Newly elected Gov. Josh Stein wasted no time addressing some of the state’s biggest challenges after being sworn in on Jan. 1, traveling to Buncombe County today to announce immediate action on Hurricane Helene recovery.

Hurricane Helene victims in Western North Carolina have eagerly been awaiting an expected holiday gift in the form of federal aid since the Sept. 27 storm pounded the region, but after nearly three months of wholly insufficient action in the General Assembly and a last-minute House vote in Washington, the only gift under the Christmas tree this year was pink bunny pajamas. 

According to a press release issued Dec. 9, a merger between Pactiv Evergreen and Charlotte-based Novolex will provide better customer service, increased product innovation and additional distribution capabilities across North America, but what the merger means for Pactiv’s lawsuits, its languishing 185-acre parcel in Canton and the future of the town’s wastewater treatment, isn’t yet clear. 

According to a press release issued Dec. 9, a merger between Pactiv Evergreen and Charlotte-based Novolex will provide better customer service, increased product innovation and additional distribution capabilities across North America, but what the merger means for Pactiv’s lawsuits, its languishing 185-acre parcel in Canton and the future of the town’s wastewater treatment, isn’t yet clear.

The number is $53.6 billion. That’s the estimate from the N.C. Office of State Budget and Management for the damage Helene inflicted on Western North Carolina. Those are just dollars; in the bigger picture, lives have been lost, transformed and forever changed. 

With North Carolina’s Republican-dominated General Assembly still dead-set on refusing to provide meaningful relief for mountain communities hit hard by Hurricane Helene on Sept. 27, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper traveled to Washington, D.C., with a delegation of western leaders, appealing to higher authority for help.

Sounding the Carolina Hurricanes’ ceremonial storm siren is a sort of sacred duty, something to be enjoyed, but also something to take seriously. 

In recognition of the exceptional public service provided by a trio of radio stations during Hurricane Helene — when nearly all other communication infrastructure had failed — the Town of Canton has named them grand marshals for the annual downtown Christmas parade.

With just days remaining before voters go to the polls on Nov. 5, Democratic Vice Presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz returned to speak in a very different Asheville than the one he last saw in mid-September.

Lost in the aftermath of the damage Hurricane Helene dealt to Canton is the fact that when the storm hit on Sept. 27, the town still hadn’t fully recovered from deadly flooding in 2021. But on Oct. 24, Mayor Zeb Smathers and Canton’s governing board approved critical next steps for four projects related to Tropical Storm Fred and critical to the town’s future.