By Andrew Rice
In local news, AppalCart unveiled their first electric bus to their 28 bus fleet on Wednesday. According to The Appalachian, the bus has been funded through the North Carolina Volkswagen Settlement Grant awarded well over a million dollars for the bus and charging station. The grant was made on behalf of the U.S. environmental agency, This is the newest step in the university’s initiative to decarbonize the “transportation center” as part of the town of Boone’s plan to be carbon free by 2050. The bus will service the red route and drivers will be trained in the beginning of October.
In state news, the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's office announced that they would no longer be pulling driver’s over for minor traffic violations on Monday. According to WRAL, driving with a revoked license, having a tail light out and inspection violations are all examples of minor violations that will not provide grounds for pulling over. The sheriff’s office said this will be in an effort to address racial inequality in the county. Activists like those in Action NC are applauding the sheriff’s office since deputies often use minor violations to profile Black and Hispanic residents.
In national news, Kim Kardashian has agreed to pay $1.26 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to NPR, the star unlawfully advertised the benefits she received from a certain crypto currency company on her Instagram account. The amount charged includes the $250,000 she was paid for the advertisement with interest. According to investigators, Kardashian’s post included instructions for potential investors to purchase tokens. Kardashian did not admit or deny the SEC’s findings but agreed to not promote any crypto asset securities for three years.