RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Outgoing North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed legislation on Tuesday that would strip powers from several Democrats elected to statewide office this month, including removing the authority of Cooper’s successor to appoint the state elections board.

These and other provisions, contained in a wide-ranging measure stuffed through the Republican-dominated General Assembly in less than 24 hours during a lame-duck session last week, would weaken Gov.-elect Josh Stein, as well as the next attorney general, schools superintendent and lieutenant governor — offices that are slated to be run by Democrats next year.

While the bill contains additional Hurricane Helene relief provisions, critics say the amount is relatively small and most of the relief funds can’t even be spent until the General Assembly reconvenes next month. And billions of dollars more in aid may be needed in the coming months.

Democrats and their allies considered disaster items thin window-dressing for a series of partisan power grabs by the GOP before its veto-proof majority potentially goes away at year’s end following the certification of the Nov. 5 General Assembly elections, where a few tight races are undergoing recounts.

In his veto statement, Cooper called the bill a “sham” that doesn’t provide the necessary aid to western North Carolina and “merely shuffles money from one fund to another in Raleigh” instead.

“This legislation was titled disaster relief but instead violates the constitution by taking appointments away from the next Governor for the Board of Elections, Utilities Commission and Commander of the NC Highway Patrol, letting political parties choose appellate judges and interfering with the Attorney General’s ability to advocate for lower electric bills for consumers,” Cooper said.

The bill now returns to the General Assembly, where Republicans are expected to start their override attempt in Raleigh next week. They usually need all GOP House members and senators present and unified to be successful.

But that could be challenging, as three House Republicans voted no on the bill this month. All three represent areas damaged by Helene’s historic flooding. One of them said he voted against the measure because it was rushed through the General Assembly.

While Republicans will still control both chambers come January, Stein could become more successful blocking GOP legislation if Democratic lawmakers remain united to uphold vetoes.

The 131-page bill would attempt to alter yet again how the State Board of Elections is appointed, likely leading to a GOP majority on a panel now controlled by Democrats.

The governor currently makes state board appointments, and the governor’s party always holds three of the five seats.

Under the latest bill, starting in May, the state auditor — who will be Republican Dave Boliek — will make appointments elected. The changes likely would mean Republican board control in the near future and filter down to county election boards, too.

Other measures approved by the GOP-controlled legislature since 2016 to change the board’s makeup in the interest of bipartisanship have been blocked by courts, including a 2023 law that would move board appointment authority from the governor to the General Assembly.

The vetoed bill also would move up several post-election deadlines in 2025 after Republican complaints that counties took too long this month to count provisional and absentee ballots, especially in light of an extremely close Supreme Court race. Republicans said the changes will lead to more efficient and quicker vote count releases.

The legislation also would weaken the governor’s authority to fill vacancies on the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court by limiting his choice to candidates offered by the political party of the outgoing justice or judge.

Stein, the current attorney general, will be succeeded by fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson. The bill would limit the attorney general by barring him from taking legal positions contrary to the General Assembly in litigation challenging a law’s validity.

The bill also would prevent the superintendent of public instruction — a post to be held by Democrat Mo Green — from appealing decisions by a state board that reviews charter school applications.

And the legislation would repeal the Energy Policy Council, of which the lieutenant governor has been the chair. Current GOP Gov. Lt. Mark Robinson is giving way to Democrat Rachel Hunt early next year.

The bill did locate an additional $252 million for Helene relief, adding to the over $900 million that lawmakers had already set aside or started spending in previous measures this fall. But most of the money earmarked in the latest bill can’t be spent until the General Assembly acts again. Cooper asked the legislature last month to consider an initial Helene spending request of $3.9 billion.

North Carolina is home to so many cities, many of them more or less college towns originally, that have exploded. Charlotte is the largest, but many others like Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Durham, Greensboro have all seen surges in population. Not surprisingly, this population growth has been accompanied by economic growth, and consequent growth in wealth.

As part of an ongoing series, we’ve been analyzing ever state in the country in terms of what the most expensive ZIP codes are. Here, we’re investigating the most expensive ones in North Carolina. As a coastal state, North Carolina possesses a string of beach towns that command high home prices. But there are less well-known areas of the state that are surprisingly expensive.

Read on to find out the most expensive ZIP codes in North Carolina in 2024, based on the latest data from Zillow’s home value index.

The Most Expensive ZIP Codes in North Carolina

Sourcing data from Zillow’s home value index, as well as the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey, we analyzed thousands of ZIP codes across the U.S. as part of a general survey. The Zillow home value index tracks (as of September 2024) the home values of 720 ZIP codes in North Carolina. As part of our analysis, we took into consideration the latest monthly home values Zillow has — September 2024 — as well as the average of 12 months of median home values from October 2023 to September 2024. Home values have grown immensely across America since the pandemic-induced buying frenzy, but home value appreciation in North Carolina has been particularly robust. In fact, in the third most expensive ZIP code in North Carolina witnessed home values double over the last five years.

Below are the 25 most expensive ZIP codes in North Carolina.

The Top 5 Most Expensive ZIP Codes in North Carolina

The No. 1 most expensive ZIP code in North Carolina is 28480, which is centered on Wrightsville Beach, east of Wilmington. This vacation town is very wealthy. The median household income here is $121,417, with a mean household income of $185,809. Over the last five years, the median home value surged by 73.1%, from $902,573 in September 2019 to over $1.562 million in September 2024.

The second most expensive ZIP code in North Carolina is 28207. This is an affluent part of Charlotte. The median household income is really high, at $217,656. But the average household income is $389,928, which is easily one of the highest incomes in the state. The home value appreciation here has been substantial, though not as great as in the No. 1 most expensive ZIP code. From a median of $960,099 in September 2019, the median home value rose by 55%, reaching $1.487.7 million by the end of September 2024.

The third most expensive ZIP code in North Carolina is far away from the beach as well as from major metro areas like Charlotte. ZIP code 28717 is far in the west of North Carolina, right on the border with South Carolina in the backcountry. Centered on the unincorporated village of Cashiers, ZIP code 28717 is home to a series of beautiful houses. This place has caught fire in recent years, with its median home value growing by 104.6% — doubling from $692,525 in September 2019 to over $1.416 million as of September 2024. This ZIP code’s upstart status can be seen in its incomes: With a median household income of $71,023, residents of ZIP code 28717 earn roughly the national median income, and yet the median home value isn’t far off from $1.5 million.

The No. 4 most expensive ZIP code in North Carolina is 28646, which is centered on Linville, far in the west of North Carolina near the Tennessee border. Like the third most expensive ZIP code, 28646 is another backcountry beauty. Incomes here are very similar to the other backcountry ZIP code 28717, with the median household income in 28646 being $71,538 and the average household income $128,171. Home values, however, are far beyond what those incomes convey. The median home value in ZIP code 28646 was over $1.251 million in September 2024, up 71.1% since September 2019 when it was $731,573.

The fifth most expensive ZIP code in North Carolina — 28741 — is based on the town of Highlands, which is yet another western backcountry place. It’s understandable that these rugged ZIP codes are so expensive because the scenery is superb. This ZIP code saw a massive increase in home values over the last five years. In September 2019, the median home value was $549,672, before rising by over 81%, to reach $995,427 in September 2024. However, like ZIP codes 28717 and 28646, the local incomes here cannot sustain these home prices: The median household income in ZIP code 28741 is $65,606.

They’re feeling a little hot under the collard.

Come-hither cultivators vying for the title of North Carolina’s “sexiest collard farmer” are wilting with disappointment because they got down and dirty entering steamy pictures — only to be told they should have put some dressing on that salad.

“I’m a little disappointed that this year they did not post my picture,” said farmer and defending champion Lee Berry, referring to the contest organizer’s Facebook page.

Berry, 54, submitted a photo of himself wearing what he thought any true sex symbol of collard greenery should wear – nothing but collard greens themselves – and was sure he would clinch the crown again.

But the competition’s organizer – who holds voting for the contest on his Facebook page, “The State You’re In” – said he feared Berry’s photo might get flagged by Facebook’s censors and bring the entire contest crashing down.

“You don’t want to lose your account for posting nudity or things like that,” said the organizer, who asked to remain unnamed, to the Telegraph.

“There’s three photos that I didn’t even want to post on social media,” he added.

Though Berry’s photo remains in the running, rather than being featured at the top of the page along with more than 20 other competitors he was asked to post his photo in the comments below the vote.

Since the winner is determined by the photo that get the most “likes,” Berry thinks his chances of reclaiming the crown are seriously limited by his photo’s reduced exposure.

“I’m not whining and b—hing and griping, but I just, I would have loved to have known beforehand that that wasn’t going to be displayed,” he said.

And Berry isn’t the only entrant with a leaf to pick.

David Correll, 50, went all out to take down Berry this year and stripped down for a candle-lit photoshoot in a bathtub full of collard greens.

But his photo was bumped into the comments section, too, over fears it could be flagged by Facebook — leaving him somewhat baffled by the decision.

“My picture showed a lot less skin than a lot of pictures you can find on Facebook, so I’m not really sure why they decided to censor it a little bit, but that’s OK,” he said.

Facebook’s community standards bar sexually explicit or suggestive photos and specifically name “visible  genitalia” or sex acts as being banned — none of which Berry, Correll or anybody in the running submitted.

But the organizer said he didn’t want to run the risk and plans to amend the entry rules for next year’s competition to keep things more deliberately PG.

“I think next year we’re going to make it where it’s a little more family friendly,” he said.

With voting due to close by Tuesday, the current favorite to take home the 2024 crown is Patrick Brown, of Brown Family Farms, whose photo of himself looking cool-eyed into the camera alongside a green bushel has garnered a commanding lead of more than 3,500 votes.

A website — http://www.CollardsOnly.com — has been set up to help organize the competition, which will turn the entrants’ photos into a calendar and raise funds to donate to Hurricane Helene victims.

Even though the crown may elude Berry and Correll this year, both know it’s all about fun at the end of the day.

“It’s all for fun, you know, just for laughs, and I’ve had a lot of phone calls from friends and some of my customers that got a real kick out of it, so that’s the main reason to do it, just to have a little fun,” Correll said.