Helene

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein has asked state legislators to double their spending to date on Hurricane Helene recovery and approve it now. The new Democratic governor unveiled his nearly $1.1 billion request Monday. He’s seeking bipartisan support from the Republican-controlled General Assembly. The proposals in part would provide grants to struggling businesses, help repair and rebuild homes, clean up farm debris and replace revenues spent or lost by local governments. Stein says waiting too long would cause more business closings, housing construction delays and students falling behind. This package could bring an early test for how the Democratic governor and GOP legislative leaders work together.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina governments are receiving over $1.65 billion in federal block grant money to help address historic levels of damage caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. Officials say the money is from Community Development Block Grant funds contained in a bill approved by Congress last month. Most of the grant money will go to North Carolina state government, with the remainder to the city of Asheville. Gov. Josh Stein and the head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development held a public event Tuesday in Asheville to discuss the funds.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is allocating more than $100 billion in emergency aid to address extensive damage caused by hurricane and other disasters. The money is in a bill passed early Saturday by Congress after this week’s scramble to find consensus on a government spending bill. The money is being provided after back-to-back hurricanes slammed into the Southeast. But the funding will go to much more than just Helene and Milton recovery. There’s also disaster assistance for farmers, money for damaged roads and highways and money for block grants administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

LYONS, Ga. (AP) — Farmers in Georgia are still reeling more than two months after Hurricane Helene blew away cotton, destroyed ripened squash and cucumbers and uprooted pecan trees and timber. Agribusinesses in other Southern states saw costly damage as well. The University of Georgia estimates the September storm inflicted $5.5 billion in direct losses and indirect costs in Georgia alone. In rural Toombs County, Chris Hopkins just finished harvesting his ravaged cotton crop and figures he lost half of it, costing him about $430,000. Poultry grower Jeffrey Pridgen in Georgia’s Coffee County had four of his 12 chicken houses destroyed and others badly damaged. Farmers say more government disaster assistance is needed.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — American farmers and small business owners are among those who will suffer if Congress cannot agree on a new spending bill after President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan that included more than $100 billion in disaster aid. The money is urgently needed after Hurricanes Helene and Milton slammed the southeastern United States one after the other this fall. In North Carolina, small business owner Jessie Dean is still waiting for a U.S. Small Business Administration loan after her building was completely destroyed three months ago. She says she is determined to build back, but she speaks to friends every day who are weighing whether they can go on.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders have unveiled legislation that will keep the federal government funded through March 14 and provide more than $100 billion in emergency aid to help states and local communities recover from Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters. The stopgap measure will prevent a partial government shutdown set to begin after midnight Friday. It kicks final decisions on this budget year’s spending levels to a new Republican-led Congress and President-elect Donald Trump. Passage of the measure is one of the final must-pass bills that lawmakers will consider this week before adjourning for the holidays and making way for the next Congress.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Truist Financial Corporation has announced that it is making hundreds of millions of dollars in loans available to residents, businesses and local governments affected by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. The Charlotte-based bank said in a news release Wednesday that it will lend more than $650 million and offer more in grants and investments over three years. The company’s initiative comes as state legislators have approved hundreds of millions of dollars in Helene aid, while the governor’s office says more is needed. The Truist initiative includes $340 million in lending for small businesses, home mortgages and commercial real estate. It will offer another $310 million in low-cost, tax-exempt loans to municipalities for infrastructure.

NEWLAND, N.C. (AP) — The White House’s Christmas tree is slated to be cut and transported from a North Carolina farm on Wednesday. Cartner’s Christmas Tree Farm is located in Avery County, North Carolina. It was one of the hardest-hit counties from Hurricane Helene just a few months before. The farm experienced some road damage and lost between 5,000 to 6,000 smaller trees in a mudslide. But one of the owners, Sam Cartner Jr., says that other Christmas tree farmers had it much worse than his family’s farm. He hopes the White House tree can be an inspiring symbol for western North Carolina.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s state government is diverting $100 million to spend on loans to farmers and cleanup after Hurricane Helene. The Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission voted unanimously Friday to spend the money. It had been set aside for construction projects or paying off existing debt. Of the money, $75 million will be used to provide disaster relief loans to farmers and associated businesses in the agricultural industry. The other $25 million will be spent to clean up timber losses and other debris. A state agency that lends money to farmers will begin working on a plan to spend the $100 million on Monday.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina state legislators have approved over $600 million more toward Hurricane Helene recovery and relief. The Republican-dominated General Assembly held a one-day session Thursday to consider additional funding and legislation. Four weeks ago, Helene tore across the Southeast and wreaked havoc in western North Carolina. Lawmakers had approved a $273 million package earlier this month. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has calculated overall storm damages and needs at over $53 billion and is requesting $3.9 billion in state funds. Republican leaders said they would consider Cooper’s proposal in the weeks ahead. The legislature also enacted another measure to direct two storm-affected counties to open more early-voting sites.