North Carolina
Buttigieg, Cooper break ground on new Raleigh-to-Richmond high speed rail line • NC Newsline
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Gov. Roy Cooper broke ground Monday on a new high-speed rail line that will link Raleigh to Richmond, marking the project’s first phase, which includes constructing a bridge to carry Durant Road over a railroad line.
The $1.3 billion project funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the largest grant ever received by the NC Department of Transportation. It will provide passenger service between downtown Raleigh and Wake Forest by 2030 and is the first leg of a planned high-speed rail connection between Raleigh, Richmond, Virginia, and the Northeast.
“This is the beginning of a new chapter in passenger rail in North Carolina and really one of the biggest projects that we’re supporting anywhere in the country,” Buttigieg told reporters.
The stop marked the first on Buttigieg’s national summer construction tour. He will visit Winston-Salem on Tuesday where he will participate in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Salem Parkway multi-use path. Buttigieg will then return to Durham, which recently received a $12 million federal grant to improve 33 downtown intersections.
Cooper highlighted the role of passenger rail in improving connectivity and reducing carbon emissions during Monday’s ceremony. “It helps reduce carbon emissions and helps us to save our planet as well as providing a great opportunity for people to get from one place to the next in a better way,” said Cooper.
“We know cutting down travel times in that arena is going to make it even better for our economy and make it better for the people in North Carolina,” Cooper said.
The Raleigh-to-Richmond rail project will use the existing S-Line rail corridor, a freight rail corridor currently owned by CSX. Virginia has already acquired its portion of the line, and North Carolina officials are finalizing a deal to purchase the corridor in our state.
In May, the White House announced that it has allocated nearly $454 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to over 56,000 projects around the country since the passage of the $1 trillion bill in 2021.
North Carolina is set to receive $9.4 billion in funding from the law for 512 projects, according to the White House. The funding includes about $633 million for clean water projects, with $175 million going toward replacing toxic lead pipes, according to a fact sheet released by the White House in May.
“North Carolina has done very well in investments from the federal government with this bipartisan infrastructure legislation,” said Cooper. “I’m so grateful that President Biden got this and other major pieces of legislation through that really are generational investments that will help our children and our children’s children.”
The USC Trojans baseball team received an extended stay in Chapel Hill.
But for the wrong reason, as they took the Game 2 loss to North Carolina 4-0, which now forces a third game to decide who moves on to Omaha.
Head coach Andy Stankiewicz raved about the grit of USC during Game 1 between the two teams, especially after erasing the 5-1 deficit to defeat the Tar Heels. But he dropped a much different tone following this loss to UNC.
Andy Stankiewicz Vows USC Will Be Ready for Game 3
Stankiewicz revealed a good thing about the loss, saying “we have tomorrow” and stating how Sundays are “always important.”
All which led to this big statement from Stankiewicz after taking the disappointing loss:
“We’ll be ready. We will bounce back, and we’ll be ready to go tomorrow,” Stankiewicz told reporters after the loss.
This four-run defeat becomes only the second loss for Stankiewicz and USC during these NCAA Baseball Playoffs.
Andy Stankiewicz Praised USC Grit Despite Loss
The coach watched Colin Hynek set the tone for North Carolina in ripping a solo home run against his No. 2 ace pitcher, Grant Govel. Then, later watched Erik Paulsen blast a three-run homer to help swing the game in favor of North Carolina.
Yet Stankiewicz acknowledged this USC versus UNC contest could’ve gotten out of hand quick.
“I thought we did a really good job of minimizing what could have been some big innings,” Stankiewicz said. “I think that’s what we talk about a lot. The fact that we had some traffic (runners on base), but we made some good pitches. We made a good ground ball double play to Kevin [Takeuchi] at third base to first. We pitched well enough to keep ourselves close.”
Still, Stankiewicz saw two of his own mound options surrender a home run. Reliever Sax Matson allowed the three-run Paulsen blast during the sixth inning. He acknowledged the better pitcher was UNC’s Jason DeCaro.
“Again, at the end of the day, it was just al about DeCaro,” Stankiewicz said. “Just couldn’t get to him.”
USC Provides Update on Game 3 Mound Option
Stankiewicz already turned to No. 1 pitcher Mason Edwards to start the Chapel Hill Regional. His No. 2 ace Govel accepted the loss on the hill after allowing five hits, one run and the early homer. Andrew Johnson also saw extensive action, but in Game 1, which USC won.
The latter could rise as the potential starter in the winner-take-all matchup. Stankiewicz addressed that possibility.
“We’re not sure,” the coach began. “But it’ll be everybody. We can’t go too long with too many. But tomorrow is going to be one of those where we get everybody ready to roll.”
That could mean Diego Valzaquez could see time on the hill too, as he’s yet to throw against the Tar Heels. Stankiewicz rolled with six different pitchers in the Game 2 loss, including Sax Matson, Rohan Kasanagottu and Henry Chabot. But sounds like Stankiewicz needs all of his bullpen ready to save USC’s season.
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The North Carolina Tar Heels have had no downtime this offseason, with developments and updates constantly revolving through the doors in Chapel Hill.
Last week, we learned of the Tar Heels’ home and away ACC schedule, and earlier in the offseason, a portion of their non-conference schedule was released. Late Thursday, North Carolina was informed of another non-conference game, and it’s safe to say this will be another test for the program that resides in Chapel Hill.
Opponent Reveal
North Carolina will host Arkansas at the Dean E. Smith Center on Dec. 1 as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. The Razorbacks are one of two SEC teams the Tar Heels will face this season, as they will take on Kentucky on Dec. 19 at Madison Square Garden in the CBS Sports Classic.
Significance of Matchup
Stacking up as many formidable opponents during the non-conference slate is monumental for the Tar Heels, who need to solidify their rotation and chemistry before ACC play begins. Arkansas has reached the Sweet 16 in each of John Calipari’s first two seasons as head coach, and it could orchestrate a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament next season, with one of the best rosters in college basketball.
With Michael Malone entering his first year as North Carolina’s head coach, it is crucial that the team develops cohesion on both ends of the floor. While the Razorbacks have been a Sweet 16 program in each of the last two campaigns, the Tar Heels have failed to advance past the first weekend.
This is an obvious test for North Carolina, as Arkansas’ roster and Calipari’s coaching pedigree should be a matchup Malone and this team should be excited for. The Tar Heels could prove a lot with an impressive outing against one of the elite teams in the SEC.
Polarizing Storyline
In addition to this matchup featuring two of the most prominent programs in college basketball, it will also be a reunion between Calipari and North Carolina’s associate head coach Chuck Martin, who served as an assistant on Calipari’s staff in Arkansas.
Martin’s familiarity with Calipari’s scheme could become a factor in the matchup and provide the Tar Heels with important intel on the Razorbacks. Since Calipari took over as head coach, Arkansas has tended to take time to gel, which could be another pivotal factor in how the game unfolds.
Overall, this is an opportunity for Malone and his players to prove that North Carolina should be taken seriously as a potential contender heading into conference play.
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Firefighters with the Vanceboro Fire Department along with the NC Forest Service responded to a woods fire near the end of Brown Farm Road on Friday evening.
The fire was reported around 5:00 p.m. and crews were able to establish containment lines and stop its spread.
Fire officials said they received assistance from air support that conducted water drops on the fire. Fire crews are out in the woods conducting measurements.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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