Opinion Roundup: Dam breach at Duke Energy plant, fate of FEMA chief, cost of rebuilding and more

Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Dam breach at Duke Energy plant, why coal ash is dangerous, Carolina farms could take billions in losses from Florence, tariffs to raise cost of rebuilding, N.C. ballots going out for upcoming general election, FEMA chief won't lose job and more.

TRAVIS FAIN & MATTHEW BURNS: Lawmakers want special session on hurricane recovery faster than Cooper suggested (WRAL-TV reports) -- A day after Gov. Roy Cooper called for an October special session to approve initial funding needs for the Hurricane Florence recovery, legislative leaders said they're prepared to meet next week.

MICHAEL BIESECKER and ALAN SUDERMAN: Dam breach at Duke plant; coal ash could spill (AP reports) -- Florence's floodwaters breached a dam holding back a large reservoir at a Wilmington power plant and coal ash from an adjacent dump could be flowing into the nearby Cape Fear River. Duke Energy spokeswoman Paige Sheehan said the utility doesn't believe the breach at the L.V. Sutton Power Station poses a significant threat of increased flooding to nearby communities.

CHRISTOPHER MELE: What Is Coal Ash and Why Is It Dangerous? (New York Times reports) -- The phrase “coal ash” made headlines this week after a dam on a lake at the site of a power plant in Wilmington, N.C., was breached, allowing the hazardous ash into a river that supplies drinking water to much of the southeastern part of the state.

ALISSA SKELTON: Florence has devastated tobacco crops in N.C. (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports) -- The state is the top tobacco grower in the country. The storm flooded up to 125 million pounds of the crop across the state, according to estimates by the Tobacco Growers Association.

GARY ROBERTSON & EMERY DALESIO: Carolinas farms could take billions in losses from Florence (AP reports) — Hurricane Florence is testing the resolve of farmers in the Carolinas, who could face billions of dollars in agricultural damage while still feeling the sting from Hurricane Matthew almost two years ago.

LEONEDA INGE: 'Operation Airdrop' Helps Deliver Supplies To Hurricane Florence Victims (WUNC-FM reports) -- During natural disasters we mostly hear about big relief agencies like FEMA and organizations like The Red Cross. But smaller groups are also working hard to help in the aftermath. This week at Raleigh Durham International Airport, an endless supply of volunteers organized and packed emergency supplies for those in need out east. And then the packages were flown by a group of pilots for delivery. The grassroots effort is called “Operation Airdrop.”

FRANCES STEAD SELLERS: ‘The storm itself is not our biggest problem. Our problem is what comes next.’ (Washington Post reports) -- Hurricane Florence came and went. But many riverfront towns in N.C. are just now experiencing the menace that has mounted steadily: water. Long after the winds and the rains, the river rises relentlessly out of its banks, lapping over curbs and through doorways.

MICHAEL SCHWARTZ: Tariffs to Raise Cost of Rebuilding After Hurricane Florence (New York Times reports) -- Homeowners and businesses will have to pay more for lumber, steel, aluminum and other materials because of President Trump’s trade policy.

KIRK ROSS: Florence environmental damage concerns high, assessment to take time (Carolina Public Press reports) — Damage estimates from the torrential rains of Hurricane Florence are just starting to be tallied, but they already figure to top the damage from floodwaters from its predecessors Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

TRAVIS FAIN: Night-vision, helicopters used to rescue 100 from flooded Bladen town overnight (WRAL-TV reports) — More than 100 people and 33 animals were rescued late Thursday and early Friday from a Bladen County community after a levee breached on the Cape Fear River, officials said.

CAMPAIGN 2018

MATTHEW BURNS: Lawsuits, Florence can't stop NC ballots from going out (WRAL-TV reports) -- The New Bern-based firm that prints most of the ballots to be used in N.C. for the upcoming general election has met a Saturday deadline for absentee ballots despite legal wrangling over what should appear on the ballot and flooding from Hurricane Florence.

MARK BARRETT: Buncombe candidates for NC House debate benefits of GOP policies, Medicaid (Asheville Citizen-Times reports) -- Two Republican candidates for state legislature said they would keep policies of the GOP majority in Raleigh in place while two Democrats said the state should expand Medicaid and opposed some Republican moves on education. The Council of Independent Business Owners held the four-way debate between candidates for two seats representing parts of Buncombe County.

GOP and League of Women Voters spar, and the public loses (Charlotte Observer) -- The League of Women Voters has hosted candidate debates in Charlotte for years. What happens if the candidates don’t show up?

LYNN BONNER: Get ready: Ads for and against NC’s constitutional amendments will start soon (Charlotte Observer reports) — The state NAACP, the ACLU and other nonprofits are organizing a campaign against the six proposed constitutional amendments , which they call “deceptive and dangerous.” Organizers plan a formal announcement at a Monday press conference. The coalition calls itself By the People and is planning radio ads and a statewide question-and-answer tour that will kick off Monday in Mecklenburg County.

MATTHEW BURNS: Raleigh man beaten by law enforcement in April charged this week with assaulting officer (WRAL reports) — A Raleigh man beaten by law enforcement officers during an April confrontation was charged with assaulting a police officer in a Thursday night incident. Kyron Dwain Hinton, 29, also was charged with damage to government property, resisting arrest and second-degree trespassing.

COLLEEN LONG: DHS secretary: FEMA chief misused cars, but won't lose job (AP reports) -- Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator William "Brock" Long who lives in Hickory, N.C., used government vehicles to travel from his home without proper authorization, but will not lose his job over it, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said.

DREW BROOKS: Former Bragg soldier to receive the Medal of Honor (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- A former Fort Bragg soldier will receive the nation’s highest honor for valor in combat, the White House announced Friday. Ronald J. Shurer II, who served with the 3rd Special Forces Group, will receive the Medal of Honor from President Donald J. Trump on Oct. 1. Shurer was a staff sergeant and senior medical sergeant with Operational Detachment Alpha 3336 on April 6, 2008, in Afghanistan. Shurer is credited with heroically fighting his way up a mountain to save members of his Special Forces team after coming under attack during a mission targeting members of Hezeb Islami al Gulbadin in the Shok Valley.

EDUCATION

MATTHEW BURNS: Chapel Hill officials again urge UNC to move 'Silent Sam' (WRAL reports) —The Chapel Hill Town Council sent a letter Friday to University of North Carolina officials, once again asking that a controversial Confederate monument be permanently relocated on campus.