Opinion Roundup: Apple sours, retaining rural health providers, criminalization of politics and more

Friday, Dec. 14, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Legislature grants Wayne County some relief, N.C. fails to land Apple site, House Speaker Tim Moore promises push on school construction, DA says jail probe to be immense, recruiting rural health providers and more.

AMY GARDNER & BETH REINHARD: N.C. congressional candidate sought out aide, despite warnings over tactics (Washington Post reports) -- According to three individuals familiar with the campaign of Republican Mark Harris, the candidate directed the hiring of operative Leslie McCrae Dowless, who is now at the center of an election-fraud investigation.

JIM MORRILL & ELY PORTILLO: In the 9th District, a new primary might draw a crowded field for disputed seat (Charlotte Observer reports) — Weeks after winning the now-disputed 9th District congressional race, Charlotte Republican Mark Harris faces the daunting prospect of not only a new election but a new, wide-open GOP primary.

JULIA JACOBS: In North Carolina, voting controversies are common. Here's the recent history (New York Times reports) -- In the past decade, North Carolina has been a central battleground for the partisan fight over voting restrictions. Since their takeover of the state’s General Assembly in 2010, Republicans have devised district maps and pushed through voter identification laws that have prompted a series of high-profile court cases. In a state that retained literacy tests until the 1970s, the potential for disenfranchisement of black voters is at the core of the continuing debate. … The current voting controversy follows eight years of partisan fervor over how elections are run in North Carolina.

EMERY DALESIO: N.C. fails to land Apple site, thousands of jobs (AP reports) -- North Carolina business recruiters and politicians offered little to explain why Apple announced Thursday it was bypassing the state and instead choosing Texas as the site for thousands of new technology jobs.

SOUGATA MUKHERJEE: Apple's decision feels like a complete rebuke of N.C. (Triangle Business Journal column) -- There's no other way to put it — policies have consequences.

TRAVIS FAIN: NC officials surprised by Apple announcement (WRAL-TV reports) -- Gov. Roy Cooper's administration is largely silent on losing out. High-ranking officials say they found out via middle-of-the-night news release, like everyone else.

RICK SMITH: Apple’s ‘monumental deal’ goes against Triangle – for now (WRAL-TV/TechWire analysis) -- A senior executive says he “may not want to get out of bed” after hearing about Apple’s decision to build a new $1 billion campus in Austin, Texas. “That’s a monumental deal,” he declared. But the Triangle as well as North Carolina shouldn’t give up hope that Apple won’t be expanding its presence in the state – at least right now. The key words in the Apple announcement: There is “the potential for additional expansion elsewhere in the US over time.”

TAFT WIREBACK: GOP legislators deny Greensboro judge Industrial Commission seat (Greensboro News & Record reports) -- In another scrap with Gov. Roy Cooper over executive authority, Republican state legislators have rejected Cooper nominee and veteran Greensboro judge Robby Hassell for a seat on the N.C. Industrial Commission. The House of Representatives voted against Hassell’s confirmation , 34-59, with no Republican legislators supporting the former Guilford County District Court judge who later served as a special/emergency Superior Court judge throughout North Carolina.

ALEX GRANADOS: Legislature grants Wayne County some relief (EdNC reports) — The General Assembly seemingly granted Wayne County Schools some relief in the ongoing saga over the Innovative School District’s (ISD) recommendation to include Carver Heights Elementary School in the ISD.

Legislature nears end of 2-year session, awaiting any vetoes (AP reports) — The NC General Assembly is putting the finishing touches on its two-year session. Legislators on Thursday approved a grab-bag "technical corrections" bill and a measure extending the time farmers can request state aid following Hurricane Florence until Dec. 20.

TRAVIS FAIN: House speaker promises push on school construction (WRAL-TV reports) — NC voters may get a chance to approve nearly $2 billion in school construction money in 2020. House Speaker Tim Moore threw his political weight behind the idea Thursday, saying he'll back a package next year at the legislature to borrow the money for construction statewide.

House speaker to push for $1.9B bond question for 2020 (AP reports) — The leader of the NC House says he'll urge colleagues next year to pass a $1.9 billion public education bond referendum that would go to voters in 2020. House Speaker Tim Moore announced Thursday he would also travel the state to back his debt proposal, of which about two-thirds would benefit K-12 public schools.

John Edwards, Donald Trump, and the Criminalization of Politics (Election Law Blog column) -- In thinking about the potential criminal liability of Donald Trump for campaign finance violations, I time and again return to the prosecution of John Edwards for similar criminal behavior involving whether hush money payments to a mistress need to have been reported as campaign expenditures for the FEC.

Election Protection Releases Preliminary Report on 2018 Midterm Elections (Lawyers’ Committee reports) -- The 2018 midterms showed a historic and unprecedented level of determination by American voters to make their voices heard in elections. According to preliminary estimates, more than 116 million voters – 49.7% of the eligible voting population – cast a ballot this election. This marks the highest turnout for midterm elections in more than 100 years, just under the previous record of 50.4% in 1914, when the vote excluded women, African-Americans, and other people of color. The 2018 turnout rate is in stark contrast to the 2014 midterms that saw record low turnout, with only 36.7% of eligible voters casting a ballot.

KATE MARTIN: DA says NC jail probe to be immense, could take more than a year (Carolina Public Press reports) — As the State Bureau of Investigation looks into allegations of inmate abuse at the Cherokee County Detention Center, District Attorney Ashley Welch said the agency’s probe could be among the broadest state investigations in Western NC in recent years.

Deadline for Florence aid request in NC extended (AP reports) — Gov. Roy Cooper announced Thursday's previous deadline to apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency grants or for low-interest small business loans has been extended to Dec. 19. Cooper says he requested the extension, which a FEMA spokeswoman also confirmed.

RICHARD STRADLING: Growing hemp may soon be legal in NC, but you’ll need a license from the state (Charlotte Observer reports) — The farm bill that Congress has sent to President Trump this week would make it legal to grow hemp in the United States, but that doesn’t mean you can plant some in your backyard this spring. Hemp has long been prized for its fiber and is the source of the increasingly popular CBD, an oil thought to have medicinal qualities that is used in a host of products.

Hospitalized with mental illness, how was a killer able to buy a gun? (Charlotte Observer) — A man who had spent time in a mental institution just seven months earlier walked into a Fort Mill Cabela’s, bought a gun, walked out with it and an hour later shot a 19-year-old grocery worker five times, killing her. How is this possible?

JACK STRIPLING: Should Carol Folt Dare Her Boss to Fire Her? (Chronicle of Higher Education column) -- Carol L. Folt stares down a throng of heartless racists and tells them exactly where they can shove their Confederate statue. She’s not putting it back up, she tells them, and if they don’t like it, they can fire her. Many people at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where Folt has struggled as chancellor to relocate a Confederate monument known as Silent Sam, would buy tickets to that movie.

JANE STANCILL: Silent Sam proposal ‘that nobody likes’ headed to UNC governing board Friday (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — As a decision about the Silent Sam Confederate monument looms, UNC-Chapel Hill leaders face intense opposition to their proposal to create a $5.3 million history center on campus to house the statue.

LUKE DECOCK: On Silent Sam, UNC athletes are just starting to flex their muscles (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — When Garrison Brooks and K.J. Smith became two of the more than 200 current and former NC athletes to denounce the university’s plans to build a $5 million shrine to Silent Sam, they tapped into influence they may not have known they had.

Mixing it up (Greensboro News & Record) — Chancellor Carol Folt and the trustees of UNC-Chapel Hill have come up with a solution for “Silent Sam,” the campus Confederate monument that was toppled by protesters in August. Their solution is guaranteed to please no one — which means it’s probably the best compromise anyone could reach.

LISA PHILIP: UNC Teaching Assistants Put Jobs, Educations On Line To Protest Silent Sam (WUNC reports) — A showdown is mounting between UNC- Chapel Hill officials and some university faculty and graduate students over the fate of Silent Sam. More than 80 teaching assistants and professors have pledged to withhold final grades. They demand university trustees withdraw their proposal for a new $5 million history center to house the Confederate statue.

RICHARD SELTZER: Differing Fates for 2 HBCUs in N.C. (Inside Higher Ed reports) -- Bennett College will have to appeal to keep its accreditation, while St. Augustine's was taken off probation. Although the historically black institutions' fates may be different, both struggled under the same pressures.

FERREL GUILLORY: Agenda 2019: A strategy for our most-struggling schools (EdNC column) — NC has a name and a legal definition for its most-struggling schools. But neither the name nor the definition adequately describes schools that as many as 250,000 young North Carolinians attend.

MOLLY OSBORNE: Removing barriers: A proposal to simplify the Residency Determination Service (EdNC reports) — This is Part Four of a series on the Residency Determination Service. Part One gives a comprehensive overview of the issues surrounding residency determination at community colleges, Part Two looks at student and staff experiences with RDS, and Part Three explores the creation of RDS.

ANN DOSS HELMS: CMS is divided but not paralyzed on attempts to remedy racism, superintendent says (Charlotte Observer reports) — After a long, intense and sometimes personal debate among school board members Tuesday night, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Superintendent Clayton Wilcox said he wanted to assure the public that CMS is not “paralyzed” by the board’s rift over equity.

PAULA LAVIGNE: What’s lurking in your stadium food? Charlotte, Raleigh venues among worst for health violations (ESPN reports) -- North Carolina's professional sports venues are among the worst in the nation for critical violations in food safety inspections. In fact, the Spectrum Center, home of the Charlotte Hornets, is ranked dead-last among the 107 venues ranked by ESPN, with 23 high-level violations in 25 inspections at the arena.

TAYLOR KNOPF: Recruiting and Retaining Rural Health Providers (NC Health News reports) — As rural areas struggle to attract a health care workforce, an economist and medical professor provide a few strategies.

LOLITA BALDOR: Marine Corps says $3.6B for storm repairs at East Coast base (AP reports) -- When Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., were preparing for their upcoming deployment to the Middle East, they faced an unusual challenge: the beach they needed to train on had been washed away by Hurricane Florence.

Court tosses permit for pipeline to cross Appalachian Trail (AP reports) -- A federal appeals court has invalidated a permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to cross two national forests, including parts of the Appalachian Trail. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the U.S. Forest Service "abdicated its responsibility to preserve national forest resources" when it approved the pipeline crossing the George Washington and Monongahela National Forests, and a right of way across the Appalachian Trail.

TRISA TALTON: Riverkeeper, SELC Defend GenX Agreement (Coastal Review Online reports) — The proposed consent order between Chemours and the NC Department of Environmental Quality would be the quickest way to stop pollution emanating from the company’s Fayetteville Works plant, officials with environmental groups that joined the order say.

ANTIONETTE KERR: Waterway Restoration: A New Year Priority in NC (Public News Service reports) — It's been a tough year for NC's water resources. Like people, buildings and wildlife, bodies of water also have had to withstand the damaging effects of Hurricanes Florence and Michael, and a flurry of tornadoes. Professor Tammy Kowalczyk at Appalachian State University says a waterway's resiliency is a gift, and clean water "sustainability" is important for day-to-day water needs, as well as preparing for future weather emergencies.

Judge rules no punishing Smithfield Foods in hog farm nuisance case (AP reports) — A federal judge in NC shut down a lawsuit against a Smithfield Foods hog-feeding operation on Thursday before jurors who determined the company was a nuisance to neighbors could discuss punishing the pork giant. U.S. District Judge David Faber declared there wasn't enough evidence for neighbors to pursue punitive damages against the company.

JOHN MURAWSKI: Quoting ‘The Lorax,’ federal judges reject pipeline’s effort to cross Appalachian Trail (Charlotte Observer reports) — A federal appeals has thrown out another key permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, increasing the likelihood that work on the 604-mile multi-state project could be held up until this summer if not longer.

Perquimans teacher dies after collapsing at school (Perquimans Weekly reports) -- A beloved teacher at Hertford Grammar School whose father was a Major League pitching legend died Thursday after collapsing at her school. Kim Hunter Daugherty, daughter of Jim “Catfish” Hunter, died at Vidant Chowan Hospital in Edenton where she was transported after collapsing at the Perquimans County school in Hertford.