It's 5.05 and welcome into a Thursday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you. Earlier this week, Governor Josh Stein's office announced that North Carolina received a $4 million grant for workforce re-entry training for incarcerated individuals. With the governor saying in a press release, quote, when we prepare people leaving incarceration for success in the workforce, we all benefit.
With support from this new grant, North Carolina can continue to build a strong workforce, improve reentry outcomes, and provide people with real opportunities for a second chance. This funding is part of a $52 million grant in funding from the United States Department of Labor's Pathway Home Grant Program, which was announced earlier this year back in February. The funding goes towards organizations that provide re-entry services to incarcerated individuals before they're released from state correctional facilities or county and local jails. Authorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Pathway Home grants enabled organizations to partner with employers to provide participants with training and industry-recognized credentials, helping them successfully transition into the workforce and back into their communities. According to Brian Hamilton, the founder of Inmates to Entrepreneurs, he told Carolina Journal: Congratulations, a nice press release for politicians.
As far as I'm concerned, this is $4 million more added to the federal debt. The challenge is not a lack of skills, it is that the judiciary involved people for being habitually locked out of the hiring system because companies screen through Google or even smaller crimes that such as failure to appear. The Division of Workforce Solutions, DWS, at the North Carolina Department of Commerce is serving as the lead grant recipient, and they are going to be responsible for overseeing North Carolina's Pathway 2 reentry project. DWS will partner with three local workforce development boards, Charlotte Works, Foothills WBD, and Western Piedmont WDB. The North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections will also collaborate with these partners to support the initiative.
The grant will fund a comprehensive program to help people leaving prison rebuild their lives and to rejoin the workforce. The initiative will offer support before and after release as well as long-term follow-ups to keep those participants getting access and taking advantage of this $4 million grant on track. Inside correctional facilities, some participants will participate in workshops, small group and one on one sessions as well as career counseling and job training designed to prepare them for their life outside. Within the first 72 hours of release, the program will connect participants to those community resources, which will help them set goals, develop action plans, and match them with education and training opportunities. That's through the North Carolina Work System, or NC Works.
They'll also be linked up to apprenticeships and work-based learning with a second chance program from employers. For up to 24 months, participants will receive wraparound services to address ongoing needs and monthly check-ins to assist progress in training, employment, and other areas of stability. According to North Carolina Commerce Secretary Lee Lilly in a press release, notes: quote, our fast-growing economy needs skilled workers, and this grant helps us fill that need by providing re-entry services to job seekers who are already ready to take their next step in their lives. This project will also. Help us in our efforts to meet several goals recently set out by the Governor's Council on Workforce and Apprenticeships, which included increasing populations in work-based learning.
The Workforce System partners planned to serve individuals incarcerated at several facilities across the state, including Alexander Correctional Institution, Caldwell Correction Center, Catawba Correction Facility, the Foothill Correction Institute, Gaston Correctional Center, Marion Correctional Institute, the Mecklenburg County Detention Center, and the Rutherford Correction Center as well. According to Hamilton, quote, until there's real reform in expunging someone's record after a credible amount of time, there are a few second chances in America as we know it.
Meanwhile, if you commit a crime, start a small business so your offense does not follow you around in perpetuity.
So, a little bit of a mixed bag on reaction there from both state and private entities. You can read some additional details about this $4 million grant program and that list of all of the facilities that will be operating under that as it gets kicked off here in North Carolina. That story is over on our website this morning. CarolinaJournal.com, the headline, North Carolina receives $4 million grant for workforce reentry training program. Again, you can read those details over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, where it's now 5-11, News Talk 1110-993-WBT.
The Atlantic hurricane season is on many folks' minds in the eastern half of North Carolina. This morning, however, we're focusing on a long-running legal battle in the town of Lumberton, North Carolina, due to some past hurricane flooding. To bring us up to date as to where we stand right now, Mitch Kokai of the John Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Mitch, we saw in the western half of the state Helene last year. Over the last decade or so, some pretty heavy storms in the eastern half of the state.
Flooding is a big issue. This is a very interesting situation going on in Lumberton. What are you tracking?
Well, basically, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has essentially ended a lawsuit that residents and businesses in Lumberton filed some years back against CSX Transportation, which runs the railroad that goes through the city. The argument from the plaintiffs was that CSX had failed to comply with an agreement made with the city of Lumberton that would have allowed the city to take some steps that might reduce the potential damage of flooding in the event of some major event. And in the case of this suit, it was Hurricanes Matthew and Florence.
So we're going back a few years. Basically, what happened was this suit was filed not too long after the second hurricane in 2018. And initially, a trial court ruled in favor of CSX. When it got to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals back in 2020, the Fourth Circuit agreed that most of the claims against CSX should be thrown out.
But one claim was allowed to go forward, and that was a breach of contract claim because CSX, Lumberton, and this local drainage district were in a three-party agreement that basically said that Lumberton had the right to build an earthen dike in CSX property that could help mitigate against damage of flooding. And if that dike was built, then there could be a call for CSX to shut down its operations, for the dike to be closed with some advance warning.
Well, what happened was in both Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence, Lumberton contacted CSX and said, hey, can we put some sandbags down to help with flooding? And CSX said, no, we're not going to do that.
So the lawsuit says that this is a breach of the contract. But what the Fourth Circuit ultimately decided in This new opinion that just came down on Tuesday was that, no, the agreement was not breached because Lumberton never built the dike that it was allowed to build under the agreement. Had Lumberton built the dike and then asked CSX to change its operations because the dike was going to be adjusted, then CSX could have violated the agreement by not going along with it. But Lumberton never built the dike. It was asking to use sandbags instead of what was called for in the agreement.
And the Fourth Circuit said there's no way that CSX could be ruled to have violated this agreement because the sandbags were not part of the agreement and the dike that was supposed to be built was never built.
So CSX legally is in the right, even if. For the residents and businesses in Lumberton, it would have been nice for CSX to have allowed the sandbags to be used that might have prevented some of the flooding, but the organization cannot be held legally responsible for violating contract if the part of the contract that was tied to CSX was never executed. And looking at some of the background on this, and actually Hurricane Florence, which was in 2018, Hurricane Matthew was in 2016, the town of Lumberton was granted temporary access to put up some sort of temporary facility, some sort of temporary dam. They put it up, Mitch, and ended up eroding away and not ended up working at all.
So, at least in the second case, they were granted some of that ability. It turns out it didn't have much of an impact anyway, but it seems like this stems around the fact that government didn't do what they could have done with building this more permanent structure, which has led to CSX being the victor, at least as it stands right now in this legal battle. That's certainly right. That the outcome of this case might have been different. Had Lumberton moved forward with putting up the earthen dike and then called for CSX to make some alternate arrangements once there was a threat of imminent flooding.
But since the dike was never built, according to the legal opinion, there was no leg for these residents or the city to stand on because CSX was only obligated to deal with changes in the dike. It was not obligated legally to allow for sandbags to be put on its property. And so when it said no to the idea, that ended any sort of legal liability that might have been in the air. It's definitely an interesting legal story. We appreciate the time.
Mitch Kokai from the John Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Yeah. It's 521. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour. News Talk 1110-993 WBT keeping our eye on some statewide news this morning.
July 2025 saw North Carolina's lowest sports betting revenue since the start of legal sports betting that happened in March of last year. The report released earlier this week by the North Carolina State Lottery Commission shows that wagering totaled $370.4 million statewide in the month of July, with more than $344 million paid out in winnings. The state collected slightly over $4 million in taxes. According to Joseph Harris, a fiscal policy analyst over at the John Locke Foundation, he told the Carolina Journal, July 2025 produced the lowest sports wagering tax revenues since betting launched in the state, driven by the sports calendar and favorable outcomes for bettors. June through August are typically among the slowest months for wagering since football and basketball, America's top two favorite sports to bet on, are out of season.
The NBA finals usually ends in mid-June and NFL regular season doesn't start until September. Wagering operators are taxed at 18% on Their gross betting revenue, that is, after subtracting total payouts to winners. Harris noted: sports wagering companies are taxed on that gross wagering revenue, essentially their profit after paying out winning bets. While total wagering in July was almost over $370 million and exceeded those in July of 2024, which was just $340 million, operators paid out more than $344 million in winnings in this calendar year of July compared to last July of 2024. Consequently, since basketball and football were out of the season and betters enjoyed a strong month, taxable gross wagering revenue fell to an all time low.
The state has collected over $65 million in sports betting tax revenue so far this calendar year compared to $105 million last year.
However, it is important to note that sports betting did not start until March and ran through the end of the year.
So we'll continue to track that total through the rest of the year and see if it is over that $105 million met throughout the calendar year of 2024. The use of those taxes are $1 million annually to the North Carolina Amateur Sports Group to expand opportunities in youth sports. Up to $300,000 annually to college athletic departments at 13 state universities. The list of those are on our website. $1 million annually to the North Carolina Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission for grants of up to $5,000 per team or group per county to help cover the costs of travel to in-state or out-of-state sporting events, as well as $25,000 to attract amateur state, regional area, and national sporting events, tournaments, and programs.
Certain reimbursements to the North Carolina State Lottery Commission and the North Carolina Department of Revenue for expenses occurred to implement and administer the sports gambling laws. And of any remaining proceeds, 20% are distributed evenly to those 13 states. State universities to support their college athletic departments. 30% goes to the North Carolina major events, games, and attractions fund. That's to foster job creation and investment in the state.
And anything else that is remaining, the final 50% goes to the state general fund. That think of that as kind of the state's savings account. 50% of any additional revenue goes directly into that account, as well as approximately $2 million that goes into the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Fund to help gambling, addiction, education, and treatment programs. And as we look at one of those funds in which money is being sent and is being allocated from legalized sports betting, that is the North Carolina Major Events and Games Fund. That was in the news over the last couple of weeks, or last couple of months, I should say, as the state of North Carolina continues to try to entice various sporting events and various, again, sporting events and other sorts of events to make their way to North Carolina from some of those additional revenues from sports betting, which again started in March of last year.
And as we have continued to track that, Charlotte has been able to take advantage of some of those with the announcement of a couple of soccer events coming to the area over the next couple of years. That is due in part to some of that money being doled out from the North Carolina Major Events, Games, and Attractions Fund. We'll continue to track. Sports betting. We'll look at its revenues every couple of months as it's relevant here.
The story this morning over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. NC sports betting revenues hit record low in the month of July. You can read that over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. In some other statewide news this morning, a scary situation unfolding on the North Carolina-Virginia border as multiple deputies were shot Wednesday while serving warrants and a protective order at a rural home in Pennsylvania County, Virginia. The shooting was confirmed by a Virginia representative on social media where he wrote, quote, my thoughts and prayers are with the deputies who were shot in the county as well as their families.
We are closely following the situation and keeping everyone affected in our hearts at this difficult time. This happened late last night. And as of just about an hour or so ago, reports out of Virginia indicate that those three sheriff's deputies injured in that back-and-forth exchange with the suspect in that case are expected to be okay. They were transported to the hospital, a couple of them a little bit shaken up, but they are able to. To be okay and are going to survive their injuries.
It is located on the state's southern border with North Carolina. It's about 98 miles or so northwest of Raleigh, so very much close to home here in North Carolina. If we get any other news or relevant details on this, we'll, of course, pass it along to you right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour, where it's now 528, News Talk 1110, 993 WBT. It's 5:36. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 11:10-993 WBT.
Don't forget, if you miss any portion of our show, you can check out the Carolina Journal News Hour podcast. It's available in Google Play, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, anywhere you get your podcasts. Just search for the Carolina Journal News Hour, tap the subscribe or follow button, and you'll get a new show delivered each and every weekday morning. You can also watch live and watch after the fact by visiting our Carolina Journal YouTube channel. That link is over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com.
We continue to make our way towards the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. You've likely seen some social media activity over the last couple of days about Tropical Storm Aaron, which continues to move west across the Atlantic Ocean as of this morning, 5 a.m., out of the National Hurricane Center. That storm does continue its trek west and is expected to. Become a hurricane sometime between tomorrow and Saturday, looking at the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center. Models still show the storm being offshore, recurving before it hits the eastern seaboard, looking to split that gap between the continental United States and Bermuda.
However, in the overnight hours, some model runs showing that storm getting much closer to the North Carolina coast, the Outer Banks, and southeastern North Carolina. The storm would not be affecting this area until about a week from now, still.
So, still very far out.
However, the Atlantic hurricane season on a lot of folks' minds across the state, even those in the western half, still reeling from Hurricane Florence. And then, of course, in the eastern half, dealing with Florence, Matthew, Edorian, and a couple of other tropical systems over the last couple of years. As it is relevant, and as we get some more information, we'll continue to pass the latest on Tropical Storm Aaron. Again, projected to become a hurricane sometime between Friday and Saturday. We'll keep.
Keep you up to date right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour, where it's now 5:38 and News Talk 11:10, 99.3 WBT. The port of Wilmington is a major economic driver, not only in southeastern North Carolina, but across the entire state. It's a pleasure to be joined this morning on the Carolina Journal News Hour by North Carolina's Labor Commissioner Luke Farley, fresh off of a tour of the port down in Wilmington. Commissioner Farley, thanks for the time this morning. Tell us a little bit about your events down in Wilmington on Wednesday.
Nick, a pleasure to be with you as always. Yeah, we just wrapped up a tour of the Port of Wilmington. I'd never been there before, but as Labor Commissioner, part of my job is to see the work being done by the hardworking men and women of this state, and they're not working harder than anywhere than at the ports because, man, those folks are getting it done. We have one of the best ports on the East Coast, and I got to see it up close. You know, you talk about the Port of Wilmington.
It was back just a couple of years ago. You had that horrific situation unfold in Baltimore, and that forced a lot of additional traffic to the Port of Wilmington. They seem to handle that very well. And as I mentioned in the open, it's a major economic driver across the state of North Carolina with all of our imports and exports. Absolutely.
The ports of North Carolina are growing. It's clear to me that the port authority has a clear strategic vision to grow our ports and to use our ports. To export a lot of the great agricultural products and other things that are made in North Carolina, right?
So if we grow it or make it here, it's got to go somewhere, and our ports. Are on the front line of getting those items, not just to other places in the country, but to other places around the world. And one of the things when I was there that I was really just proud to see is the efficiency of our port. Um Mm-hmm. unloads more Cargo containers per hour on average than any other port on the East Coast.
So you think about those big container ships that are stacked high with containers, those come to the port. Those containers have to be unloaded. And our men and women at the port in Wilmington unload an average of 41 an hour, where most ports are doing about 20 an hour. And so this was incredible to see just the skill and talent. I had the chance to go up in one of those cranes.
It's 160 feet up with a glass bottom.
So if you're not.
someone into heights, that's probably not the job for you to go into. But it was incredible to see the skill of those operators to pick up a container, take it off the ship and then get it onto a truck and to do that basically forty one times an hour, which gives you basically just about a minute to pick up something that's, you know. 20 tons and place it precisely on the back of the truck. Really a neat thing to see. Yeah, you talk about those incredible levels of efficiency at the Port of Wilmington.
Let's talk about your position as the labor commissioner. What are some of the things that are your responsibilities when you're visiting somewhere like the Port of Wilmington?
So, the Labor Commissioner is responsible first and foremost for the health, safety, and general well-being of the workforce in North Carolina. And it's an important job because we've got a great economy in this state, but it's the working men and women who drive that economy. And our economy is nothing without the workers of this state. And so, I've got the responsibility of making sure that the workers of this state are safe and healthy on the job and prosperous at home. And what that means is enforcing our workplace safety laws, our anti-discrimination laws, our wage and hour laws.
our anti-child labor laws, all of the things that give us a strong, healthy, prosperous workforce. You talk about protecting workers not only from a safety standpoint, but dealing with issues with their employer. Your office had a press release out earlier this week looking at more than $2.5 million worth of unpaid wages for workers across the state. We have an article on that over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. Can you explain where that money came from and why that's such an important part of your job?
Absolutely. So the sad truth is, is that there are some bad apples out there, some bad employers who do not pay their employees what they promised.
Sometimes that's a bonus or a commission, or they improperly deduct things from a paycheck, or they don't pay a final paycheck. There's a lot of ways that an employer can cheat their employees out of the money that they've been earned. And we have a wage an hour bureau that if you complain to that bureau, we'll investigate your claim. And if it turns out that you were owed that money, The Department of Labor will fight to get it back from you, for you, from your employer. That was what that $2.5 million was.
We determined in the last year, the last fiscal year, that Employers cheated their employees out of $2.5 million, and we recovered that for them. And that's real money that goes back directly into the pockets of the working men and women of this state. Helps them pay their rent, make their car payments, buy groceries. We're in the middle of back to school season, so buying school supplies for their kids. And it ranged anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars that we recovered for individuals.
A point that you've mentioned with us, and I've heard you make this point in the past, is for individuals that may have missed out on tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars from their employer, they have, in many cases, the financial ability to go after them throughout the legal system. But you look at those on the lower side of the income scale, Commissioner Filey, they may not have those financial resources to hire private counsel. Is that where you come in and can help them? That's exactly right. You know A lot of people, if their employer doesn't pay them what they're owed, they just don't have the resources to go out and hire a lawyer to go sue their employer and recover that money.
And unfortunately, the bad apples out there are probably banking on that. They're thinking that what's this person going to do, go hire a lawyer and sue me? And they don't expect that to happen. But that's where the Department of Labor comes in. You don't have to go hire a lawyer.
You can call 1-800NC Labor, which is our hotline, and make a complaint to the department, and we'll stand up for you if you haven't been paid what you're owed. Luke, there's a lot that the Department of Labor is responsible for. Where can folks go online to get some access to some of those resources? As we were talking about a couple of different things this morning, reaching out to your office if they've got some problems, where do they go and do that?
So our website is full of information about workers' rights in North Carolina and the services that the department offers. to both protect workers and help businesses follow the law. Because for us, it's not just about going after the bad apples. It's about working with the people who are trying to do right by their employees. And so both the workers we protect and the businesses we regulate can find resources on our website.
That's labor.nc.gov. Labor.nc.gov. We also have a hotline that will direct you to all of the different bureaus that we have that enforce the different laws or provide different resources. That's 1-800-NC Labor, 1-800-NC Labor. We appreciate the update this morning.
North Carolina Labor Commissioner Luke Farley joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
Okay. Good morning again. It's 5:52. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993, WBT. I'm Nick Frag.
Good morning to you. An interesting program said to be taking place here in North Carolina. As Governor Josh Stein announced on Tuesday, that North Carolina received a $4 million grant for workforce re-entry training for incarcerated individuals. The governor said in a press release with this announcement: When we prepare people leaving incarceration for success in the workforce, we all benefit. With support from this new grant, North Carolina can continue to build a strong workforce, improve re-entry outcomes, and provide people with real opportunities for a second chance.
This funding is in part of a $52 million grant from the United States Department of Labor's Pathway Home Grant Program. Which was announced in February earlier this year. The funding goes towards organizations that provide re-entry service to incarcerated individuals before their release from state correctional facilities or county and local jails. Authorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Pathway Home grants enabled organizations to partner with employees to provide participants with training and industry-recognized credentials, helping them successfully transition into the workforce and back into their communities. The Division of Workforce Solutions, DWS, at the North Carolina Department of Commerce will serve as the lead grant recipient and will oversee North Carolina's pathway to reentry.
They are set to partner with three local workforce development boards, Charlotte Works, Foothills WDB, and Western Piedmont WDB. The North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections is also set to collaborate with these partners to support the ongoing initiative. The grant will help fund a comprehensive program to help people leaving prison rebuild their lives and rejoin the workforce. The initiative will offer support before and after release and long-term follow-ups to keep participants on track. Inside correctional facilities, participants will participate in workshops, small grouped and one-on-one sessions, as well as career counseling and job training designed to prepare them for outside life.
So here's how it's going to work. Within the first 72 hours of release, the program will connect participants to those community resources. They will be helping them set goals, develop action plans, and match them with education and training opportunities. That is set to happen through the NC Work system. And through that, they'll also be linked up with apprenticeships and work-based trainings with second-chance employers.
For up to 24 months after release, participants will receive wraparound services to address ongoing needs as well as monthly check-ins to assess progresses in training, employment, and other areas of stability. According to North Carolina Commerce Secretary Lee Lilly, our fast-growing economy needs skilled workers, and this grant helps us fill that need by providing re-entry services to job seekers who are already ready to take the next steps in their lives. The workforce system plans to partner to serve individuals incarcerated at several facilities across the state. More than half a dozen facilities, correction facilities, and detention centers, including the Mecklenburg County Detention Center, will be part of this program.
However, not everybody says that they think this is a great idea. Brian Hamilton, who is the founder of Inmates to Entrepreneurs, told the Carolina Journal very bluntly: Congratulations, a nice press release for the politicians. As far as I'm concerned, this is $4 million more added to the federal debt. The challenge is not a lack of skills, it is that June. Judicially involved people are being habitually locked out of the hiring system because companies screen through Google and even smaller crimes such as failure to appear.
He also continued by saying until there is real reform in expunging someone's record after a credible amount of time, there are a few second chances in the American judicial system as we know it.
Meanwhile, if you commit a crime, start a small business, your offenses do not follow you around in perpetuity.
So while this program is set to dole out about, again, as we noted, about $4 million from the United States Department of Labor and their Pathway Home Grant program, not every person that is dealing in this sector, dealing in this space, agrees with this plan moving forward. You can read some additional details on this program, where this money is coming from, and some of the other groups and workforce initiative opportunities and some other. Other things that are going on here in North Carolina. Over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, the headline this morning: North Carolina receives a $4 million grant for workforce re-entry training. Again, that's over on our website.
Well, that's going to do it for a Thursday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour. WBT News is next. Followed by Good Morning, BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5-6, right here on News Talk 11.10 and 99.3 WBT.
