for collegiate athletes in North Carolina. It presents facts about the bill, committee actions, and includes statements from a state senator without using loaded or emotionally charged language. The piece neutrally covers the issue by explaining both the bill’s purpose and the concerns it addresses, such as eligibility warnings and disclosure exemptions. Overall, the article maintains a factual and informative tone without advocating for or against the legislation, reflecting a centrist, unbiased approach.
SUMMARY: Donald van der Vaart, a former North Carolina environmental secretary and climate skeptic, has been appointed to the North Carolina Utilities Commission by Republican Treasurer Brad Briner. Van der Vaart, who previously supported offshore drilling and fracking, would oversee the state’s transition to renewable energy while regulating utility services. His appointment, which requires approval from the state House and Senate, has drawn opposition from environmental groups. Critics argue that his views contradict clean energy progress. The appointment follows a controversial bill passed by the legislature, granting the treasurer appointment power to the commission.
