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 are tracking two different angles this morning on Operation Charlotte's Web. It began on Saturday as officials from Customs and Border Protection began and made their way to our state's largest city in Charlotte.
However, we are getting a different reaction on the status of those operations between local officials and DHS personnel this morning. According to multiple sources, U. S. Customs and Border Protection has completed Operation Charlotte Webb throughout Mecklenburg County and the city of Charlotte, with the mayor, Vi Lyles, confirming the situation Thursday afternoon in a statement to reporters saying that she was glad that the quote intrusion was over. She said in her statement, it appears that U.S.
Border Patrol has ceased its operations in Charlotte. I'm relieved for our community and the residents, businesses, and all those who were targeted and impacted by this intrusion. As we move forward, it is essential that we can come together not as separate groups divided by recent events, but as one Charlotte community. Our strength has always come from our ability to support one another, especially in challenging times. I am calling on all members of our community to join in this effort.
Let us stand together, listen to one another, and recommit ourselves to the values, dignity, compassion and unity that define our city. The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department also provided an update on social media, citing, reliable information that the operation had concluded.
However, on the other side, the United States Department of Homeland Security, which is the umbrella organization for customs and border protection, has reported around 370 arrests over a five-day period in time, with DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin putting out a press release yesterday afternoon. saying that the operation was in fact not over, saying, quote, the operation is not over and it is not ending any time soon. In some additional comments from DHS, quote, while the media and sanctuary politicians try and spread falsehoods and demean DHS law enforcement, the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security are risking their lives and safety to arrest illegal criminal aliens that are victimizing Americans. We are going to continue doing our job standing up for North Carolinians who live in fear because of violent criminal illegal aliens. Mecklenburg County Sheriff Gary McFadden said that while the operation has concluded, federal immigration authorities will continue their normal activities in the area.
He emphasized that the Sheriff's Office is not involved in those federal operations, saying yesterday, we will continue to build relationships, mend bridges, and listen to voices of everyone in our community. As we move forward, I want the city of Charlotte to know that I will keep fighting for clarity, accountability, and trust. I will continue to protect the city and every single one of its citizens. United States Senator Ted Budd blasted the Biden administration and sanctuary policies like those in Mecklenburg County in a post on social media this week saying, the open border policies of the Biden administration and sanctuary cities are neither humane nor responsible. Allowing dangerous illegal aliens to walk the streets freely is creating the same circumstances here that many immigrants fled to America to avoid in their home countries.
More importantly, it is endangering Americans in their own communities. Federal law enforcement has been tasked with removing criminal offenders who never should have been in the U.S., and they should carry out this mission responsibly to ensure that violent individuals are quickly identified, detained, and deported. Orderly and systematic removal of those who do not only violate our immigration laws, but also pose a threat to our communities, is essential for protecting families across the state of North Carolina. Those are the comments on social media from one of our two United States Senators, Republican Senator Ted Budd. Back on what's going on here in North Carolina, we got some interesting reaction over the last couple of days from the North Carolina court system, not in terms of a legal matter, but public comment from members of the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Democratic North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls took to social media this week to comment on the operations claiming that customs and border protection is violating individuals' constitutional rights. In a statement, she wrote, I cannot be silenced while the constitutional rights of our neighbors are being violated right here in North Carolina. Across the state, we are seeing reports of federal agents stopping and seizing lawful residents and immigrants with no criminal records, causing many North Carolinians to be fearful of leaving their homes, going to work, sending their children to school, shopping for food, or getting medical attention. We need strong public safety measures, but this is not law enforcement's intended is law enforcement is intended to protect the public. Instead, it is making the public less safe, in part because it has resulted in abandoning the efforts to stop serious crime.
These agents are being pulled off of cases involving sex trafficking, child abuse and terrorism. This type of a political stunt further erodes the public's trust in the already broken justice system. The willingness of this administration to abandon these pro uh prosecutions of serious crimes simply in service of political theater and to scapegoat immigrants is appalling. This is not who we are as a nation, and it is not who we are as North Carolinians. A very politically charged statement from North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls this week, a very odd, very uncharacteristic statement from the state's highest court.
And while the statement was not officially released through the court system, it is, I'll note, very peculiar to have such a politically charged statement from a member of the state's highest court. This prompted Republican Justice Phil Berger Jr. to step in and release a statement of his own in response to Earls, writing, quote, When law enforcement at any level acts outside of the bounds of law, courts have tools to address those specific situations. That's how our system works, through evidence, due process, and judicial review. But blanket assertions about law enforcement action not before a particular judge is irresponsible.
What undermines public confidence is not lawful enforcement activity, but growing trends of judges asserting their personal opinions and positions without facts, without parties before them, and without the neutrality their office demands. Judges are not political commentators, and we are not supposed to be advocates. When we speak as if we are, we start to blur the boundaries. The rule of law depends on judges who apply the law as written, not as they wish to be. And Americans deserve a justice system where public officials, from law enforcement to Supreme Court justices, act in accordance with those rules and refrain from prejudging situations based on ideology.
That's how you safeguard rights and protect liberty. There is currently a lot of noise in the public sphere about trust in the judiciary. For those serious about it, they should insist that judges model the discipline that we expect of those charged with the impartial application of the law. Ending the statement there from Justice Phil Berger Jr. in direct response to his colleague Democrat Justice Anita Earls on the ongoing Operation Charlotte's Web, which has been taking place in Charlotte since Saturday.
So again, just kind of recapping where things stand right now, a litany of local officials, including Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Gary McFadden, all providing information that the operation is over, while the Department of Homeland Security, on the other hand, says, and I quote, the operation is not over and it is not ending anytime soon.
So, as it stands right now, a little uncertainty as to exactly what things will look like in the coming days. But what we do know for certain is that more than 370 individuals have been arrested over that five-day period in Charlotte. We continue our coverage this morning over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. And of course, as we continue to get late-breaking information right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour, and this will be a large topic of discussion throughout the day, right here on News Talk 1110 and 99.3WBT. As the holidays approach, it's time to return to the classics.
Flaky pie crusts, perfectly browned butter, and and cookies with just the right texture. and one ingredient you cannot compromise on is kerrygold butter. Carigold butter is crafted with milk from grass-fed cows that graze on lush green pastures across family farms in Ireland. The result? A rich, creamy butter with a high butterfat content that elevates every recipe.
Whether you're making signature shortbread or browning butter for a nutty depth in your pecan pie, Carry gold makes all the difference. The flavor is unmatched, and the texture it brings to baked goods is simply divine.
So, this holiday season, if you're baking for loved ones or just for yourself, Reach for Kerry Gold. It's the butter of choice, and your pies, your cookies, and your cakes will thank you. It's 5:20. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 11:10-993 WBT. Don't forget, if you miss our show live weekday mornings, 5-6, right here on WBT, you can check out the Carolina Journal News Hour podcast.
It's available on Google Play, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, anywhere you get your shows. Search for the Carolina Journal News Hour, tap the subscribe and follow button, and take a new program with you each and every weekday morning. It's the Carolina Journal News Hour podcast. Download and subscribe now. You can also watch the show live and on demand over on our Carolina Journal YouTube channel.
There is an entity in North Carolina called NCORE. That's the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. It was spawned after Hurricanes Matthew and Florence left a pretty big swath of destruction in the eastern half of North Carolina. And over the last eight or nine years, it has been nothing but a complete and total mess in terms of the state agency. To walk us through some new details this morning on a new report out from state auditor Dave Bollock's office and a recent hearing with the North Carolina General Assembly, Teresa Opeca joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
Teresa, we've talked about NCOR in the past. This is not, unfortunately, a new story that we're passing along to our audience this morning.
However, we have some more insight now as to what went wrong multiple years ago in the state of North Carolina. What's the latest that you're following? Yeah, good morning, Nick. Thanks for having me. It's definitely nothing new.
going over some of the you know from what we've already heard over the past few years with different hearings that have come up on ENCORE. But state auditor Dave Bollock did release a report on Wednesday and appeared at a The General Assembly hearing on Thursday to outline the report. Talk about what went wrong, also, some recommendations as well. Basically, You know, this all occurred from Hurricanes Matthew and Florence 2016, 2018. NCORE was created in 2018 by former Governor Roy Cooper to help with the rebuilding process from those hurricanes.
And what Auditor Bollock called, you know, those were disasters, and NCOR was a third disaster. He beat no bones about that during the hearing. And also said this has been a logistical nightmare for all the families that are involved. I mean, there's people. Still Who do not have a home nearly a decade later?
It's getting better, but there's still many who do not have a home. In fact, we found out on Thursday that Representative Carl Gillespie of McKin County said there are still 328 families in the program. And 74 of those homes will most likely not be completed by the end of the year, despite a promise from NCOR's new director, Pryor Gibson. He became director at the end of last year.
So still waiting on the completion. Things have gotten better, but. it's still it's still kind of a a mess at this point. I mean, Teresa, you would almost have to suspend reality to get yourself into the mindset that almost 10 years after Hurricane Matthew affected portions of eastern North Carolina, people who have been living in hotel rooms or rental houses being shuffled back and forth. I mean, there's no other way to describe this, but an abysmal failure of state government.
Oh, most definitely. You know, I mean, going through some of the things that Auditor Bullock had in the report. Um Basically, nearly $785 million was paid to vendors without any reconciliation or oversight. Uh And also ENCORE spent more, of course, or one of the top line figure, more than a billion of taxpayer money. That included seven hundred nine million from CDBG money from the federal government and also two hundred ninety seven million from state appropriations.
And the money, you know, that well, not money, the process for people when they went through was an eight-uh-page. step. Like people had to fill out eight pages, jump through hoops to get all this stuff done. Each step, he said, took a minimum of 100 days. Grant determination took another two and a half years.
And then finally, it was four years before anybody started work on the house. Four years after that process. It's just an unbelievable situation. We've heard a lot. I said information before, but there's been new information like this being revealed during this hearing and the press conference he had on Wednesday.
It's unbelievable. Yeah, and the report is very lengthy, Teresa. And again, as you noted, we have gotten some little sneak peeks into what's been going on behind the scenes at ENCORE. But this new audit from Dave Bollock's office, it's 509 pages, I think, is the exact number on it. It is a very lengthy report, and it walks through essentially step by step how we got into this issue.
One of the things that I found almost unbelievable was that the state and NCOR spent $25 million getting an instance of Salesforce set up. Teresa, once they set that up, they still weren't tracking payments correctly. Mismanagement of funds all over the place. Remarkable that you could spend that much money setting up a piece of software and then just frankly not use it. And as state auditor Bollock noted in a Wednesday press conference, never bothered training anybody how to use it either.
What a waste of money. Yeah, yeah, it was. It was. But he says, you know, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. I think that's the old saying, you know, it's a good program.
It just wasn't used correctly. And he said, actually, that's the equivalent to almost how much his office gets on a yearly basis for appropriations.
So imagine 25 million.
So, yeah, just a waste of money. And they had two other programs as well. I want to backtrack on one thing, talking about the families and all the process they were going through. They spent nearly $75 million on temporary housing for these families. That's an average of $230,000 per household.
That could have built a house for somebody. You know, and that was brought up in the hearing on Wednesday by Senator Buck Newton of Wilson County. He basically said the same thing. You could build houses for that amount of money.
So you got Salesforce, you got the temporary housing money that was used. Again, it's just, you want to call it a train wreck. It was really a train wreck.
Well, and not only, Teresa, could you have used that money to rebuild houses? I mean, the state could have just cut these people checks and said, go buy a brand new house. At the time before the housing market got so inflated, in many of these rural eastern North Carolina counties, where a lot of those 328 homes that still need to be repaired, I would imagine those are probably in more rural areas of eastern North Carolina. These individuals could have just bought houses. The state could have cut them checks, and we would have been done with this seven years ago.
But here we are. And as you just reported, the idea that some of these individuals still will not be back in either their original homes that have been rehabilitated or brand new homes when the calendar flips over to 2026 is a miserable situation. Yeah, it most definitely is. I know Prior Gibson did also testify at Thursday's hearing, said that they are hopeful, this is stressing hopeful, that they will have all of this completed by next October before the end of the next legislative session. That is what that's coming from him.
So stay tuned for that. But yeah, I mean. At this point, people should all be back in their homes or or new homes at this point. We'll continue the conversation with Teresa Opeka from CarolinaJournal.com coming up after this. You're listening to the Carolina Journal News Hour.
As the holidays approach, it's time to return to the classics. Flaky pie crusts, perfectly browned butter, and and cookies with just the right texture. and one ingredient you cannot compromise on is kerrygold butter. Carrygold butter is crafted with milk from grass fed cows that graze on lush green pastures across family farms in Ireland. The result?
A rich, creamy butter with a high butterfat content that elevates every recipe. Whether you're making signature shortbread or browning butter for a nutty depth in your pecan pie, Carry gold makes all the difference. The flavor is unmatched, and the texture it brings to baked goods is simply divine.
So, this holiday season, if you're baking for loved ones or just for yourself, Reach for Kerry Gold. It's the butter of choice, and your pies, your cookies, and your cakes will thank you. It's 5:33. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour. News Talk 11:10-993 WBT.
I'm Nick Craig. A good Friday morning to you. We are continuing our coverage this morning of a brand new audit out from State Auditor Dave Bollick's office looking at NCORE. That's the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. Teresa Opaca from CarolinaJournal.com joins us.
Teresa, this is of course incredibly relevant. You know, it's important to, of course, look at the past, look at what happened, and try and highlight some of this information. Absolutely. But we then flip over to the other side of the state. We've got Western North Carolina a little more than a year ago, absolutely obliterated by Hurricane Helene.
The state has a new entity set up called Grow NC. I would imagine a lot of folks are wondering. Seven, eight, nine, 10 years from right now, are we going to be having these same conversations about the failure of this entity? The state does not have a good track record with these programs. No, it most definitely doesn't.
And that's what Auditor Bullock talked about. He did say, you know, he did talk about Grow NC a little bit, you know, saying they still need some time to actually go through the process and see how they're going to be doing before he was going to take a look at it. I think they also have had some hearings in the legislature about it. But he said, you know, we had the one entity, NCOR, now you've got GROW NC. And if we have another disaster come up in the future, are you going to have a third entity?
He said, that would be ridiculous, but you're right. We see how this they're going to be doing out there in Western North Carolina. Maybe lessons learned from the mess here in eastern North Carolina with NCOR. Yeah, so it's the old-time will tell thing, but hopefully. People have heard enough about this in the last few years and have learned a few lessons from it.
Well, and the other reason that this is incredibly relevant is earlier this year, we heard some rumblings up in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C. that the Trump administration might look at essentially dissolving FEMA and turning it into nothing but a grant-writing facility, meaning that there would be no FEMA employees that are on the ground in the immediate aftermath of a storm. It would be state or local officials with funding from the federal government. Teresa, if you set up that situation in North Carolina right now, I don't think folks would have a lot of confidence that the state could handle something like that. You're right.
I don't think they would either. Just like you just said, the track record that the state has. And I believe that the one who was overseeing FEMA at the moment, he quit this week or last week in D.C.
So, yeah, but to leave it to North Carolina to handle all on its own at this point, I don't think that, I really don't think the state's ready. I think they're, you know, all of this is good. These are all positive steps. And that's what Auditor Bollock said, too. He says, you know, this is an all-pointing fingers.
He says he wants to be proactive and get things moving in the right direction so we don't have another problem like this in the future. But at this point, I don't think the state is 100% on board to handle this themselves. And, you know, people do want the backing from the federal government when it comes to things like this. I mean, it's just, yeah, right now it's just, it would not be a good situation for the state to take all this on on its own. And Teresa, I think it is important to note, however, that other states have been able to manage this.
Now, of course, geography is very different. Florida would, of course, be the example that you would look at. Florida has more hurricanes more often than North Carolina does. And so they're obviously a little bit more adept at dealing with that. But even just to our south, in South Carolina, they dealt with very similar impacts from Hurricanes Matthew and Florence.
Teresa, these same issues are not happening in the Palmetto State this morning. Yeah. No, they're not. In fact, it did a story last year. It was a two-part series or earlier this year about how other states compare to North Carolina for hurricane recovery.
We did spotlight South Carolina and Florida, and they've done phenomenal jobs. There was somebody who was, I think it was Colonel Sanderson. He was part of a project in South Carolina, testified early on at one of these NCOR hearings and said what NCOR was doing wrong and what they did right. Not being obnoxious about it, but just giving proactive steps to say, you know, this is what you could do. I think they get some guidance from him later on.
We talked to a professional in Florida about what they have done for, you know, he helped out with Hurricane Katrina, a lot of lessons learned from that. And, you know, all the different steps that could be taken. Even in this article that we have this morning on Carolinajournal.com, we went back for an article we had previously, how many times that there was help being given to NCORE and they were. Refused to listen or refuse to take any suggestions.
So, yeah, other states have done a really good job with it. This is obviously going to continue to be a major situation to follow, not only the folks in the East that are still the 328 individual households that are still waiting to get back on their feet and get back into their homes, but as we watch some of the recovery and relief efforts out in western North Carolina, Teresa, thanks for all the information and insight this morning. We greatly appreciate it. You can get additional coverage over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. Teresa Opeka joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
Recapping our big story this morning at 5:39 on the Carolina Journal News Hour: Some uncertainty this morning about Operation Charlotte's Web. As local officials and DHS officials are saying different things about the customs and border protection operation that kicked off in Charlotte almost one week ago, according to multiple local sources this morning, they say that the operation is complete across the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles confirmed the situation, saying it appears that U.S. Border Patrol has seized its operations in Charlotte. I'm relieved for our community and residents, businesses, and all of those who were targeted and impacted by this intrusion.
As we move forward, it is essential that we come together not as separate groups divided by recent events, but as one Charlotte community. Our strength has always come from our ability to support one another, especially in challenging times. I am calling on all members of our community to join in this effort. Let's stand together, listen to one another, and recommit ourselves to the values of dignity, compassion, and unity that define our city. The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department also provided an update on social media Thursday morning, citing, quote, reliable information that the operation had concluded.
And Mecklenburg County Sheriff Gary McFadden said that while the operation has concluded, federal immigration authorities will continue their normal activities in the area, as he continued to emphasize that the sheriff's office in Mecklenburg County is not involved in these federal operations. On the flip side, however, the United States Department of Homeland Security and DHS Assistant Secretary Trisha McLaughlin, well, they're saying something completely different, reading a direct quote from a DHS. Press release, quote, the operation is not over and it's not ending anytime soon.
So some mixed messaging there between local and state, local and federal officials. As DHS has reported now, more than 370 arrests over a five-day period of time in Charlotte. United States Senator Ted Budd took to social media this week to talk about the open border policies of the Biden administration and the failed sanctuary policies in cities like Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, saying the open border policies of the Biden administration and sanctuary cities are neither humane nor responsible. Allowing dangerous illegal aliens to walk the streets freely is creating the same circumstances here that many immigrants fled to America to avoid in their home countries. More importantly, it is endangering Americans in their own communities.
Federal law enforcement has been tasked with removing criminal offenders who never should have been in the United States. And they should carry out this mission responsibly to ensure that violent individuals are quickly identified, detained, and deported. Orderly and systematic removal of those who not only violated our immigration law, but also pose a threat to our communities, is essential for protecting families across the state of North Carolina. Ending the commentary there from a Republican senator Ted Budd here in North Carolina. The judicial system jumped in on this as well.
A very odd exchange on a very odd statement from a Democrat North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, who made a blanket statement that customs and border protection is violating individuals' constitutional rights. She wrote in part in a statement, I cannot be silent while the constitutional rights of our neighbors are being violated right here in North Carolina. Across the state, we are seeing reports of federal agents stopping and seizing lawful residents and immigrants with no criminal records, causing many North Carolinians to be fearful of leaving their homes, going to work, sending their children to school, shopping for food, or getting medical attention. The willingness of this administration to abandon the prosecution of serious crimes simply in service of political theater and to scapegoat immigrants is appalling. This is not who we are as a nation, and it is not who we are as North Carolinians.
A very peculiar statement there. One of her colleagues, Republican Justice Phil Berger Jr., called the comments from Earls irresponsible in a follow-up statement saying when law enforcement at any level acts outside of the bounds of law, courts have tools to address those specific situations. That's how our system works through evidence, due process, and judicial review. Mm-hmm. But blanket assertions about law enforcement action, not before a particular judge, is irresponsible.
What undermines public confidence is not law enforcement activity, but the growing trend of judges asserting their personal opinion and positions without facts, without parties before them, and without the neutrality their office demands. Judges are not political commentators, and we are not supposed to be advocates. When we speak as if we are, we blur the boundaries.
So, some back and forth between Republicans and Democrats now on the state's highest court. It is important to note that Republicans have a clear majority on that court.
So, the commentary there from Justice Earls is not likely to be backed up by any action by the state's highest court. As we continue our coverage this morning, local officials say Operation Charlotte's over. The Department of Homeland Security on the flip side said it's not over, and it is not ending anytime soon after more than 370 individuals have been arrested over a five years. Day period in Charlotte. We will continue our coverage over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com.
Continued coverage here throughout the day on News Talk 1110 and 99.3 WBT. It's 5:50. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour. Good Friday morning to you. News Talk 1110-99.3 WBT recapping one of our big North Carolina political stories this morning as North Carolina State Auditor Republican Dave Bollock is shedding new light on issues surrounding the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency, also known as NCOR, N-C-O-R-R, and their homeowner recovery program with a new report this week calling it a quote logistical nightmare.
Dave Bollock told legislators at a joint General Assembly Commission meeting on government operations in Greenville on Thursday, quote, NCOR resulted, NCORE results since both Hurricanes Matthew and Florence, those are Two disasters, and quite frankly, the third disaster that this state experienced is NCOR itself. The agency was created in twenty eighteen by former Democrat Governor Roy Cooper, and it was set up to assist in the rebuilding process following Hurricane Matthew in twenty sixteen and Florence in twenty eighteen. specifically to help homeowners repair or even replace their homes. Multiple hearings held by the General Assembly's Joint Legislative Commission on Government Operations over the past several years have highlighted the financial mismanagement and complete failures of the agency. Bollock's report and press conference on Wednesday, as well as Thursday's hearing, showed unfortunately the exact same situation.
He told reporters on Wednesday and lawmakers on Thursday that although there was no criminal fraud and no fraud being perpetrated, NCOR has spent more than a billion dollars of taxpayer money, which includes $709 million from the federal government and close to $300 million from the state government. Nearly $785 million of all of that money was paid to vendors without any reconciliation or oversight.
So more than 78, almost 80% of NCORE's spending went to vendors without reconciliation or oversight. Other findings revealed that applicants had to undergo eight separate steps to complete the application process as part of the rebuild NC or homeowner recovery program. Each step took an average of a minimum 100 days, and then grant determination took place.
So the eligibility determination took on average 90 days. 936 days or two and a half years, according to the state auditor's report. Because of the lengthy term of this process, some families remained in temporary housing for as long as 1,400 days. NCOR did not start construction on some of those eligible projects for close to four years after homeowners were deemed eligible. With the report saying this is how bad it was, and quite frankly, the people of North Carolina deserve better.
As of April of 2025, the HRP program received some 11,654 applications and completed 3,522 projects. There were a lot of applications submitted, and unfortunately, a lot of folks were not eligible, but only 3,500 projects completed with a $1 plus billion dollar budget. Representative Carl Gillespie, the Republican out of Macon County, said Thursday that there are still 328 families in the program and 74 of those whose homes will likely not be completed by the end of this calendar year, despite a promise earlier from the new NCOR director in Pryor Gibbons. The audit found that the state spent nearly $75 million on temporary housing over the years, an average of $230,000 per household. State Senator Buck Newton, the Republican from Wilson County, said, quote, we could have built a house for the temporary housing that we spent on those temporary stays.
And as they stay in the courtyard or some other hotel, you would imagine it's really infuriating to consider how poorly this situation was managed. Dave Bullock brought in some experienced accountants who reviewed the situation and stated that it was the worst government program that they had ever seen. with one of them passing along, the inability to be able to print out or even produce a relevant and reliable data source of financial statements or a financial position was not possible. You could not do it within Encore. Dave Bollock also brought in the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Obama administration and a member of the Florida Emergency Management Team, who said that NCOR, quote, spent a tremendous amount of time on process when their job was swinging hammers and that they needed to prioritize measurable results over procedural compliance.
This is unfortunately not a new story for those that are politically in tune across the state of North Carolina. NCOR has been under the microscope now for the last couple of years by lawmakers in Raleigh. There have been a plethora of hearings with former director Laura Hogshead, who resigned her post late last year before Pryor Gibbons took over that same position. Lawmakers have been very critical of the work that went on through the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency, running at one point a $300-plus million dollar budget shortfall, having to go back to lawmakers, go back to Raleigh, and ask for more money. And even with all of those additional funds doled out, which is exactly what exactly what Raleigh did, exactly what the lawmakers did, there are still going to be at least 74, if not more, individuals that are still not back in their homes as we flip the calendar over to 2026.
This is a A very important story as we shift our attention out west to the western half of North Carolina in the immediate aftermath and recovery from Hurricane Helene. You can read some additional details on this story this morning over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. Teresa Opaca's got it the headline: Audit details and core failures. Bollock calls the program a third disaster. You can read more information over 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 Monday morning, 5 to 6, right here on News Talk 1110 and 99.3 WBT. Tis the season of giving, and OneBlood wants to give you a $25 e-gift card.
You heard that right. All you have to do is donate blood at a OneBlood donor center or at select Big Red Bus Blood Drives, and that $25 e-gift card is yours. But don't wait, because this offer is only available November 16th through the 30th. This holiday season, give the gift of life. Visit oneblood.org slash holiday to find a location and share your power to save lives.
This is the story of the one. As a maintenance supervisor at a manufacturing facility, he knows keeping the line up and running is a top priority. That's why he chooses Granger. Because when a drive belt gets damaged, Granger makes it easy to find the exact specs for the replacement product he needs. And next day delivery helps ensure he'll have everything in place and running like clockwork.
Call 1-800-GRANGER, clickgranger.com, or just stop by. Granger for the ones who get it done.
