Opinion

Opinion Roundup: Debate negotiations; to impeach or not; no movement on Medicaid; hottest decade; and more.

Thursday, Dec. 16, 2019 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Negotiating debates; no pledge of allegiance; to impeach or not; Medicaid on idle; hottest decade; sleeping better; and more.

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Thursday, Dec. 16, 2019 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Negotiating debates; no pledge of allegiance; to impeach or not; Medicaid on idle; hottest decade; sleeping better; and more.
CAMPAIGN 2020
Tillis seeks 5 TV debates with Democrat in US Senate race (AP reports) -- Republican Sen. Thom Tillis proposed holding five televised debates with the Democratic nominee, starting this spring. At least one Democratic primary candidate, former state Sen. Cal Cunningham, said immediately he is "ready to debate Thom Tillis in the general election” but didn't specifically accept the incumbent's schedule.

County board in NC won’t say Pledge of Allegiance, rebukes critics as disruptive (Charlotte Observer reports) – The Bladen County board of elections is facing growing criticism for rebuking requests to add the Pledge of Allegiance to its agendas -- and for warning deputies will be on hand to deal with those who use the Pledge to disrupt meetings.

Question for NC Congress, Senate candidates: Impeach Trump or not? (Carolina Public Press reports) -- Nearly 80 candidates running for Congress and U.S. Senate across N.C. were asked about their view on the impeachment of President Trump.

JOE KILLIAN: State lawmaker’s failure to disclose business ties highlights broader ethics enforcement problem (N.C. Policy Watch reports) -- State Rep. Holly Grange (R-New Hanover) failed to disclose a business owned and operated by her husband on state Statement of Economic Interest forms for several years, according to documents reviewed by Policy Watch. In N.C., public officials are required to disclose connections to all non-publicly owned companies by which they or their immediate family members are employed or in which they have an interest.

POLICY & POLITICS
GARY ROBERTSON: Medicaid expansion advocates 'mad' as bill idles (AP reports) -- With lawmakers not scheduled back to Raleigh until late April, a bipartisan group pressing for Medicaid expansion expressed frustration with GOP legislative leaders for failing to act this week. A House proposal to cover 300,000 additional people through the 2010 federal health care law has been idling for month since a committee approved it overwhelmingly in September.

ROSE HOBAN: Legislative mini-session produces little movement on health care issues, despite new call for Medicaid expansion (N.C. Health News reports) -- An unlikely coalition of business people, law enforcement and local officials - all conservative - came together Wednesday to criticize the legislature for missing the opportunity to act on Medicaid.

What's Next For Medicaid In N.C.? (WFAE-FM/Kaiser Family Foundation) -- N.C. is still without a full state budget after state senators did not hold an expected vote to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto. That means planned changes to how Medicaid pays healthcare providers are up in the air. Medicaid is the health insurance program for low-income adults, children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with disabilities.

LESLIE SCISM & MARK MAREMONT: Insurance Officials Pursue Control of Many of Greg Lindberg’s Firms (Wall Street Journal reports) – N.C. insurance officials are seeking appointment of a temporary receiver to take control of hundreds of private companies owned by the insurance executive.

BILLY BALL: Make no mistake. The budget failed because Republicans failed to compromise (N.C. Policy Watch column) -- There is a temptation—and believe me, I understand it—to celebrate the fleeting nature of this week’s special session of the North Carolina state legislature as some sort of success.

The Senate impeachment trial is here. So what's next? (PolitiFact/WRAL-TV reports) -- After a weeks-long delay, the process of impeaching and removing President Donald Trump is moving forward again.
Charlotte homicide rate hits 14-year high (AP reports) -- New data shows Charlotte suffered its highest rate of homicides last year in more than a decade.

MELISSA BOUGHTON: New “Raise the Age” law appears to be off to a promising start (N.C. Policy Watch reports) -- New facilities and policies offer hope to 16 and 17 year-olds once consigned to the adult corrections system

Raleigh officers seen in video repeatedly kneeing driver during arrest (WRAL-TV reports) --The Raleigh Police Department is investigating the use of force by two officers after a cellphone video shows them kneeing a man several times during an arrest

Fayetteville police detective was fired over messages sent to rape victims, but authorities say that didn't stop him (WRAL-TV reports) -- The Fayetteville Police Department has fired a detective who is accused of making inappropriate advances toward women through social media while serving as the investigator on their rape cases.
Special Operations soldier from Hope Mills dies during military freefall training (WRAL-TV reports) - Special Forces soldier from Fort Bragg died during routine training in Arizona on Tuesday, officials told The Fayetteville Observer.
EDUCATION
KELLY HINCHCLIFFE: NC education agency investigating claim that former staffer's texts were illegally monitored (WRAL-TV reports) -- The N.C. Department of Public Instruction is investigating a claim that someone illegally monitored a former employee's personal text messages using her old work laptop, which was still connected to her phone after she retired.
State voucher violations leave details unknown (AP reports) -- Currently Five states have some sort of taxpayer-funded private school voucher program that relies on monitoring debit cards: North Carolina, Arizona, Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee. Nationwide, there’s been a push, supported by President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, to give parents more freedom to use public school funding as they see fit for their children’s education. Critics have countered that education vouchers divert critical funds from public schools. They have also pointed to problems with monitoring spending in the state’s limited voucher program to bolster the case against expansion.

Chancellor search: One person at session, but input is strong, officials said (Greenville Daily Reflector reports) -- More than 3,600 people have responded to a survey seeking input on East Carolina University’s next chancellor, but only one showed up to a listening session intended for community members in Greenville.
JESSIE POUNDS: Guilford schools win $500K contract from Fannie Mae; students learning trades will earn money repairing local substandard housing (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- Students studying skilled trades and construction in Guilford County Schools will earn money while helping rehab local homes under a new contract recently announced by the district.
HEALTH
Want to sleep better? North Carolina mom says it's all about temperature (WRAL-TV reports) -- Sleep can be a struggle. Many of us spend our nights tossing and turning and dreading the alarm. Mooresville resident, Tara Youngblood used to be one of those people. She's now on a mission to help others. She calls herself the "Sleep Geek" and travels around the country giving speeches about the scientific ways to get better sleep. Youngblood has a background in physics and engineering and put that to use reading hundreds of books about the subject. She realized the thing that could help her the most was not light or sound, but temperature.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Rule Change May Threaten Coastal Areas (Coastal Review reports) -- The recent reversal of a rule that limited where sand from federally restricted coastal zones may be placed may help towns with beach renourishment but could also put sensitive resources at risk.

DEQ Plans Hearings On Duke's Coal Ash Removal Plans At 10 Sites (WFAE-FM reports)​​​​​​​ -- State environmental regulators will hold a series of public hearings in February on plans to excavate coal ash at six Duke Energy plans around the state, including plants on Lake Norman and Lake Wylie, and to recycle ash at four other sites.
Group petitions Amazon to stop selling trap that hurts bears (AP reports) -- An advocacy group in North Carolina has started a petition to try to get Amazon to stop selling an animal trap that can injure bears.
Climate Council (Coastal Review reports) -- The N.C. Institute for Climate Studies is slated to present information on its climate science report when the state Climate Change Interagency Council meets Jan. 22 in Raleigh.
A blob of hot water in the Pacific Ocean killed a million seabirds, scientists say (CNN reports) -- As many as one million seabirds died at sea in less than 12 months in one of the largest mass die-offs in recorded history -- and researchers say warm ocean waters are to blame.
SETH BORENSTEIN: Fever chart: Earth had its hottest decade on record in 2010s (AP News reports) -- The decade that just ended was by far the hottest ever measured on Earth, capped off by the second-warmest year on record, according to reports by two U.S. agencies. Scientists say they see no end to the way man-made climate change keeps shattering records.
...AND MORE
Astronaut completes spacewalk without helmet camera, lights (AP News reports) -- Spacewalking astronauts had to make do with fewer lights and camera views from one helmet Wednesday while performing critical battery work outside the International Space Station.
New firm focusing on transportation with 8,400 employees to be based in Raleigh (TECHWIRE/WRAL-TV reports) -- Fortive Corporation, an Everett, Washington based company with some $7 billion in revenue, is launching a new company focusing on transportation and mobility that will be based in Raleigh. The firm – called Vontier Corporation – will have 8,400 workers. The company is hiring. However, specifics about location of the headquarters and staffing was not disclosed.

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