Opinion Roundup: Amazon HQ2, NC unemployment rate, student walk out and more

Saturday, April 21, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Amazon officials pressed NC governor on 'bathroom bill', hundreds walk out of Triangle schools to protest gun violence, NC unemployment rate remains above national rate, clash of faith and LGBT rights at Fort Bragg and more.

TOM FOREMAN: Pence visits North Carolina to stump for GOP, tout tax law (AP reports) -- Vice President Mike Pence made a three-stop visit to North Carolina, including a stop in the state's largest city to tout President Donald Trump's tax overhaul law.

Bernie Sanders in N.C. calls for "moral economy" (AP reports) -- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has told a North Carolina audience that the nation needs a "moral economy."

LAURA LESLIE: ‘Hall monitor’ -- Beleaguered Wake lawmaker stays out of sight before primary (WRAL-TV reports) -- Weeks ago, Rep. Duane Hall, D-Wake, was hinting at a run for lieutenant governor in 2020. Now, Hall is running from controversy, trying to keep a low profile and make it through his upcoming primary.

TERRENCE McCOY: ‘Imploding’: Financial troubles. Lawsuits. Trailer park brawls. Has the alt-right peaked? (Washington Post analysis) -- Lawsuits and arrests, fundraising difficulties, tepid recruitment, widespread infighting, fierce counterprotests and banishment on social media platforms have exhausted even some of the staunchest members of the movement.

Embattled sheriff candidate denies using tracking device on ex-girlfriend's vehicle (Hickory Daily Record reports) -- Jason Reid, candidate for Sheriff of Catawba County, gave his response on the SBI investigation he faces with a Facebook video on his campaign page. Here is a transcript.

How we see NC's competitive 9th congressional district (Charlotte Observer) -- Robert Pittenger's NC 9th congressional district could be competitive this year. The Charlotte Observer endorses in the Republican and Democratic primaries.

JESSE NEWMAN: N.C. Farm Linked to Egg Recall Had Rodent Problems, Report Finds (Wall Street Journal reports) -- An FDA report found a North Carolina facility owned by Rose Acre Farms, at the center of a salmonella outbreak and recall of millions of eggs, was infested with rodents and had unsanitary conditions.

JONATHAN O’CONNELL: unspoken factor in Amazon’s search for a new home: Jeff Bezos’s support for gay rights (Washington Post reports) --As Amazon executives recently toured finalist locations to help select what they’ve dubbed HQ2, they asked public officials about what sort of “compatible cultural and community environment” — the wording from the company’s search parameters — each city offers, adding to speculation about whether Amazon will choose a liberal stronghold. In North Carolina, company representatives asked pointed questions of Gov. Roy Cooper (D) about several state policies such as the “bathroom bill,” which restricted the use of public facilities by transgender people, according to a person in the room.

Report: Amazon officials pressed NC governor on 'bathroom bill' (WRAL-TV/TechWire) -- A visiting team of Amazon officials that recently toured the Triangle seeking information about whether the region is a fit for its HQ2 project reportedly grilled Gov. Roy Cooper about House Bill 2, the so-called “bathroom bill”

SEBASTIAN SMEE: Great museums seem to matter for the locations on the shortlist for Amazon’s HQ2 (Washington Post reports) -- The cities and counties under final consideration have something unexpected in common. … Raleigh has not only the recently renovated North Carolina Museum of Art, with its sculpture park and outdoor amphitheater and impressively wide-ranging collections (which include great Renaissance holdings from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, northern European paintings and a gallery for Judaic art), but a small jewel, Duke University’s Nasher Museum of Art, in nearby Durham.

A clash of faith and LGBT rights at Fort Bragg (Fayetteville Observer) -- The military can and does accommodate many different ideas and beliefs, religious beliefs among them. But it has been steadily less willing to accommodate any kind of discrimination, and should be applauded for that.

CARL HULSE: Push for Special Counsel Bill Shows G.O.P.’s Rising Fear Mueller Will Be Fired (New York Times analysis) -- Despite Mitch McConnell’s resistance to bringing legislation protecting the special counsel to the floor, its backers are pressing ahead to send President Trump a message.

JODI GLUSCO: Governor's state of emergency starts aid process for tornado damage (WRAL-TV reports) -- Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency for Guilford and Rockingham counties to start the flow of federal aid to help with cleanup and repairs after a tornado tore through the area on Sunday.

N.C. 4.5% unemployment rate remains above national rate (AP reports) -- The state Commerce Department reported Friday the state's jobless rate was 4.5 percent in March, above the nationwide rate of 4.1 percent. That's the sixth straight month both the state and national unemployment rate have been stuck in the same place.

VALERIE BAUERLEIN: New York City Sewage Held Up in Alabama Town Finally Taken Away (Wall Street Journal reports) -- About 200 shipping containers of rotting sewage from New York City have been removed from a rural Alabama town, putting an end to three months of legal challenges, the mayor there said.

HANNAH WEBSTER: 'Killing our generation:' Students call for gun reform at 'Why Wake Walks' event in Halifax Mall (WRAL-TV reports) -- On the 19th anniversary of the fatal school shooting at Columbine High School, hundreds of students gathered in Halifax Mall demanding lawmakers on gun legislation.

ADAM OWENS & SLOAN HEFFERNAN: Scared, angry and demanding action: Hundreds walk out of Triangle schools in protest (WRAL-TV reports) -- Students across the Triangle walked out of their classes as part of National School Walkout Day to demand an end to gun violence.

Myers Park High students say they were suspended for walkout over gun violence (Charlotte Observer reports) -- Students at Charlotte's Myers Park High School said they were suspended for walking out of class as part of nationwide protests against gun violence. CMS officials couldn't be immediately reached.

TRAVIS FAIN: NC's new teacher of the year is named Freebird (WRAL-TV reports) -- Freebird McKinney, a social studies teacher in Burlington, tells crowd to "walk the path of the dragon slayer."

AMELIA HARPER: Event highlights children’s needs (Rocky Mount Telegram) -- More than 100 school board members, business leaders and community stakeholders gathered to celebrate the Week of the Young Child and learn more about the work of the Down East Partnership for Children. Jim Goodmon, chairman of the board of Capitol Broadcasting Co., was the keynote speaker. Goodmon was the first chairman of the board of the N.C. Partnership for Children and also was instrumental in starting the Smart Start initiative under former Gov. Jim Hunt.

DON JODREY: N.C. can’t afford to go backward on environmental gains (Winston-Salem Journal column) -- Sunday is Earth Day, and for nearly five decades since this commemorative holiday was first established, in 1970, local communities across the United States are likely to plant trees, maintain hiking trails, install LED lighting, restore beach dunes and living shorelines and undertake many other activities to underscore the importance of a healthy environment to daily life.

No laughing matter (Greensboro News & Record) -- In late 2017, Trump signed this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, which includes a provision saying “climate change is a direct threat to the national security of the United States.” Our military leaders know. Federal agencies know. Scientists know. Global warming is no joke.

ADAM WAGNER: Innovation seen as key to GE Hitachi’s future (Wilmington Star-News reports) -- Amid uncertainty, Wilmington company developing a smaller, cheaper nuclear reactor