Opinion Roundup: Competitive NC primaries, tax mishaps, charter school segregation and more

Friday, April 27, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: NC seeing some of the most competitive primaries in memory, jury awards neighbors of North Carolina hog farm $50 million, NC tax agency duplicated thousands of payments, charter school segregation, utilities commission oks solar rebates and more.

JIM MORRILL: NC is seeing some of the most competitive primaries in memory. Here's why (Charlotte Observer reports) -- The 2018 NC primary will see competitive races where incumbents could face stiff challenges. Those credible challengers, along with scrambled districts and restless voters, have added up to a volatile election.

LAUREN HORSCH: NC lawmaker's mailer used elections office as return address. It was a mistake, he says. (The Insider/Charlotte Observer reports) -- North Carolina state senator Joel Ford, a Charlotte Democrat, erroneously listed the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections address as the return address on campaign mailers recently sent out.

BRIE HANDGRAAF: 3 Democrats seek congressional nomination (Wilson Times reports) -- The fight to represent the 2nd Congressional District is heating up with the Republican incumbent George Holding facing Allen Chesser while Democrats Linda Coleman, Wendy Ella May and Ken Romley vie to represent their party on the ballot in November.

MARIA ARMENTAL: Jury Awards Neighbors of North Carolina Hog Farm $50 Million In Nuisance Case (Wall Street Journal reports) -- A North Carolina jury reached an unanimous verdict against pork producer Murphy-Brown in a landmark case that could pave the way for more nuisance lawsuits against large-scale livestock operations.

EMERY DALESIO: Jury hits pork giant for $50M for hog operation's nuisance (AP reports) -- A federal jury awarded more than $50 million in damages to neighbors of an industrial hog operation found responsible for intense smells, noise and other disturbances so bad people couldn't enjoy their rural homes.

LINDA SUTTON: We should join Forsyth judges standing up to legislative attacks (Winston-Salem Journal column) -- On April 16, a bipartisan panel of Forsyth County judges came together for one reason: to speak out publicly against the state legislature’s recent attacks on the judiciary.

Cooper seeks federal help for 2 N.C. counties (AP reports) -- Gov. Roy Cooper has asked for a federal disaster declaration for two central North Carolina counties where hundreds of buildings were damaged as a confirmed tornado touched down this month.

N.C. tax agency duplicated thousands of payments (AP reports) -- North Carolina's tax collectors are refunding money to thousands of taxpayers whose electronic payments were wrongly subtracted twice from their bank accounts.

MICHAEL HEWLETT: SBI settles with Clemmons dentist who claimed agents tried to frame him for wife's killing (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- Nearly 10 years after Dr. Kirk Alan Turner was acquitted of a murder charge in the stabbing death of his estranged wife, his lawsuit alleging that two agents with the State Bureau of Investigation tried to frame him for murder has been settled for $200,000. Turner, a Clemmons dentist, claimed in the lawsuit that SBI agents Duane Deaver and Gerald Thomas fabricated blood evidence in an effort to support Davie County prosecutors’ theory of the case.

ROB SCHOFIELD: Stop playing political games with public records (Wilson Times column) -- It’s been almost three years since state legislative leaders hired longtime conservative politician Paul Coble to run the day-to-day operations of the General Assembly as state legislative services officer. After all that time, you’d think that Coble — who takes home well over $200,000 per year in salary and benefits — would have developed a basic grasp of one of his chief job duties: responding to requests for documents that he’s supposed to share under state public records laws. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case.

ISSAC J. BAILEY: My brother’s a prisoner at S.C. prison. He saw that deadly riot coming (Greensboro News & Record) -- Legislators show no urgency to fix under-staffing that has plagued Carolinas prisons.

DREW BROOKS: N.C. officials say state a natural fit for Army’s Futures Command (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- Bringing the U.S. Army’s planned Futures Command to North Carolina makes sense, according to state officials. And to prove it, they are asking the Army to take a look at how state officials and organizations already partner with or support key military groups, from sprawling Fort Bragg to the Army Research Office in Research Triangle Park. Larry D. Hall, secretary for the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, said the relationships built between the state and those key Army facilities could prove to be the difference maker as the Army looks to whittle down a list of 15 finalists for the planned major command.

TED MANN: States That Raise Tolls and Taxes Will Have an Edge in Getting DOT Funds (Wall Street Journal reports) -- States and cities that raise taxes and tolls will have a better chance at winning federal money for roads and bridges, part of a Trump administration strategy to have states carry a bigger part of infrastructure spending.

PETER BAKER & MAGGIE HABERMAN: For Many, Life in Trump’s Orbit Ends in a Crash Landing (New York Times analysis) -- On Thursday alone, Dr. Ronny L. Jackson became a failed cabinet nominee, Michael D. Cohen was back in court and Scott Pruitt was facing a congressional committee.

MARK WALKER & CEDRIC RICHMOND: Congress must act to fix broken criminal justice system (Greensboro News & Record column) -- Our criminal justice system is crumbling. Over the last 40 years, our domestic incarceration rate has quadrupled, creating a crisis of more than 2 million people behind bars in the United States today. Simultaneously, recidivism rates have grown or remained high.

JAMES E. FORD: In Matthews, not white flight but 'a white fence' around their children (Charlotte Observer column) -- The Matthews fight against CMS over charter schools is about race, no matter what you've been told. Let's stop pretending we don’t have the foggiest notion what House Bill 514 is about. A bill that would allow municipalities like Matthews and Mint Hill to create their own tax-supported charters, where being a resident of those communities is the primary requirement for attendance, is a design for racial and economic segregation. Let’s just make it plain.

ADAM OWENS: Nearly 800 Durham teachers take off May 16, request school be canceled to demand better conditions (WRAL-TV reports) -- The Durham Association of Educators announced Thursday evening that more than 650 teachers have requested personal leave on May 16 to advocate for Durham Public Schools in Raleigh.

JENNY DRABBLE: Salem College apologizes publicly for owning slaves; first local college to do so (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- Salem Academy and College apologized for its role in slavery, saying the college owned slaves who worked on campus as housekeepers and in other roles.

LIZ SCHLEMMER: NC Could Change The Way It Funds Schools To Put Students' Needs First (WUNC-FM reports) -- A legislative committee that may overhaul the way schools are funded is looking to rewrite the formula so it’s based primarily on a school district’s students. The joint legislative committee on Education Finance Reform was formed to help the state develop a weighted student funding model -- which most states now use. Education researcher Marguerite Roza of Georgetown University gave the final expert presentation of the committee's study phase. Roza spoke about various funding models and how states transitioned between them.

EVAN MATSUMOTO: Wake, Orange counties top statewide list of student wellness (WRAL-TV reports) -- Students in Orange and Wake counties again have the highest likelihood of success in schools across North Carolina, according to an annual study of the state's 100 counties.

C. JACKSON COWARD: 'Meditation Monday:' UNC women's golf team practices mindfulness to better performance (UNC MediaHub/WRAL-TV reports) -- The women's golf team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill practices mindfulness and meditates weekly to better their performance on the green and quality of life.

JEREMY BAUER-WOLF: White Supremacist in the Library (Inside Higher Ed reports) -- University of Virginia hasn't blocked the organizer of last year's fatal Unite the Right rally from coming on campus, despite calls from students and professors to do so.

FERREL GUILLORY: Beyond prom night, two wide pathways to higher education (EdNC column) -- To what extent should the state channel its young people into four-year universities, or point more of them into community colleges?

NANCY MCCLEARY: Feds say they are cracking down on violent crime and drug dealers (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- Federal officials are launching a concerted effort to go after violent criminals and those selling opium or heroin in the Eastern District which includes Cumberland, Robeson and Sampson counties. U.S. Attorney Robert J. Higdon Jr. outlined his “Take North Carolina Back” initiative

THOMAS GOLDSMITH: Medicaid Pilot Will Help Some, But Not All, NC TBI Patients with Rehab (N.C. Health News analysis) -- Medicaid and the state of North Carolina recently announced they’ll spend a combined $6 million for a higher level of services for traumatic brain injury patients, in part to keep them out of long-term care.

Utilities Commission OKs Solar Rebates (Coastal Review reports) -- Customers can begin signing up this summer for the $62 million Duke Energy solar rebate program created to help North Carolina customers with the upfront cost of installing solar panels on their property.

DANA SARGENT: In Memoriam-Bob Simpson, 1925-2018 (Coastal Review column) -- This week marks a month since the death of Bob Simpson, a writer, seasoned waterman, advocate for the creation of the Cape Lookout National Seashore and longtime owner of possibly the oldest fishing boat on the N.C. coast.

JONATHAN DREW: Iconic pen used by military, made by blind people turns 50 (AP REPORTS) -- Anyone who's served in the military, worked for the federal government or addressed a package at the post office is probably familiar with an iconic government pen. But they might not have realized it was made by the visually impaired for the past five decades. The ubiquitous SKILCRAFT U.S. Government pens turning 50 this month. National Industries for the Blind, with offices in Greensboro, traces the pen's history to April 20, 1968, when it was introduced to government buyers. The nonprofit organization was tapped to supply pens after another manufacturer made 13 million defective ballpoints in 1967. The pens must be able to write a continuous line 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) long and keep the ink flowing despite extreme temperatures — from 40 degrees below zero to 160 degrees (4 to 71 degrees Celsius).