Paul Woolverton
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Reporter for CityView — news for Fayetteville NC — part of The Assembly’s North Carolina news network.
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Articles by Paul Woolverton
N.C. Elections Board Rejects Early Voting in Spring Lake
Overview: • Cumberland County Republicans preferred seven sites, while Democrats wanted eight locations, including Spring Lake. • The Republicans said too few voters use the Spring Lake location to make it worth the cost to operate it. • ‘Our residents deserved better than what they got today,’ said Spring Lake Mayor Kia Anthony. Cumberland County will have seven early voting locations ahead of the November 3 election, the N.C. State Board of Elections decided on Thursday.
Lawsuit Accuses Cumberland County of Illegally Awarding Contract for Crown Sound System
Overview: • There were two rounds of bidding. Draughon Brothers had the lowest bid in the first round. • But the county commissioners threw out all the bids, adjusted the requirements, and sought new bids. • On the second round, Draughon Brothers had the second-lowest bid.
Fayetteville PWC Raising Electric Rates for Second Time This Year
Overview: • PWC annually sets a new Power Supply Adjustment surcharge based on how much Duke Energy Progress charged it for wholesale electricity over the previous year. • This year, cold weather and other factors pushed up Duke’s prices dramatically. Now the retail customers have to pay. • Want to comment on the increase? Attend a public hearing on the price increase on August 26, or submit written comments by August 21.
Fayetteville Punts Data Center Regulations to Late October
Overview: • An overflow crowd went to Monday’s City Council meeting for a public hearing on the city’s proposed data center rules. • Several data center critics were told to leave for disrupting the meeting. • Councilmember Deno Hondros said the council should visit data centers that have negatively impacted communities.
Amid efforts to fire her, County elections director retires
The embattled Cumberland County elections director abruptly retired Aug. 1, four months after the three Republicans on the five-member county Board of Elections tried to have her fired, and 11 days after the three, plus a Democrat, sought her dismissal a second time. “This was not an easy decision to make but one I feel was forced to make,” Angie Amaro said in a letter she sent to the board. Her retirement notice also took aim at elections board Chair Linda Devore.
Fayetteville Holds Public Hearing for Data Center Regulations on Monday
Overview: • Members of the Fayetteville City Council visited big data centers in Virginia in late July. • The city’s regulations would allow data centers in industrial areas, and ban them from residential areas. • Cumberland County commissioners are holding community meetings to get residents’ input on a county data center ordinance.
Cumberland County Sheriff Johnathan Morgan to Retire December 1
Sheriff Johnathan Morgan hand-delivered letters to the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on Monday to formally notify the board that he is retiring—effective December 1 when a new sheriff will take office. Morgan started his law enforcement career with the Fayetteville Police Department in 1997 and joined the Sheriff’s Office in 1998.
Grabbed and Shaken: Lawsuit Alleges Hostile Workplace at Fayetteville Police
Overview • One said a co-worker grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her during an argument. • They say they were punished for carrying out the police chief’s decision when trying to help a poorly performing employee improve. • The city has until August 10 to file its response to the lawsuit. Three women with civilian jobs at the Fayetteville Police Department sued the city in June, asserting that the police chief and other managers treated them unfairly. They listed a litany of alleged wrongs.
City, County Move Forward on Combining 911 Call Centers
A new task force to establish how Fayetteville and Cumberland County will merge their 911 systems made several decisions on Tuesday as to how that might happen. The city-county 911 Consolidation Taskforce met for the first time on Tuesday following a tense summer between the City Council and county Board of Commissioners on whether and how they would combine their 911 centers into a single operation for efficiency and to save taxpayer money.
Cumberland Elections Director Retires Amid Ongoing Effort to Fire Her
Overview • In April, the three Republican members of the Cumberland County Board of Elections petitioned the state to fire Elections Director Angie Amaro. They did this without the knowledge of the two Democratic board members. • In July, board members filed a new petition. One of the Democrats joined the Republicans in calling for Amaro’s dismissal. • Amaro announced her retirement on July 31. “I found myself working in an environment where I no longer felt trusted,” she said.
Cumberland County OK’s Schools Construction and Maintenance Funding
The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners this month locked in most of its previous promises to spend hundreds of millions of dollars for new buildings and upgrades of the county’s public school campuses and Fayetteville Technical Community College. The board voted unanimously on July 20 to provide up to $510 million to the Cumberland County Board of Education for a new E.E. Smith High School, a new J.W. Coon Elementary, and for maintenance, repairs, and improvements.
Fayetteville Wooing Ukrainian Drone Company to Build Factory, Headquarters
Overview: • The company’s name is being kept secret. Its code name is "Project Odesa." • It is considering Fayetteville and locations in Nevada and Oklahoma. • Its drone aircraft would gather data and images, link radios, and create airborne Wi-Fi networks, among other tasks. A Ukrainian drone company is considering whether to move its U.S. headquarters to Fayetteville and build its first American factory here.
To Be a Town or Not to Be a Town? In Gray’s Creek, That Is the Question
Overview: • Robb Twaddell spearheaded an effort to get the state legislature to incorporate Gray’s Creek into a town. • A large number of residents, leary of government control and taxes, strongly rejected his idea. • But some residents said Twaddell has the right idea—make sure there is local control over local development. Efforts by a Gray’s Creek chiropractor to form a town in the southern Cumberland County community ran into doubts and hostility during a community meeting he held last week.
State Awards $37.9 Million in Loans for Water, Sewer Projects in Cumberland
North Carolina is sending $37.9 million in loans to public utilities in Cumberland County to improve drinking water and sewer infrastructure, Gov. Josh Stein announced on Thursday. The loans are for Spring Lake, the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, and the Aqua North Carolina water company. They are part of $244 million in grants and loans being distributed to 45 projects statewide to help communities, Stein’s office said in a news release.
4 Candidates File to Run for Cumberland County Board of Education
Overview: • Two school board seats are open—one following the death of Chair Judy Musgrave, and the other because Greg West isn’t running for reelection.. • The candidates so far: Bradley Williams, Broxie P. Pone, Bryan Moore, and Tom Hatch. • This story will be updated during the filing period, which ends August 7. Three seats are up for election this year on the Cumberland County Board of Education—and with no incumbent seeking two of the positions, candidates have begun to step up.
Cumberland County Boosts New Budget to $666.5 Million Without Raising Taxes
Overview: • Proposed cuts to Department of Social Services prompts emotional debate. • Commissioners rejected proposals to cut Public Health Department’s barbershop healthy conversations program and Connected Care health and well-being program. • County employees are getting raises and bonuses; the Sheriff’s Office has a new salary structure designed to help recruit and retain deputies.
Fayetteville, Cumberland County Reach Compromise to Merge 911 Centers
A joint city-county agency would govern a combined Fayetteville-Cumberland County 911 system, but the county would be in charge of its administration, according to a resolution that the county Board of Commissioners and the Fayetteville City Council approved on Wednesday. The wording of their joint resolution suggests that the daily management could change, as it describes Cumberland County as the “initial local government unit” to run the merged emergency service.
City, County get extension to sort out merging 911 systems
State Sen. Tom McInnis granted Fayetteville and Cumberland County nine more days to reach an agreement on how they will combine their two 911 call centers into a single operation. McInnis, a Republican who represents Moore and Cumberland counties, extended his deadline to 11:59 p.m. on July 8, the county said. His previous deadline was 5 p.m. on June 29. If McInnis’ deadline isn’t met, he plans to renew his attempt to pass a law to force the merger, he told CityView.
Data Center Opponents Rally Outside Fayetteville City Hall
About 20 people rallied in front of Fayetteville City Hall on Wednesday, demanding the N.C. General Assembly ban data centers and urging people to sign a petition calling for the ban. The participants included Fayetteville City Councilmember Shaun McMillan. Organizers said similar events were happening in Raleigh, Charlotte, and Asheville.
Fayetteville City Council Tours Data Centers Without Telling the Public
Overview: • The tour visited Advanced Internet Technologies in Fayetteville, and two facilities in Research Triangle Park. • Councilmembers are researching data centers as they consider whether to temporarily halt their construction and what sort of regulations to impose on them. Six members of the Fayetteville City Council toured three data centers on Tuesday as they consider an ordinance to regulate the controversial computing facilities or impose a moratorium on them.
City, County Get 9-Day Extension to Sort Out Merging 911 Systems
State Sen. Tom McInnis granted Fayetteville and Cumberland County nine more days to reach an agreement on how they will combine their two 911 call centers into a single operation. McInnis, a Republican who represents Moore and Cumberland counties, extended his deadline to 11:59 p.m. on July 8, the county said. His previous deadline was 5 p.m. on Monday. If McInnis’ deadline isn’t met, he plans to renew his attempt to pass a law to force the merger, he told CityView on Wednesday.
Fayetteville, Cumberland County Pass Resolutions on Merging 911 Services, But Remain Divided
Under the gun from a state lawmaker who wants a resolution to a years-long conflict over how to merge separate city and county 911 call centers into one operation, the Fayetteville City Council and the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on Thursday and Friday approved proposed joint resolutions to advance their plans. But the resolutions differ in several ways. Significantly, the county’s version says the county would run the joint 911 center, a move the city has opposed.
State Board Rejects Complaint Against Cumberland Board of Elections Chair
The N.C. State Board of Elections on Wednesday dismissed a Cumberland County elections employee’s complaint that accused the county’s elections board Chair, Linda Devore, of breaking state election laws and failure to competently discharge her duties. Linda Devore, the Republican chair of the Cumberland County Board of Elections. The board’s three Republicans voted to dismiss the complaint, while its two Democrats voted against dismissal.
State Senator Pushing Fayetteville, Cumberland County to Merge Their 911 Systems
Overview: • The city was caught off guard by a proposed law to force the merger in the county’s favor. • The law is on hold while the city and county negotiate. • Sen. McInnis wants it done by 5 p.m. Monday. Under pressure from state Sen. Tom McInnis, Fayetteville city council members and Cumberland County commissioners have been meeting this week to negotiate how the two governments could merge their 911 call centers.
Cumberland County Elections Chair Faces Third Complaint in 13 Months
Overview: • The employee’s complaint comes as the county elections director is on leave while she waits to find out if she will be fired. • An N.C. Board of Elections hearing on the complaint is scheduled for Wednesday. An employee of the Cumberland County Board of Elections has filed a complaint against Board of Elections Chair Linda Devore, accusing her of breaking the law by interfering with the office’s operations, coercion, and questioning him about a private family health matter.
Cumberland Settles Lawsuit with Crown Event Center Architect for $650,000
Cumberland County agreed to pay $650,000 to the EwingCole architectural firm to settle a billing dispute over the defunct Crown Event Center project in downtown Fayetteville. EwingCole’s federal lawsuit said the county owed $1.32 million plus accruing interest for services rendered. The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners voted 7-0 on Monday to approve the settlement. There was no public discussion.
Cumberland County Enacts 6-Month Data Center Moratorium
Overview: • The moratorium applies to unincorporated areas of Cumberland County. • It expires December 15. • Despite this moratorium, one or more data centers are looking inside the Fayetteville city limit—out of reach of the county’s ban. A moratorium on data center projects is in place for the unincorporated areas of Cumberland County through December 15, after the Board of Commissioners voted 7-0 for the moratorium on Monday.
Cumberland Commissioners to Vote Monday on Data Center Moratorium
Cumberland County is on track to impose a six-month moratorium on construction of data centers on Monday, a temporary ban that would run until December 15. The Board of Commissioners voted 5-1 on Thursday to put the proposed moratorium on the agenda of its Monday meeting. If approved, the moratorium would start immediately. When the ban expires, commissioners intend to have in place regulations on how data centers can be built in unincorporated areas of the county.
Cumberland County Again Considers Temporary Ban on Data Centers
Cumberland County leaders will again on Thursday consider imposing a moratorium on the construction of data centers. They meet at 3 p.m. in the County Courthouse. This comes as the City of Fayetteville moves closer to enacting regulations that would set the conditions under which data centers may be built within the city—and out of reach of any county moratorium.
Fayetteville’s Youth Curfew Ended in May. It Could Return as Soon as June 22
Overview: • The curfew ran for a year, and expired on May 27. • Some councilmembers question whether the curfew helps keep youth safe, or whether it criminalizes them. • Two more council votes are needed to put the curfew back on the books. The Fayetteville City Council gave preliminary approval to reinstating the city’s controversial youth curfew, which expired on May 27.
PWC Plans to Provide $57.6M in Electric Infrastructure for Titanium Factory
Overview: • Proposed PWC budgets allocate $274.2 million for capital projects, $450.1 million for operations in fiscal year 2027. • Project Aero, the titanium factory to open in 2029 and provide more than 300 high-wage jobs, needs 85 megawatts of power. • PWC is building and upgrading equipment for Project Aero, which will pay part of the cost. • A public hearing on PWC’s budget proposals is June 10.
Cumberland County Proposes $656.5 Million Budget With No Tax Increase
Overview: • The proposed fiscal year 2027 budget is $7.9 million above projected spending for the current budget. • The general fund portion of the proposed budget, covering most public services, is $1.5 million less than projected spending for the current budget. • 76 of the 77 vacant positions to be cut would be eliminated in social services, health departments. • Cumberland County Schools would get $4.5 million less than requested.
Data Center Proposal Emerges as County Holds Hearing on Moratorium
Overview: • Since September, three new data centers have been publicly discussed for Cumberland County. • The latest proposed project would be built in an industrial park and power artificial intelligence services. • The Fayetteville Public Works Commission said the proposed moratorium on data center construction is unnecessary. For the third time since fall, a company has publicly expressed interest in building a new data center in Cumberland County.
Upscale Hotel Development Proposed for Empty Lot Near County Courthouse
Overview: • The hotel is proposed for the former site of the canceled Crown Event Center. • It could be a private project or a public-private partnership. • The proposal comes as another hotel is slated to be built downtown, and as the Fayetteville mayor is seeking to build a convention center downtown.
Fayetteville’s Goodyear Tire Factory to close in 2027
The massive Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. factory on Ramsey Street north of Fayetteville is set to close in 2027, the company said on Tuesday. “After extensive efforts to make the Fayetteville, North Carolina facility competitive, Goodyear is in discussions with the United Steelworkers to close the facility by the end of 2027,” Kylie Ulanski, the senior director of Global Manufacturing & Supply Chain Communications, told CityView by email.
Cumberland County Proposes Data Center Moratorium Ahead of Public Hearing
Overview: • The data center moratorium lists a start date of Monday, but that is subject to change. • A legal ad says it would be a minimum of 60 days, but otherwise, no length or end date is listed in the proposal. The county commissioners will decide. • During the moratorium, county staff would prepare proposed regulations for data centers for when the moratorium ends.
Town Manager Spring Lake Couldn’t Hire Gets $320,000 to Settle Lawsuit
Overview: • The lawsuit said Dale Folwell violated Justine Jones’ civil rights when he stopped Spring Lake from hiring her. • Folwell dinged Jones over a 2016 civil rights lawsuit she filed against a previous employer. It’s illegal to penalize someone for lodging complaints about violations of their rights. • Jones had a turbulent time at her previous town manager job in 2022. The town’s entire police department and two other employees quit shortly after she started.
Fayetteville’s Goodyear Tire Factory to Close in 2027
The massive Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. factory on Ramsey Street north of Fayetteville is set to close in 2027, the company said on Tuesday. “After extensive efforts to make the Fayetteville, North Carolina facility competitive, Goodyear is in discussions with the United Steelworkers to close the facility by the end of 2027,” Kylie Ulanski, senior director of Global Manufacturing & Supply Chain Communications for the Ohio-based company, told CityView by email.
Cumberland Commissioners Pick Contractors to Rehab Crown Arena, Theatre
Overview: • T.A. Loving said the project will cost $100 million, but county commissioners say no price has been set. • The plan is to modernize the facilities, which opened in 1968 as the Cumberland County Memorial Auditorium and Exhibit Hall. • A completion date is to be determined. • In June 2025, commissioners canceled a project to replace the Crown Theatre and Arena with a 3,000-seat Crown Event Center in downtown Fayetteville.
Cumberland County Approves Design for $17 Million Unhoused Support Center
Overview: • The board approved the shelter and service center’s overall footprint and floorplan. • The shelter is to house men, women, and families with children. • The county has considered whether to build the shelter near a day center that Fayetteville has for homeless people off South Eastern Boulevard and Person Street. The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on Monday selected a design for a shelter and services center for homeless people that they plan to open by the end of 2027.
Cumberland Wants State to Make Chemours Fix Filters, Pay for Public Water
Overview: • County commissioners say Chemours was told by North Carolina environmental regulators in 2020 to produce a new corrective action plan, but none has been turned in. • Residents say bacteria is growing in PFAS filters provided by Chemours since the company isn’t properly maintaining the systems. • Chemours says residents with problem filters should contact the company. • Chemours is supposed to cover costs for connecting homes to public water. It says it will do this.
Cumberland Elections Director on Paid Leave as Republicans Pursue Her Firing
Overview: • More than 20 people went to a Board of Elections meeting room on Thursday. Most were there to protest the pending firing of the elections director. • Democrats and activists said the effort by the board’s Republican majority to fire Amaro is politically motivated, designed to bias elections in favor of Republicans. Cumberland County Elections Director Angie Amaro on May 5, 2021.
Errant Animals Caused 222 Power Outages for Fayetteville PWC Customers in 2025
Except when there was a “major event” that broadly damaged or affected the electrical grid, that get power from the Fayetteville Public Works Commission rarely experienced an outage in 2025, the utility’s board learned Wednesday. “The majority of our customers didn’t even have an outage last year,” said Marc Tunstall, the PWC’s electric systems chief operating officer. Tunstall presented an annual electrical system reliability and resilience update to PWC commissioners.
Cumberland County Elections Director Targeted for Termination
Overview: • The three Republicans won’t say publicly why they want to fire Elections Director Angie Amaro. • The two Democrats on the elections board oppose the effort to fire her. • Amaro has worked for the county elections office since 2002 and has been the director since 2022. The Republican majority on the Cumberland County Board of Elections is seeking to fire county Elections Director Angie Amaro. The reasons are secret. Amaro on Monday declined to comment on the effort.
Cumberland Commissioners Schedule Hearing on Data Center Moratorium
The potential of a moratorium on data center construction in Cumberland County increased on Monday when the Board of Commissioners voted 6-0, with one absent, to hold a public hearing on the idea on May 18. A vote on a moratorium could take place sometime after the hearing. In the meantime, commissioners want to consider what the text of a moratorium ordinance should say, and review similar ordinances enacted in other communities.
Complaint Dismissed Against Cumberland County Elections Board Chair
The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted 3-2 along political party lines on Thursday to dismiss a complaint accusing Cumberland elections board Chair Linda Devore of doing her job badly, conflicts of interest, and failing to report an alleged violation of campaign finance law. Longtime elections watchdog Bob Hall filed the complaint against Devore, a Republican, on March 26 and called for her to be removed from office.
Cumberland County Commissioners to Consider Data Center Moratorium
Overview: • A moratorium would block zoning and building permits for data centers. • Residents have sought a ban of up to three years. • Commissioners have not decided on a length. The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on Thursday is scheduled to consider a moratorium on data centers, according to its meeting agenda. A moratorium would stop the issuance of zoning and building permits to data center projects, County Attorney Rick Moorefield said in a memo to the board.
County to Temporarily Reopen Courthouse Parking Lot
Overview: • The lot closed in October 2024 for the Crown Event Center project, taking away 204 spaces. • The Crown Event Center was canceled last year, but the lot remained closed. • Courthouse employees and jurors may start parking there within 30 days. The former parking lot on Gillespie Street in front of the Cumberland County Courthouse in downtown Fayetteville will temporarily reopen for parking within 30 days, Board of Commissioners Chair Kirk deViere said on Monday.
Complaints filed against 2 members of CC Elections Board
A long-time elections watchdog wants the chair of the Cumberland County Board of Elections kicked off the board, asserting in complaints to the State Board of Elections that she has a conflict of interest, did not report an allegedly illegal donation, and performs her job poorly. He further alleged in the complaints that the county board’s secretary made an illegal $25,000 donation to the county Republican Party, and the chair knew about it.
N.C. Woman Charged with Leaking Military Secrets to ‘Fort Bragg Cartel’ Author
Overview: • Williams described a culture of harassment in the Delta Force compound at Fort Bragg. • She also related details of the work she did there to support the special operations soldiers.
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