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GENERAL ASSEMBLY NEWS
NC amendments panel stymied when member refuses to take part
WRAL // Laura Leslie // July 31, 2018
Summary: A relatively obscure state panel continues to face controversy over its role in explaining proposed constitutional amendments to voters. The three-member Constitutional Amendment Publication Commission is tasked by state law with writing a paragraph or two to explain each amendment on the ballot "in simple and commonly used language." The materials are available at local boards of elections to anyone who requests them. Until last week, the commission was also required to write short titles for the amendments to appear on the ballot, but state lawmakers held an emergency session to take that duty away. Republican legislative leaders saying they feared the two Democrats on the panel, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Attorney General Josh Stein, would write captions that would present the six proposed amendments on the November ballot in a negative light.
Constitution Party filesfederal lawsuit after members stripped of election ballot access
Progressive Pulse // Melissa Boughton // July 31, 2018
Summary: The Constitution Party of North Carolina is following through on its threat to sue the state over ballot access restrictions. The Party and three of its members — James Poindexter of Surry County, Jerry Jones of Greene County and Gregory Holt of Craven County — filed suit a little over a week ago in U.S. District Court for the eastern district of North Carolina against the Kim Westbrook Strach, Executive Director of the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement. The State Board officially recognized the Constitution Party in June, and until then, its candidates did not have ballot access. Prior to official recognition, North Carolinians also could not register for affiliation with the Party. Because of that, Poindexter and Jones ran for election in the primary as Republican candidates and the Holt ran in the Democratic primary. They all lost.
New political party sues over NC over candidate restriction law, says it is unconstitutional
Greensboro N&R // AP // July 30, 2018
Summary: A new official political party in North Carolina says a law blocking some of its nominated candidates from standing for election this fall is unconstitutional. The Constitution Party of North Carolina and three individuals picked to run under the party's banner in November are suing the state elections board in Raleigh federal court. The Constitution Party met official party requirements in June and nominated by convention ten candidates for various offices. But the General Assembly passed a law preventing the party from fielding candidates who also lost in the May primaries for the same office.
Lawmakers make two changes to general election ballot
Lincoln Times // Matt Chapman // July 31, 2018
Summary: The North Carolina General Assembly convened last week for a special called session to make two alterations to November’s ballot. On Wednesday, the Times-News reported that the GOP-dominated legislature voted to remove the short captions that would have appeared on the ballot, summarizing each of the six proposed constitutional amendments that will be decided by voters. The action comes as a result of concerns expressed by House Rules Committee Chairman David Lewis, a Harnett County Republican, who believed that the commission responsible for writing the captions “may be falling to outside political pressure.”
North Carolina Republicans Flip Out About Voters Knowing What They’re Voting On
HuffPost // Sam Levine // July 31, 2018
Summary: North Carolina lawmakers rushed back to the state capital with less than 24 hours notice last week because Republicans called for a special session to block voters from receiving more information about a wide range of proposed changes to the state constitution during this fall’s election. The proposed changes to the constitution deal with a range of important subjects that can affect voter access to the polls and impact the trajectory of state courts. This includes adding a voter photo ID requirement and restricting the ability of the state’s Democratic governor to fill vacancies on state courts and appoint people to the state election board.
General Assembly plans weekend session to override Cooper vetoes
ABC 11 // Josh Chapin // July 30, 2018
Summary:The Republican-controlled General Assembly is planning rare weekend floor sessions to handle two vetoes by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. House Speaker Tim Moore said Monday he expected the House and Senate to return for veto-override debates and votes this Saturday. Moore says conflicting summer schedules made Saturday best. Last Friday, Cooper vetoed bills that alter North Carolina ballot language for constitutional referenda and a state Supreme Court race this fall. "The problem with the captions is not that they say constitutional amendment, it's the language of the amendments that's very misleading," said House Democratic leader Darren Jackson. "They don't reflect what the actual law does and that's the problem of not posting the whole constitutional amendment on the ballot."
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GOV. COOPER NEWS
Gov. Cooper's annual supply drive begins as teachers prepare for new school year
ABC 13 // Stephani Santostasi // July 30, 2018
Summary: In less than a month, most teachers and students in the mountains will head back to school, but getting the supplies they'll need to be successful won't come cheap. "I think a lot of families struggle to pay for all the things that might be on the list," teacher LeAnna Delph said. And that, obviously, makes a teacher's job even more challenging. "One thing is that I know a lot of my students are struggling. They have mental health issues and trauma in their lives, and so I sometimes get emotionally invested in a way that can wear me down a little bit," Delph said.
SECU branches, Times collecting school supplies
Wilson Times // Staff // July 30, 2018
Summary: State Employees Credit Union branches and The Wilson Times are collecting paper, pencils, notebooks and other back-to-school essentials for the second annual Governor’s School Supply Drive. Gov. Roy Cooper kicked off the statewide donation drive last Thursday at E.M. Rollins Elementary School in Henderson, noting that teachers spend an average of $500 of their own money on class supplies each year. “Teachers shouldn’t have to dip into their own pockets to cover the cost of classroom supplies that their students need to learn,” Cooper said in a statement. “One day we’re going to convince the legislature to make a greater investment in public schools, but until then, we want to do everything we can to get students and teachers the supplies they need for a successful school year.”
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KEY TARGET NEWS - SENATE
Michael Lee
State Board of Education to vote on Rowan-Salisbury Schools’ renewal plan Thursday
Salisbury Post // Rebecca Rider // July 31, 2018
Summary: Local educators are looking forward to this week’s State Board of Education meeting with bated breath. The two-day meeting will determine if Rowan-Salisbury Schools will move forward as a renewal school district. The school district is the only one in the state given the opportunity to become a “renewal” district, a status that will give all its 35 schools charter-like flexibilities in curriculum, staffing, calendar and other areas. It’s a move made possible by the General Assembly’s passage of House Bill 986, sponsored by Sen. Michael Lee of New Hanover County. The legislation specifies that Rowan-Salisbury Schools can seek renewal status.
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NCDP NEWS & MENTIONS
Democrats' hopes of winning in the South hinge on the suburbs
CNN // Ronald Brownstein // July 31, 2018
Summary: One key measure of any Democratic wave in the midterm elections will be whether it crests high enough to overcome the formidable Republican defenses in the growing suburbs across the South. The answer will have implications that extend far beyond 2018. While Democrats have notched significant gains since the 1990s among white-collar suburban voters in most parts of the country, they have until recently made very little progress at loosening the Republican hold on affluent and increasingly racially diverse suburbs around such Southern metro areas as Atlanta, Houston and Dallas.
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OTHER
Attorney General Josh Stein
State receives part of $33.2M settlement over false Medicare, Medicaid claims
Brunswick Beacon // Staff // July 30, 2018
Summary: North Carolina settled with Alere Inc., a medical device maker that an investigation determined had knowingly sold unreliable diagnostic testing devices to hospitals, Attorney General Josh Stein announced on July 26. The settlement is joined by the federal government and all 50 states. The total settlement is $33.2 million, of which North Carolina will receive $459,033.22. North Carolina’s funds will go toward restitution and other recovery.
NC Healthcare
A first for Blue Cross: Lower premiums for ACA health plans
WRAL // Staff Report // July 31, 2018
Summary: In an unprecedented move for Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, the insurer said Tuesday it wants to cut premiums for Affordable Care Act health coverage next year. "This is the first individual market rate decrease in Blue Cross NC history and will benefit people across North Carolina," Dr. Patrick Conway, Blue Cross' president and chief executive, said in a statement. "We’re moving in the right direction, but even with a lower rate, premiums are still too high, particularly for those who don’t get a subsidy. With more certainty from Washington, rates would be 15 percent or more lower. We must address both market instability and the rising price of health care."
NC Emergency Management
State officials tried to alter bid documents for multi-million dollar hurricane contract
WBTV // Nick Oschner // July 30, 2018
Summary: Leaders in the North Carolina Emergency Management office attempted to change the outcome of a multi-million dollar bid for Hurricane Matthew recovery by re-writing a memo recommending the contract be awarded to three companies instead of one, documents obtained by WBTV show. The attempt to change the outcome of the bid process meant another delay in a recovery effort that has been filled with them. Ultimately, the attempt to alter the bid recommendation was unsuccessful. The contract was awarded in mid-June to the same company that was recommended by an evaluation committee in early March.
Coastal NC
Our Opinion: North Carolina's coastal erosion needs attention
Greensboro N&R // Editorial // July 31, 2018
Summary: Does this photograph trouble you? It was taken last week near Nags Head, where 10-foot cliffs suddenly have emerged and forced beaches to be closed. Do you understand that this scene will not improve with time, that the erosion will eat away the sand until property is stolen, resources are lost and billions to trillions of dollars of value is lost for residents? But that’s what’s happening, that’s where North Carolina’s lovely and once-pristine shoreline is headed, into the saltwater and out into the Atlantic. Warming of our atmosphere — 2018 is expected to be the fourth hottest on record — continue to melt ice caps and push water into the oceans, which in turn rise, sometimes driven by ever volatile storms. And the U.S. is enduring what scientists call “sunny day flooding,” when water surges without the impetus of a storm, much earlier than expected.
NC Military and Veterans
Sunny Point terminal studying its future
StarNews // Ben Steelman // July 30, 2018
Summary: In recent months, the commander of the U.S. military ocean terminal at Sunny Point said he’s been approached about locating everything from a casino to a cruise ship passenger terminal on the Army’s property on the west bank of the Cape Fear River. None of that’s going to happen. Such requests, however, are one big reason that Sunny Point — or MOTSU, in military jargon — is joining local municipalities and the Cape Fear Council of Governments in a year-long joint land-use study. That study was kicked off Monday afternoon with public meetings at the Southport Community Building and Carolina Beach Town Hall. (MOTSU includes 2,115 acres on Pleasure Island next to Kure Beach and Fort Fisher as part of its explosive safety zone.) “We would like to see as little change as possible,” Col. Marc A. Mueller, commander of the Army’s 596th Transportation Brigade and MOTSU’s boss, said.
Our Opinion: Army is way overdue in honoring Old Hickory Division
Greensboro N&R // Editorial // July 25, 2018
Summary: That Army National Guard division, nicknamed Old Hickory for Andrew Jackson, was cited as the best-performing infantry division in the European theater of World War II. Its troops, mostly from the Carolinas, where Jackson was born near the state line, and Tennessee, where he rose to prominence, fought heroically and achieved crucial results. Sent into Normandy days after D-Day, the Old Hickory division fought its way through France. In early August 1944 the division made a heroic stand against some of Germany’s best troops at the French town of Mortain. Although isolated and running out of supplies, Old Hickory blocked an important road where Germans were trying to stop the Allies’ progress through France toward Germany. Outnumbered about 7-to-1, the division held, allowing the Allies to move forward to seal the defeat of Germany. Robert Baumer, a military historian who wrote the book “Old Hickory,” says that a spokesman for the Third Reich later said that, when the Germans lost at Mortain, their commanders knew they had lost the war. The division went on to fight valiantly at the Battle of the Bulge and in other key engagements.
NC Road Lawsuits
Road lawsuits could cost North Carolina hundreds of millions
Fayetteville Observer // Paul Woolverton // July 30, 2018
Summary: Two jury verdicts from Fayetteville this past spring could signal that North Carolina will have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to many dozens of property owners across the state for taking partial control of their land without paying for it. The two verdicts were rendered in April in lawsuits that two families filed against the N.C. Department of Transportation. Statewide, more than 500 similar lawsuits have been filed, including about 80 in Cumberland County and Robeson counties, the plaintiffs’ lawyers said. The litigation stems from a law called the Map Act. The law is now repealed, but when it was in effect, the NCDOT used it to try to hold down the state’s costs of acquiring land for road and highway construction. If a piece of property was along a proposed route, the department put tight restrictions on what property owners could do with it.
Opioid Crisis
Operation Nor’easter Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Results in 12 Federal Arrests
U.S. Justice Dept // Press Release // July 31, 2018
Summary: The United States Attorney’s Office announces a press conference to discuss the indictment of 12 defendants on narcotic distribution and gun charges in a coordinated warrant enforcement operation. This operation is part of the Take Back North Carolina Initiative that is targeting violent crime and drug distribution throughout the Eastern District of North Carolina. In addition to United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr., 1st Judicial District Attorney Andrew Womble and law enforcement partners from federal, state, and local agencies to be present at this event.
Amazon HQ2
Landing Amazon HQ2 Isn’t the Right Way for a City to Create Jobs. Here’s What Works Instead
Harvard Business Review // Amy Liu // July 31, 2018
Summary: Amazon’s highly visible search for a second headquarters has offered one tremendous public benefit: it has raised public awareness of what bad economic development is. Even Saturday Night Live satirized the lengths to which local officials will go to woo a major company, which include offering massive amounts of taxpayer subsidies, despite dubious economic returns. But if attracting Amazon and other companies is not the right way to create jobs, then what is?
Amazon Job Posting In D.C. A Potential HQ2 Signal
Bisnow // Jon Banister // July 30, 2018
Summary: A new D.C. job posting from Amazon could hint at the company's plan to open its second headquarters in the nation's capital. Amazon is hiring a D.C.-based economic development manager, a job it has not posted in any other city, the Puget Sound Business Journal reports. The job posting says Amazon is looking for someone with experience in economic incentives, which will likely play a major factor in its HQ2 project. It says the economic development manager would work directly with "state and community" officials, but makes no mention of the federal government, the focus of much of Amazon's existing D.C. workforce.
Midterms
U.S. Senate
Koch network of donors snubs Republican candidate in critical Senate race in North Dakota
USA Today // Fredreka Schouten // July 30, 2018
Summary: Officials with the powerful political network overseen by conservative billionaire Charles Koch on Monday said they do not currently plan to help the Republican nominee in one of the GOP’s top Senate pickup opportunities this year. The Koch network’s reluctance to back Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., comes as the group seeks to distance itself from President Trump and Republicans in Washington, citing their deep disagreement with Trump’s trade policies and his hardline stances on immigration.
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