Opinion
Opinion Roundup: Additional options for voters, spike in absentee ballots, culture wars of car racing and more
Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Early voting changes spark bipartisan controversy, polls suggest NC congressional races are close, spike in absentee ballot requests from Democrats, GOP state Supreme Court hopeful had DWI charge in 2009, elections official resigns after online post about child sex, conservationists ask court to step in as red wolf plan looms, the culture wars of car racing and more.
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Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Early voting changes spark bipartisan controversy, polls suggest NC congressional races are close, spike in absentee ballot requests from Democrats, GOP state Supreme Court hopeful had DWI charge in 2009, elections official resigns after online post about child sex, conservationists ask court to step in as red wolf plan looms, the culture wars of car racing and more.
CAMPAIGN 2018
BARRY YEOMAN: The N.C. GOP Is Trying Every Trick To Keep A Supreme Court Seat (Talking Points Memo reports) -- Anita Earls has been the state GOP’s chief antagonist in the courtroom. Now she’s running for a seat on the state Supreme Court as a GOP threat to pack the court looms.
HALF-TRUE: Holding says ‘like a sanctuary city,’ NC county released a criminal (PolitiFact) -- PolitiFact looks into a new ad by Republican Congressman George Holding, who criticizes Democrat Linda Coleman for supporting sanctuary cities. The ad says the Orange County Sheriff’s Department “released” a criminal.
Why we back Dan McCready in the 9th (Charlotte Observer) – N.C.’s 9th Congressional District is in the middle of Democrats’ hopes to take back control of the U.S. House. Dan McCready could help them do it with a win over Mark Harris. The Charlotte Observer endorses McCready; here’s why.
FALSE: Did Democrat McCready ‘admit’ to opposing middle class tax cuts? (PolitiFact) -- An ad by the Congressional Leadership Fund says Democrat Dan McCready, who’s running against Republican Mark Harris in Congressional District 9, admits to opposing middle class tax cuts. It references the GOP tax plan.
JIM MORRILL: McCready, Harris clash in final congressional debate, showing ‘two very different visions’ (Charlotte Observer reports) -- Mark Harris, a Republican former pastor, and Dan McCready, a Democratic U.S. Marine veteran and businessman, debated in Charlotte. They’re running for the open U.S. House seat in North Carolina’s 9th District.
Early voting changes in N.C. spark bipartisan controversy (WUNC-FM reports) -- State voters are once again dealing with changes to how the state runs its elections. At a time when early voting is becoming increasingly popular nationwide, a new law passed by the Republican-controlled legislature will result in nearly 20 percent fewer places to cast votes before Election Day.
COLIN CAMPBELL: Hurricane Voting (The Insider reports) -- State election officials said they'll consider additional options and time extensions for voters displaced by Hurricane Florence. The State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement heard a request from Tomas Lopez of Democracy NC, a left-leaning voting rights group.
COLIN CAMPBELL: Elections Board Lawsuit (The Insider reports) -- Legislative leaders said they're seeking an emergency stay for a Tuesday court ruling that ruled unconstitutional the latest changes to the state elections and ethics board.
GARY ROBERTSON: NC elections board: Lawmaker didn't disclose $140K in activity (AP reports) – The state elections board sent to prosecutors the case of a state House member whom investigators allege failed to report over $140,000 in campaign contributions expenditures over several years. The elections panel voted unanimously to send their findings involving Rep. Rodney Moore, D-Mecklenburg, and his campaign to the Mecklenburg County district attorney for possible charges.
WILL DORAN & MICHAEL GORDON: GOP state Supreme Court hopeful had DWI charge in 2009 (Charlotte Observer reports) -- A Chris Anglin, a Republican candidate for the state Supreme Court, pleaded guilty more than nine years ago to trespassing and driving while impaired. Anglin was stopped by police in Greensboro in January 2009 when he was a student at Elon Law School and charged after he registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit. The following September, he pleaded guilty. Anglin criticized N.C. GOP Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse for emailing Anglin's arrest records to a listserv the GOP maintains.
DAVE HENDRICKSON: Polls suggest NC congressional races are close (WRAL-TV reports) — A roundup of recent public opinion polls put together by the politics and polling website FiveThirtyEight suggests that three congressional races in NC remain too close to call with Election Day less than three weeks away.
DAVE HENDRICKSON: Year of the woman? In NC politics, not so much (WRAL reports) — While some commentators are describing 2018 as "the year of the woman" in national politics, a new report from Meredith College says the numbers don't bear that out in NC. According to the 2018 "Status of Women in NC Politics" report, women hold less than a quarter of the 5,000 or so elected offices in NC.
LYNN BONNER & DAVID RAYNE: A spike in absentee ballot requests from NC Democrats, typically a GOP strength (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — Democrats in NC have asked for absentee ballots far more often than registered Republicans, a change from the last midterm elections in 2014.
Lawyer seeking a seat on NC’s highest court has a criminal record (Charlotte Observer reports) — One of the candidates for a seat on the NC Supreme Court has a criminal record, having previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor trespassing and DWI charges. Chris Anglin, a Republican who is one of three people on the ballot this November for the seat held by Barbara Jackson, said Wednesday that he had a drinking problem in his 20s but has since gotten sober.
Elections Official Resigns After Online Post About Child Sex (AP reports) — A member of a NC county elections board has resigned after posting on social media that Democrats plan to legalize pedophilia. The State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement confirmed Wednesday that Haywood County Board of Elections member Cornelia Cree, a Republican appointee, resigned from her position.
POLICY & POLITICS
JODI GLUSCO & DEBORAH STRANGE: DOT hosts drone workshop (WRAL-TV reports) -- There are state rules and Federal Aviation Administration laws about where people can and can't fly. As drone sales soar, the big concern is novice operators who put lives in danger by not following the law.
HURRICANE FLORENCE -- AFTERMATH
YESENIA JONES: James Taylor announces Million Meals challenge for hurricane victims (WRAL-TV reports) -- James Taylor, will be partnering with the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina to raise money for one million meals for hurricane victims.
RUPEN FOFARIA: Pender County still walking long road to recovery (EdNC reports) — Debris remains in parts of Pender County. Piles of personal belongings, furniture and insulation are stacked at curbs in front of previously-flooded houses. Trees and branches are scattered amidst the roadsides. And for stretches along the highways, several feet of browned trees and bushes remind passersby where the water levels sat after Hurricane Florence passed through.
RUPEN FOFARIA: After Florence, Robeson County finally goes back to school (EdNC reports) — It’s been 24 days since Robeson County Schools have been in session due to damage from Hurricane Florence. On Tuesday — with a return to normalcy — friends, teachers, and administrators shared joy, hugs, and warm greetings in the halls and classrooms across the county’s 40 schools.
Good start by state on storm relief; it’s only the beginning (Wilmington Star-News) — No one knows how much money will ultimately be needed to get hurricane-battered areas well on their way to a full recovery, but the passage of the 2018 Hurricane Florence Disaster Recovery Act by the N.C. General Assembly was a good first step.
EDUCATION
ANN DOSS HELMS: New twist on town charter flap: Did lawmaker offer CMS a favor if they’d fire one man? (Charlotte Observer reports) — Three top Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials said Tuesday that state Rep. Bill Brawley offered early this year to kill a controversial town charter bill if CMS would fire its governmental liaison. While rumors have floated for months, this is the first time anyone has gone on the record saying Brawley made the offer.
ANALISA SORRELLS: Governor’s commission discusses principal pipeline (EdNC reports) -- The Governor’s Commission on Access to Sound Basic Education convened in Fayetteville to consider the role principals play in ensuring the state meets its obligation to provide all students with access to a sound basic education. The meeting was part of the ongoing work of the commission to provide recommendations on how the state can meet the requirements of the 1977 Leandro decision. Previous meetings of the commission focused on topics such as school funding and early childhood education.
Get to the truth of school arrest (Winston-Salem Journal) -- We don’t know enough. That’s the unsatisfying but firm conclusion to draw at this point about the arrest of a 14-year-old black female student by a white school resource officer at Hanes Magnet Middle School on Oct. 5 that some claim was unnecessarily rough and violent.
TOM VITAGLIONE: Corporal punishment in NC: The end is near (EdNC column) -- School bells will soon ring in the new academic year for most of N.C.’s children. For the first time ever, students in the Robeson County public schools will not have to fear being hit by teachers and principals. That’s because the local school board has decided to ban the practice of corporal punishment, which is defined in statutes as the “intentional infliction of pain upon the body of a student as a measure of discipline”.
HEALTH
GREG BARNES: DHHS Announces Results of Chemours Neighbors’ Blood, Urine Tests (NC Health News reports) — Thirty people living close to the Fayetteville plant were tested this summer. Their results have come back showing negligible amounts of GenX and other fluorochemicals.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
JONATHAN DREW: Conservationists ask court to step in as red wolf plan looms (AP reports) — Conservationists told a federal judge Wednesday that an imminent government plan to shrink the territory of the only red wolves living in the wild would hasten the animal's extinction in violation of federal law.
CATHERINE KOZAK: Dare County Agrees to Lead Dredge Project (Coastal Review Online reports) — Dare County’s recent decision to handle the dredging of Manteo channel, which the county manager said is “good for everybody,” will allow the state-owned Elizabeth II currently stuck at its Roanoke Island Festival Park mooring to leave the dock,
DEREK LACEY: New Duke Energy plant charging forward; to replace coal-fired facility (Hendersonville Times-News reports) -- There’s just over a year left in the era of coal for the Asheville region, as Duke Energy continues to charge toward the opening of its new natural gas-fired power plant in South Asheville. The plant will replace the coal-fired plant that’s been supplying electricity to the mountains for decades.
… AND MORE
RACHEL CORBETT: The Culture Wars of Car Racing (New York Times reports) -- Grimy, daring and deadly, dirt-track racing is has become a magnet for fans — and a threat to the Nascar status quo.
Former N.C. news editor and Houston Chronicle Editor Nancy Barnes to Depart for NPR (AP reports) — Houston Chronicle Executive Editor Nancy Barnes, a former news editor at the News & Observer in Raleigh, will leave the Houston Chronicle and its parent Hearst organization to become National Public Radio's senior vice president of news.
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