All in Politics

Governor Stein Thanks Secretary Joey Hopkins for His Years of Public Service, Welcomes Daniel Johnson as New Secretary of Transportation

(RALEIGH) Today Governor Stein honored North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins for his decades of service to the State of North Carolina and announced the appointment of Navy veteran and current NCDOT Deputy Secretary and General Counsel Daniel Johnson as secretary. Hopkins will retire as Secretary of Transportation on October 1, and Johnson will take over the role.  

Governor Stein Announces Standing Orders to Increase Access to COVID-19 Vaccines

(RALEIGH) To increase access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for those who so choose, Governor Josh Stein earlier today directed the State Health Director, Dr. Larry Greenblatt, to issue Standing Orders if, in his medical judgment, it advances the public health. Dr. Greenblatt, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) Chief Medical Officer and State Health Director, has now issued Standing Orders that allow seniors 65 years or older and adults over 18 years who meet certain criteria to get a COVID-19 vaccine at a pharmacy without having to get a prescription from a provider. 

Op-Ed: North Carolina's Zen governor

The governor of North Carolina earns an annual salary of a little over $200,000 per year. While it’s only about a fifth or less of what the average partner in a big law firm can expect to bring home and a fiftieth what the football coach at the state’s flagship university rakes in, it’s still good money. In a state where the median household income is around only a third of that amount and millions subsist at or below the poverty line, for most people, getting a job with a 200k salary would feel like winning the lottery.

Governor Stein Announces Executive Order on AI

(RALEIGH) Today Governor Josh Stein announced an Executive Order on artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure North Carolina’s leadership in AI literacy, governance, and deployment. The executive order establishes an AI Leadership Council, an AI Accelerator within the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT), and AI Oversight Teams within each state agency. The council will be chaired by Secretary of Information Technology Teena Piccione and Secretary of Commerce Lee Lilley. 

Renew NC Completes Repairs on First Home for Single-Family Housing Program

(RALEIGH) Renew NC, North Carolina’s long-term disaster recovery effort, today finished making storm-related repairs to the first home approved for assistance through the Renew NC Single-Family Housing Program (SFHP). Renew NC is funded by a federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).