It's 5.05 and welcome in to a Friday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you. We start off with some positive news across the state of North Carolina this morning. Looking at the economy, in 2024, growth in 71 of North Carolina's 100 counties contributed to a total of $36.7 billion in visitor spending statewide.
That number is up from where it was in 2023 by almost $2 billion. That number sat at $35.6 billion in 23. These numbers are based on tourism tourism economies studies commissioned by VisitNC, which is part of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. Democrat Governor Josh Stein said in a press release, quote, This news underscores what we all know. North Carolina is not only a fantastic place to live, but it's a special place to visit.
Whether you are visiting our coast, touring the Piedmont, or returning to support Western North Carolina's comeback, there's an incredible trip waiting for every visitor. I am excited to welcome more tourists to North Carolina this fall to discover our unforgettable state. The study itself offers preliminary estimates of both domestic and international traveler spending across the state of North Carolina. It also measures the employment, payroll income, as well as state and local tax revenues generated by this activity. The analysis is based on a statistical model incorporating detailed visit NC data as well as information from federal and state agencies, nationally recognized private and public nonprofit travel organizations, and other sources within the travel industry.
Commerce Secretary in Lee Lilly said, quote, North Carolina has something for everyone, and that's why so many of our destinations shared the wealth in a record year for visitor spending. Despite the impact of Hurricane Helene, this report speaks to the resilience and enduring appeal of the cultural, recreational and culinary experiences that make North Carolina a top choice for so many travelers. The Commerce Secretary emphasized that although the study encompasses the three months of 2024, of course, following the unimaginable devastation and destruction from Hurricane Helene, it does not provide a full comprehensive accounting of hurricane-related losses statewide or, of course, in some of those hardest hit counties, which would be in western North Carolina. The report's timing, methodology and purpose are not designed to measure the storm's impact on visitation or spending, but assess the overall health of the visitor economy in twenty twenty four.
So here are the numbers. In 2024, visitor spending increased 71%, or increased rather, in 71% of North Carolina's 100 counties compared to the previous year. According to the press release, Cleveland, Burke, and Iredale County led the state's overall 3.1% growth. Pushing that visitor spending to that record at $36.7 billion. Seven counties experienced double-digit gains in visitor spending.
They also included Cleveland, Burke, Iredale, Stokes, Union, Gaston, and Ashe County. Nearly two-thirds of the state's counties also saw growth in direct tourism employment, with Stokes County leading at 8.8%. Here are some of the other numbers. Big jumps also coming from Burke County with a 7.6% increase, Gaston, 7%, Union, 6.7%, and Ash, 6.2%. Mecklenburg County, of course, the home of Charlotte, leading the entire state with a $6.4 billion worth of visitor spending.
That's up a whopping 9.1% from where that number was in the prior year. Wake County followed Charlotte and Mecklenburg with $3.5 billion, up 7.8%, and Bunkham County. brought in $2.7 billion.
However, that was actually down more than 10%. Dare County saw $2.1 billion in spending as well, which was also a slight dip of 2.2%.
Some of those other counties rounding out the top, Guilford, $1.8 billion, up nearly 7%. Brunswick County, that's in southeastern North Carolina, $1.2 billion, a 5% increase there. Durham, also seeing $1.2 billion. That's up 3%. New Hanover County, which hosts the city of Wilmington, $1.1 billion, up a modest 1.6%.
Forsyth County, also at $1.1 billion, up about 1%. And finally, Moore County at $860 million, up nearly 7%. Turning our attention back to Mecklenburg, and not only leading in spending across the state of North Carolina, but it had the largest tourism workforce with nearly 38,000 people employed directly as a result of the tourism industry. That was almost a 5% increase. Four other counties also employed more than 10,000 people directly in the tourism industry.
business. Witt Tuttle, who is the executive director of Visit NC, emphasized that the report highlights the tourism industry's importance to every county across our state. He explained that although the data includes the three months following Hurricane Helene, which affected the state in September of last year, the study's design, its timing, methodology and purpose was not intended to measure the storm's impact on visitation or spending. Instead, he said it serves as an overall assessment of the visitor economy's health in 2024, saying, quote, it's certainly an indication of where the efforts were felt. But given the complexities of the tourism industry, the timeframe of this research, we need to reassess the temptation to view this data as a definite report of the storm's economic impact.
As travelers return, we will celebrate the resiliency behind the mountain recovery efforts that fortify the industry and underscore its value to our workforce, our businesses, and our tax base. North Carolina welcomed nearly 40 million visitors from across the country. Country last year, ranking fifth in domestic travel behind California, Florida, Texas, and New York, according to a May report from Visit NC. Over the past four years, the state has closely competed with Pennsylvania and Tennessee for that overall fifth position. And in 2024, domestic travel spending reached record levels, and the state also experienced substantial growth in the international market.
More than 900,000 international travelers came to North Carolina, 16.5% driving an increase in spending to nearly $1.2 billion. All in all, looking at this report from the top to bottom, great news for North Carolina's economy. Great news for the continued growth across the Tar Heel State. You can read some additional details on this study from Grow NC. Check out the quotes from the governor, commerce secretary, and other folks over on our website this morning.
Carolina. Journal.com that headline story: Visitors spend over $36 billion in North Carolina in 2024. Turning our attention to some other statewide news this morning, a federal grand jury report returned an indictment earlier this week charging a Canadian citizen with illegally registering to vote and voting in federal elections in both 2022 and 2024 right here in North Carolina. U. S.
Attorney for the Eastern District in Ellis Boyle said, quote, Every single time a noncitizen casts an illegal vote in North Carolina, it steals and nullifies the vote of an actual citizen. If the records are correct, this Canadian citizen appeared to have voted in New Hanover in Pender County elections over the past twenty years. We intend to approve his illegal conduct in court and put an end to it. James C. Barnacle, Jr., the FBI special agent in charge in North Carolina, said, quote, every American deserves the right to vote without interference in this domestic process.
We appreciate the North Carolina Board of Elections partnership and commitment to working together to ensure fair elections in our state. According to the indictment, Dennis Bouchard, who's 69 years old, falsely claimed to be a United States citizen to vote in federal elections, including the most recent presidential election in November of last year. Bouchard, who has resided in the United States since the 1960s, never obtained legal U.S. citizenship status. Despite his status, he certified that he in fact was a U.S.
citizen on voter registration applications in both 2022 and 2024, where he cast ballots in the 2024 presidential election and in the 2022 congressional elections as well. Sam Hayes, the executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, says, quote, I am proud of the efforts our investigators who worked with this case prior to handing it off to law enforcement partners at the FBI. Nothing is more crucial to our democracy than. Confidence in our electoral process, which is why vigorous enforcement of our election laws must be a priority. The North Carolina State Board of Elections team continues to stand ready to assist the U.S.
Attorney's Office as they investigate and prosecute voter fraud in North Carolina. Again, that's Sam Hayes, the Executive Director of the State Board. This is a very interesting story to watch unfold. This indictment seemingly popping out of nowhere yesterday afternoon, popping up on the website for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
We are continuing to track down details on all of it. As soon as we get those, we'll pass them along to you right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. And I'll have a story up shortly on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. We all know that feeling. You finally managed to get away on vacation and the worrying starts.
Will that bogus beware of dogs sign keep your home safe? What about that fake camera you set up? And will someone finally find your old hide and key rock? That's where ADT comes in. All that stuff, it's safe-ish.
It seems fine when you don't really think about it, but you know it truly doesn't work. Instead, ADT provides security solutions that keep you actually safe, giving you real peace of mind. Because vacation is supposed to be, you know, relaxing. Don't settle for safe-ish. Visit ADT.com today to learn more.
We all know that feeling. You finally managed to get away on vacation and the worrying starts. Will that bogus beware of dogs sign keep your home safe? What about that fake camera you set up and will someone finally find your old hide and key rock? That's where ADT comes in.
All that stuff? It's safe-ish. It seems fine when you don't really think about it, but you know it truly doesn't work. Instead, ADT provides security solutions that keep you actually safe, giving you real peace of mind. Because vacation is supposed to be, you know, relaxing.
Don't settle for safe-ish. Visit ADT.com today to learn more. We all know that feeling. You finally manage to get away on vacation and the worrying starts. Will that bogus beware of dog sign keep your homes safe?
What about that fake camera you set up? And will someone finally find your old hide and key rock? That's where ADT comes in. All that stuff? It's safe-ish.
It seems fine when you don't really think about it, but you know it truly doesn't work. Instead, ADT provides security solutions that keep you actually safe, giving you real peace of mind. Because vacation is supposed to be, you know, relaxing. Don't settle for safe-ish. Visit ADT.com today to learn more.
It's 523. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour. News Talk 1110-99.3 WBT, the North Carolina State Board of Elections, has announced the resignations of James Yoakley, the Surrey County Board of Elections chairman, as he is currently facing accusations of drugging food, child abuse, and other crimes. This is a wild story. It goes all the way back to August the 8th, when Yoakley contacted the Wilmington Police Department, claiming that his granddaughters had found two pills in ice cream that they had bought at a dairy queen in Wilmington.
However, according to the Wilmington Police Department, as they began their investigation, video evidence shows that the two pills were placed in the ice cream by the Surrey County Board of Elections chairman himself. The blue pressed pills were field tested by WPD and found to contain both MDMA and cocaine. Since then, he has been charged with two counts of felony contaminating food or drink with a controlled substance, felony child abuse, and felony possession of Schedule I narcotics. A very weird story unfolding. North Carolina State Board of Elections records show that Yokoly lived in New Hanover County before relocating to Surrey County sometime after the 2020 general election.
State Auditor Dave Bollick's office, who appointed him to this role in June, called the allegations disturbing and urged the chairman to resign. In a statement, Bollock said, The arrest and investigation of the Surrey County Board of Elections chair is very disturbing. This matter distracts from the election management in Surrey County and must be addressed quickly and directly. Our office is built on holding individuals accountable. He needs to resign, and Surrey County needs a new Board of Elections chair.
If he doesn't resign, I'll be requesting the State Board take action today to remove him as chair. And so things revolve pretty quickly. Yesterday afternoon, there was an emergency, a state board of elections meeting scheduled for 1 p.m. in which the state board was likely to take action to remove him as the chairman.
However, about 30 minutes before that meeting, it was canceled, and the individual himself did resign in a letter to the state auditor's office and the state board. The letter reads weirdly. Dear Auditor Bollock, I am writing to formally resign my position as the board chair with the Surrey County Board of Elections effective immediately. This is directly from the letter. This decision has not been made lightly.
After much prayer, thoughtful reflection, and consultation, I have concluded that it is in the best interests of the State Board of Elections and Surrey County Board of Elections regarding my own falsely accused circumstances to step down at this time. Based on the truth and facts, I remain prayerfully confident that I will be exonerated of all accusations levied against me. During my tenure serving on the Surrey County Board of Elections, I have been honored to serve a board guided by fairness, integrity and steadfast commitment to the constitutional republic process. I am pleased of the work we have accomplished together to serve the citizens of Surrey County and those in my home state of North Carolina. I remain deeply committed to ensuring a smooth and effective transition.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve alongside such dedicated public servants. I wish the State Board, the Surrey County Board of Elections, and our electorate continued success moving forward. Signed Jimmy Oakley, the board chair of the Surrey County Board of Elections. The state board did confirm his resignation in that statement and also noted that a new chair for the Surrey County BOE will be named once the North Carolina Republican Party submits nominations. That's how that process plays out.
State Auditor Dave Bollick following up in another comment after the resignation saying, quote, As I have called for, the chair of the Surrey County Board of Elections has resigned. With his resignation, the Surrey County Board and the State Board can now, without distraction, move forward with the process of appointing a replacement. There are a lot more questions than answers this morning. The investigation does continue by the Wilmington Police Department. They have been consistently providing updates as they are available.
Again, this individual from Surrey County, presumably visiting or vacationing somewhere in southeastern North Carolina, New Hanover County, where his granddaughters are, where he had been for a period of time beforehand, being charged again in this case with allegedly putting two pills containing both MDMA and cocaine into Dairy Queen ice cream that he had given to his granddaughters. Again, a lot more questions than answers. We'll continue to track the details as they are relevant. We've got a story this morning with some additional details over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. And of course, we'll keep you up to date with those details right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
We all know that feeling. You finally managed to get away on vacation, and the words. Worrying starts. Will that bogus beware of dog sign keep your home safe? What about that fake camera you set up?
And will someone finally find your old hide and key rock? That's where ADT comes in. All that stuff? It's safe-ish. It seems fine when you don't really think about it, but you know it truly doesn't work.
Instead, ADT provides security solutions that keep you actually safe, giving you real peace of mind. Because vacation is supposed to be, you know, relaxing. Don't settle for safe-ish. Visit ADT.com today to learn more. We all know that feeling.
You finally manage to get away on vacation and the worrying starts. Will that bogus beware of dogs sign keep your home safe? What about that fake camera you set up? And will someone finally find your old hide and key rock? That's where ADT comes in.
All that stuff? It's safe-ish. It seems fine when you don't really think about it, but you know it truly doesn't work. Instead, ADT provides security solutions that keep you actually safe, giving you real peace of mind. Because vacation is supposed to be, you know, relaxing.
Don't settle for safe-ish. Visit ADT.com today to learn more. We all know that feeling. You finally manage to get away on vacation and the worrying starts. Starts.
Will that bogus beware of dogs sign keep your homes safe? What about that fake camera you set up? And will someone finally find your old hide and key rock? That's where ADT comes in. All that stuff?
It's safe-ish. It seems fine when you don't really think about it, but you know it truly doesn't work. Instead, ADT provides security solutions that keep you actually safe, giving you real peace of mind. Because vacation is supposed to be, you know, relaxing. Don't settle for safe-ish.
Visit ADT.com today to learn more. It's 536. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, recapping one of our big stories this morning. North Carolina set a new tourism record in 2024 as visitors spent $36.7 billion statewide, a 3.1% increase from the previous year's high of $35.6 billion. This is all deal from a new study conducted by tourism economics from Visit NC, and that shows that 71 of the state's 100 counties saw gains in visitor spending, underscoring the continued strength of that industry across North Carolina.
Governor Josh Stein praised the results, calling North Carolina not only a fantastic place to live, but a special place to visit. Stein said visitors to the coastal area, Piedmont and Western Mountains will continue to find an incredible trip waiting in every corner of the state. The report highlights both domestic and international travel. This is a pretty cool number. More than 900,000 international travelers came to North Carolina in 2024, driving a sixteen point five percent increase in spending to nearly $1.2 billion for those international travelers.
In total, the state welcomed nearly 40 million travelers, ranking fifth nationally in domestic visitation, behind California, Florida, Texas, and New York. Several counties stood out on their strong performance, including Cleveland, Burke, and Iredale County, which led statewide growth.
Some other counties, some notable mentions, Mecklenburg led all counties with $6.4 billion in visitor spending, up over 9% compared to where it was last year. Wake County also seeing some big-time gains, $3.5 billion there, a 7.8% increase.
However, not everybody saw... those increases. Buncombe County, of course, the city of Asheville reported $2.7 billion in spending.
However, that fell 10.6%. Commerce Secretarian Lee Lilly said that the strong numbers are especially notable statewide given the disruption caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. Lilly emphasized that while the report includes the months following the storm, it is not intended to measure hurricane specific losses. Instead, the study offers a broader look at the health of tourism across the state of North Carolina. With Lilly saying North Carolina has something for everyone.
Despite the impact of Hurricane Helene, this report speaks to the enduring appeal of our cultural, recreational and culinary experiences across North Carolina. Visit NC Director Will Tuttle echoed some of those same comments, noting that the data demonstrates the industry's importance to every corner of the state. He cautioned, however, against interpreting this study as a full accounting of the true economic damage and impact that Hurricane Helene had on western North Carolina. With another record year in the books, state leaders remain optimistic that North Carolina will continue attracting visitors not only from across the United States, but from around the globe. You can read some additional details on this story this morning over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com.
This headline there: visitors spend over $36 billion in North Carolina in 2024. It's now 5.39. You're listening to the Carolina Journal News Hour. Baldhead Island is a small village off the coast of Brunswick County in southeastern North Carolina. There's been a lengthy legal proceeding that has gone on as it relates to the ferry and barge system that brings folks and supplies back and forth from the island.
To get some details on this this morning, Mitch Kokai from the John Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Mitch, ferry, barge, this has been like a multi-year legal dispute. What is going on in the village, a very small village of Baldhead Island?
Well, the latest ruling is more bad news for the village government of Baldhead Island because what happened was the State Court of Appeals, in an unpublished opinion, which has limited value as a precedent and usually is kind of buried among the court cases that are put out there. In this unpublished opinion, the Court of Appeals agreed with the lower court that Baldhead Island could not enforce this right of first refusal or ROFR to purchase that infrastructure that we're talking about, the ferry system, the barge, the tram system on the island, and the parking lot on the mainland that goes along with all of this. The dispute really stems from the fact that Baldhead Island was developed privately. And when the gentleman who developed the island died in 2013, eventually his estate decided they wanted to sell the island. That private infrastructure.
By that time, there was a village of Baldhead Island, so there is a village government, and the government. Talked about buying all this infrastructure, but the two sides could not come to an agreement, and so at some point. The private owners of the property, the estate of the original developer, decided to sell to this outside entity, Sharp View Capital, which sparked a lot of different legal battles from the village of Bald Island.
Now, earlier this year, the state Supreme Court decided not to take up the The case of the actual sale of the system. From the previous owners, the estate of the developer, Bald Head Island, to Sharp View Capital. But now the Court of Appeals has stepped in most recently and said it's not going to enforce this right of first refusal that the village claimed that it had for buying the infrastructure because that had never been put forward to the Utilities Commission. The Utilities Commission is involved because the Utilities Commission has for many years had authority over the ferry system or and the tram system that operates on Baldhead Island because there's very little auto traffic. on on the island.
And you might remember that there was some dispute for a while about whether the barge, which carries Materials other than people to Baldhead Island, whether that was going to be part of the Utilities Commission, and whether a parking lot that goes along with this on the mainland would also be under the Utilities Commission's purview. That has been the source of another legal battle. But the latest decision basically says: no, Baldhead Island Village, the local government, you did not have the right to buy this property before it was sold to Sharpview Capital.
So it seems as if, other than a ruling that allowed the Utilities Commission to take over more control than it had before, other than that ruling, which was something that Baldhead Island, the village government, had pushed for, the rest of the rulings that have been coming out recently have been. against the village government and in favor of the sale of the infrastructure from one private owner to another private owner. Mitch, what makes this kind of interesting is we talk about the village of Bald Head Island, the island. This is truly an island. The only way to get to and from Bald Head Island from the portions of southeastern North Carolina is through some sort of boat, ferry, or barge.
There is no land connector, there's no bridge. Even when the tide is low, there's no way to physically get there.
So I guess that's probably part of the reason why the village itself is fighting so hard to try and. Claim that they had the right to purchase some of these assets because it truly is the only connector to the municipality that they are as the local government. Yeah, I think that's true. That the village government wants to ensure that there's mainland access. And I think there is some concern that if it is owned privately and not by the private owner who developed this, which was the original arrangement, that there could be some concern that there would be cutbacks or corporations.
Corners are cut, and so people aren't getting the service that they want. There's also been Along the sideline here, a concern that Sharp View Capital in buying this is trying to make it a moneymaker. And so, other than just Having the normal services that Baldhead Island is used to, they might do something on the private parking lot that would be substantially different than what is seen today. I mean, I remember in some of the court discussions and court filings, there was talk about maybe they're going to build a huge hotel on this parking lot, which would completely change for some people the character of what Baldhead Island is all about. And so there has been a mix of reasons why the village has been interested to try to get this one just to ensure that they could kind of keep services as they are, and also to block private owners from doing something different that might change the character of Bald Head Island by adding a lot more people in the area.
Now, there is a little bit of safeguard for that. As you mentioned, the North Carolina Utilities Commission is overview and does have some responsibility for certain assets, including the ferry system, which transports people back and forth, Mitch. And with that, for any sort of major rate hike or any sort of substantial changes in service, wouldn't this new owner in Sharpe View, wouldn't they have to go to the Utilities Commission, propose that? And wouldn't that have to be approved by, in this case, the state government? Yes, that's right.
The Utilities Commission does have oversight over the ferry system, over the island-operated tram system. And the recent rulings that have been dealing with what the Utilities Commission has oversight over and doesn't have kind of been a mixed bag. I believe that the parking lot was ruled as being under the Utilities Commission's purview, but the barge system was not. And so there's a mix of what is a public utility and what is not, which does, as you mentioned, give a safeguard to the people of Baldhead Island that there can't be major changes in the costs of these things without Utilities Commission approval. But what seems likely from the recent rulings is that Baldhead Island is, as a village government, is not going to be able to step in and block the private sale.
Now, another piece of this that we haven't really gotten into is that. There had been discussions shortly after the developer's death, which goes back to 2013, about the village purchasing this. The only reason this went to court is that the two sides couldn't come to an agreement about what costs would be paid. I think the developer or the estate of the developer wanted more money. They said this is a valuable asset.
And the village government, whether it's just out of penny pinching or trying to make sure that they're not having to pass along exorbitant costs to the residents, tried to keep the sale price low. And because they couldn't reach an agreement, that's why the move was turned to try to get private investors instead. And that's what ended up sparking all this court battle. Yeah, it's definitely been a lengthy, ongoing, very interesting legal case that's been going on over the last couple of years. You can read the most recent details and some of the backstory on all of this by visiting our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com.
Mitch Kokai from the John Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. We all know that feeling. You finally manage to get away on vacation and the worrying starts. Will that bogus beware of dogs sign keep your home safe? What about that fake camera you set up?
And will someone finally find your old hide and key rock? That's where ADT comes in. All that stuff? It's safe-ish. It seems fine when you don't really think about it, but you know it truly doesn't work.
Instead, ADT provides security solutions that keep you actually safe, giving you real peace of mind. Because vacation is supposed to be, you know, relaxing. Don't settle for safe-ish. Visit ADT.com today to learn more. We all know that feeling.
You finally manage to get away on vacation and the worrying starts. Will that bogus beware of dogs sign keep your home safe? What about that fake camera you set up? And will someone finally find your old hide and key rock? That's where ADT comes in.
All that stuff? It's safe-ish. It seems fine when you don't really think about it, but you know it truly doesn't work. Instead, ADT provides security solutions that keep you actually safe, giving you real peace of mind. Because vacation is supposed to be, you know, relaxing.
Don't settle for safe-ish. Visit ADT.com today to learn more. We all know that feeling. You finally manage to get away on vacation, and the worrying starts.
Well, that bogus beware of dogs sign keep your home safe. What about that fake camera you set up? And will someone finally find your old hide and key rock? That's where ADT comes in. All that stuff?
It's safe-ish. It seems fine when you don't really think about it, but you know it truly doesn't work. Instead, ADT provides security solutions that keep you actually safe, giving you real peace of mind. Because vacation is supposed to be, you know, relaxing. Don't settle for safe-ish.
Visit ADT.com today to learn more. It's time for the sixth annual WBT Little Heroes Blood Drive headed your way next Thursday. That's September the 4th. WBT and the One Blood Big Red Bus will be at the Dog House in Uptown Charlotte from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
We'll be broadcasting live and encouraging you to make a life-saving blood donation. The sixth annual WBT's Little Hero Blood Drive headed your way Thursday, September 4th at the Dog House in Uptown Charlotte. It's 554. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993, WBT. State lawmakers convened this week for a brief session in Raleigh, in which they were originally scheduled to consider veto overrides on several bills.
However, lawmakers there Tuesday and Thursday, the session ended without overrides being taken up. And said lawmakers have now scheduled those overrides for a date in late September. The bills on the state house side that were scheduled for consideration included three measures, House Bill 171, Senate Bill 227, and Senate Bill 558, which were all designed to curb the diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda in K through 12 education, higher education, and in state and local governments. Those three pieces of legislation getting some significant movement, at least at the national level, the discussions over the last couple of months. Governor Josh Stein vetoed those three bills.
However, Senate Bill 558 and 227 were overridden in the state Senate, where Republicans have a veto-proof majority.
However, as we turn our attention back to the North Carolina House, the GOP needs at least one Democrat to side with them to have the override come forward. In the initial House votes approving each measure, no Democrats, not one of them, voted on the DEI bills. And to this point, publicly, no Democrats have publicly pledged to join Republicans in overriding those vetoes. Shortly before the veto overrides were scheduled earlier this week, the North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus put out a press release claiming a full commitment from all 41 members to vote to sustain vetoes on any DEI bills. The press release read as follows, if enacted, these bills would tear down the programs and policies that help create equitable opportunities in schools, workplaces, and state agencies.
They would send a message to every black North Carolinian and our community of color that their voices, experiences, and futures do not matter.
However, Democrats are unlikely to maintain unity at at least one of the other education related bills that lawmakers are scheduled to take up when they return to Raleigh around september twenty second. A veto override on House Bill eighty seven already does have public backing from at least one Democrat. That is Representative Shelley Willingham of Edgecombe County. We've got some additional details this morning on these veto override votes, which could be coming as soon as about a month from now. You can read those details on our website, CarolinaJournal.com.
That's going to do it for a Friday edition. WBT News is next, followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with you Tuesday morning live, right here on News Talk 1110 and 99.3, WBT.
