Poverty-stricken folks are being bled dry by vampire power companies in NC | Opinion

An electric substation in south Durham, North Carolina. Duke Energy has around 2,100 substations across the state.

As a senior citizen with limited income, I keep my home thermostat between 60 and 70 degrees in the winter. I wear a heavy housecoat, warm boots and a wool hat to keep energy bills low. In the summer the thermostat is 80 all day.

The Piedmont Gas and Duke Energy bill is taking away a significant portion of my income. These companies suck the blood out of people with less than survival income, and share their profits with shareholders and give high salaries to executives plus bonuses.

The system is turning out to be like vampires with big fangs digging into the pockets of poverty-stricken folks, hard working people with families. What freedoms in democracy can we use to bring economic justice? How about living wages that pay the rent, food, utilities, medical care, childcare? Let your voices be heard folks.

Quanta Dawn-Light, Charlotte

Gaston homeless

I commend Observer reporter Briah Lumpkins for the Jan. 14 article “Gaston County’s only homeless shelter closed last fall. Without it out ‘where do they go?” As a member of Wheels of Blessings, a community organization providing for the immediate needs of the unhoused in Gaston County, the situation is indeed one in which the county government has essentially relegated responsibility to community organizations and churches.

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Wheels of Blessings, along with the other similar groups, realize that handing out food and clothing is a Band-aid. Political and local governmental will is also needed to create real change.

The article quotes Dwayne Burks, a leading advocate for the unhoused in Gaston County, who said that rectifying the situation is a matter of partnership between government and community organizations, not an either acting alone.

Mary Ellen Weir, Belmont

Griffin’s not fit

I appreciated the Jan. 13 opinion piece by Michael Crowell and Marshall Hurley. I thought they articulated the absurdity of Jefferson Griffin’s challenge to his election loss. Recounts showed that he legitimately lost the race to Allison Riggs by 734 votes.

Griffin’s challenge to 60,000 votes, only in his race on a long and complicated ballot, shows not only that he is not Supreme Court Justice material, but that he is manifestly unfit to practice law. His intransigence to concede jeopardizes the state Supreme Court’s legitimacy.

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I can only hope that the current Republicans on the bench take their responsibilities to the public interest seriously.

Leigh Coulter, India Trail

DMV

I wish the Observer would investigate the NCDMV as to why it is almost impossible to get a driver’s license renewed. They do not have near enough locations. You need to try to get an appointment months in advance, and that still might require you to travel miles away from your home. I have never had this much trouble in any other state where I have lived.

Dick Meyer, Charlotte

US needs

If and when peace comes to the Gaza Strip, the United States should not spend a single dollar to help in the rebuilding of the area! The United States need to focus on and financially support the devastated areas of Hurricane Helene and the fires of California.

Ed Carlson, Charlotte

Deny Birkdale Village

The pending rezoning application for Birkdale Village is nothing new and should be rejected out-of-hand for the same reason it was rejected in 2023. In 2023, when this plan was first proposed, the Huntersville planning board, the planning department and the town commissioners all denied the rezoning application because it did not conform to the 2040 plan.

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This current application is essentially identical to the 2023 application, but is actually worse since it now takes over a parking lot for a hotel. The 2040 plan remains unchanged. All of the current commissioners were elected after endorsing the 2040 plan. Denying the current rezoning application should be an easy decision.

Merlin Villar, Huntersville