RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Thousands of North Carolinians waiting to receive their driver’s license could get their new cards by the end of the month, the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles announced Thursday.
More than 350,000 physical licenses and identification cards have recently been delayed for up to eight weeks, but the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Wayne Goodwin said during a state House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing that the backlog’s end may be in sight. The department anticipates the backlog to be eliminated before June 30.
People waiting on their new licenses must use a temporary driving certificate, which expires after 60 days. Those who don’t receive their license before the expiration date are advised to call the DMV.
But heated accusations of what caused the significant backlog flared up during the hearing between lawmakers, Goodwin and Lisa Shoemaker, vice president of global corporate relations for IDEMIA, the DMV’s card manufacturer for over 25 years.
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A coding error in February impacted about 2,100 cards, which resulted in the card manufacturer pausing production for less than a week, Goodwin said.
When production started again, the DMV had a 12-day backlog for credentials. Since IDEMIA added a second production facility, the backlog has been significantly reduced, Goodwin said.
But Shoemaker detailed a much different story about the backlog’s origin, saying “the DMV did not act with transparency” throughout the process. The department did not heed IDEMIA’s advice on solutions and did not disclose the root cause of the backlog to the company, she said.
Committee chair Rep. Harry Warren, a Rowan County Republican, said the backlog also impacted people who needed photo IDs to vote in the March 5 primary election.
The department has started transitioning to another manufacturer, CBNSTI in Danville, Virginia. Goodwin said it will not inherit the current backlog.
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As part of the transition, the DMV announced last week that a newer, more secure ID card design will be phased in. Goodwin also said that many improvements have been made at the DMV in recent years, such as filling 250 employee vacancies and adding online appointments to skip wait lines.
Goodwin isn’t a stranger to lawmakers’ DMV concerns, as he was previously grilled by Republican legislators on long wait lines earlier this year. A bill has also been introduced in the state that would make several changes to the DMV — among them, making the DMV commissioner a governor-appointed position subject to approval by the Senate.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Drew Burress became Georgia Tech’s career leader in home runs, Alex Hernandez drove in four runs, and the Yellow Jackets defeated North Carolina 13-6 on Saturday to claim the ACC Baseball Championship for the 10th time.
The top-seeded and third-ranked Yellow Jackets won the tournament for the first time since 2014.
Burress led off the bottom of the third inning with his 58th career home run. The blast to left field set the tone for a five-run inning that also featured Hernandez’s three-run double.
North Carolina got two back in the fourth inning on a two-out single by Rom Kellis V and two more in the fifth on a home run by Owen Hull.
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Things got wild in the sixth inning when North Carolina scored an unearned run in the top half and Georgia Tech added three runs on three wild pitches by Matthew Matthijs in the bottom half, building an 11-6 lead.
Hernandez had three hits, four RBIs and a run scored and Burress had three hits, scored twice and drove in two runs for the Yellow Jackets (48-9). Vahn Lackey had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run.
Hull had two hits, scored twice and drove in three runs for the Tar Heels (45-11-1).
Georgia Tech used six pitchers, with the win going to Caden Gaudette (6-1), who shut down North Carolina’s fifth-inning rally.
North Carolina’s Folger Boaz (3-3) allowed six runs, all earned, in 2 2/3 innings.
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Second-seeded and No. 2 ranked North Carolina has nine ACC tournament championships and was the defending champion.
Up next
The NCAA Tournament field will be announced on Monday. Both teams are tournament regulars, with North Carolina having made 37 previous appearances and Georgia Tech 36.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — If you’ve been “hiss-terically” startled by central North Carolina snakes slithering across sidewalks, curling up near creeks, or making surprise appearances in backyards this week, experts say you’re not imagining things.
Thanks to our months-long drought, snakes are becoming a lot more “viper-active” across the Triangle — outdoors as well as indoors this weekend at the Repticon expo in Raleigh.
Cold-blooded creatures were caught on camera up close and personal as people took pictures of the stars of the show at Repticon.
And for some people and the snakes themselves, it was a little too close for comfort.
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“They’re either going to fight or flight,” snake lover Emily Pantoja said. “So, if you’re too close and they feel threatened, they could strike or they’ll rattle their tail to warn you. But most of the time, snakes are going to give you so many warnings before they strike you.”
Large snake removed from Greensboro car (Hannah Sprague/WGHP)
Rattlers and boas and ball pythons — oh my!
“They are a huge benefit to us,” reptile expert and Repticon vendor Kyle Smith said. “They kill rodents, which takes down the pest population, the flea and tick population.”
And while snakes at the expo are safely confined, experts say many people across central North Carolina are seeing more of the slitherers out in the wild and in neighborhoods — not looking for trouble, but simply trying to survive during the ongoing drought.
A snake that emerged from under the hood of a moving car in North Carolina in 2021.
“Snakes are like you and I, they want a good water source, they kind of migrate out to try to find better water,” said CBS 17 Meteorologist Matthew Huddleston. “Also, their natural prey is attracted to water sources. So, they’re trying to find them, too. So, as things have stayed dry over the past month plus, they have slowly, surely migrated out. But as things get wetter once again, they’ll likely start going back to creeks, rivers, and things like that.”
Wildlife officials say copperheads, rat snakes, king snakes, and water snakes are among the species most commonly spotted in the Triangle this time of year.
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A snake was seen hugging the stonework of the exterior of the McDonald’s in the Heritage area of Wake Forest on a Saturday night in 2016
“We provide captive-bred quality reptiles,” Smith said.
Meanwhile, during Repticon at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds, Memorial Day Weekend, the massive, family-friendly traveling expo brings together show animals, including lizards, amphibians, and just about every reptile imaginable from around the world.
Repticon breeders, educators, and enthusiasts participate in expert seminars and host live encounters with the creatures for visitors to safely interact with them and perhaps even purchase one or more of the exotic pets.
“We do New Caledonian geckos, Australian species of geckos and skinks, ball pythons and hard-nosed snakes,” Smith added.
The event organizers hope Repticon helps people separate snake facts from snake fiction.
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Experts say most snakes in North Carolina are nonvenomous and avoid humans whenever possible.
“So, if you see a snake outside most of the time, just leave it alone. It’s going to go and do its own thing. It doesn’t want to interact with you. It doesn’t want to hurt you. It’s not going to chase you. It’s not going to bite you,” Smith explained. “They want to do their own thing and go the opposite direction of you.”
Still, wildlife officers recommend you watch your step, avoiding tall grass, and never attempting to handle unfamiliar snakes.
Because one wrong move could leave you in very serious condition.
“Usually that’s what happens with copperheads, which is why so many copperhead bites happen,” Pantoja pointed out.
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In North Carolina, it’s illegal to kill, harm, or harass certain snake species that are listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern.
Doing so can result in a class 2 misdemeanor, fines, and jail time.
Repticon continues on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Protected Snakes in NC
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The following snakes are fully protected under state law and cannot be harmed or relocated without an endangered species permit:
Non-Venomous: Southern Hognose Snake, Pine Snake, Carolina Water Snake, Outer Banks Kingsnake, and Smooth Green Snake.
Unprotected Snakes
Any snake species not included on the protected list is largely unprotected. While you can legally kill common non-venomous snakes (like garter or rat snakes) or unprotected venomous snakes (like copperheads) if they pose an imminent threat to human health or safety, wildlife officials strongly advise against it. Most snake bites happen when people attempt to kill or corner the animal.
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — At the corner of East Market Street and Dudley Street in Greensboro, there is a steady stream of activity.
Situated just off North Carolina A&T State University’s campus, it’s one of the busier intersections in the city.
“The intersection is complex,” said Ali Karimoddini, Ph.D.
Living Lab
NC A&T State University researchers testing new ‘smart intersection’ technology (WGHP)
There is a consistent flow of vehicles, buses, scooters, emergency responders and pedestrians moving through the intersection in all different directions, and that makes it an ideal intersection to study.
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As director of NC A&T’s Center for Regional and Rural Connected Communities, Karimoddini oversees the research. It involves students and faculty from multiple departments.
“It’s a living lab, meaning it’s real,” Karimoddini said. “Traffic is going on. We can observe information and see what is going on in real time.”
His team, in cooperation with the City of Greensboro and the North Carolina Department of Transportation, placed three types of technology at the intersection: LiDAR, radar and cameras.
“Each of these technologies provide unique features,” Karimoddini said. “And when we put them together, they provide reliable information about the intersection that can be used for our analysis.”
‘Real Applications’
The research could impact the way both cars and intersections are designed in the future.
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“That information can be used for integration into automated vehicles, so improving the safety on the beacon side,” Karimoddini said. “But also for city planners and police departments and others … They can learn what is the big picture about the intersection, what are the steps that can be done or interventions that can happen to improve the safety.”
That includes prioritizing traffic signals for first responders or extending the crosswalk signal for a pedestrian with a disability.
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“The nice thing about this one is the real-life application. It’s not necessarily inside a lab. It’s real traffic, and it does have real applications,” Karimoddini said. “It’s inspired the students that the problems they are solving are not going to stay in a lab. It’s going to be applied to … real-world problems.”
