North Carolina

NC Democrats hire Sadjadi as new executive director

Published

9 months ago

November 1, 2023

NC Democrats hire Sadjadi as new executive director

After a nearly year-long job search, the North Carolina Democratic Party has installed the person charged with implementing its elections strategy for 2024 and beyond.

The state party hired Kian Sadjadi to be its new executive director. Sadjadi, 36, most recently worked as a state program director for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. Prior to joining the trade union group earlier this year, Sadjadi worked almost two years as national regional organizing director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

With the DCCC, Sadjadi managed organizing staff for multiple western and midwestern states.

“Focusing on rational battleground districts was a great opportunity to develop really tailored programs that match the district,” Sadjadi said in an interview with WRAL on Wednesday, his first day on the job.

In North Carolina, Sadjadi aims to help the party “focus on the rural communities, communities of color, youth engagement, and really making sure that we’re mobilizing every single voter across the state and making sure that people have the tools and the skill set needed to organize in their own communities.”

In 2021, he worked as an organizing director for Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. In 2019 and 2020, he helped Joe Biden win Nevada as the state party’s Regional Organizing Director.

Executive directors typically oversee daily operations of political party organizations. They are the top staffers and answer to the party’s officers, who are elected by delegates. Sadjadi becomes the first permanent director since December, when Meredith Cuomo left the position to serve an advisory role. She had worked as executive director since 2019.

Cuomo was the first leader to depart during what has been a year-long shake-up in the party organization.

After failing to win any statewide races in North Carolina’s midterm elections, party members in February ousted many of their top officers and elected 25-year-old Anderson Clayton as chair. She beat out incumbent chair Bobbie Richardson, who sought a second term after being elected in 2021 and was endorsed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Kian to Goodwin House,” Clayton said in a statement Wednesday, referencing the party’s headquarters in Raleigh.

“The stakes couldn’t be higher in this next election and I know Kian’s experience as an organizer and his track record of winning competitive districts is exactly what North Carolina needs,” she said.

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North Carolina

North Carolina Zoo celebrates its 50 anniversary

Published

7 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

North Carolina Zoo celebrates its 50 anniversary

ASHEBORO, N.C. (WTVD) — The North Carolina Zoo is celebrating 50 years.

Located in Asheboro, the zoo houses about 1,700 animals and over 250 species primarily from Africa and North America.

On social media, NC Zoo wrote Friday:

“Throughout our history, we’ve been home to a diverse array of remarkable animals, dedicated keepers, and passionate employees who work tirelessly behind the scenes. Join us in honoring this milestone by visiting the Zoo in 2024!”

The Zoo also mentioned the Zoo’s first animals, which were two Galapagos tortoises named Tort and Retort.

The post said in part: “These two tortoises symbolize the early days of the North Carolina Zoo and are cherished deeply in our hearts.”

The North Carolina Zoo is one of two state-supported zoos in the country. The other is the Minnesota Zoo.

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North Carolina

NC has some of the most dangerous roads in the US: See how Wilmington-area counties rank

Published

14 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

NC has some of the most dangerous roads in the US: See how Wilmington-area counties rank

With a recent study revealing North Carolina as one of the states with the riskiest roads to travel, some may wonder how safe the roads are here in the Cape Fear region.

MarketWatch Guides, a site that provides “reviews of consumer products and services to help readers make educated purchasing decisions,” focuses in part on car insurance comparisons, vehicle safety and more.

A recent study by the site analyzed factors including annual miles driven per 100,000 system miles, percentage of rough roads and fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers. States were given a rating out of 10 points, with 10 being the most dangerous.

More: Distracted driving in Wilmington: How big of a problem is it?

North Carolina’s ranking among the most dangerous

According to the study, the states with the most dangerous drivers based on the factors studied are:

Louisiana – 7.55/10

California – 7.21/10

New Mexico – 6.74/10

Hawaii – 6.73/10

Delaware – 6.67/10

New Jersey – 6.53/10

Mississippi – 6.47/10

North Carolina – 6.39/10

Massachusetts – 6.33/10

Maryland and Texas – 6.26/10

According to the study, North Carolina had 32.5 fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers, but only 2.1% of rough roads, which was the lowest percentage out of the other ranked states.

For a more localized perspective, the North Carolina Department of Transportation releases annual traffic crash facts data. The most recent 2022 report includes a ranking of counties based on several factors, including reported crashes, crash severity, crash rates based on population, registered vehicles and estimated vehicle miles traveled.

The most dangerous county for drivers, ranked at No. 1 for the past five years, was Robeson County. The county had 60 fatal crashes in 2022 with 1,136 non-fatal injury crashes. The rest of the total 4,056 crashes were property-damage-only. The county with the best ranking was Hyde County, coming in at No. 100. The county had one fatal crash in 2022 and 10 non-fatal injury crashes. The county had a total of 45 crashes, the rest of which were property damage only.

More: MyReporter: Which intersections see the most red-light camera violations in Wilmington?

Here’s where the Cape Fear region counties ranked.

Brunswick County

Ranked No. 76 in 2022, Brunswick County had 25 fatal crashes and 715 non-fatal injury crashes. The total crashes for that year were 3,146. The remainder of the crashes were property damage only.

New Hanover County

Ranked No. 58, New Hanover had 19 fatal crashes and 1,313 non-fatal injury crashes, both of which went down from 2021. The total crashes in New Hanover were 5,617. The remainder of the crashes were property damage only.

Pender County

Ranked No. 47, Pender County had the worst ranking despite having the lowest number of crashes. The county had 12 fatal crashes and 374 non-fatal injury crashes, and a total of 1,156 crashes. The rest of the crashes were property damage only.

Iris Seaton, USA Today Network, contributed to this report.

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North Carolina

Tropical Storm Debby expected to bring rainfall to Virginia & North Carolina

Published

22 hours ago

August 3, 2024

Press Room

Tropical Storm Debby expected to bring rainfall to Virginia & North Carolina

Tropical Storm Debby already has parts of Florida under tropical storm warnings. The Florida Big Bend is currently under a Hurricane Warning. Debby is forecast to briefly strengthen into a category 1 hurricane as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico where water temperatures are near 90 degrees.

As it continues its path over land it is expected to dial back to tropical storm strength as it reaches the Carolinas mid to late next week. Moderate rainfall is possible for northeast North Carolina and southern Virginia by the end of the week.

Higher amounts of rain are possible for southernmost portions of the Outer Banks but generally models show 2-4 inches for northeast North Carolina and 1-2 inches for southern Virginia through Thursday.

Stay with News 3’s First Warning Weather Team for the latest updates as the storm develops.

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