Records show SC officials caught off guard by termination of Panthers facility: Friday, May 27

The Carolina Panthers paused work on its planned $800 million training facility in Rock Hill the day before South Carolina Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey, local leaders and the team's chief operating officer were scheduled to tour the site, newly obtained state records show.

Department of Commerce emails and text messages obtained by WCNC Charlotte through a public records request suggest state economic development officials were blindsided by the Panthers' March 7 decision to bring the project to a standstill. In fact, at the city of Rock Hill's request, Lightsey had planned to spend time at the site on the morning of March 8.

"Lordy Lordy!" Deputy Secretary of Commerce Ashely Teasdel wrote in an email reply on the evening of March 7 about the canceled tour.

Text messages reveal Gov. Henry McMaster spoke with Panthers Owner David Tepper in mid-April, six days before Tepper's GT Real Estate Holdings terminated its agreements with Rock Hill.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/money/south-carolina-commerce-officials-blindsided-carolina-panthers-training-camp-rock-hill-construction-stopped/275-130b0383-8ccf-407e-892d-beb13d6e5642

A new pandemic program offering financial help to homeowners is delivering an average of $13,500 to families in need, but four months in, those dollars are taking longer than expected to arrive.

The NC Homeowner Assistance Fund has approved roughly 1,800 applications since opening the program on Jan. 31, but more than 8,600 applications remained pending as of May 20, according to the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.

The agency, tasked with managing the $273 million federally-funded program, reports an average payment turnaround of 74 days, which is higher than the goal of no more than 56 days.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/money/homeowner-pandemic-program-money-charlotte-nc/275-0f50cc20-eb5e-4384-a835-e8eb5b38b4a2

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