Opinion Roundup: A word of caution from the courtroom

Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017 -- A roundup of opinion, commentary and analysis on some hurdles ahead for judicial redistricting, the financial struggle for N.C.'s rural hospitals, the delay of a key fracking panel meeting and more.

TRAVIS FAIN: Judges, attorneys caution legislature on judicial redistricting (WRAL-TV analysis) -- Judges called on state legislators to pump the brakes on a plan to redraw judicial and prosecutorial districts around the state, but the man behind the plan said he's aiming for an October vote.

Let the judges draw the districts (Fayetteville Observer) -- The lawyers who argued that many of this state’s legislative districts were racially gerrymandered say the latest redistricting didn’t solve all the problems. They told a federal Court of Appeals panel that ruled last year against 19 House and Senate districts that a dozen of the redrawn districts are still illegal. The latest legislative redistricting panel ignored racial data in drawing new districts, but created four districts that illegally separate black and white voters.

RICK HASEN: 3-Judge Court Severely Criticizes NC for Racial Gerrymander, Explains Earlier Decision Not to Order Special Election (Election Law Blog analysis) -- Back in July, after the Supreme Court stopped a special election for legislative districts in North Carolina after a finding of a racial gerrymander, and ordered a three-judge court to reconsider the issue, the three-judge court on remand decided to reject plaintiffs’ renewed request for a special election in 2017. Now the three-judge court has issued a unanimous 48-page opinion explaining its earlier decision.

TIM BUCKLAND: Muller selected to fill Millis seat (Wilmington Star-News) -- Former Pender County Republican Party Chairman Bob Muller was selected Tuesday night to fill the House seat vacated by former Rep. Chris Millis, R-Pender, who resigned as of last week.

A year after Keith Lamont Scott shooting, Charlotte hasn’t done enough (Charlotte Observer) -- Keith Lamont Scott was shot by police a year ago Wednesday. A lot has changed, and a lot hasn’t.

ANDREW DUNN: One year after the protests, has Charlotte really changed? (Charlotte Agenda analysis) -- One year ago, Keith Lamont Scott was shot and killed outside his apartment by a CMPD officer. The protests that ensued were unlike any that Charlotte has experienced in recent memory. Charlotte leaders unilaterally described them as a wake-up call. But on this sad anniversary, how much has really changed?

McCrory to make daily appearances on Charlotte radio station (Charlotte Observer) -- It appears former Gov. Pat McCrory has a new gig – conservative talk radio. The former Charlotte mayor will make daily appearances on Charlotte-based radio station WBT, where he will discuss politics and other things.

SARAH KRUEGER: Cabbies feel blindsided by state insurance increase (WRAL-TV analysis) -- Dozens of Raleigh taxi cab drivers complained Tuesday about new liability insurance requirements that they say could put many of them out of business.

Hemp pilot program an early success for Tar Heel agriculture (Wilson Times) -- North Carolina marked a historic harvest this month as more than 50 volunteers converged on a farm outside Dunn to haul in a bumper crop of hemp on Sept. 9. It’s the first hemp harvest in the Tar Heel State for at least 80 years.

NEEL KELLER: Is OBX’s summer student program in peril? (Outer Banks Sentinel analysis) -- With the J-1 Visa Summer Work Travel Program apparently under review by the Trump Administration, supporters worry that the program — which brings more than 1,000 international student workers to the Outer Banks each summer — may be sharply curtailed or effectively eliminated.

WSSU stadium deal must proceed (Winston-Salem Journal) -- For the past several years, Winston-Salem State University has been negotiating in good faith with the city of Winston-Salem to buy Bowman Gray Stadium. The school wants the deal, and so does the city council.

STEPHANIE CARSON: NC Rural Health Care in Jeopardy (Public News Service analysis) -- Rural communities in North Carolina could have reduced access to medical care if Congress doesn't act before the end of the month. Two federal programs that help provide supplemental funding to rural hospitals will lose their funding if programs aren't allowed to continue. Currently, nine hospitals in the Tar Heel State receive funds to help them keep their doors open, when Medicare funds from services provided fall short of meeting expenses.

HEATHER GILLERS: States Need $645 Billion to Pay Full Health-Care Costs (Wall Street Journal analysis) -- New accounting guidelines that urge local governments to record their total health care costs show they need more money to pay for it.

RICHARD BURR: Vital reforms made for FDA (Wilmington Star-News column) -- The U.S. Senate recently took important steps to continue my career-long effort to reform and improve the Food and Drug Administration. Since I arrived in Congress more than 20 ago, I have focused on bringing new and innovative treatments to Americans as safely and quickly as possible. In 1997, I authored and helped pass the FDA Modernization Act, fundamental FDA reforms. Two decades later, we are still making significant progress.

REBECCA MARTINEZ: Social Services Agencies Investigate Thousands Of Child Abuse And Neglect Cases (WUNC-FM analysis) -- Social Services agencies in North Carolina investigated more than 121,000 cases of child abuse and neglect across the state over the past year. That's according to data from the School of Social Work at UNC Chapel Hill.

GARY ROBERTSON: N.C. fracking panel's 1st meeting delayed (AP analysis) -- A retooled state panel responsible for regulating North Carolina's potential fracking industry won't meet this week for the first time after all, avoiding possible legal showdowns involving Gov. Roy Cooper's administration and drilling opponents.

We can no longer afford to live in denial on climate change (Asheville Citizen-Times) -- It’s already too late to prevent further sea-level rise, but we can insist that homes not be built in harm’s way and that homes so situated not be rebuilt in the same location after being leveled by a storm. Looking further ahead, we need to redouble efforts to curb emission of greenhouse gases so as to keep whatever already is going to be a bad situation from becoming even worse. As a people and as a nation, we are showing compassion in the wake of these two giant storms. Now we need to show wisdom as well.

SAM BLAND’S Field Notes: National Estuaries Week (Coastal Review column) -- Egrets and herons are the iconic symbols, sentinels, if you will, of our coastal estuaries. These are the amazing places where the heavy salty ocean waters meet with the lighter fresh river waters to swirl together into a rich cocktail creating one of the most productive ecosystems on earth. Along the North Carolina coast, 300 miles of sandy barrier islands keep the ocean waves from pounding on the shore of the mainland.

ALEX GRANADOS: Two Court of Appeals decisions affect education policy (EdNC analysis) -- The North Carolina Court of Appeals handed down opinions yesterday in two education lawsuits— one involving the State Board of Education and the North Carolina Rules Review Commission, and another in a case involving some Halifax families and the Halifax Board of County Commissioners.

ALLAN MAURER: Governor touts NC's education, startups, diversity at Tech Venture (WRAL-TV/TechWire) – Gov. Roy Cooper opened the 33rd CED Tech Venture Conference in Raleigh by extolling the state's education system, entrepreneurial ecosystem, and "commitment to diversity."