Opinion Roundup: 3D-printed gun regulations, NC's Blue Cross cutting Obamacare prices, UNC chairman backs off 'Silent Sam' action, endangered wolf protection and more

Wednesday, August 1, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Amendments panel stymied when member refuses to take part, responding to 3D-printed gun regulations approved by Trump Administration, how to defuse N.C.'s fiscal time bomb, Blue Cross cutting 'Obamacare' prices despite changes, Gov. Cooper says endangered wolf protection should stay and more.

Perfectly predictable politics (Fayetteville Observer) — Gov. Cooper said the Republican-led legislature was “shamelessly attempting to mislead voters.” There’s some truth in that, despite the protestations of House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger — who announced this week that lawmakers will convene on Saturday to override the governor’s vetoes. None of those actions are any surprise.

JEFFREY BILLMAN: How to Understand the Legislature’s Latest Half-Baked Special Session (Independent Weekly column) -- It was bad enough that Republican leaders called a special session with almost no public notice based on—wait for it—a tweet from a private citizen. It was worse that they did so to prevent North Carolinians from having even the foggiest idea about the six constitutional amendments they'll be voting on this November. And worse still were the shenanigans they pulled to help the GOP candidate for state Supreme Court, who was the victim of unintended consequences of previous Republican efforts to entrench Republican rule.

SAM LEVINE: N.C. Republicans Flip Out About Voters Knowing What They’re Voting On (Huffington Post column) -- GOP lawmakers are trying to strip a bipartisan panel of its power to write captions for constitutional amendments that will appear on the ballot this fall.

GARY ROBERTSON: Democrats call N.C. referenda questions misleading (AP reports) — The first meeting of a N.C. panel tasked with summarizing the six proposed constitutional amendments on November ballots devolved into blistering Democratic critiques of the referenda questions when the Republican member didn't attend.

LAURA LESLIE: NC amendments panel stymied when member refuses to take part (WRAL-TV reports) — 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."

ROBERT MCMILLAN & DEEPA SEETHARAMAN: Facebook Pulls Fake Accounts That Mimic Russian Tactics Ahead of Election (Wall Street Journal reports) -- “I am glad to see that Facebook is taking a much-needed step toward limiting the use of their platform by foreign influence campaigns,” said Sen. Richard Burr, R-NC, who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee. “The goal of these operations is to sow discord, distrust, and division in an attempt to undermine public faith in our institutions and our political system. The Russians want a weak America.” He said more needs to be done to battle foreign interference on social media.

MIKAYA THURMOND: NC mulls response to 3D-printed gun regulations approved by Trump Administration (WRAL reports) — North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said the Tar Heel State is not among the states that have filed suit against the Trump Administration in an effort to stop the publication of the instructions for 3D-printed guns, but his office says he is looking into the issue.

A bad law has costly consequences for our highways (Fayetteville Observer) — Half a billion dollars could buy a lot of new highway construction around the state. Or it could instead go to more than 500 land owners who had their property rights hijacked by a state law that was clearly unconstitutional. Unfortunately, the latter course is the most likely, draining highway funding that should be building new North Carolina roads.

KIRK ROSS: Broadband grants may spark better access, but hurdles remain (Carolina Public Press reports) — Advocates for expanding broadband access in small towns and rural areas of North Carolina say a new grant program passed this year by the legislature offers a much-needed boost, but the state still faces major logistical and policy hurdles in extending services to all parts of the state.

STEPHANIE CARSON: NC Business, Community Leaders Work Toward Family-Friendly Workplaces (NC Public News Service reports) — Creating family-friendly workplaces is the goal of a new coalition of community and business leaders launched this summer. One goal of the Family Forward NC Advisory Council is to develop a guide for businesses in the state to create workplaces that are supportive of families by improving the lives of children and creating a more productive work environment.

GARLAND TUCKER III: How to defuse N.C.’s fiscal time bomb (Charlotte Observer column) — For many decades North Carolinians of all political stripes have taken solace in the fiscal responsibility of our state. One of only a handful of states with a coveted AAA bond rating, N.C. benefited from sound fiscal management for almost 50 years under Treasurers Edwin Gill (1953-1977) and his successor, Harlan Boyles (1977-2001). This fiscal heritage is now in danger.

PATRICK WOODIE: A new era for rural entrepreneurs (Hendersonville Times-News column) -- Since its creation in 1989, the N.C. Rural Center has been investing in North Carolina’s rural economic backbone: our state’s small-business owners. Recently, we doubled down on that investment, launching Thread Capital, a new nonprofit that helps hardworking entrepreneurs start or expand their business.

Public schools owed $750 million by state to bring lawsuit (AP reports) — North Carolina school districts are set to sue for hundreds of millions of dollars a court previously ruled was owed them. The North Carolina School Boards Association scheduled a Wednesday news conference in Durham to announce a complaint reviving a decades-long legal battle over nearly $750 million in civil penalties.

SARA KRUEGER: UNC system chairman backs off 'Silent Sam' action by board (WRAL reports) — The chairman of the University of North Carolina's Board of Governors has walked back a statement he made last week about the board likely discussing the future of a controversial Confederate monument on the system's flagship Chapel Hill campus.

MICHAEL BRAGG: Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools’ Pathway to One could be model for rest of state, N.C. schools chief says (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson toured Petree Elementary School on Tuesday to see how Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is utilizing summer programs to help young students prepare for the next school year and beyond. Johnson, who was shown around the school by Heather Horton, Petree’s principal, saw how Pathway to K and Pathway to One work. They are two transition programs paid for through Project Impact that give rising kindergarten and first-grade students extra time to develop the academic and social skills they need to be successful on the first day of school.

JANE STANCILL: Duke soccer player’s lawsuit over sexual misconduct policy is resolved (Charlotte Observer reports) — A breach-of-contract lawsuit brought by a men’s soccer player against Duke University has been resolved, months after the student won a victory in court involving the university’s sexual misconduct disciplinary procedures.

YASMEEN ROBBINS & MARY HEMPHILL: Shifting the conversation (EdNC column) — It is time for North Carolina school leaders to define innovative school leadership for North Carolina schools. By shifting the conversation, we strive not only to redefine innovation in the public education arena, but to show educators what that innovation looks like in schools, in the classroom, and in the community.

NAOMI PRIOLEAU: NC A&T Researchers Looking For New Ways To Use Coal Ash (WUNC reports) — North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University researchers are looking for different ways to recycle coal ash. Coal ash is what's left after coal is burned to make electricity. It can be a harmful waste product when it is not stored correctly or when it escapes into waterways, as it did at the Dan River in 2014. However, when it’s recycled, coal ash can be used as a component in concrete and other construction products.

Help local teachers, students by giving classroom supplies (Wilson Times) — Police officers aren’t asked to buy their own handcuffs or radios. Paramedics don’t foot the bill for bandages, gauze and tape. Full-time or volunteer, all firefighters are equipped with air tanks and turnout gear. Teachers are the only public servants expected to chip in for the tools they need to perform their job. On average, each educator shells out roughly $500 each year to buy classroom supplies.

EMERY DALESIO: NC's Blue Cross cutting 'Obamacare' prices despite changes (AP reports) — North Carolina's largest health insurer said Tuesday it's cutting some individual premiums for the first time in over a quarter century, but next year's savings on subsidized "Obamacare" coverage would have been much larger if Washington had left the law alone.

MATTHEW BURNS & LAURA LESLIE: Lower premiums for Blue Cross ACA health plans forcing thousands to switch doctors (WRAL-TV reports) — In an unprecedented move for Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, the insurer said Tuesday it wants to cut premiums for ACA health coverage next year. But the effort comes at a cost to about 50,000 customers who will have to change doctors and hospitals at the end of the year because Blue Cross is eliminating its Blue Local plan, which was affiliated with Duke Health and WakeMed.

JOHN MURAWSKI: Blue Cross NC will lower ACA insurance rates. But 50,000 people will need new doctors (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina wants to decrease its rates by 4.1 percent on health insurance plans it offers through the Affordable Care Act. This is the first time that North Carolina’s largest health insurer has requested a rate decrease on the individual plans it offers on the federal marketplace since Obamacare went into effect in 2014.

MICHELLE WAGNER: In 11th hour, Congress extends National Flood Insurance Program (Outer Banks Sentinel) -- U.S. lawmakers have extended the National Flood Insurance Program through Nov. 28, making it the fourth time in the past year they have pushed the issue down the road without reforming the debt-ridden program.

ALEX DEROSIER: N.C. Gov says endangered wolf protection should stay (AP reports) — Gov. Roy Cooper is urging federal authorities not to reduce protections for endangered red wolves, a species unique to the state. In a letter sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service , Cooper asked the agency to maintain the current five-county conservation area for the endangered species.

LISA SORG: Three Guilford County schools test high for lead in drinking water; 1,500 students, many of them low-income, affected (NC Policy Watch reports) — Drinking water at three Guilford County schools, including two that predominantly enroll low-income children, tested at or above the EPA standard for lead, according to results released by the school district. The school district issued a press release entitled “Test Results Show Drinking Water Meets EPA Standards.” However, that headline is misleading and could dissuade parents from reading further.

KIRK ROSS: Test Case for Oceanfront Development Risks (Coastal Review Online reports) — Geologist Roger Shew doesn’t have to go far to get to what he considers the best example of the challenges along North Carolina’s beaches. Shew, a University of North Carolina Wilmington researcher and lecturer who teaches coastal geology, said there’s no better place than the stretch along the southern reaches of Pleasure Island where Fort Fisher abuts Kure Beach, the coquina rocks and The Riggings condominiums.

ADAM WAGNER & BAILEY ALDRIDGE: No, the Lower Cape Fear River isn’t swamp water. And the EPA agrees (Wilmington Star News reports) — In a move that’s being celebrated by Wilmington-area elected officials and environmental groups, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined the Cape Fear River’s water is not, in fact, swamp water.

When it rains it pours ... bad jokes (Wilmington Star News) — Just as our shoes were sort of dry enough to slip back on and get soaked again as we headed to lunch, we heard someone across the hall in the newsroom say the sun was out. Wary of being accused of spreading fake news and becoming even worse enemies of the waterlogged people, we were reluctant to spread the word.

Trump’s newsprint tariffs force not-so-funny decision (The Robesonian) -- Today with President Donald Trump, it’s personal, so we will go there. Readers of this newspaper who are fans of the Sunday color comics were frustrated this morning when they couldn’t find them. A short story today explains — but cryptically. This newspaper has made the difficult decision to drop the Sunday comics, a decision that we really believe was made at the White House.

MICHELLE WAGNER: Are we losing our cool with tourists? (Outer Banks Sentinel reports) -- The hand that feeds us often gets bitten on social media; The explosion of social media has created platforms to complain about tourists at a time when long lines, traffic and other inconveniences of living in a resort town are likely growing.

TOM GASPAROLI: Remembering Freda Black, out of ‘The Staircase’ murder trial spotlight (Durham-Herald Sun column) — In recent years, Freda Black, the former Durham County prosecutor who was found dead at her home Sunday, stayed as far away from the spotlight as she could. She told me she was going through a lot with her elderly father and some issues he had encountered. She mentioned her two college-age daughters. She had a job that didn’t pay well at all and wasn’t easy.

SCOTT FOWLER: Tom Higgins, legendary NASCAR writer for Charlotte Observer, dies at age 80 (Charlotte Observer reports) — Tom Higgins, a legendary newspaper reporter who brought life to NASCAR in the pages of the Charlotte Observer for 33 years, died Tuesday morning. He was 80. Higgins was a larger-than-life character at the Observer from 1964-97, covering the rise of stock-car racing and its cast of colorful characters as the uniquely Southern sport gained national attention.

KATHLEEN PURVIS: Charlotte makes 2nd national list of best new restaurants (Charlotte Observer reports) — A week after the influential website Eater.com released its annual list of the best new restaurants in the country, a second list, from the magazine Bon Appetit, gives more attention to Cornelius restaurant Hello, Sailor. Bon Appetit editor Andrew Knowlton includes the restaurant, the second from Joe and Katy Kindred of Kindred Restaurant in Davidson, on his list of the 50 best new restaurants in the country.

JENNY DRABBLE: Graves of 200 slaves uncovered at St. Philips Moravian Graveyard; site in Old Salem to be mapped (Winston-Salem Journal reports) — Without lifting a shovel, researchers unearthed a trove of history Tuesday, finding more than 200 unmarked graves near Salem Cemetery. The graves, found in Section 2 of the St. Philips Moravian Graveyard, are thought to belong to slaves buried after 1859. The graves were pinpointed Tuesday through the use of ground-penetrating radar that indicates disturbances in the soil.