NewsWorthy for Apr. 24, 2026

From 90.7 WFAE, this is Newsworthy for Friday, April 24th, 2026. A new state audit has found that the state bar's Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program, which provides free legal help to indigent clients, lacked adequate oversight. The program uses interest earned from client funds held by attorneys to fund legal services for the poor. The fund grew significantly from $3 million in 2018 to over $16 million in 2024 due to increased real estate transactions. The state legislature froze payments last summer, questioning whether grants were going to appropriately non-biased organizations. While the audit concluded grants were properly awarded, it noted insufficient monitoring post-award. IOLTA executive director Mary Irvine stated the program is willing to comply with the auditor's recommended monitoring requirements. The freeze is expected to end on June 30th, but it will take several months for funds to be released as the awards process restarts. FEMA has announced nearly $256 million in new funding for Hurricane Helen recovery efforts in North Carolina, supporting 85 projects including debris removal, road repairs, and critical infrastructure rebuilding in the western part of the state. This brings FEMA's total contribution for Helen recovery to over $5 billion, which includes direct aid to more than 160,000 families. Charlotte Democratic Congresswoman Alma Adams was investigated by the House Ethics Committee in 2023 regarding an alleged inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Adams, 79, released a statement Thursday confirming the committee found no violation of House rules or an inappropriate relationship. The committee advised Adams to ensure no staff received preferential treatment and that all staff felt comfortable raising concerns without fear of retaliation. Kathy Basant is stepping down as CEO of the Foundation for the Carolinas after two years. Foundation officials praised her leadership for strengthening the organization's finances. Laura Yates Clark, Foundation President, will now manage daily operations. The foundation oversees over $4 billion in charitable assets. The Charlotte Observer's top two editors, executive editor Raina Cash and managing editor Taylor Batton, are leaving by the end of next week. Their parent company, McClatchy, has been consolidating leadership across its papers, with editors overseeing multiple newsrooms. It is currently unclear who will lead the Observer locally. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education will hold an emergency meeting today to consider modifying its academic calendar due to anticipated teacher absences for a rally in Raleigh on May 1st. Public records show CMS was expecting 1,875 pending teacher absences for May 1st, a 50% increase from last year's total on the same date. The North Carolina Association of Educators is organizing the "Kids Over Corporation" rally to advocate for more school funding from the General Assembly. Other school districts, including Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, Durham Public Schools, and Kannapolis City Schools, have designated May 1st as an optional teacher workday. North Carolina's public school finances face uncertainty due to a lack of a state budget, and the state consistently ranks low in school funding. Some of Charlotte's largest companies have again pooled money for the Charlotte Housing Impact Fund, raising over $100 million for affordable housing preservation. Fund co-founder Erskin Bowles stated this money will enable the purchase of 1,500 more apartments, which will be renovated, have rents reduced, and maintained at affordable rates for at least 20 years. Since 2020, the fund has acquired and renovated nearly 2,000 affordable apartments. Major contributors include Truist, PNC Bank, Bank of America, and Atrium Health. Drought conditions are worsening in North Carolina, with nearly the entire western third of the state, including most of the Charlotte region, now experiencing extreme drought. The rest of the state is under severe or extreme drought classifications. Assistant state climatologist Corey Davis reported that Charlotte is 17 inches below normal rainfall since August. He warned that reversing the drought will take months, and a sudden heavy rainfall could cause flooding rather than alleviate the drought, as the moisture would run off instead of soaking into the ground or replenishing reservoirs. Municipalities in the Charlotte region are requesting voluntary water conservation, with stricter mandatory limits to be implemented if conditions do not improve. The Carolina Panthers selected University of Georgia offensive tackle Monroe Freeling as the 19th overall pick in the NFL draft. Freeling, a 6'7", 315-pound player from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, expressed his eagerness to bring energy to the team. He could have an immediate impact as Panthers left tackle Ikem Ekwonu is recovering from a knee injury. Rounds two and three of the NFL draft are tonight, with the Panthers holding the 51st and 83rd overall picks. A leader in the influential Black Political Caucus (BPC) has expressed disillusionment with the Charlotte City Council for its inaction on stopping the construction of toll lanes on Interstate 77 in South Charlotte. BPC Transportation Committee Chair Rocky McGregor noted that the BPC endorsement is crucial in Charlotte's Democratic primary elections, where half of the voters are African-American, and this issue could significantly impact the 2027 mayoral race. While 10 out of 11 council members have voiced concerns about the project, McGregor stated that only Council member Renee Johnson has taken action. He indicated that this inaction would likely influence 2027 endorsements. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has agreed to delay issuing a request for proposals for the toll lanes until June to gather more public feedback, partly in response to a BPC lawsuit filed in February. The NCDOT will ask potential contractors to minimize impacts on nearby historically black neighborhoods. However, McGregor is also concerned about the overall fairness and effectiveness of toll lanes, questioning the use of 2007 data to justify a project with a 50 to 100-year impact. Groups like the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance support the plan for two toll lanes in each direction from uptown to the South Carolina line, arguing it is the quickest and only guaranteed way to alleviate traffic. Despite the Charlotte City Council holding significant power within the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization, they have been unwilling to push for a longer delay to consider other options. McGregor pointed out that I-77 toll lanes in North Mecklenburg have allowed some to avoid traffic for a fee, but free lanes remain gridlocked, questioning why toll lanes are chosen when they haven't reduced congestion. He contrasted this with the I-85 widening project in Gaston County, which is adding one free lane each way for 10 miles at a cost of $1.5 billion, funded by accessing statewide money three times by breaking the project into segments. The I-77 project, however, plans to access statewide money only once, with tolls covering the rest. McGregor questioned why Charlotte cannot adopt a similar multi-segment funding model. The Charlotte City Council and CRTPO have not considered the Gaston model.