CHARLOTTE – Spectrum has been awarded a North Carolina Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology Program grant of $4 million to bring gigabit high-speed internet access to 1,940 homes and small businesses in Union County.

The total project investment is more than $11.6 million with the $4 million state grant, a $1 million contribution from the county and more than $6.6 million from Spectrum.

The GREAT grant is one of 21 already awarded to Spectrum to expand fiber-optic broadband infrastructure to areas of the state that lack access to high-speed connections.

Being a state legislator is not your typical job. There’s no time clock to punch, and House members actually vary greatly in terms of how active they are in sponsoring legislation, for example, or participating in party leadership.

But everyone there knows that showing up for work is a fundamental part of being a state legislator. At a minimum — barring some legitimate excuse such as illness or family emergency – you need to be in your seat, ready to represent your constituents when we are in session.

That’s where I was on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 8:30 am. Why wouldn’t I ...