(The Center Square) – Six state temporary housing units are occupied as western North Carolina continues to get on its feet from Hurricane Helene, the state auditor’s office says.

Two are in McDowell County, and there is one each in Ashe, Avery, Haywood and Watauga counties.

The 29th week of recovery began over the weekend. State leaders and congressional representatives are continuing to request funding from Washington and Raleigh for what is arguably the state’s worst natural disaster.

The storm, which came ashore in Florida on Sept. 26, dissipated over the mountains of three states and left 107 dead and an estimated $60 billion damage in the Tarheel State. Monday marked 200 days since the hurricane, according to the auditor’s dashboard.

The analysis says 6,930 households “indicated a housing need and were determined to be eligible for housing assistance.” This is the number of total housed (2,727), seeking assistance (503) and not utilizing assistance households (3,700).

The number housed represents eligible for FEMA rental assistance or FEMA transitional sheltering assistance. Seeking assistance means these households are in need but not marked eligible for rental or transitional specifically; the households may be utilizing another form of shelter, the report says.

The number not utilizing assistance means the households are eligible for rental or transitional and chose not to use it.

Buncombe County, where Asheville is the county seat, was among the hardest hit regions. Nearly one-third (870) of the report’s 2,727 total housed is from the county. There are 727 of those on rental assistance, and the remaining 143 utilizing hotels. The county’s seeking assistance number, as of Saturday, is 131.

(The Center Square) – This week’s economic calendar is chock-full of key reports and influential Fed speeches that could reshape our outlook amid persistent uncertainty.

Recent Q1 data have already cast a long shadow over the economy, and all eyes will now be on retail sales, housing indicators, and official commentary as we step into a new stretch of choppy waters.

Retail Sales: A Rebound With Caveats

Retail sales are expected to have rebounded in March as consumers rush to spend when they anticipate rising prices in the future. Yet while spending on essential goods may pick up, discretionary categories are on the decline. This pullback is driven by growing concerns that real incomes will fall – consumers are expecting their future purchasing power to erode.

Wage growth is also under pressure as business investment falters and the labor market remains frozen. Additionally, the recent stock market dive in April will sap wealth, and for every dollar of lost market value, consumer spending typically drops by 2–5 cents, setting the stage for further weakness in next month’s report.

The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model now estimates Q1 2025 real GDP growth at -2.4%, suggesting a lingering risk that the economy is stalling.

Housing Market: Uncertainty and Opportunity

Get ready for plenty of housing data in the coming week. Homebuilder confidence remains weak due to tariff uncertainty and sluggish consumer sentiment. Housing starts are likely to fall. Despite these headwinds, housing affordability is improving, and home sales could still outpace last year’s figures – especially when you consider that the unemployment rate remains low and mortgage rates remain around 40 basis points lower than they were a year ago.

Remember, while the U.S. has weathered 14 recessions since the Great Depression, real home prices have only dropped significantly four times. Most downturns see flat prices or slowed appreciation rather than outright declines, underscoring the housing market’s resilience.

Fed Speeches and Policy Uncertainty

On the policy front, Fed Presidents Patrick Harker, Beth Hammack, Raphael Bostic, and Mary Daly are slated to speak this week, adding their voices to a growing chorus of caution amid escalating uncertainty. Economic research underscores that heightened policy uncertainty can reduce business investment by 2–3 percentage points and slow GDP growth by 0.5–1% over the following year. Tightening financial conditions could push the Fed to act as early as the June meeting – sooner than previously anticipated – to support a weakening US economy.

(The Center Square) – Long a volatile discussion topic, proposed legislation involving K-12 school calendars is back to the Judiciary Committee of the North Carolina Senate when it convenes this week.

School Calendar Flexibility: A New Alternative, known also as Senate Bill 754, puts two options before local school boards and adds compliance penalties for any of the 115 districts statewide that may break the law. The law no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26 for starting and finishing no later than the Friday closest to June 11 will remain as one of the options.

The alternative is starting no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 19 and ending no later than the Friday before the last Monday in May, otherwise known as Memorial Day weekend.

North Carolina has about 1.5 million school children and 90,000 educators. Spending on education was the largest share of the last state budget at $17.9 billion for 2024-25, and $17.3 billion for 2023-24 of the $60.7 billion two-year plan.

School calendar dates for most of the state’s history have been linked to agriculture, the No. 1 industry. Agriculture and agribusiness remain the top economic impact at $111.1 billion annually, but its workforce and the logistics of planting and harvesting have evolved while tourism has grown to a $35 billion juggernaut.

The latter often involves not only students working summer jobs but 10-month educators.

“Finding compromises like this isn’t always easy, but this bill is the culmination of good-faith efforts from stakeholders and legislators,” Sen. Amy Galey, R-Alamance, said in a release. “With the evolution of the school choice landscape, as well as North Carolina becoming the fifth most popular state for travel and tourism, it’s time to update and adapt our school calendar law.”

Civil penalty for breaking the law would be up to $10,000 against the local school board. Enforcement will lie with the State Board of Education through notifications from the superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction.

“This balances the desire of some school districts to start the school year earlier while still supporting our local businesses dependent on summer tourism,” said Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, the president pro tempore of the chamber. “We must take the appropriate steps to hold school districts that break the law accountable.”

Galey, Berger and Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover, are the primary sponsors of the bill.

The proposed law passed out of the Education/Higher Education Committee on Wednesday. It would become effective immediately and apply to the 2026-27 school year.