Charlotte North Carolina News

MEXICO CITY (AP) – Hurricane Willa grew into a potentially catastrophic Category 5 storm and swept toward Mexico’s Pacific coast with winds of 160 mph (260 kph) Monday, threatening a stretch of high-rise resort hotels, surfing beaches and fishing villages. The hurricane was expected to pass over or near the Islas Marias – a set of islands about 60 miles offshore that include a nature preserve and a federal prison – early Tuesday, then blow…

The Lynx Blue Line light rail and Gold Line streetcar will return to full service Monday, the Charlotte Area Transit System said Sunday. In a tweet, CATS said normal service would return to uptown, South End and between uptown and NoDa. A fallen tree damaged overhead wires that provide electricity and communications to the trains when the remnants of Tropical Storm Michael blew across North Carolina, according an Oct. 16 Observer report. CATS previously had…

FLORENCE, SC (FOX 46 WJZY) – The Richland County Sheriff’s Office says they found nearly 400 shell casings and more than 126 guns at the home of the Florence, SC man accused of shooting seven police officers, killing one.  On Tuesday, Sheriff Leon Lott announced that the scene at the home in the Vintage Place community where 74-year-old Frederick Hopkins ambushed law enforcement officers on Wednesday, Oct. 3, has been fully processed.  The Sheriff said this…

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina legislators are spending $400 million to speed recovery from Hurricane Florence and setting aside another $450 million for upcoming needs, temporarily setting aside the sharp partisanship that’s typified government. Legislators on Monday approved a second emergency spending plan a month after Florence slammed into the state. Lawmakers set aside $50 million to match federal disaster relief funds during a special session last week. The new package includes $95 million…

College students, small business owners, families with young children and rural hospitals and fire departments are just some of those now eligible for hundreds of millions of dollars in state hurricane recovery money. The N.C. General Assembly voted Monday night to approve $850 million in Hurricane Florence relief, including $400 million that can be spent right away and $450 million that state leaders will decide in the coming months how to spend. That’s on top…

It could be a week before full light rail and streetcar service is restored in Charlotte, due to damage caused by Hurricane Michael last Thursday. Meanwhile, the city says at least 50 streets remain completely or partially blocked.  Service on the Lynx Blue Line has been limited since a tree near 12th Street fell on the overhead lines that power the trains. Charlotte Area Transit System says it will continue running buses for at least…

About 34,000 Duke Energy customers, most of them in central North Carolina, are without power Monday morning, four days after Tropical Storm Michael swept across the state. Guilford County, which suffered heavy damage from the storm’s wind and rain, still has 13,000 customers with no power, Duke reported. Rockingham County had 8,000 outages, Caswell County 3,000 and Alamance and Randolph counties about 2,000 each. North Carolina Emergency Management had reported about 500,000 outages statewide on…

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – For a Southern state regularly exposed to major hurricanes, call it a fall election Florence-style. In 2016, North Carolina voters cast their ballots just four weeks after Hurricane Matthew hit with devastating floodwaters. This year, they’re voting about seven weeks after Hurricane Florence. That leaves North Carolina lawmakers quickly changing rules for voter registration, the state elections board struggling to track down storm-displaced voters, and activists complaining more needs to be…

[  ] Hide Caption [  ] Show Caption Pastor Geoffrey Lentz looks out at St Joe Bay from his sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church after it was gutted by the storm surge from Hurricane Michael on October 14, 2018 in Port Saint Joe, Florida (Photo by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images) [  ] Hide Caption [  ] Show Caption Utility workers remove a power pole damaged by Hurricane Michael from the middle of a street on October 14, 2018…

For people severely impacted by Hurricane Florence, voting may be the last thing on their minds. But state and county elections boards are working hard make sure people know their options. Melonie Wray is dealing with a lot of questions from voters like, “What address can I use?” and “Can I vote at certain precincts?” She’s the elections director for Craven County, which has three flooded precincts and a lot of residents who haven’t returned…

Of course the groups you’d expect would be out in full force, like the Red Cross, have been busy helping people devastated by Florence. But many groups are reaching outside places they normally serve. Like the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina in Charlotte. It’s been fundraising and packing food to send to places like Wilmington, New Bern, Fayetteville and Myrtle Beach. By Oct. 3, it already sent  700,000 pounds of food. The food bank’s…

(AP) – At least 11 deaths have been blamed on Michael, the most powerful hurricane to hit the continental U.S. in over 50 years. The sheriff’s office in Gadsden County near Tallahassee says it “can now confirm 4 storm-related fatalities following Hurricane Michael,” all of which happened “in relation to or occurred during the storm.” County officials say they’re not releasing names or other details yet while families are notified.  One of those deaths would…