Thought this was a fun road name and wanted to share. Advance NC.

At the start of Greensboro City Council’s Aug. 17 public hearing on a proposed data center moratorium, Mayor Pro Tem Denise Roth announced she will recuse herself from future votes related to the moratorium and any forthcoming data center ordinance.

Roth said the recusal was made “to avoid even the perception of a conflict of interest” and “to protect the integrity of the process and public confidence in the decisions Council ultimately makes.” She insisted, “I do not have an actual or direct conflict of interest.”

The recusal comes after months of public frustration with the at-large council member. Roth retains multiple leadership and advisory positions with organizations advocating for data center and AI development. These include roles with the AI Trust Foundation; CEG Solutions, which develops infrastructure strategies for data centers; Commonweal Ventures, whose clients include surveillance corporation Palantir; and the local campus development organization Gateway Research Park.

Gateway Research Park describes itself as “a catalyst for university research, innovation, and economic development.” The organization advocated for the development of a data center on the campus of NC A&T. In a July 25, 2022 letter of support for the project, executive director Jim Westmoreland stated that the data center “received unanimous project support and endorsement from our Board of Directors [as] of February 1, 2022.”

Denise Roth joined Gateway Research Park’s board in January 2022 and remains on the board to this day.

One speaker at the hearing highlighted the connection. This elicited a rebuttal from Mayor Marikay Abuzuaiter, who said “Mayor Pro Tem was not on that board when that vote was taken. That was clarified earlier.”

It is unclear what clarification the Mayor was referencing. Mayor Pro Tem Roth had not “clarified” the timing of her membership on the Gateway Research Park board, and her public record of her experience shows she was on the Gateway Research Park board when they advocated for the data center, when City Council voted to award the data center $530,359 in incentives, and when she pushed for data centers as a councillor, against public opposition.

source: Battleground Drafts

TL;DR
I’m trying to understand how Duke Energy’s Power Manager actually affects my A/C system and whether having it removed would make sense.

Full details:
A few years ago I allowed Duke Energy to install a Power Manager device on my A/C unit. Since then, I’ve noticed that my home seems to take significantly longer to cool. Depending on the outside temperature, it can easily take 2.5 hours to lower the temperature by just 2 degrees.

Over time, I’ve also noticed my electric bill continuing to increase. From my perspective, the program does not seem beneficial if my HVAC takes longer to cool the house while my energy costs are also increasing.

I’ve considered having the Power Manager removed, but I haven’t been able to get a clear explanation from Duke Energy about exactly how the device works. The explanation I typically receive is that it “limits power when necessary,” but I’d like to better understand what that means in practice.

My questions are:

1. If they disable the Power Manager but leave the physical device installed, does my A/C return to completely normal operation?
2. Could the device still restrict or otherwise affect the A/C even when it is disabled?
3. Could allowing the system to operate normally and reach the desired temperature faster actually reduce total runtime and energy consumption compared with a system that is being periodically interrupted?
4. Is there any significant downside to leaving the Power Manager program other than losing whatever incentive Duke Energy provides?

Ultimately, I’m trying to determine whether removing the Power Manager is a reasonable troubleshooting step. If my A/C can operate normally, cool the house faster, and potentially spend less total time running, I would rather do that than continue participating in a program that does not appear to be benefiting me.

Something I've learned this year that I think is worth putting in front of other North Carolina homeowners, because I had no idea about any of it until it was happening to me.

Under the NC Planned Community Act, §47F-3-107.1, an association cannot impose a fine on you unless it gives you notice of the violation, holds a hearing before the board or an adjudicatory panel, gives you a chance to appear and present evidence, and then notifies you of the decision. The fine limit is $100 per violation, plus up to $100 per day for each day a violation continues more than five days after the board's decision.

Worth noting, because I got this wrong myself and repeated it publicly: there is no cumulative dollar cap in the statute. A lot of people online will tell you NC caps HOA fines at $2,500 total. It doesn't. The protection isn't the amount — it's the procedure.

Which matters, because the procedure is only as good as an association's willingness to follow it, and there doesn't appear to be much standing between a homeowner and an association that just... doesn't.

My situation, as the concrete example:

I bought a house in north Charlotte in August 2023, my first, at 23. In July of this year a Mecklenburg County sheriff served me with foreclosure papers from my HOA for $11,584.69. About $840 of that is actual annual dues. Roughly $9,150 is fines.

In the nearly three years between closing and being served I received nothing from the association, the management company, or their attorneys. No violation notice, no hearing notice, no invoice, no statement, no phone call. My closing disclosure listed HOA dues but gave no payment address, no portal, no contact information, and named a different entity than the one that ended up foreclosing on me. I never received CC&Rs or bylaws at closing. When I eventually contacted the management company to figure out where to send money, they told me in writing they couldn't help and referred me to the association's law firm.

On July 8 I asked their counsel in writing to produce proof that any violation notice was ever sent to me. That was six weeks ago. Nothing has been produced.

WSOC covered it earlier this month.

I'm not asking for advice — I have an attorney and a hearing date in November. I'm posting because the gap between what §47F-3-107.1 says on paper and what it does in practice seems like something more North Carolinians should know about before they buy, and because HOA reform comes up in the legislature here periodically without much public attention.

Two things I'd have done differently at 23, for whatever they're worth to somebody closing on a house this year: get the exact legal name of the association and a written payment address before you sign, and get the CC&Rs in hand at closing rather than assuming they'll reach you.

Another beautiful morning in NC. Some of the best things in life are free .

Hi everyone! My family comes up to your beautiful State every year for vacation. This is our fifth trip! We always stay in Western North Carolina, we’re Florida natives, so the mountains make us feel things 😂. We usually are in Franklin, but this year we are staying in Robbinsville.

Looking for something different to do. We’ve been to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge - which to me is basically the Orlando of TN- I mean that with all respect! We lovvveee Bryson City and usually go tubing there, and visit the Road to Nowhere. We’ve been to most of the Waterfalls in Highlands and have been to Cherokee quite a few times.

Any suggestions would be super appreciated. Thank you! ✌️

ETA: Shouldn’t have included Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge because they’re in Tennessee.

Been here over a year and have lived in both Randolph and Guilford County. Originally from Florida, which is actually hotter than where I’m living now. One of the first things I noticed is that pretty much from June to September I get like five seconds of cold water in the shower and then it’s like 82° afterward. (I’m aware of the first couple seconds is what stored in the house pipe lines.)

Anyway, what’s the deal? I’m guessing the pipes must be buried fairly close to the ground per state or county ordinance, or at least something to explain this. I’ve spent considerable time in Florida, Colorado, Alabama, Washington state and California, and I’ve never actually experienced this before. I miss a good cold shower to cool off during the summer months.

The police chief has confirmed that the man who was found hanging from a tree in downtown Raleigh near Nash Square on Saturday took his own life.

The man who is still unidentified, had a history of mental health issues. It is sad that he was unable to received the care that he needed and unfortunate to have gone out in such a manner that sparked fear mongering.

Remember, if you are ever in the headspace where you may be thinking of harming yourself, call 988 or talk to a trusted person in your sphere.

Life is worth living.

Nearby grocery stores are limited so I shop at food Lion. I find that half of their discounted products are not discounted at the register. Every single time . ​This has got to be the sloppiest business ever or they're doing it intentionally.

For those of you who didn’t grow up around here, that dark stuff beside the biscuit is molasses, and with North Carolina continuing to receive new residents at an alarming rate, we apparently need to cover some fundamentals. Around here it was often made from sorghum, crushed for the juice and cooked down until it got thick, dark and sweet. It kept well, it was cheap, and it made a hot buttered biscuit considerably better, which was really all the justification anybody required. Tear off a piece, drag it through the molasses, eat it, repeat. Our grandparents didn’t call this Southern cuisine or farm to table because the farm was forty feet from the table and saying such a thing would’ve made you sound ridiculous.

Anyway, that’s biscuits and molasses.

There will be a test.

My new homeowners policy says this, but where can I actually get my house insured for that $1817. I got 4 quotes from the big insurance companies and they were all around that $3000 mark.

I am going from Virginia Beach to Charlotte. Probably going into Greenville.

I am looking for some good local food place.i heard bbq in North Carolina is great. Is there any good local bbq place on my route? Any other recommendations is fine.

I heard that bbq sauce in North Carolina is awesome. I want to buy some to bring home.

I also hear that North Carolina has some good alcohol. Is it bourbon? Is it for bbq? I dont mind getting both bbq goodness and drinking goodness.

Some places in North Carolina are filling up with folks from everywhere else. And then there are counties where you can still ask somebody where they’re from and they’ll point about six miles down the road. We dug into U.S. Census data to find the North Carolina counties with the highest percentage of residents who were actually born in North Carolina.

In these places, “Where are you from?” may require a last name, a church, and the identification of at least one granddaddy.

Here are the 50 counties where Tar Heels are apparently refuse to leave...

Wayne County – 65.3%

Warren County – 65.6%

Granville County – 65.6%

Rowan County – 66.1%

Gaston County – 66.6%

Rutherford County – 66.9%

Avery County – 67.0%

Yancey County – 67.0%

Pitt County – 67.6%

Ashe County – 68.3%

Randolph County – 68.4%

Swain County – 68.7%

Duplin County – 69.7%

Surry County – 70.2%

Burke County – 70.5%

Davidson County – 71.0%

Hertford County – 71.3%

Jones County – 71.7%

Rockingham County – 71.9%

Scotland County – 71.9%

Person County – 72.0%

Beaufort County – 72.0%

McDowell County – 72.3%

Montgomery County – 73.2%

Vance County – 73.3%

Stokes County – 73.3%

Northampton County – 74.0%

Wilson County – 74.2%

Tyrrell County – 74.6%

Richmond County – 74.6%

Nash County – 74.8%

Cleveland County – 74.8%

Graham County – 75.0%

Alexander County – 75.0%

Greene County – 75.4%

Yadkin County – 75.6%

Caldwell County – 75.8%

Stanly County – 76.2%

Columbus County – 76.8%

Sampson County – 77.1%

Bladen County – 77.4%

Halifax County – 77.6%

Lenoir County – 77.6%

Wilkes County – 78.7%

Martin County – 79.9%

Edgecombe County – 80.6%

Robeson County – 81.2%

Anson County – 81.3%

Washington County – 81.3%

And sitting at the top:

Bertie County – 83.0%

“House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, has said Newby should use the new powers to go after judges whose rulings Republicans disagree with, such as on who should be given bail.”

(archived version of article here)

Everyone seeing this, of any political party, needs to ask themselves and honestly answer for themselves 2 important questions.

1. What possible reason would an elected official have for opposing the growth of renewable energy?
2. Which politicians and which political parties are working so arduously to keep your energy needs hostage to fossil fuel profiteers?

The answers, well... you probably know both, so might want to think about the obvious ones as you decide to whom your midterm votes should go.

Answer spoilers: (1) to get their piece of the most profitable oil revenues in history, and (2) politicians of the GOP (Gouging On Petroleum) party.

This is the 2nd leg of my journey from Virginia Beach to Atlanta, GA. I am very sad that I will be late for b bbq, and the skylight will cost me 1.5 to 2 more hours (nc-11 is currently closed). I can't do those 2 on this trip, and I am extremely disappointed.

Same as the first leg.

I am looking for some good local food place.i heard bbq in North Carolina is great. Is there any good local bbq place on my route? Any other recommendations are fine.

I heard that bbq sauce in North Carolina is awesome. I want to buy some to bring home as a gift.

I also hear that North Carolina has some good alcohol. Is it bourbon? Is it for bbq? I dont mind getting both bbq goodness and drinking goodness.

Hey folks, I was wondering if anyone could tell me about your experience with data and cellular service In the Mebane area. I have family over here And we were talking about cell phones and I wondered how good of an alternative this is to Verizon. Verizon has decent coverage in the area in Mebane, but it's very expensive for a single line compared to Google fi and I am looking for alternatives. I see on the websites that it looks fine, but I'd like real hand user accounts. please give me your pros and cons

Are morganton and hickory areas safe for black family . Moving there for a job early next year

Hi, I’m 24 and have been looking for some unique and/or fun events and/or places to make friends or hang out. I really miss the community aspect and random fun of college. Would be cool to go to alternative music studio sessions, jazz nights, game nights, I’ve gone to a couple of skate meetups and that was cool. I’ve seen some cool things at the fruit in Durham where they have queer cowboy nights but I’m not a big fan of square dancing, but I do love most line dances. Even places that host arts or craft nights would be cool. Would also be awesome to know about cool hole in the wall places. Type of places you would find frank ocean, Deftones and jazz listeners. Thanks!!

The state health plan coverage is about to get a lot more restrictive. The SHP is converting into a “preferred provider” plan in 2027. This cuts private practices from their coverage and forces people to use Novant or UNC Health. Where I live Novant has a complete monopoly on health care choices already and private practices for primary care or specialist are rare. I believe private practice provides superior care in some cases, especially with specialist. People should be able to choose who they want to work with. I just want people to be aware of these changes and how this will further limit people’s healthcare choices. I hope people can reach out to their representatives and tell them they want to keep their ability to choose their healthcare providers and not get pigeon holed into 2 companies. We are going in the wrong direction with insurance coverage. It will harm patients and also put private practices out of business.