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Good morning to you. We kick off the month of June with the first day of the Atlantic hurricane season. We talked about this back last week or over the last couple of weeks as all eyes will be on the Atlantic leading through November the 30th. June 1st through November the 30th are the official dates of the Atlantic hurricane season. Each year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, also known as NOAA, releases a forecast outlining what to expect for the upcoming season.
And we heard back just a couple of weeks ago from the NOAA administrator and Neil Jacobs as to what this season could look like. For the Atlantic hurricane season, NOAA is predicting A below normal season. for 2026. With roughly a 55% chance of being below normal, a 35% chance of near normal. and a 10% chance of a bugnal.
This equates to eight to fourteen named storms with winds at or above thirty-nine miles an hour. Of these, Three to six hurricanes with winds at or above 74 miles an hour. And one to three major hurricanes, that's your category three to five. with winds at or above 111 miles an hour. That is the voice of NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs, highlighting that at a NOAA press conference last week.
Meteorologists say that the below-average season is due to El Niño conditions that are expected to form in the Atlantic. El Niño is expected to develop and intensify during the hurricane season, while ocean temperatures in the Atlantic are expected to be slightly warmer than normal, and trade winds are likely weaker than average. Jacobs also explained during the press conference there's a 98% chance of those El Niño conditions occurring later this season and an 80% chance that the El Niño will be moderate to strong. Noting that in the Atlantic, El Niño conditions will increase to what is described as a vertical wind shear, which will disrupt the outflows at higher levels and make it harder for storms to develop as waves move off of the coast of Africa and approach the head into the Atlantic and approach the east. Seaboard here in the United States that those El Niño conditions should make it tougher for those storms to develop.
NOAA National Weather Service Director Ken Graham highlighted this as well, saying, Although El Niño's impact in the Atlantic basin can often suppress hurricane development, there of course still remains uncertainty into how the season will unfold. Noting that that is why it is essential to review your hurricane preparedness plans now, as you will hear from many folks in the months to come, it only takes one storm to make a very bad season for one area across the United States. Commerce Secretary Howard Luttnick highlighted new technology that the National Weather Service will be using, noting with the most advanced forecasting modeling and hurricane tracking technologies, NOAA and the National Weather Service are preparing to deliver real-time storm forecasts and warnings. Noting that the experts within those two organizations are integrating cutting-edge tools. Tools to ensure communities in the path of the storm receive the earliest, most accurate information possible.
NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs also stressed the importance of the use of this new technology in forecasting for the 2026 season, saying during a press conference, NOAA's rapid integration of advanced technology, including AI-based weather tools, drones, and next-generation satellite data, will deliver actionable science to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of the American people. These new capabilities combined with the unmatched enterprise of our weather service forecasters will produce the most accurate forecasts possible to protect communities in harm's way. The first two named storms of the Atlantic season will be Arthur and Bertha. Those will be the first two names of the National Weather Service releasing their full alphabet. Earlier in May, last month, the National Weather Service hosted its annual National Hurricane Preparedness Week.
Alongside state agencies in North Carolina, the Weather Service and those state officials are urging individuals to be prepared for the hurricane season. Stephen Pfaff, the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Wilmington, told the Carolina Journal last month, we cannot ignore our climatological and historical exposure to hurricanes in this part of the country, regardless of seasonal predictions. He told the Carolina Journal, all it takes is one storm, noting that now is the time to enhance community resiliency so that we are not scrambling at the last minute when a storm threatens. Make sure you and your family are prepared. And of course, the state of North Carolina has a history of devastating storms throughout the hurricane season.
We can look at Hurricanes Floyd back in 1999, Matthew in 2016, Florence in 2018, and of course, most recently, and one that we are still covering in great detail here on the Carolina Journal News Hour and over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, Hurricane Helene in 2024, all of which left lasting impacts on the state, in many cases causing deadly flooding, widespread power outages, and billions of dollars worth of damage. Governor Josh Stein said in a recent press release, Hurricane Helene was a stark reminder of how destructive tropical storms can be, and it should prompt us at every conversation. Corner of the state to make sure that we're prepared. Preparing in advance not only helps us stay safe during a storm, but also speeds up recovery. This was also highlighted as well by Ken Graham of the National Weather Service, talking about the various rankings of hurricanes and tropical storms, noting that there's no such thing as just a category one, just a tropical storm, or just a category two.
It doesn't matter what it is. You have to look at the size, the forward motion, the impacts, even for smaller storms. If it's slow enough and big enough, it's going to create catastrophic flooding and storm surge, highlighting there's no such thing as a hurricane just a. Graham went on to say, you have to make sure that the public is ready and pays attention to every single one of these systems and the actual impacts, not just the category, not just the name, but the actual impacts associated with said storm, which could include things like tornadoes, heavy rains, damaging winds, even high surf and rip currents as well. And in our coastal areas across North and South Carolina, storm surge for those living.
Immediately on the coast. According to Will Ray, who is the North Carolina Emergency Management Director, stressing the importance of having a plan in place as we get deeper into the hurricane season, writing your plan down is only the beginning, said Ray. Practice the plans with those in your homes to ensure they know what to do. Don't forget to include your pets. And to check in on one another, especially those in your community who may be vulnerable or need assistance.
Another major focus this year for the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center is understanding forecast information, as meteorologists say that many residents still misunderstand hurricane cones, watches, and warnings. With the National Weather Service noting that dangerous impacts such as flooding and tornadoes can often occur far outside of the center of the storm, sometimes hundreds of miles inland. Starting this year, the National Hurricane Center will include inland watches and warnings on their graphical products. For those that follow this relatively closely, you are familiar with the National Weather Service cone forecast that they released that shows the area in which the center of the storm could pass over. They will now be extending watches and warnings on those graphics moving forward.
Meteorologists also point out that. Tropical storms do not even need to make direct landfall in North Carolina to create major impacts, highlighting that inland flooding has historically been one of the deadliest threats associated with tropical systems, some of which don't even make landfall but pass very close to the Carolina coast. The National Weather Service says preparedness efforts should happen every year. This is, of course, regardless of the previous season, and officials continue to emphasize that it only takes one storm in one community to create a disaster for said community or family. We have got a lot of hurricane preparedness information, a couple different stories over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com.
One of them with the headline, state officials urge caution for hurricane preparedness week. The other back from just last week, below average hurricane season predicted in the Atlantic. The peak of the hurricane season here across southeastern North Carolina is not for many months until we get into the months of August.
So still a couple of months to make sure that you are prepared, have everything in a row, in line for if the state is looking to down the barrel at a massive hurricane or tropical storm, we will be keeping an eye on the Atlantic. Forecast again, what is expected to be a below-average hurricane season? We'll keep you up to date right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Are the decks you're building today crafted for tomorrow? Only Envision Composite Decking is compression molded, making our boards stronger, easier to install, and easier to get referrals in the years to come.
Envision Composite Decking, find it at EnvisionOutdoor Living.com. I'm not. It's 5:20. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FM. WBT keeping our eye on some other statewide news on this Monday morning as North Carolina's prison system continues to struggle with staffing shortages.
The Department of Adult Corrections, known as NCDAC, as well as the Office of Human Resources. Have launched a pilot program to recruit and retain correctional officers. At a press conference last week, Governor Josh Stein said that North Carolina ranks 49th nationally in correctional officer pay, a level he linked to staffing shortages that have left the state prison system operating at roughly half of its needed workforce. State lawmakers in a budget framework announced back just a couple of weeks ago on May the 12th acknowledged the issues facing state correctional facilities and said that they plan to include a pretty substantial 15.4% salary increase for correctional officers in the proposal, which is currently under negotiations in the North Carolina General Assembly. Captain Derek Simmons of the correctional facility in Goldsboro has worked in the correctional system for 28 years.
He spoke at the governor's news conference middle part of last week about how difficult he thinks it is to keep the staff and prisoners safe compared to where things were at just 10 years ago, saying during the press conference, 10 years ago, it was routine to have about 28 officers and five sergeants on a shift. At the lineup today, we have seen seven or eight officers and three sergeants on staff. Having fewer people working inside the institution means that more things, more things that you cannot see and cannot prevent, things that you would not want to go on, they happen. Simmons says that that includes assaults, extortion, among other offenders, and violence, all increases with a lack or a lower number of correctional officers without those officers providing. Security.
He said that educational and rehabilitation programs cannot happen. Trips outside the prison for medical departments, for medical appointments get delayed, and people are not always as well prepared to be successful upon their release. This is why Simmons and other officials believe that this pilot program announced by the Department of Adult Corrections alongside the Office of the State of State Human Resources believe that it is important, which has been rolled out at Central Prison in Raleigh, as well as prisons in Harnett and Pasquataine counties here in North Carolina. It works by streamlining the hiring process for correctional officers, which has many steps and can take up to 45 days until the state says yes to an applicant. But Governor Josh Stein said at the press conference, many people can't wait that long for a paycheck.
Once a person passes through the initial steps of being hired, they are put to work immediately in other roles as certification steps continue. The governor said during the press conference, that means that people get hired onboarded and paid quickly so we're not losing out talent to other places that can get them started faster. The pilot initiatives are working. In four months, this pilot program has hired 95 people at the three prisons, 31 new hires at Central Prison, 43 new hires at 43 new hires at Harnett, exceeding their hiring goals of those two institutions. And while we have not yet hit our hiring goals in Pasquatane County, we have hired 21 new officers there so far.
Leslie Cooley-Dismukes, who is the secretary of the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections, said that the system consists of 55 correctional facilities across the state and that they are hiring people at a high rate, reducing the time to hire by about 10 days and the number of people. Dropping out. She said during this press conference: perhaps the most telling thing I can share with you is about our staffing situation and our numbers from last year. In 2025, we hired 2,647 people and 1,530 of those who were correctional officers. Despite hiring more correctional officers in 2025 than we did in 2024, we ended the year with fewer filled correctional officer positions with a 24% turnover rate among correctional officers.
Retention continues to be our biggest challenge. Currently, correctional officers' salaries range from $18 to $25 an hour. Cooley Dismukes commended the General Assembly's proposed salary increase for correctional officers, but added that she thought that all correctional system employees, not just the officers themselves, should be getting that 15% pay increase, which the governor has put in his budget proposal, saying in part, if right now we give 15% to those on the step which desperately need it then we have correctional officer threes who are making more than sergeants if that happens it will affect our sergeants captains and lieutenants and then our case managers food service workers and maintenance workers we have to recognize all of those people and the governor's budget does just that Governor Josh Stein added that without raises, he believes that there will be more prison closures on the table, like the Craggy Correctional Center in Woodfin, which is just north of Asheville, which is scheduled to close by late summer of this year. The governor noted that about 250 inmates who are still in that facility will be transferred to neighboring facilities, and every correctional officer and employee that worked there will have the option to work at a neighboring facility. Obviously, they will have to relocate to those new facilities, noting that there are no other potential closures at this time.
Time. There's no question that long-term, if our staffing shortages continue, we will have to make some critical decisions, said Dismukes at the press conference in Raleigh last week. This is lining up and teeing up what we are expecting to be an incredibly busy month of June in the North Carolina General Assembly. Back just a couple of weeks ago, we brought you the latest on what was expected to be and what is expected to be, I should say, a budget framework from state lawmakers, the Republican-led General Assembly, announcing back on May the 12th that they have, in fact, moved forward and are in the process of negotiating a full state budget. Lawmakers are expected to have that process completed sometime in the month of June with a very busy legislative calendar.
Lawmakers are expected to be in Raleigh multiple days every single week this month, and we will see things kick off starting tomorrow morning with a litany of House and Senate committees. Including finance, commerce, judiciary, state and local government, rules, calendar, and operations of the house, K through 12, education. That is just looking at the calendar for Tuesday, a similar calendar for Wednesday as well. As we are going to be watching. Again, a very busy couple of weeks in Raleigh, not only dealing with the state budget, but veto overrides and constitutional amendments for voters to deal with coming up later on this year in November when they vote in the midterm elections.
We'll be keeping you up to date with all of the details, all of the information right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour and over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. Also, a good opportunity to follow the Carolina Journal on all of our social media channels. We are on Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube. You can follow us on all of those platforms. You can also get all of those links over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com.
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Good Monday morning to you. Kicking off the month of June here across North Carolina government, we are expecting a busy couple of weeks out of the North Carolina General Assembly as they continue through their legislative short session. Lawmakers hope to be out before the July the 4th holiday. The big news that we've been tracking over the last couple of weeks deals with a budget framework, which has been agreed to between the North Carolina House and Senate. We continue to get reaction across state government to do that this morning.
Teresa Opeca, CarolinaJournal.com, joins us on the news hour. Teresa, it looks like Governor Josh Stein, who has been very critical of lawmakers in Raleigh and their inability to come together on a budget deal, what does he have to say about this framework that was proposed just a couple of weeks ago? Sure, good morning, Nick. Thanks for having me. Yeah, he said it's a really good first step.
He's really behind what they've come up with so far. But of course, he would like more. He said the actual budget, he'd like to see the actual budget rather go further when it comes to compensating public servants who do the people's business.
Now, he talked about this at a press conference last week. And he said, well, the proposed increases for law enforcement and teachers in the budget framework, again, is a step in the right direction. You know, right now the state's at 49th for trooper pay, correctional officer pay, 46th for teacher pay. With the increases, he says, you know, that might bring the numbers up to maybe 42nd, but a lot more needs to be done. He said, yep, there's letting the people know that there is this progress, letting them.
letting them know that we value them, he told reporters. But basically, the pay increase for state employees in the framework over a two-year period of time was 3%. Inflation probably is around 5%. State employees are paying a higher amount on the state health plan than they were two years ago.
So he said on a real basis, or asking state employees to do the same work for less money. You know, Teresa, this has been a major topic of discussion. You talked about some of the rankings, 46 there, 42 there, whatever the number may be. And I think many in state government have argued that this is a gradual increase because when we've talked about this budget framework and we saw this announcement from the North Carolina General Assembly just a couple of weeks back, we're talking about some substantial increases for state employees, whether it's teachers, state highway patrol, or other government employees. Right.
We're looking like at correctional officers at 15%. I believe the teacher says 8%.
So it's a big step up from, say, 2%, 3%. If you're lucky, in some places, you don't get raises at all, right, from whatever job that you're in.
So it has been a substantial increase. But You know, the governor said they need a lot more, more needs to be done. He also talked about, like, in another part of that press conference about correctional officers, the proposed 15%, which he said is right on par what he asked for, but also everybody in the corrections system should get the same raise, not just corrections officers.
So, well, he agrees with everything. He said it's a good first start. He would like to see more. Teresa, before we get into some additional details on this, you've been following the executive branch very closely here in North Carolina. From what you listened to with the governor, if lawmakers move forward, and we expect that they will sometime in the next couple of weeks, with this final budget deal, do you get the mindset that as of right now he would be in favor of adopting this General Assembly budget and actually sign it into law based on what you've heard from him?
It's a good question. I I think he would. I think he probably would, but he would probably add, you know, this is great, but I really think you should be adding this, that, or the other to it. I think he would not just say, yep, this is wonderful. I'm going to sign it.
It's great. The greatest budget ever, right? No. But I think he would, based on what I've heard from him and so far what I've seen, as you say, covering the executive branch, I think he would, but I think he would also add an addendum and add some comments to it as well. Yeah, and that's been kind of the million-dollar question as we continue to wait.
And it's been a long waiting game, Teresa, to get to this point where we're talking about a full budget. You had the opportunity to speak with Joseph Harris. He's a fiscal policy analyst over at the John Locke Foundation. He's joined us many times here on the Carolina Journal News Out. What were his reaction to the governor's most recent comments about the budget and pay increases and stuff like that?
Sure.
So he said, I think, no, the governor's right, and the public employees deserve competitive compensation, of course. But those priorities, he said, must be balanced against the state's long-term fiscal health. He said the budget framework does appear to strike a reasonable compromise and include significant raises, as we mentioned, for teachers, law enforcement officers, and correctional officers, while recognizing that the size and timing of future tax cuts and spending. commitments also matter and that balance can help protect the state's fiscal position while continuing the pro-growth policies that have helped to make North Carolina an attractive place to live, work, and invest. And of course, also during that press conference, you know, Governor Stein called the revenue amendments, future tax cuts, things about, you know, zeroing out the corporate tax cuts, lowering the personal income tax fiscally irresponsible and it's only going to hurt critical public services.
So, you know, that's basically what we're looking at. From Joe Harris's comments and kind of balancing things out there. And also, again, Governor Stein coming back about those constitutional amendments that are going to be on the ballot this coming November. Yeah, you joined us late last week, and we talked about some of the governor's comments on that as he and Democrats across the state of North Carolina staying pretty consistent with that point. Teresa, again, this has been a very lengthy process.
It would appear, at least as of right now, at least from some of the folks that I've spoken to, that we are in the home stretch of this process. And as you noted many a times when we talked during the long session last year and over the last couple of months, North Carolina remains the only state in the nation that did not move forward with a full budget in the fiscal year 25-26. Yeah, that's correct. That's the dubious distinction that North Carolina has. They never passed a budget last year because they fell back to the biennium budget, which other states, if they some states, you know, they don't have a budget, then the things get stalled out and people don't get paid.
And but with the biennium, they could fall back to where they currently are. But basically, it means it's like two and a half years that people have not gotten a raise or things have stayed stagnant.
So you can agree with Governor Stein's point in that respect. But yes, that we. Everybody's been waiting for quite a while for a new budget in North Carolina, that is for sure. And one of the individuals we've heard from pretty consistently is Secretary of State Elaine Marshall. You've covered her comments as well, as her office just swarmed with new business applications.
She wants the ability to, I presume, size up, scale up some of the scope of her office and get more folks on the job.
So I would imagine that many groups within the state of North Carolina in the executive branch, whether it's state auditor or secretary of state, will very much be looking forward to this new budget deal. Oh, yes. And she's mentioned many a time at Council of State meetings: this is not a partisan issue. It's on both sides of the aisle because it doesn't matter. It's an agency issue that her agency has got all these businesses coming in.
You know, North Carolina, number one state for business, got all these people coming in here and also creating new businesses, maybe small businesses. And her staff has not changed and needs more staff members, and the pay hasn't increased either.
So you're dealing with a shortage in staff and shortage in pay. And again, that is not a political issue. That's just an agency issue, which she has pointed out.
So, yeah, many, many people across the board, including Secretary Marshall, would be happy with getting a budget in place with some increases for staff and for spending. We are expecting a very busy month of June in North Carolina government. We'll keep you up to date on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. We appreciate the update this morning. Teresa Opeka joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
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WBTM Nick Craig. Good Monday morning to you. We start off with a pretty interesting and exciting story here to round out our Monday morning program. A Gastonia canine officer was inducted into the Order of the Longleaf Pine last week by Democratic Governor Josh Stein for his service to the community. Sergeant David Roland received the prestigious honor for many of his heroic actions alongside his canine officer Bo, including helping find a teenager with special needs who wandered away from home during a massive snowstorm this past winter.
A little backstory on that: the teen wasn't wearing any warm clothing, and the family had no way to find him after first responders established a perimeter. And Bo got his scent and tracked the boy down before, fortunately, any harm came to him. Last month, the TAG team successfully tracked two criminal suspects who ran from police on a stolen motorcycle, finding one of them in a ceiling of one of the local hospital radiology departments. In 2024, the duo received national recognition for saving a child from a kidnapping. At that time, a seven-year-old boy was abducted at knife point by someone experiencing a mental health breakdown.
The team was able to track the child scent for nearly seven miles for more than four hours and finally found him unharmed inside of a shed. Governor Josh Stein said during the presentation last week: These are just a few of the dozens of cases where Sergeant Rowland's leadership and Bo's awareness have saved lives and brought people justice and made Gastonia safer and stronger for their dedication. The order of the Longleaf Pine was created back in 1964 to recognize North Carolinians for their extraordinary service to the state. With the governor saying, in part, the Order of the Longleaf Pine is an award reserved for those who've made significant contributions to the state and our communities through exemplary service and exceptional accomplishments. Since 1963, the award has been reserved for North Carolina's best, and you, my friend, referring to the officer and his canine partner, are among them.
Folks who are inducted into the Order of the Longleaf Pine are often just regular people dedicated to serving our state and their communities. And you are a shining representation of what makes North Carolina so special. We are grateful for your heroic service. Officer Roland thanked the governor for the recognition and the pair's service to the community, saying, Thank you for recognizing Bo's incredible accomplishments here today. From Rest.
Rescuing kidnapped children to tracking down dangerous shooting suspects and robbery suspects. To finding lost children and elderly people with all kinds of ailments, Officer Rowland continued. Bo every day continues to amaze me with his insane abilities to find people. It is an honor to be on the other end of this leash to him, serving the citizens of Gastonia and our local communities to reach out to us to partner with us. Strong partnerships are a big thing at Gastonia, and we pride ourselves in our ability to work with all the top agencies and community members.
Officer Bo, the canine officer here, also won Top Dog Award in the 2024 American Humane Hero Dog Awards. He received that again back in 2024. As the Order of the Longleaf Pine does remain a very prestigious award here in the state of North Carolina, we've got some great pictures from this press conference last week, including the two individuals in here, Sergeant David Rowland and Canine Officer Bo, those details over this morning. On our website, CarolinaJournal.com. We are expecting a busy couple of weeks out of the North Carolina General Assembly, looking at the latest from the General Assembly's calendar this morning.
Lawmakers are expected to be back in Raleigh starting tomorrow to kick off what could be voting days every single week for the remainder of the month of June. There is a lot that remains on the legislative agenda for lawmakers. One of the things that we have talked about in great detail over the past couple of weeks remains the lack of a North Carolina state budget. Lawmakers, back on May the 12th, the leaders of the North Carolina House and Senate, a speaker Destin Hall, President Pro Tem Phil Berger, announcing that an agreement has been made and that they will be working through the process on a full budget moving forward. We are expecting that to come into a much more clear identity here in the next couple of weeks.
Out all of those additional details as a litany of House and Senate committees are scheduled to meet over the next couple of weeks to hash out exactly what spending will look like, what will be in the state budget, and from all of our sources within the North Carolina General Assembly. We are expecting a final vote on that budget in the month of June. Also, there continues to be multiple veto overrides that remain on the House calendar. We'll be keeping an eye on that, plus additional constitutional amendments in which lawmakers will be passing the buck on to you and I, the voters here in North Carolina, to determine a variety of issues.
So, a very busy month of June. We will have extensive coverage of everything happening in Raleigh, everything in the North Carolina General Assembly as lawmakers wrap out the legislative short session here in 2026 over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, and of course, right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. That's going to do it for a Monday edition. WB BT News is next, followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM WBT.
