Workforce Pell Grants
Gov. Josh Stein has directed one of his councils to make recommendations for the implementation of Workforce Pell grants in North Carolina, according to a Monday press release from the North Carolina Department of Commerce (NCDOC). “North Carolina is committed to maximizing Workforce Pell to create new opportunities for learners, employers, and, ultimately, our economy,” said Stein in the release. “These funds will open up doors of opportunity for young people seeking training for high-skill, high-wage jobs.”
Stein requested the recommendations from his Council on Workforce and Apprenticeships, which includes representatives from the NCDOC, North Carolina Community College System, the University of North Carolina System, and North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities.
Federal funding for workforce training programs at colleges is set to become available on July 1, 2026, according to the release. These grants allow students eligible for Pell grants to use them for “short-term, high-quality training programs — some as short as eight weeks depending on instructional hours and program design,” according to an August news release from the N.C. Community College System (NCCCS). These programs will be required to count toward academic credit for a certificate or degree program, and align with “high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors,” according to the NCDOC press release.
Pell Grants are the federal government’s primary form of financial aid for college students. The grants have historically been restricted to programs lasting at least 15 weeks and totaling 600 or more clock hours. However, the federal reconciliation bill enacted in July broadened the eligibility to include students enrolled in short-term, career-oriented programs through the new Workforce Pell Grants.
Interstate Improvements
The North Carolina Department of Transportation held two public meetings last week about its plan to rebuild Interstate 77 from uptown to the South Carolina line. The $3.2 billion project will be the biggest public works project Charlotte has seen. The DOT plans to build two express toll lanes in each direction on I-77. Widening the highway will bring it closer to homes and businesses. The tolls on the express lanes would vary depending on the level of congestion in the general-purpose free lanes. The city of Charlotte and the DOT have planned to build express lanes on the highway since 2007. The DOT hopes to award a contract in 2027. Construction could begin in 2030.
Pisgah Mining
To rebuild Interstate 40 through the Pigeon River Gorge, the N.C. Department of Transportation will blast a giant hole in Pisgah National Forest and haul away tons of rock. To help make up for the damage done by the quarry, NCDOT has agreed to take several steps to help the national forest and the wildlife that lives there.
NCDOT will add 1,057 acres to the forest by buying three pieces of property sought by the U.S. Forest Service. It will also create nine new road crossings for wildlife and aquatic organisms and will build a new bridge into the forest to replace a ford that impedes the flow of the Pigeon River and is impassable when it floods. The commitments are spelled out in an agreement signed by NCDOT and the Forest Service in September.
“The purpose of this is really to make the forest whole again after our activities,” said Marissa Cox, who leads the western regional team of NCDOT’s Environmental Policy Unit.
NCDOT and its contractors are rebuilding four miles of the eastbound lanes of I-40 near the Tennessee state line where the flooding Pigeon River washed them away after Hurricane Helene. The state needs an estimated 3 million cubic yards of stone to re-establish the highway roadbed. NCDOT officials say mining the stone from the side of a mountain across the river will save tens of millions of dollars and shorten the construction time by up to three years by keeping trucks off I-40.
NCDOT is often required by law or environmental permits to make up for damage caused by building roads and bridges. But the agreement between the department and the Forest Service calls for additional measures meant to make up for creating a 40-acre quarry in a pristine section of national forest.
Heat Advisory
North Carolina Labor Commissioner Luke Farley announced this week a new advisory body created to strengthen worker protection and address heat stress in the workplace. The state's new Heat Stress Advisory Council includes 14 representatives of different industries like agriculture and construction, who employ people who work outdoors. “The safety of North Carolina’s workers is my top priority,” Farley said in a news release. “This Council will bring together a cross section of experts, employers, and worker representatives to promote best practices.”
The new council includes the following:
- Wendell Powell, State Employees Association of North Carolina
- Rick Armstrong, Teamsters Local 391
- Rep. Ben Moss, R-Moore, Richmond
- Scott Mullins, Professional Fire Fighters & Paramedics of North Carolina
- Summer Lanier, North Carolina Poultry Federation
- Linda Andrews, North Carolina Farm Bureau
- Lee Wicker, North Carolina Growers Association
- Gregg Thompson, North Carolina National Federation of Independent Businesses
- Mark Metzler, North Carolina Nursery & Landscape Association
- Jay Stem, North Carolina Aggregates Association
- Christi Powell, Associated Builders & Contractors
- Tim Minton, North Carolina Homebuilders Association
- Jeffrey Lee, North Carolina Agribusiness Council
- Roy Lindsey, North Carolina Pork Council
In a statement, Commissioner Farley said the council will recommend heat safety standards, review existing laws and evaluate regulations, with the goal of protecting workers from preventable injuries and unsafe conditions.
The North Carolina Growers Association, which is part of the new Heat Stress Advisory Council, is the largest employer in the state — and the country — of seasonal H-2A farmworkers, according to the state Department of Labor. The association helps bring several thousand Mexican workers to help farmers meet the demand of the state's labor-intensive crops.
Noticeably absent from the new advisory council are representatives from ten different environmental and labor rights organizations who organized last year as the NC Heat Stress Coalition. The group delivered a letter to the Department of Labor last December to demand that Farley — then the Republican Labor Commissioner-elect — to prioritize heat safety protections in his term. The coalition includes labor activists, the AFL-CIO, and unions that represent migrant farmworkers and service workers.