AP North Carlina News Briefs for Today
AP-NC-
Woman accused of scamming Fayetteville businesses
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A woman has been accused of extorting money from Fayetteville businesses by posing as a city code enforcement officer.
Police Lt. Todd Joyce says 27-year-old Kanica Shante Oliver was charged Thursday with two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses.
Police say Olive went to various businesses, identifying herself as a city inspector and telling owners and employees they were violating city codes.
Police say Olive told businesses they'd have to pay a $500 fine but could go ahead and give her $250 to "make the problem go away."
Olive's bail has been set at $9,000, and it wasn't known if she had an attorney.
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Families evacuated near NC Superfund site
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Federal officials are urging some evacuations after air tests show toxic levels of a carcinogen in air levels near an Asheville-area Superfund site.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says Friday it encouraged 13 people near the CTS Mills Gap Road site to leave after air vapor tests revealed toxic levels of trichloroethylene.
Samantha Urquhart-Foster of the EPA says the agency will pay for relocations to hotels and temporary housing until nearby polluted springs can be cleaned up. That process could take several weeks.
The CTS Mills Gap Road site was added in 2012 to EPA's National Priority List for cleanup. The plant manufactured industrial switches and resistors for more than 20 years before shutting down in 1986.
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AP-NC--Caretaker Charged/116
NC caretaker charged with defrauding VA
GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) — A Cherryville woman has been charged with defrauding the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs of more than $22,000.
Gaston County Police said Friday 30-year-old Amber Nicole Chapman had been charged with obtaining property by false pretense, computer fraud and forgery.
Police say Chapman is the former caretaker of a VA beneficiary.
From May 2012 to December 2013, officials say Chapman continued to collect and withdraw benefit deposits with a fraudulently obtained debit card after the beneficiary had died. Police say those checks totaled roughly $22,000 in taxpayer money.
Chapman was released on a $10,000 bond, and it wasn't immediately known if she had an attorney.
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AP-NC--
Judge files written order over NC teacher tenure
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A judge's written order echoes his ruling that a new North Carolina law cutting job protections for veteran teachers who now enjoy them is unconstitutional.
Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood filed the written order Friday. His May ruling threw into doubt whether school districts can offer longtime educators contracts that sign away those rights for a $5,000 raise.
The judge said the 2013 law passed by Republican lawmakers violates constitutional rights that protect contracts and prevent governments from taking a person's property.
Since last month's order, the Senate has passed a budget plan offering teachers average raises of 11 percent for teachers willing to give up tenure.
The N.C. Association of Educators brought the lawsuit against the legislation. The group said Friday the new provision "is plainly wrong."
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
