Clean energy advocates concerned about how federal cuts and freezes could affect clean energy efficiency programs in the CSRA
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – State Senator Harold Jones and local clean energy leaders are speaking out about how those cuts could impact the funding of clean energy programs and what that means for the community.
Programs like the Weatherization Assistance Program and Solar for All help lower utility costs for some Georgia families. They also promote workforce development, home energy savings, and address climate issues. Georgia State Senator Harold Jones is opposed to those cuts. He says they'll raise costs and cut jobs.
'These are not buzz words about clean energy or weatherization,' said State Senator Harold Jones. 'These things actually matter to people. Actually, puts more money in their pockets. Also improves the economy and the environment. All of that is connected to actually having a better society.'
Nicole Lee is a business owner who has seen how weatherization and solar power help low- to moderate-income families save hundreds of dollars in utility costs thanks to these programs.
'Just to see the widespread of ones solar as well as weatherization work in in multiple states and seeing the impact that it helps in LMI communities is astonishing, and so I'm hoping that you know bipartisan funding is able to be passed so that these programs can continue to exist,' said Nicole Lee, Owner of Be Smart Home Solutions.
Paige Brockmeyer is part of the Citizens Climate Lobby in Augusta and wants to encourage people to continue reaching out to state and federal lawmakers and encourage them to vote against cuts to these programs. She says the health of Georgians depends on it.
'The more particulate matter that's in the air from burning fossil fuels, the more respiratory problems we have. So, that's kind of at one level, and at another level, you have events like Hurricane Helene,' said Paige Brockmeyer, Volunteer Group Leader, Citizens Climate Lobby Augusta.
The speakers wanted to bring attention to Georgia's congressional delegation to protect these programs so that only the heat rises this summer and not utility costs.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
It's Georgia Election Day: Here's what's on the ballot around GA
Tuesday, June 17, is Election Day across Central Georgia. While it's not a presidential or midterm election, several local contests are on the ballot and could have a big impact. From Public Service Commission to Mayor to Tax Commissioner, Central Georgia has four elections Tuesday. Here is everything to know. Public Service Commission (PSC) Election Voters across Georgia will help decide who sits on the Public Service Commission (PSC)—the state body that helps regulate utility companies like Georgia Power and influences how much Georgians pay for services. There are two PSC seats up for grabs: District 2 Candidates: Tim Echols (Republican) Lee Muns (Republican) Alicia M. Johnson (Democrat) District 3 Candidates: Fitz Johnson (Republican) Daniel Blackman (Democrat) Peter Hubbard (Democrat) Robert Jones (Democrat) Keisha Sean Waites (Democrat) Centerville Mayor election: Centerville voters will choose someone to finish out the remaining term of former mayor John Harley, who resigned at the end of 2024 after more than a decade in candidates are: J. Michael Evans: Current acting mayor and city council chairman Justin Wright: Longtime city council member New Chairman in Washington County After Horace Daniel stepped down as council chairman, Washington County residents are now choosing his replacement. Two Democratic candidates are in the race: Mel Daniel: Son of the former chairman, with a background in local affairs Doug Watkins: Current District 1 commissioner with seven years of experience Wheeler County Tax Commissioner election Voters in Wheeler County will decide among four candidates for the tax commissioner position: Bradley Davis (Republican) Whitney Griffin (Republican) Curtis Hay (Republican) Marvin Howard (Democrat) To find your polling location, view a sample ballot, or check your voter registration details, visit the Georgia Secretary of State's My Voter Page online. Please note that if you usually vote at Porterfield Baptist Church in Bibb County, be aware that your polling location has moved to Mikado Baptist Church on Houston Road due to a water pipe issue. Vanessa Countryman is the Trending Topics Reporter for the Deep South Connect Team Georgia. Email her at Vcountryman@ This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Election Day in Central Georgia: Local races on the ballot
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Cuts to FEMA's storm prep program hit communities that voted for Trump
A lifelong resident of Louisiana, Wade Evans has learned a lot about floods, including this: the water doesn't care about your politics. The mayor of Central — a community of about 30,000 outside of Baton Rouge — Evans and his family were forced to evacuate their home by boat in 2016 when flooding from torrential rains destroyed 60% of the structures in town. "Flood water doesn't discriminate," said Evans, a Republican and supporter of President Trump. '"Any person that flooded is shocked that it would be considered politics to do flood mitigation." So when he received word in April that FEMA was canceling a grant program that would provide nearly $40 million for a new flood control system in Central, he was angry. In a press release, FEMA said the program, which provided funding for infrastructure projects in storm-prone communities, was "wasteful" and had become "more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans recover from natural disasters." "To me, it's a brilliant business decision," said Evans, who said the drainage project in Central would have saved money in the long run by protecting houses that routinely sustain flood damage FEMA ultimately ends up covering. "And then they pulled the rug out from under us." Evans and Central aren't alone. Amid the avalanche of cuts made in the first five months of the Trump administration, none may have red state politicians more up in arms than the cancellation of the infrastructure program, which is formally known as Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC for short. The $4.6 billion initiative was launched under the first Trump administration, and a CBS News analysis of FEMA data revealed that two-thirds of the counties awarded grants voted for President Trump over former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election. Trump administration officials said they will claw back about $3.6 million that has already been awarded but not yet spent, sending it back to the U.S. Treasury. Projects that are now stalled as a result range from a plan to elevate six buildings on the main street in Pollocksville, North Carolina — population less than 300 — to a $50 million project to prevent flash flooding in New York City. "Under Secretary Noem's leadership, we are ending non-mission critical programs," a FEMA spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News, writing that the BRIC program was "wasteful and ineffective" and "more concerned with climate change" than providing help to Americans affected by storms. "We are committed to ensuring that Americans in crisis can get the help and resources they need," the spokesperson wrote. The data suggests the elimination of the BRIC program will especially deprive vulnerable communities across the Southeast. In Florida, 18 of the 22 counties that stood to benefit from nearly $250 million in grants voted for Mr. Trump. Elsewhere in North Carolina, grants were canceled in areas ravaged by Hurricane Helene last year. Spokespeople for the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and FEMA did not comment on the data findings. The scale of the cuts in ruby-red Louisiana — 34 grants totalling $185 million — prompted the state's Republican senior senator, Bill Cassidy, to publicly condemn the decision to cancel the program. "We passed BRIC into law and provided funds for it," said Cassidy in a speech on the Senate floor in April. "To do anything other than use that money to fund flood mitigation projects is to thwart the will of Congress." Last month, Cassidy joined more than 80 members of Congress in writing a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, begging the administration to reinstate the program and arguing that not doing so "will only make it harder and more expensive for communities to recover from the next storm." In the letter, the bipartisan group of lawmakers cited research that showed every dollar invested in disaster mitigation can save up to $18 in response and recovery expenditures after a storm hits. "It was a thousand-year flood" In August 2016, it started raining in Central and did not stop for days. It rained so much, the town found itself in the center of the fourth-most costly flood event in U.S. history. Twenty-four inches of rain fell over a 48-hour period. Floodwaters cut off all roadway access and communications. "Central is located in a floodplain, so we're used to flooding, we're equipped to handle it, but this was something different," said Evans. "It was a thousand-year flood." Video from the event is staggering. Roads turned to waterways, forcing the entire town to evacuate. President Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence toured the damage when the waters receded. "They were so gracious," said Evans. "I was left with the impression that they had our backs." Evans took a job selling cabinets, not to make money, he said, but because he saw a need. In doing so, he saw the slow pace of recovery firsthand, and his frustration motivated him to get into politics. "Many people didn't have flood insurance, and the despair in their eyes is what got me into politics," said Evans, who was elected to the city council in 2018 and then mayor four years later. "I said somebody's gotta do a better job." While in office, Evans said he has prioritized mitigation, building a new modeling system that can warn residents ahead of time of a major flood event. Yet the opportunity to supercharge Central's recovery — and ward off the next flood disaster — came with the FEMA infrastructure program. Evans enlisted the help of his GOP congressman to help secure a grant. The $39 million in funding was awarded in July 2024 and was going to be used for three new basins that could collect water when, not if, Central flooded again. "Essentially, the center of our city has a flood control problem," said Evans. "This is an area of repetitive flood losses." Earlier this month, Evans traveled to Washington, D.C., where he met with Louisiana lawmakers, including Rep. Steve Scalise and Sen. John Kennedy, to try to get the grant's cancellation reversed. And while he said he found a sympathetic audience, he was told ultimately the decision must come from the White House. "It's time to put the bomb away and pull out the scalpel," said Evans. "Don't blow a program up that's very good. This is a very good program." "We need that support" Officials from five other cities across the Southeast told CBS News they were counting on funds from the BRIC program to avoid a repeat of past storm destruction, including Conway, South Carolina, part of a county President Trump decisively won in 2024. After the city experienced extensive flooding damage from successive hurricanes in 2015, 2016 and 2018, it took small steps to mitigate flooding by demolishing properties in its most flood-prone areas. A major step forward came when Conway was awarded a $2.1 million BRIC grant in 2021 to turn a new greenspace into a stormwater storage facility. "We've plucked all the low-hanging fruit there is for flood resilience," said City Administrator Adam Emrick, who added that Conway didn't have the financial capacity to implement any larger projects without federal help. "The next step is always and has always been bigger construction projects to make us a better, more hardened infrastructure to flooding." The project was split up into two phases — an engineering and planning phase, and a construction phase. But when the Trump administration canceled the BRIC program in April, Conway had only completed 75% of the first phase, and they'd yet to break ground on the facility. According to Emrick, the future of the facility is now in flux, as the city hasn't identified a backup funding source. He said the city plans to move forward and complete the first phase without the federal funding to ensure the project is "shovel ready." That way, in case something changes with grant funding, they'll be ready to work. Following its decision to cancel the BRIC program, FEMA said it would be "reaching out and coordinating" with applicants whose projects were already underway. Yet Conway hasn't received any communication from the agency. "We need that support from the federal government to make these projects happen so that our residents can continue to live in neighborhoods, and they don't have to see this increase of potential storm water being in their homes ever again," said June Wood, a spokesperson for the city. The tiny town of Pollocksville — located in a rural North Carolina county that went heavily for President Trump in 2024 — is also facing uncertainty following the Trump administration's decision to cancel BRIC grants. FEMA had officially awarded the community a $1 million grant in June 2024 to elevate and flood-proof six commercial properties along Main Street that had been damaged by Hurricane Florence in 2018 and left vacant ever since. The administration's decision to eliminate BRIC came four days before Pollocksville officials were scheduled to sign a contract with the construction company they had hired for the work. FEMA had said projects like Pollocksville's that had completed the procurement process and were set to start construction could still receive funding, but Pollocksville Mayor Jay Bender said the town is still waiting to hear from the agency. "All we're trying to do is make our town a better place to live, work and play, and it just hurts when you've made plans and you're doing things the right way and the money or the grant stops," said Bender. Harry Chapin: Songwriter, activist and father How the U.S. Army was born Consumers warned about "gas station heroin"
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
New Asheville, Buncombe homelessness board adopts 1st strategic plan
ASHEVILLE - A new strategic plan will guide the work of the area's Continuum of Care for the next three years, the body responsible for developing and overseeing the community's response to homelessness. Board Chair Melina Arrowood called the plan's June 12 adoption a "critical milestone:" a high-level, long-term strategic vision of "how we're going to actually do the work." There are four main objectives: Decrease unsheltered homelessness. Increase exits from homelessness to permanent housing. Coordinate and expand homelessness prevention, diversion and rapid rehousing. Build housing-focused system capacity. It is the first such plan for the new Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care, which was reestablished following 2023 recommendations by the Washington, D.C.-based National Alliance to End Homelessness. Restructuring was the Alliance's No. 1 recommendation. The process moved the board out from under city and county government and created a formalized membership base. The new board first met in May 2024. It includes representatives from various homeless services organizations, local government, public housing, people with lived experience and shelter providers. In a year, the CoC has grown to 452 members. Of these, 77 have served as elected or appointed board, committee or work group members. 'We've spent the past year building this framework and foundation so that the CoC is ready to take collective action, and the strategic plan maps out what that collective action should be," said Emily Ball, the city's homeless strategy division manager. The city serves as the CoC lead agency. A Continuum of Care is a federal framework that establishes a local planning body responsible for coordinating a system of housing and services for people experiencing homelessness. It is also responsible for overseeing U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding for homelessness and the point in time count, an annual census of the area's unhoused population. It does not provide direct services, like rental assistance or shelter, nor provide direct funding to service providers. In the 10-page plan, every objective is broken into three strategies, each with a series of actions within. Implementation will begin in July. While the strategic plan spans three years, an annual action plan will be developed for each year. 'This isn't something that sits on a shelf and get dusty, it's something that we are constantly working on," Arrowood said. 3 - Final Draft - NC-501 2025-2028 Strategic Plan - May 2025 With Board Assignments by Sarah Honosky on Scribd Of how this work differs from the Alliance's report — which included 30 multiprong recommendations and several short-term priorities — Ball said the plan builds on the recommendations, but allows the CoC to set its own path. She said meaningful progress is being made, with much of the last year spent establishing the foundation. Tropical Storm Helene also created challenges — both in slowing the strategic planning process, and changing the "scale" of homelessness in Asheville and Buncombe County. The January point in time count found that of those experiencing unsheltered homelessness, more than a third said it was due to Helene. 'I think what's really tangibly changed from a year ago is that people are much more informed and … key stakeholders having more open dialogue at a common table than we've ever had before," Ball said. "Now that we have that foundation, we are ready to take more direct action and the strategic plan tells us what that should be." The year's census data released in March, tallied 755 people experiencing homelessness in Asheville and Buncombe County. Of that total, more than half were in shelter or transitional housing, but 328 people were unsheltered — a 50% increase from the year before. It was a slight increase in total numbers, up from 739 the year before, and is the second year since the count used a new methodology that includes an expanded footprint, which the city said resulted in higher numbers than prior years. The more than 700 people found to be experiencing homelessness does not include the 1,548 people in FEMA's Transitional Sheltering Assistance program at the time of the count as a result of Helene, though the total of those two numbers will be reported to HUD. Nationwide, homelessness reached a new record high in 2024, according to an annual federal report by HUD, released Dec. 27. The report found more than 770,000 people across the country were experiencing homelessness on a single night, an 18% increase from 2023. The CoC board meets monthly, alternating virtual and in-person at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in downtown Asheville. The next meeting is July 10, virtually. The membership also typically meets monthly, in person. Learn more: More: Asheville homelessness count results are in. How did Helene impact the numbers? More: LA-based developer has closed on East Asheville's former Ramada Inn property More: Asheville's unsheltered answer: What do you wish our community understood about homelessness? Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@ or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville, Buncombe CoC adopts strategic plan to address homelessness
