Fredericksburg approves budget, tiered utility rates

May 16, 2026

1–2 minutes

Summary

Fredericksburg approved its fiscal 2027 budget with about 8% utility rate increases and a new tiered system for high-volume water, sewer users.

Why this matters

The decision will affect city utility bills starting July 1 and helps pay for major water and wastewater upgrades tied to future growth. Residents can also use the city’s new tracking app to monitor usage and manage costs.

Fredericksburg City Council approved the fiscal 2027 budget on May 12, 2026, including about 8% increases in water and sewer rates effective July 1 and a new two-tier consumption structure for higher-volume users.

City officials said the changes support more than $110 million in projects. The budget also included a $1 million transfer from Fredericksburg City Public Schools’ operating fund balance to the city’s operating fund. Council addressed the real estate tax rate and other fees during second readings.

Under the new rate structure, Tier 1 reflects the base 8% increase for standard usage volumes. Tier 2 applies higher rates to consumption above a threshold of about 25,000 gallons in the scenarios presented to council.

The city is also rolling out the Eye on Water app for daily and projected weekly usage tracking and leak alerts.

The rate changes will help fund upgrades including the Motts Run Water Treatment Plant expansion and the wastewater treatment plant project. Construction is underway on the joint city-Spotsylvania Motts Run facility, Fredericksburg’s only drinking water source. The project is expected to nearly double capacity from 12 million gallons a day to 24 million by 2027 and add 2 million gallons a day of potable water to the city’s supply, for a total of 7 million. The wastewater project, advanced in 2025, will increase treatment capacity from 4.5 million gallons a day to 6 million.

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South Carolina

Miss South Carolina pageant returns to Columbia

This year marks the 89th year of the Miss South Carolina competition and its 15th year in Columbia.

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The Miss South Carolina and Miss South Carolina’s Teen competitions will return to Township Auditorium in Columbia, with contestants arriving Sunday and preliminary events beginning June 16.

There are 39 contestants in the Miss South Carolina competition and 26 in Miss South Carolina’s Teen.

New this year is a separate panel of judges for the talent competition. “It mirrors the approach taken at Miss America, where talent is evaluated by experts who live and breathe their craft,” the Miss South Carolina Scholarship Organization said on Facebook.

The talent judges are Jeremy Hudson, Eras Tour choreographer; Miki Abraham, Broadway vocalist and actor; Yili Fan, director and screenwriter; Morihiko Nakahara, South Carolina Philharmonic conductor; and Corey Ward, “The Voice” semifinalist.

Judges for the Miss South Carolina competition are Melanie R. Bridgeforth, founder of strategy firm Bridgeforth; Jacob Young, producer and director; Lisa Seagroves Nulph, dancer and Miss West Virginia 1988; Eddie Rabon, storyteller and talent agent; and Lacey Whitt, educator, singer, and Miss Missouri 2008.

Contestants will be judged on a private interview, health and fitness, talent, onstage conversation, and red carpet/evening wear.

The next Miss South Carolina will advance to the Miss America contest, now called Miss America Opportunity, at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach. The final night is Sept. 6.

The reigning Miss America is Cassie Donegan, formerly Miss New York.

Miss South Carolina Teen 2025 is LilyKate Barbare of Greer, who was appointed Sept. 18 after Tess Ferm won Miss America’s Teen 2026. Miss America’s Teen will also be held in West Palm Beach, with the winner to be crowned Sept. 5.
North Carolina

Greenville adopts $530.4M budget, keeps tax rate

The budget kept the property tax rate at 39.54 cents per $100 of assessed value, a rate city officials said remains among the lowest for comparable North Carolina cities.

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Greenville residents will not see an increase in the city’s property tax rate after the City Council unanimously approved a $530.4 million budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year Monday night.

The plan included $194.9 million in city operating funds, $330 million for Greenville Utilities Commission, $2.3 million for the Pitt-Greenville Convention & Visitors Authority, and $3.1 million for Sheppard Memorial Library.

According to city officials, public safety accounted for more than half of the city’s operating spending.

Major investments included funding for 12 additional Fire/Rescue positions at a cost of $750,000, $250,000 for pedestrian safety projects, $450,000 in local funding for Community Development Block Grant and housing initiatives, and $300,000 in new funding for the city’s Affordable Housing Strategic Plan. The budget also included support for more than 50 special events.

The council approved the budget during a public hearing at its regular June 8 meeting.

Council members also approved several transportation, housing, and infrastructure projects. Those actions included agreements with the North Carolina Department of Transportation for the Evans Street Widening Project and the North-South Connector Project, as well as contracts tied to affordable housing initiatives in partnership with Pitt Community College.

The council also approved funding and site development services for two homes on West Fifth Street as part of the city’s 50-in-10 affordable housing initiative, which aims to increase Greenville’s supply of affordable housing units.
North Carolina

Eastern N.C. EMS agencies get funds for addiction care

State health officials said Mobile Integrated Health programs allow EMS personnel to serve as a bridge between emergency response and ongoing health care services, especially in rural communities with limited access to care.

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Several eastern North Carolina emergency medical services agencies were among 39 recipients sharing $10 million in state funding to strengthen the EMS workforce and expand behavioral health and substance use treatment in rural communities.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced the awards Monday through the North Carolina Rural Health Transformation Program. The grants will support Mobile Integrated Health programs, which allow EMS agencies to provide care beyond traditional emergency response.

According to the department, the funding will help agencies provide medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder, conduct follow-up care after overdose incidents, and connect patients with treatment and recovery services.

State health officials said the investment was intended to help EMS agencies address substance use disorders, improve access to care, and support people recovering from opioid overdoses and other behavioral health challenges.

“Every North Carolinian deserves access to safe, affordable, quality health care, no matter where they live,” Gov. Josh Stein said in a statement. “Investing in our EMS workforce and expanding behavioral health services in the rural parts of the state will help North Carolinians get the care they need closer to home.”

According to the department, rural North Carolinians had higher rates of fatal drug overdoses and overdose-related emergency department visits than urban residents in 2021.

“Improving access to care starts with investing in our health care providers, including our frontline EMS workforce,” North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai said in a statement. “By strengthening EMS-led Mobile Integrated Health programs, we can provide timely treatment, support life-saving recovery, and ultimately reduce preventable overdoses.”

The North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services will oversee distribution of the funds as agencies expand local programs and services. State officials said the initiative was intended to improve long-term health outcomes and access to treatment and recovery resources in rural communities across North Carolina.
North Carolina

Amazon-Corning deal to add 1,000 N.C. jobs

The company said it has invested more than $20 billion in the state since 2010.

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Amazon announced a multibillion-dollar agreement with Corning Inc. to supply optical fiber, cable, and connectivity products for Amazon’s expanding data center infrastructure in the United States.

Amazon said the agreement will create 1,000 new jobs at Corning manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and support hundreds of construction jobs tied to facility expansions.

The companies also plan to expand the Fiber Optic Technician Training Program with Catawba Valley Community College, according to Amazon. The program is intended to prepare students for jobs in fiber optic manufacturing and related technical fields through hands-on training and coursework.

Amazon said the agreement is separate from its previously announced plan to invest $10 billion in North Carolina to expand cloud computing infrastructure.

Corning Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President Wendell Weeks said the agreement will expand production and hiring.

“Amazon’s investment will help us expand production, create 1,000 new advanced manufacturing jobs at our facilities, and lead the way toward building a resilient U. S. manufacturing base,” Weeks said.

Amazon said the agreement is intended to strengthen the domestic supply chain, support U.S. manufacturing, and expand fiber infrastructure. The company also said it has provided training to nearly 7,000 people in North Carolina through workforce development, Career Choice, and upskilling programs.
Parris Island lead

South Carolina early voting sets primary record

Early voting began May 26 and ran every weekday through Friday. The first day drew the most voters, with 56,407 ballots cast.

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South Carolina voters cast a record number of early ballots ahead of Tuesday’s statewide primary, according to the State Election Commission.

Nearly 319,000 ballots were cast during the two weeks before the election, more than double the number cast early in the 2024 primary and more than triple the total from two years earlier, after the state enacted no-excuse early voting.

As of last Tuesday, the most recent data available, nearly 64% of early ballots were cast in the Democratic primary. South Carolina voters do not register by party. At the polls, they choose either a Republican or Democratic primary ballot.

Another 11,000 people voted absentee, according to the election commission.

Voters will choose party nominees for governor, other statewide constitutional offices, and seats in Congress and the state Legislature.

Runoffs, if needed, are scheduled for June 23. In South Carolina, if no candidate receives at least 50% plus one vote in a primary, the top two finishers advance to a runoff.

Voters who cast ballots in one party’s primary cannot switch to the other party’s runoff. Those voters must remain with the same party for both elections.

Nominees will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
North Carolina

Kinston woman charged after child found home alone

Police arrested a mother on a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.

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A Kinston woman was charged after police said her 5-year-old child was left home alone for several hours before a family member found him.

The Kinston Police Department said A-Squad officers responded around 9 a.m. June 7 to a home in the 900 block of Savannah Lane after a report of a missing child.

Police said 26-year-old Kennaia Corbin told investigators she left the residence without the child and without arranging for anyone to care for him. She later returned home and found the child was gone, according to police.

During the investigation, officers learned the child called his grandmother at about 3:42 a.m. and told her he was home alone, police said. The grandmother went to the home, found the child unattended, and took custody of him.

The mother was taken to the Lenoir County Jail and held under a secured bond. Police also referred the case to the Department of Social Services.
US

USDA confirms 5 screwworm cases in Texas, New Mexico

Experts had said a widespread outbreak could cause $1.8 billion in economic damage in Texas and heavily affect wildlife.

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U.S. officials confirmed three additional cases of New World screwworm on Tuesday, bringing the total to five since the first domestic infestation in six decades was found in a Texas calf last week.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said the new cases included a calf in La Salle County, Texas, and a goat in Gillespie County, Texas.

The agency also said a case reported earlier Tuesday in a dog in Andrews County, Texas, would be reclassified as the first case detected in New Mexico. The veterinarian who reported the case is in Texas, but the dog lives in Lea County, New Mexico, near the Texas border, the agency said.

New World screwworm can infest warm-blooded animals, including livestock, pets, wildlife, and, in rare cases, people. Its larvae burrow into living tissue, causing wounds and economic losses.

Texas ranchers had been preparing for the pest to enter the United States as it moved north through Mexico.

“This situation is evolving, and we expect new information to emerge as our investigation continues,” Dudley Hoskins, the USDA under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs, said in a statement.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a Monday news conference in Kerrville, Texas, that the agency would soon announce recipients of awards from a $100 million fund for screwworm technologies announced last year.

Rollins, who appeared with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, said she would travel Thursday to Zavala County, Texas, where the first screwworm case was identified.

“We now know what the enemy looks like,” she said, standing in front of posters that read “War On Screwworm.”

Reuters reported last year that hundreds of veterinarians, support staff, and lab workers had left the USDA’s animal health division after the Trump administration pushed for resignations, reducing the number of specialists available to respond to animal disease outbreaks.

Rollins said those departures were not affecting the current response.

“There has been zero impact to this mission area, specifically to the screwworm, based on that reduction in force,” she said.

Local residents and ranchers in Texas remained divided over the USDA response, with some saying it was too slow or too limited, while some who lived through the last outbreak said the latest cases further reduced their trust in the agency.
lejeune lead

Duke Energy gets $28.4M for N.C. coal plant upgrades

The Energy Department said it is investing $525 million nationwide in coal-related projects, using the Defense Production Act of 1950 to classify the projects as important to national security.

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The Trump administration awarded Duke Energy a $28.4 million grant to upgrade its Roxboro coal plant in Person County, North Carolina.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced last week that the Roxboro plant was among 13 projects selected nationwide. The agency said the funding is intended to support domestic coal mining, baseload power generation, and energy infrastructure.

“This funding supports previously planned critical upgrades that help ensure we can continue delivering reliable power to our North Carolina customers while keeping costs as low as possible,” Kendal Bowman, president of Duke Energy’s utility operations in North Carolina, said in a statement.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to strengthen energy production, transportation, and infrastructure. He said the nation’s “aging and constrained” electric grid posed an “increasing threat” to national defense.

“By investing in both coal generation and critical export infrastructure … the Energy Department is strengthening U.S. energy security, reinforcing strategic supply chains, and advancing American energy dominance,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement.

The grant comes as Person County residents are also contending with construction of a natural gas pipeline and a large data center.

In the General Assembly, the North Carolina House last week passed a bill that would keep Duke Energy tied to fossil fuels until it can replace coal and natural gas with nuclear power to maintain baseload generation.

Democrats raised concerns about the availability and reliability of new nuclear power and said the state should also consider solar, wind, and battery storage.

“Reliable baseload energy generation must stay online,” Rep. Dean Arp, R-Union, said during floor debate. “Critics have offered no other option, only a mandate for an intermediate, intermittent solar and wind, which are not baseload generation.”
Asia

Philippines quake kills 32, triggers tsunami

It was the strongest earthquake to hit the Philippines this year.

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A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the southern Philippines on Monday, killing at least 32 people, injuring more than 200, damaging buildings, and sending tsunami waves into nearby coasts.

The quake was centered at sea off Mindanao at a depth of 33 kilometers (20 miles), about 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province, according to Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

In Sarangani, a landslide in Glan killed 13 villagers, and four others died elsewhere in the province, provincial disaster official Rene Punzalan told DZBB radio. Other deaths were caused by collapsing buildings and falling debris, including in a damaged mosque, in South Cotabato, Davao Occidental, and on Balut Island, according to disaster officials Rod Sosmeña and Ednar Dayanghirang.

At least 12 people remained missing in General Santos, where several mostly low-rise buildings collapsed or were heavily damaged. Search teams looked for possible survivors in a supermarket, a warehouse, a grade school, and other buildings, officials said. The city’s airport temporarily closed, and 17 domestic flights were canceled, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

In Malita, Davao Occidental, more than 100 students and about a dozen teachers were gathered for a flag-raising ceremony when the quake struck.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the tsunami threat largely passed about five hours after the quake, and Philippine officials lifted the warning by midafternoon. Waves of 1 meter (3 feet) were recorded in Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani, and a 1.4-meter (4.6-foot) wave hit Kiamba town, Bacolcol said. Smaller waves were also measured in Indonesia, Palau, southern Japan, and Malaysia’s Sabah state.

The United States said it was coordinating with Manila and was ready to support response efforts.
Europe

Russian strikes kill 4, wound 10 in Kharkiv region

According to the UN, at least 15,850 civilians have been killed in Ukrainian-controlled areas since February 2022. More than 2,800 civilians have died in Russian-controlled areas.

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Russian strikes killed four people and wounded 10 others in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region early Tuesday, regional officials said.

Kharkiv regional Gov. Oleg Synegubov said on Telegram that Russian forces struck the city of Chuguiv, killing four people, including a 22-year-old woman.

“The enemy has hit the city of Chuguiv,” Synegubov wrote. “The strikes caused fires and damaged at least 18 vehicles; windows were blown out and building facades damaged in residential multi-storey buildings,” he said.

Mayor Igor Terekhov said 10 people were wounded in the city of Kharkiv.