Latest news with #StateHighwayPatrol
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Business Standard
6 days ago
- Climate
- Business Standard
North carolina in state of emergency due to tropical storm Chantal
North Carolina can seek federal funding to help its overloaded response efforts to Tropical Storm Chantal, which killed at least six people and left damage from flooding in its wake, as Gov. Josh Stein announced a state of emergency Thursday. A one-two punch from Chantal followed by severe weather in the state's center has overwhelmed the response and recovery efforts of local governments, according to Stein's executive order. Some rivers reached record-breaking levels from the storm, including the Eno River in Durham, one of several cities where some residents lost access to safe drinking water because of damage to the water system. In some places, the storm dumped as much as 9 to 12 inches of rain, according to the governor's office. Chantal hit at the end of the July Fourth weekend, and several days of severe weather plowed through as people were still picking up the pieces from damage caused by the tropical storm's remnants. The emergency declaration, which took effect Wednesday, jumpstarts the process for North Carolina to seek federal recovery assistance if needed. It covers 13 counties in the state's centre, some of which are home to populous cities like Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. Local law enforcement agencies have confirmed at least six deaths from the storm. Businesses were wrecked and many residents were displaced from their homes after emergency responders rescued them from flooding. A 58-year-old woman called 911 on her way to work after her SUV got caught in floodwaters, but the call disconnected and she was later found dead a little ways from her unoccupied vehicle, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Rescuers searched for days in Chatham County only to find two missing canoers had died, the county sheriff's office said, while another woman died when floodwaters swept her vehicle off the road, the State Highway Patrol said. Two people died in Alamance County, including a missing 71-year-old man found dead inside his vehicle covered in flowing water, the sheriff's office said. The Graham County Police Department said a missing 23-year-old woman was found dead inside a submerged vehicle. Many people were also rescued during the storm. In one neighbourhood north of Durham, the city's fire department said it did more than 80 water rescues amid the flooding. The fire department in Chapel Hill rescued more than 50 people while teaming up with neighbouring agencies, mostly near apartments, officials said.
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
North Carolina governor doesn't appeal ruling on who gets say over highway patrol commander
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's Democratic Gov. Josh Stein decided Wednesday against appealing a trial court ruling that did not go in his favor last month, securing a small victory for Republican lawmakers whom the governor was challenging. The case focused on whether Stein has the authority to choose his own State Highway Patrol commander. The GOP-dominated legislature passed a law in December 2024 — just before Stein was sworn into office — that included a provision stating the governor was required to keep the current incumbent, Col. Freddy Johnson, in the position. Stein then sued. After hearing arguments in court last month, a panel of Superior Court judges decided unanimously to dismiss the case, saying the provision wasn't unconstitutional. Johnson, who was appointed by former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in 2021, was a defendant in the lawsuit. Cooper was also a plaintiff. Stein believed the provision to be 'ambiguous' on whether he would be allowed to remove Johnson from his position if necessary, which is why he initially challenged the provision, according to a Wednesday news release from the governor's office. That ambiguity could have led to the interpretation that the commander could keep his post, even if he refused his duties or abused his power, the governor's office said. 'Making a Commander of the State Highway Patrol unremovable for any reason would threaten public safety, and I am relieved the Court did not endorse such a result,' Stein said in a statement. 'I continue to have confidence in Colonel Freddy Johnson's ability to lead the State Highway Patrol effectively, and I look forward to continuing to work with him to keep people safe.' Attorneys representing GOP House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate leader Phil Berger successfully argued in court last month that the governor's arguments against the provision were largely hypothetical. Additionally, Stein's legal representation and a lawyer for Johnson both reaffirmed that there was no personal conflict between the governor and the State Highway Patrol commander. Stein has also challenged various other parts of the sweeping state law that eroded many powers of the governor and several other top Democrats holding statewide office. One of the most consequential changes transferred the power to appoint State Board of Elections members from the governor to the state auditor, who is a Republican. The governor is still challenging that provision in court. State Auditor Dave Boliek's appointments to the board — which shifted from a Democratic to Republican majority — have stayed in place as the provision's constitutionality continues to be debated in courts.
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Miami Herald
01-07-2025
- Miami Herald
3 killed in head-on car crash when driver crosses center line, NC officials say
Three people died in a head-on car crash when a driver drifted across the center line on a North Carolina road into oncoming traffic, officials said. Troopers responded to the crash at about 7 p.m. Friday, June 27, in Wilkes County, according to a North Carolina State Highway Patrol news release. According to an investigation, the driver of a Jeep Liberty — identified as 62-year-old Randy Lee Johnson — crossed the median line on a road and hit a Nissan Altima. Johnson died at the scene, officials said. Vickie Gustafson Key, 72, who was riding in the backseat of the Altima, also died at the crash site, according to officials. The driver of the Altima, 34-year-old Jonathan Andrew Laws, was airlifted to a hospital where he died, officials said. Laws was an officer with the Wilkes County Sheriff's Department, according to an obituary. Two other passengers in the Altima were taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, officials said. The State Highway Patrol said speed and alcohol were not involved in the crash. 'The Emergency Services, Law Enforcement, and Fire families of Wilkes County are struggling today due to a significant loss. Please keep all agencies in your thoughts and prayers,' Wilkes County EMS said in a June 28 post on Facebook. The Wilkes County Sheriff Office remembered Laws as 'a proud father, devoted husband, caring son, and a brother to admire' in a June 30 Facebook post.
21-06-2025
- Politics
North Carolina Gov. Stein vetoes his first bills. They are on concealed carry and immigration
RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina Democratic Gov. Josh Stein vetoed his first bills on Friday, blocking for now Republican legislation that would let adults carry concealed handguns without a permit and make state agencies and local sheriffs more active in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Stein, who took office in January, issued his formal objections to three measures backed by the GOP-controlled General Assembly presented to him last week. The former attorney general also had the option to sign any of them into law, or let them become law if he hadn't acted on the legislation soon. The vetoed measures now return to the legislature, where Republicans are one House seat shy of holding a veto-proof majority. Its leaders will decide whether to attempt overrides as early as next week. Voting so far followed party lines for one of the immigration measures, which in part would direct heads of several state law enforcement agencies, like the State Highway Patrol and State Bureau of Investigation, to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But one House Democrat ended up voting for the other immigration bill that Stein vetoed. It toughens a 2024 law that required sheriffs to help federal agents seeking criminal defendants. GOP prospects for enacting the permitless concealed gun measure, a longtime aspiration for gun-rights advocates, appear dimmer, because two House Republicans voted against the bill and 10 others were absent. In one veto message, Stein said the gun legislation, which would allow eligible people at least 18 years old to carry a concealed handgun, "makes North Carolinians less safe and undermines responsible gun ownership." Democratic lawmakers argued the same during legislative debate. Current law requires a concealed weapons holder to be at least 21 to obtain a permit. The person must submit an application to the local sheriff, pass a firearms safety training course and cannot 'suffer from a physical or mental infirmity that prevents the safe handling of a handgun" to obtain the permit. No safety training would be required if getting a permit is no longer necessary. 'Authorizing teenagers to carry a concealed weapon with no training whatsoever is dangerous,' Stein wrote. Gun-control groups praised the veto. Conservative advocates for the bill say removing the permit requirement would strengthen the safety of law-abiding citizens. 'Law-abiding North Carolinians shouldn't have to jump through hoops to effectively exercise their Second Amendment rights," Senate leader Phil Berger said in a press release criticizing the veto and planning for an override vote in his chamber. Permitless carry is already lawful in 29 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. North Carolina would also be one of the last states in the Southeast to implement that legislation. One vetoed immigration bill would require four state law enforcement agencies to officially participate in the 287(g) program, which trains officers to interrogate defendants and determine their immigration status. An executive order by President Donald Trump urged his administration to maximize the use of 287(g) agreements. Stein wrote Friday the bill takes officers away from existing state duties at a time when law enforcement is already stretched thin. The measure also would direct state agencies to ensure noncitizens don't access certain state-funded benefits. But Stein said that people without lawful immigration status already can't receive them. The other vetoed bill attempts to expand a 2024 law — enacted over then-Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto — that directed jails to hold temporarily certain defendants whom ICE believe are in the country illegally, allowing time for immigration agents to pick them up. The vetoed bill would expand the list of crimes that a defendant is charged with that would require the jail administrator to attempt to determine the defendant's legal status. A jail also would have to tell ICE promptly that it is holding someone and essentially extends the time agents have to pick up the person. Stein said Friday while he supports sheriffs contacting federal immigration agents about defendants charged with dangerous crimes that they are holding, the law is unconstitutional because it directs sheriffs to keep defendants behind bars 48 hours beyond when they otherwise could be released for a suspected immigration violation. With the veto of this bill, House Speaker Destin Hall said, Stein sided with the 'most radical elements of his party's base over the safety and security of North Carolinians.' Latino advocates and other bill opponents had urged Stein to veto both immigration measures. They say the legislation would cause Hispanic residents to feel intimidated and fear law enforcement. Stein's vetoes help 'ensure North Carolina remains a safe state for everyone, including immigrants, who deserve equal treatment under the law," the group El Pueblo said in a news release.
Toronto Star
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
North Carolina judges side with GOP lawmakers for who gets say on highway patrol commander
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A panel of North Carolina judges dismissed one of Democratic Gov. Josh Stein's cases against Republican legislative leaders Monday, upholding part of a power-shifting law that prevents Stein from selecting the State Highway Patrol commander. Three Wake County Civil Superior Court judges made the decision unanimously. The judges' decision means that the dispute won't go to trial, but it can be appealed.
