Jeff Tiberii

The controversy over Alcoa and its dams on the Yadkin River was back in the news this week. There were two public forums; one about the environment, the other about the company’s request for a water quality permit.  At the heart of this conflict is pollution, questions about control over hydro-electric dams, and the condition of one of the state’s most powerful natural resources, water.

Residents in Stanly County spoke passionately Tuesday night about whether Alcoa should receive a water quality permit from the state. The company, which has been in the area 50 miles Northeast of Charlotte for more than 100 years, owns four hydro-electric dams along the Yadkin River. Alcoa needs a water quality permit from the state before it can seek a 50-year federal license to operate the dams. Local residents are divided on Alcoa. Opponents say the company is not a good steward of the river.

Thousands of employees at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem will be affected by several cost-cutting measures. The hospital is planning to freeze some hiring, reduce retirement contributions and ask employees to voluntarily take furloughs.

Leaders in Greensboro are accepting submissions for a federal grant that will award one million dollars for an innovative plan.  The winning idea is supposed to help the city’s economy by designing a way to improve long-term job prospects.  Organizers admit they’re being purposely vague to see what kind of submissions they get to develop the city.  A panel of about 20 people that will ultimately chose the winning entry, met for the first time on Wednesday.

Some residents in Greensboro are eagerly awaiting the details of a proposed tree ordinance. A city council subcommittee finished the draft for the ordinance this week, but it has not yet been made public.

The new measure comes in response to a dispute between property owners and Duke Energy over the company’s practice of cutting trees.  Nancy Vaughan is an at-large City Council member who helped write the ordinance draft.

"We were able to protect private property as well as public right of way," says  Vaughan.

This fall about 13,000 middle school students in the Guilford County Schools district will receive tablets. It’s part of a $30 million Race to the Top grant that Guilford won last year. Administrators and teachers will receive training from a company called Amplify in the coming months. 

The American Lung Association’s annual State of the Air report is out, and it slots Greensboro as the 42nd most polluted metro area in the county.  The city received an F-rating.

Laura-Kate Bender, who worked on the report, says the news wasn’t all bad.

"Despite getting an ‘F,' the area actually got its lowest overall number of smog days," she says. "So even though it received a failing grade, it’s a significant improvement over last year."

The North Carolina utility company Progress Energy is among the nations leaders in solar production. Last year the utility company produced almost 70 megawatts of new solar generating capacity. The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) says that’s the 8th highest output of all U.S. utility companies.

North Carolina’s drought conditions are better than they were one year ago. Last April, 53 counties were experiencing a moderate drought – the lowest of the four drought categories. This year only eight of the state’s 100 counties are currently receiving that classification.

Robbie Perkins, the first-term mayor of Greensboro, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last Friday in Federal Court. The mayor says his total debt is between $10.6 and $10.8 million. The financial trouble is partly personal and largely professional.  Perkins owes several million dollars to banks for multiple property deals approximately $644,000 on a home mortgage and nearly $200,000 to the IRS.

“The combination of getting divorced and not seeing the ability to dig out of the real estate hole caused me to file for bankruptcy,” Perkins said.