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It's no secret, most of us would like to stay in our own home as we age. Yet, sometimes our loved ones just need a little extra help to remain comfortable at home. That's where Always Best Care can help....we are dedicated to exceeding expectations....always.

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Home Care In Carrboro, NC

Home Care Carrboro, NC

They say that your golden years are the best years of your life. For most older Americans, that's how it should be - a time to relax, reflect, and live life in a familiar place. After all, senior citizens in the U.S. have worked tirelessly to build a better economy, serve their communities, and raise families.

However, as seniors grow older, completing daily tasks like showering and enjoying activities such as visiting the historic Old Well gets harder without someone by their side. Unfortunately, many older Americans aren't able to rely on their adult children for help. The reality in today's world is that family members do not have the skills or time to dedicate to caring for their parents. That's where Always Best Care Senior Services comes in.

Our in-home care services are for people who prefer to stay at home as they grow older but need ongoing care that family or friends cannot provide. More and more older adults prefer to live far away from long-term, institutionalized facilities and closer to the place where they feel most comfortable - their home. Home care in Carrboro, NC is a safe, effective way to give your loved ones the care they need when they need it the most.

 In-Home Care Carrboro, NC

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The Always Best Care Difference

Since 1996, Always Best Care has provided non-medical in-home care for seniors to help them maintain a healthy lifestyle as they get older. We are proud to have helped more than 25,000 seniors maintain higher levels of dignity and respect. We focus on providing seniors with the highest level of in-home care available so that they may live happily and independently.

Unlike some senior care companies, we genuinely want to be included in our clients' lives. We believe that personalized care is always the better option over a "one size fits all" approach. To make sure our senior clients receive the best care possible, we pair them with compassionate caregivers who understand their unique needs. That way, they may provide care accordingly without compromising their wellbeing.

The Always Best Care difference lies in life's little moments - where compassionate care and trustworthy experience come together to help seniors live a fruitful, healthy life. Whether you are an aging adult that can't quite keep up with life's daily tasks or the child of a senior who needs regular in-home services, Always Best Care is here to help.

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TESTIMONIALS

“Always Best Care provided exceptional care for my dad for over 6 years. From 2 days a week in the beginning to 7 days a week later on, they were always able to work with our needs and requests. My dad adored each Caregiver that came into the home. Each providing personal care that went above and beyond our expectations. Highly recommend ABC for your in home care services.”

Leslie C.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Great Company to work for. Flexible hours Excellent communication b/t Staff and their patients. Incentive are great.”

Lashunda A.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Always Best is a wonderful employer. They really care about their employees and their clients.”

Kristin B.
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TESTIMONIALS

“I love working for Always Best Care! They're understanding, have a wonderful team in the office that helps make our jobs easier as caregivers! Easy to talk to and communicate. A great atmosphere, fun activities and different things throughout different times that make the work days a little more light and fun!”

Katie B.
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TESTIMONIALS

“I really enjoy my job at ABC. They are incredibly understanding and flexible with my schedule. They have lots of opportunities to take on extra shifts and earn some additional income.”

Kaylah R.
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TESTIMONIALS

“The staff at Always best care always do an amazing job at making the workers feel at home. They have a great staff in office ! Always answering the phone and ready to help .”

london C.
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TESTIMONIALS

“So far this job hasn’t done be no wrong they amazing”

Jahnise T.
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“There's always consistency. The staff is superb ????”

Eric M.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Great place to work!....Smart and Hard Working group of individuals!”

IKE L.
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TESTIMONIALS

“I been with this company for Abt a year annd half and I love working for them . They work with you,they care about ur personal life/ problems, really good at matching you with good clients.. i love that you can pick up more hours anytime they are available and we get a text letting us know what town ,time & whats needed done when they have open hours and clients.”

Jamie T.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Working at ABC has been good not only for me but for the lovely clients I have grown to know. Great work environment”

Rhonda W.
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“I work as a caregiver for ABC. The staff is always so friendly. The care coordinators are so amazing and accommodating with my schedule. It's a great place to work if you need flexibility.”

Margarita V.
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“As a college student, I appreciate working for ABC due to their flexibility in accommodating my academic schedule and their willingness to provide guidance whenever I have questions.”

Amiya C.
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“Always best is a great company to work for I really enjoy working for them .”

Pamela T.
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TESTIMONIALS

“I have been with ABC for two years and feel grateful for my role there. The staff are friendly, the clients are wonderful, and the work environment is very professional. I would strongly encourage PCAs and CNAs to consider applying for positions at the company.”

Samantha T.
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TESTIMONIALS

“I love working for them. Everyone is very friendly and nice”

Susan J.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Working with ABC has been a great experience making sure our clients are happy and well and it brings joy to their families taking the stress off of them!”

Jordan K.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Great place to work. Very flexible. Especially for a college student like myself.”

Amilya
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TESTIMONIALS

“Always best care is the number one place to work! They are very flexible with your schedule and fit you with the best clients!”

Alexia
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TESTIMONIALS

“Always Best Care is a great company to work for! They love their clients and always give them the best care possible!”

Jennifer M.
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TESTIMONIALS

“An amazing company to work for. The office staff are wonderful. I love how everyone is in communication with each other so anyone can answer questions or discuss concerns. This has been one of the best companies I’ve worked it.”

Heather M.
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TESTIMONIALS

“They made me feel like I could actually do this job without the feeling walking into someone’s house a being a total nervous reck because you don’t how someone will react towards you taking care of them.”

Kayana M.
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TESTIMONIALS

“Hello I’m Cierra I’m caregiver working for always best care I enjoy working with the team and able to care for our families”

Johanna W.
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TESTIMONIALS

“My 93yo mother needed more care than her memory care facility could provide. My long search found no availability and long wait lists at skilled nursing facilities within 1 hour of me. One contact recommended Kelly at Always Best Care for help in finding Care Homes. Within a day after initially talking with me about my mom's needs, Kelly found two care homes within 15 minutes of me with a bed available. Kelly went with me to see each home, asking great additional questions that I didn't even know to ask. My mom is now safely in her new care home, I can easily visit with her anytime of day, and for the first time in many months feel less stressed. I highly recommend Kelly and Always Best Care.”

Dianne H.
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TESTIMONIALS

“ABC has been helpful on most occasions I have been in assistance. Once or twice substitute caregivers have not been at all satisfactory but for most part they have. Our regular caregiver, Parecia Boynton, is superb but unfortunately has had serious health problems which have kept her from working. Our current substitute, Comswell Williams, is very good and we like her a lot. She would be a very acceptable regular if Parecia Boynton is not able to return.”

Samuel M.

What is Non-Medical Senior Care in Carrboro, NC?

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Home is where the heart is. While that saying can sound a tad cliche, it is especially true for many seniors living in America. When given a choice, older adults most often prefer to grow older at home. An AARP study found that three out of four adults over the age of 50 want to stay in their homes and communities as they age.

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When you begin to think about why, it makes sense. Home offers a sense of security, comfort, and familiarity.

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The truth is, as we age, we begin to rely on others for help. When a family is too busy or lives too far away to fulfill this role, in-home senior care is often the best solution. Home care services allow seniors to enjoy personal independence while also receiving trustworthy assistance from a trained caregiver.

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At Always Best Care, we offer a comprehensive range of home care services to help seniors stay healthy while they get the help they need to remain independent. As your senior loved one gets older, giving them the gift of senior care is one of the best ways to show your love, even if you live far away.

 Senior Care Carrboro, NC

Types of Elderly Care in Carrboro, NC

To give our senior clients the best care possible, we offer a full spectrum of in-home care services:

Personal Care

Personal Care Services

If your senior loved one has specific care needs, our personal care services are a great choice to consider. Personal care includes the standard caregiving duties associated with companion care and includes help with tasks such as dressing and grooming. Personal care can also help individuals with chronic conditions like diabetes.

Common personal care services include assistance with:

  • Eating
  • Mobility Issues
  • Incontinence
  • Bathing
  • Dressing
  • Grooming

Respite Care Carrboro, NC
Home Helper

Home Helper Services

Sometimes, seniors need helpful reminders to maintain a high quality of life at home. If you or your senior has trouble with everyday tasks like cooking, our home helper services will be very beneficial.

Common home helper care services include assistance with:

  • Medication Reminders
  • Meal Preparation
  • Pet Care
  • Prescription Refills
  • Morning Wake-Up
  • Walking
  • Reading
 Caregivers Carrboro, NC
Companionship Services

Companionship Services

Using this kind of care is a fantastic way to make life easier for you or your senior loved one. At Always Best Care, our talented caregivers often fill the role of a companion for seniors. That way, older adults can enjoy their favorite local activities, such as visiting Henry Anderson III Community Park with friends while also receiving the care they need daily or weekly.

Common companionship services include:

  • Grocery Shopping
  • Transportation to Appointments
  • Nutritional Assistance
  • Conversation
  • Planning Outings
  • Completing Errands
  • Transportation to Community
  • Events and Social Outings
Home Care Carrboro, NC
Respite Care

Respite Care Services

According to AARP, more than 53 million adults living in the U.S. provide care to someone over 50 years old. Unfortunately, these caregivers experience stress, exhaustion, and even depression. Our respite care services help family caregivers address urgent obligations, spend time with their children, and enjoy nearby activities. Perhaps more importantly, respite care gives family members time to recharge and regroup. Taking personal time to de-stress reduces the risk of caregiver burnout. So, if you've always wanted to eat at the local Hawthorne Wood or visit Bennett Place, don't feel bad. Doing so is great for both you and your loved one.

At the end of the day, our goal is to become a valuable part of your senior's daily routine. That way, we may help give them the highest quality of life possible. We know that staying at home is important for your loved one, and we are here to help make sure that is possible.

If you have been on the fence about non-medical home care, there has never been a better time than now to give your senior the care, assistance, and companionship they deserve.

 In-Home Care Carrboro, NC

Benefits of Home Care in Carrboro, NC

Always Best Care in-home services are for older adults who prefer to stay at home but need ongoing care that friends and family cannot provide. In-home care is a safe, effective way for seniors to age gracefully in a familiar place and live independent, non-institutionalized lives. The benefits of non-medical home care are numerous. Here are just a few reasons to consider senior care services from Always Best Care:

Always Best Care offers a full array of care options for patients at all levels of health. With our trusted elderly care services, your loved one will receive the level of care necessary for them to enjoy the highest possible quality of life.

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Aging in Place: The Preferred Choice for Most Seniors

While it's true that some seniors have complicated medical needs that prevent them from staying at home, aging in place is often the best arrangement for seniors and their families. With a trusted caregiver, seniors have the opportunity to live with a sense of dignity and do so as they see fit - something that is unavailable to many older people today.

In-home care makes it possible for millions of seniors to age in place every year. Rather than moving to a strange nursing home, seniors have the chance to stay at home where they feel the happiest and most comfortable.

Here are just a few of the reasons why older men and women prefer to age at home:

How much does a senior's home truly mean to them?

A study published by the American Society on Aging found that more than half of seniors say their home's emotional value means more than how much their home is worth in monetary value. It stands to reason, then, that a senior's home is where they want to grow old.

With the help of elderly care in Carrboro, NC, seniors don't have to age in a sterilized care facility. Instead, they can age gracefully in the place they want to be most: their home. In contrast, seniors who move to a long-term care facility must adapt to new environments, new people, and new systems that the facility implements. At this stage in life, this kind of drastic change can be more harmful than helpful.

Institutional care facilities like nursing homes often put large groups of people together to live in one location. On any given day, dozens of staff members and caregivers run in and out of these facilities. Being around so many new people in a relatively small living environment can be dangerous for a seniors' health and wellbeing. When you consider that thousands of seniors passed away in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, opting for in-home care is often a safer, healthier choice for seniors.

Aging in place has been shown to improve seniors' quality of life, which helps boost physical health and also helps insulate them from viral and bacterial risks found in elderly living facilities.

For many seniors, the ability to live independently with assistance from a caregiver is a priceless option. With in-home care, seniors experience a higher level of independence and freedom - much more so than in other settings like a nursing home. When a senior has the chance to age in place, they get to live life on their own terms, inside the house that they helped make into a home. More independence means more control over their personal lives, too, which leads to increased levels of fulfillment, happiness, and personal gratification. Over time, these positive feelings can manifest into a healthier, longer life.

More independence, a healthier life, and increased comfort are only a few benefits of aging in place. You have to take into consideration the role of cost and convenience. Simply put, it's usually easier and more affordable to help seniors age in place than it is to move them into an institutional care facility. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, seniors who age in the comfort of their homes can save thousands of dollars per month.

In-home care services from Always Best Care, for instance, are often less expensive than long-term solutions, which can cost upwards of six figures per year. To make matters worse, many residential care facilities are reluctant to accept long-term care insurance and other types of payment assistance.

With Always Best Care's home care services, seniors and their families have a greater level of control over their care plans. In-home care gives seniors the chance to form a bond with a trusted caregiver and also receive unmatched care that is catered to their needs. In long-term care facilities, seniors and their loved ones have much less control over their care plan and have less of a say in who provides their care.

 Elderly Care Carrboro, NC

Affordable Care

In-home care is a valuable resource that empowers seniors to age in place on their own terms. However, a big concern for many families and their loved ones is how much in-home care costs. If you're worried that in-home care is too expensive, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that it is one of the most affordable senior care arrangements available.

Typically, hiring an Always Best Care in-home caregiver for a few hours a week is more affordable than sending your loved one to a long-term care facility. This is true even for seniors with more complex care needs.

At Always Best Care, we will work closely with you and your family to develop a Care Plan that not only meets your care needs, but your budget requirements, too. Once we discover the level of care that you or your senior need, we develop an in-home care plan that you can afford.

In addition to our flexible care options, families should also consider the following resources to help offset potential home care costs:

If your loved one qualifies, Medicaid may help reduce in-home care costs. Review your NC's Medicaid program laws and benefits, and make sure your senior's financial and medical needs meet Medicaid eligibility requirements.
Attendance and aid benefits through military service can cover a portion of the costs associated with in-home care for veterans and their spouses.
Many senior care services like in-home care are included in long-term care insurance options. Research different long-term care solutions to find a plan that provides coverage for senior care.
Home care can be included as part of a senior's private insurance plan. Read over your loved one's insurance policy carefully or speak with their insurance provider to determine if in-home care is covered.
Depending on the life insurance plan, you may be able to apply your policy toward long-term care. You may be able to use long-term-care coverage to help pay for in-home elderly care.
 Senior Care Carrboro, NC

Compassionate Care. Trusted Caregivers.

When you or your senior loved one needs assistance managing daily tasks at home, finding a qualified caregiver can be challenging. It takes a special kind of person to provide reliable care for your senior loved one. However, a caregiver's role involves more than meal preparation and medication reminders. Many seniors rely on their caregivers for companionship, too.

Our companion care services give seniors the chance to socialize in a safe environment and engage in activities at home. These important efforts boost morale and provide much-needed relief from repetitive daily routines. A one-on-one, engaging conversation can sharpen seniors' minds and give them something in which to be excited.

At Always Best Care, we only hire care providers that we would trust to care for our own loved ones. Our senior caregivers in Carrboro, NC understand how important it is to listen and communicate with their seniors. A seemingly small interaction, like a short hug goodbye, can make a major difference in a senior's day. Instead of battling against feelings of isolation, seniors begin to look forward to seeing their caregiver each week.

Understanding the nuances of senior care is just one of the reasons why our care providers are so great at their job.

Unlike some senior care companies, our caregivers must undergo extensive training before they work for Always Best Care. In addition, our caregivers receive ongoing training throughout the year. This training ensures that their standard of care matches up to the high standards we've come to expect. During this training, they will brush up on their communication skills, safety awareness, and symptom spotting. That way, your loved one receives the highest level of non-medical home care from day one.

Assisted Living Referral Services

While it's true that many seniors prefer to age at home, sometimes in-home care isn't the best fit. For those seniors and their families, choosing an assisted living facility makes more sense. Unfortunately, finding the optimal care facility is easier said than done in today's day and age. That's when Always Best Care's assisted living referral services begin to make a lot of sense.

Assisted living is a form of housing intended for seniors who require varying degrees of medical and personal attention. Accommodations may include single rooms, apartments, or shared living arrangements. Assisted living communities are typically designed to resemble a home-like environment and are physically constructed to encourage the independence of residents.


Respite Care Carrboro, NC

At assisted living communities, seniors receive help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, and eating. They may also benefit from coordination of services with outside healthcare providers, and monitoring of resident activities to ensure their health, safety, and well-being. Caregivers who work at assisted living communities can also provide medication administration and personal care services for older adults.

Other services offered within assisted living communities can include some or all of the following:

  • Housekeeping
  • Laundry
  • Recreational Activities
  • Social Outings
  • Emergency Medical Response
  • Medication Monitoring
  • Family Visitation
  • Personal Care
 Caregivers Carrboro, NC

At Always Best Care, our representatives can match your senior's emotional, physical, and financial needs with viable assisted living communities nearby. Results are based on comparative data, so you can select the best choice for you or your loved one.

Always Best Care works closely with local senior living communities to gain valuable knowledge that we then use to help seniors and their loved ones make informed decisions. This information can include basic care and rent, resident availability, and services provided. Because Always Best Care is compensated by these communities, we provide senior living referral services at no extra cost to you.

Some of the most popular assisted living communities to consider in our area include the following:

  • The Stratford
  • Crescent Green of Carrboro
  • Carlisle at Carrboro Assisted Living Community
  • Chatham Ridge Assisted Living
  • Carol Woods
  • Brookdale Meadowmont
Home Care Carrboro, NC

For many seniors, moving into a senior living community revolves around how and when they want to make a transition to more involved care. Some seniors are more proactive about transitioning to independent living. Others choose to remain home until their care needs or other requirements are satisfied. Remember - our staff is here to help. Contact our office today to learn more about assisted living communities and how we can find a facility that exceeds your expectations.

 In-Home Care Carrboro, NC

Taking the First Step with Always Best Care

The first step in getting quality in-home care starts with a personal consultation with an experienced Always Best Care Care Coordinator. This initial consultation is crucial for our team to learn more about you or your elderly loved one to discover the level of care required. Topics of this consultation typically include:

A discussion of your needs and how our trained caregivers can offer assistance in the most effective way

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A draft of your care plan, which includes highly detailed notes and a framework for the care that you or your senior will receive

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Discuss payment options and help coordinate billing with your insurance provider

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Our caregivers are trained to spot changes that clients exhibit, like mental and physical decline. As your trusted senior care company, we will constantly assess and update your Care Plan to meet any new emotional, intellectual, physical, and emotional needs.

If you have never considered in-home care before, we understand that you and your family may have concerns about your Care Plan and its Care Coordinator. To help give you peace of mind, know that every team member and caregiver must undergo comprehensive training before being assigned to a Care Plan.

At the end of the day, we only hire the best of the best at Always Best Care. Whether you need home care in Carrboro, NC 24-hours a day or only need a respite for a couple of hours, we are here to serve you.

When you're ready, we encourage you to contact your local Always Best Care representative to set up a Care Consultation. Our Care Coordinators would be happy to meet with you in person to get to know you better, discuss your needs, and help put together a personalized Care Plan specific to your needs.

 Elderly Care Carrboro, NC

Latest News in Carrboro, NC

Carrboro, Duke Energy meet in court for unprecedented NC climate change lawsuit

Attorneys for Duke Energy and the town of Carrboro exchanged initial oral arguments Thursday in what both sides believe is the first instance of a U.S. municipality suing an electric utility over its climate change policies.The parties spent more than five hours at the Wake County Courthouse in downtown Raleigh to answer questions from North Court Business Court Judge Mark Davis. The hearing was about Duke Energy’s motion to dismiss the case, which Carrboro seeks to advance into a pre-trial discovery phase and eventually a jury ...

Attorneys for Duke Energy and the town of Carrboro exchanged initial oral arguments Thursday in what both sides believe is the first instance of a U.S. municipality suing an electric utility over its climate change policies.

The parties spent more than five hours at the Wake County Courthouse in downtown Raleigh to answer questions from North Court Business Court Judge Mark Davis. The hearing was about Duke Energy’s motion to dismiss the case, which Carrboro seeks to advance into a pre-trial discovery phase and eventually a jury trial.

“We are going to be able to quantify the significant change in the use of fossil fuels as a result of Duke’s deception,” said Matthew Quinn, a lawyer representing Carrboro with the Raleigh firm Lewis & Roberts.

Carrboro launched its case against Duke Energy on Dec. 3, when the town council unanimously voted to authorize a lawsuit against its local electricity provider. The Orange County town of 21,000 positioned itself as a property owner facing millions of dollars in climate change costs, including road repairs, stormwater infrastructure protection, and the cooling of public buildings.

Quinn linked these expenses to what Carrboro alleges has been Duke’s decades-long effort to mislead the public about the adverse effects of a warming planet. Its case is being funded by the Durham-based environmental nonprofit NC WARN, not Carrboro taxpayers, with personnel assistance from another environmental nonprofit named the Center for Biological Diversity.

In January, the North Carolina Supreme Court moved the lawsuit from Orange County Superior Court to N.C. Business Court, where it was designated a “complex business case,” due to its perceived complexity and potentially significant ramifications.

On March 17, Charlotte-based Duke Energy asked the N.C. Business Court to dismiss the case, arguing global climate change is the result of actions around the world, including “human-made emissions and other sources going back over 100 years.” The company also contended neither the N.C. legislature nor the federal government has empowered Carrboro to challenge the state’s energy and climate policy decisions.

At the hearing Thursday, Duke Energy attorneys said the state instead authorizes the North Carolina Utilities Commission to regulate Duke Energy, which operates as a local monopoly through two subsidiaries, Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Carolinas.

“This is an issue for the experts,” said Hunter Bruton of Raleigh’s Smith Anderson, one of two firms representing Duke at the hearing. “But it’s not the experts in the courtroom. It’s the people in the North Carolina Utilities Commission.”

A key issue at the center of the case

This was a key point of contention during the hearing: Whether the lawsuit hinged on Duke’s alleged deception or Duke’s purported greenhouse gas emissions. Quinn posited it was the former, saying the company’s past words make it liable to damages incurred by climate change costs.

Carrboro alleged Duke Energy officials were active participants in groups that acknowledged the risks of burning fossil fuels as early as 1968 but failed to act while instead participating in other groups that downplayed those same risks. Beyond that, the suit accused Duke of aspiring to create the impression online that it is shifting to renewable sources faster than it actually has.

The suit notes Duke has aimed to portray itself as a leader in renewables, aligning itself as a leader in the transition from fossil fuel generation. That includes a page on Duke’s website titled “The Businesses We’re In” with the text set over an image of solar panels.

The N.C. Utilities Commission approved a resource plan for Duke to pursue the construction of 6,700 megawatts of solar energy; seven new gas-fired power plants totaling 5,620 megawatts; 2,700 megawatts of battery storage; and 1,200 megawatts of onshore wind, The News & Observer previously reported. The company aims to complete the projects by 2031 with offshore wind and new nuclear projects scheduled several years later, The N&O reported.

The plan also officially sunk a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions target that was written into state law, with Duke and the Public Staff, a ratepayers’ advocate, agreeing that meeting that goal would be too expensive and threaten reliability, The N&O reported.

While denying corporate marketing deception, Duke lawyers on Thursday framed the case as a matter of emissions regulations addressed by the federal Clean Air Act, not state law.

“The complaint’s about global climate change, your honor,” one attorney told Davis, the judge. “They can’t amend complaint as a matter of their briefing. They can’t do it here in court. They’ve decided to stand on this, and this is the hill they’re going to have to die on.”

Influence on decisions debated

Another legal principle debated before Davis was whether the plaintiff could trace the defendant’s actions to the alleged damages.

Duke Energy argued it is impossible to measure how its approach toward fossil fuels and renewable energies influenced the decisions of people around the world whose actions contribute to climate change.

Carrboro’s legal team countered that any role Duke’s policies played in the town incurring climate change-related costs is a sufficient basis for a legal case.

The town’s lawsuit doesn’t give a monetary value on the alleged damages but says total costs are “severe and greater than Plaintiff or the public should bear without compensation.”

At the end of the hearing, Judge Davis gave both parties four weeks to file supplementary briefings, after which he will decide whether the unprecedented case will proceed.

Tammy Grubb and Adam Wagner contributed reporting.

This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 6:30 AM.

NC DMV turns to interns to help address long wait times

The Division of Motor Vehicles is using interns to help manage long lines at driver's license offices.New DMV Commissioner Paul Tine told the State Board of Transportation this week that one of the agency's challenges is that if you show up without the documents you need, you might not realize it until you've been in line for hours. Then you'll have to come back another day and start the process all over again.DMV wants to put people at office entrances to help check documents and paperwork, a process referred to as "triag...

The Division of Motor Vehicles is using interns to help manage long lines at driver's license offices.

New DMV Commissioner Paul Tine told the State Board of Transportation this week that one of the agency's challenges is that if you show up without the documents you need, you might not realize it until you've been in line for hours. Then you'll have to come back another day and start the process all over again.

DMV wants to put people at office entrances to help check documents and paperwork, a process referred to as "triage," but in many locations it doesn't have enough staff.

Now, it's using interns from across the N.C. Department of Transportation to help with the document checks when people arrive. Tine says volunteers from other parts of the agency are helping too.

"These people are the ones checking to make sure you have the right documentation for REAL ID, for example, so that you can have a completed transaction," Tine said. "We ended up with 13 interns and 28 volunteers supplementing that work out in the field. The results from that were definitely faster transaction times."

More than 100 DMV offices also now offer a text-message check-in system that lets people get notified when their turn has arrived, rather than standing in line.

DMV is also changing how it balances appointments with walk-in customers. Until recently, people lined up for walk-in transactions in the morning at the same time appointments were scheduled, so "we were set up for failure," Tine said.

Now the walk-in customers can check in and determine if the office has capacity to serve them. "We're meeting capacity at 10 or 11 (a.m.), and so if they show up at noon ... there's a sign that says that 'we're full.' And unfortunately, that is so much better than where we were before, because they had to wait in line until 5 (p.m.) to find out that we weren't going to serve them."

Tine's report to the State Board of Transportation came days after State Auditor Dave Boliek released a scathing audit of the agency's performance.

Boliek called for the DMV to be separated from the Department of Transportation, but Tine argued to the transportation board that the change would exacerbate DMV's problems.

"We just moved License and Theft out (to the State Highway Patrol), and it's been taking a significant amount of my time, and there are still problems ongoing in regards to that transition," Tine said. "I hope that the broader discussion doesn't occur right now, because practically, it would be just completely detrimental to the organization and the goals of what everyone wants, which is better service for our customers."

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