Lawmakers, state officials clash over Helene projects pace

Lawmakers, state officials clash over Helene projects pace

North Carolina emergency management officials say hundreds of infrastructure repairs are underway nearly 17 months after Hurricane Helene, but Republican lawmakers representing affected western counties are sharply criticizing what they describe as bureaucratic delays and rising costs that they say are slowing recovery. During a recent update at the Feb. 9 GROW NC meeting, Don Campbell, chief of staff for North Carolina Emergency Management, out…