Opinion Roundup: Federal shutdown, in-state tuition for all immigrants, Affordable Care Act enrollment and more

Monday, Dec. 24, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: How the partial government shutdown could affect you, documents detail how absentee ballots gathered in NC vote, state Court of Appeals ruling is a victory for open government, groups to support in-state tuition for all immigrants, navigating the holidays while in recovery from addiction and more.

ERIC YODER & LATE METTLER: Everything you need to know about a government shutdown (Washington Post reports) -- The federal government entered a partial shutdown, suspending funding for many agencies. This will complicate many lives — those of federal workers and the millions of Americans who rely on them. Here are the answers to questions you might have about how the shutdown could affect you or your neighbor.

JACK HEALY, ALAN BLINDER & RICHARD FAUSSET: Unpaid Agents, Dark Visitor Centers, Closed Trails - Effects of the Shutdown Beginning (New York Times reports) -- The shutdown’s effects — especially visible at closed or unstaffed National Park Service sites, and at checkpoints at airports and the nation’s borders as officers stood guard without pay — will be magnified once the standoff seeps past Christmas, when federal offices would ordinarily be open and staffed with the approximately 380,000 employees who have been told to stay home while President Trump and Congress try to reach a spending accord.

How The Partial Government Shutdown Could Affect You (NPR/WUNC-FM reports) -- The partial shutdown of the U.S. government that began Saturday affects about a quarter of the government. About 800,000 federal workers will feel the effects as lawmakers try to come to an agreement on a set of spending bills to keep the government funded. A central sticking point remains funding for President Trump's proposed border wall, and with the Senate adjourned until Thursday, there is no apparent quick end in sight. As both sides work to solve the impasse, here is a rundown of what will and won't be affected by the shutdown.

LISA MASCARO, DARLENE SUPERVILLE & KEVIN FREKING: Government unlikely to get fully back to business for days (AP reports) -- The federal government is expected to remain partially closed past Christmas Day in a protracted standoff over President Donald Trump's demand for money to build a border wall with Mexico. With Trump's insistence on $5 billion for the wall and negotiations with Democrats in Congress far from a breakthrough, even a temporary measure to keep the government running while talks continued seems out of reach until the Senate returns for a full session Thursday.

MICHAEL BRICE-SADDLER: ‘Tyranny of talk radio hosts?’ Limbaugh, Coulter blamed for Trump’s shutdown (Washington Post reports) -- Soma analysists are suggesting that President Donald Trump buckled under t backlash from high-profile conservative Talk-Radio pundits — notably Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh — who lambasted the president for appearing to concede on the wall funding.

Cape Lookout's beaches open to public during gov't shutdown (AP reports) -- The Cape Lookout National Seashore in N.C. will remain as accessible as possible during the government shutdown.

Carl Sandburg Home closes amid shutdown (Asheville Citizen-Times reports) -- The Carl Sandburg Home is closed because of the federal governmental shutdown

Documents detail how absentee ballots gathered in NC vote (AP reports) – Latest affidavits released by North Carolina's elections board allege absentee ballots were collected from voters by the man at the center of vote fraud allegations or those working for him.

Fix what’s really broken in our electoral system (Fayetteville Observer) -- For all the noise we’ve heard from Raleigh about electoral reform in recent years, it’s startling to see how vulnerable our polling systems are to fraud. The notion of election integrity and security, in some places anyway, is a cynical joke. Bladen County is in the national spotlight this month for what appears to be an attempt — quite possibly a successful one — to influence the outcome of a key congressional election.

ID suit may be helpful (Fayetteville Observer) -- Meanwhile, less than 15 minutes after lawmakers overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of our latest voter ID legislation, six residents filed suit in a Wake County court, seeking to strike down the new law. This latest law details the procedures for administering a state constitutional amendment passed in November that requires voters to produce a photo ID at the polls. The suit says the program will disproportionately harm African Americans and American Indians and among other things.

PAUL WOOLVERTON: Lallier ruling sets benchmark for open courts in N.C. (Fayetteville Observer reports) — The state Court of Appeals ruling last week to unseal a civil court file involving businessman Mike Lallier has implications that reach far beyond Cumberland County, legal experts say. The ruling, which was the result of a Fayetteville Observer challenge to the seal as unconstitutional, could be cited in courtrooms across NC for years to come in decisions about what can legally be kept secret.

Court of Appeals ruling is a victory for open government (Fayetteville Observer) — A three-judge panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals reaffirmed last week that government openness is essential to our criminal-justice system as well, and that attempts to impose unwarranted secrecy won’t be tolerated. The ruling came in a case involving Fayetteville businessman Mike Lallier, in which several minors alleged sexual abuse.

CELIA RIVENBARK: Inaugural probe no surprise (Wilmington-Star News column) — It’s no huge surprise that Donald Trump’s inaugural committee is being investigated for possible financial abuses. That’s just another day at the office for the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan. At issue is whether the $107 million collected from unlimited (for the first time) private and corporate donors was used to buy political favors in the shiny new Trump White House.

MANDY MITCHELL: Triangle may have lost out, but Apple has invested billions in sleepy Catawba County (WRAL-TV/TechWire reports) -- Maiden, North Carolina, a town of about 3,400 people north of Charlotte and three hours from the Triangle, has been a quiet Apple outpost for almost 10 years. And while the Triangle lost out in its bid to host a second “campus” for Apple, the company has made clear that it isn’t done growing. It’s already spent some $3 billion on its data center and the 300-acre solar farm that powers it, and media reports suggest that an investment of about another billion is on the way.

JASON PARKER: No Amazon HQ2, but 2,715 technology jobs alone in Charlotte (WRAL-TV/TechWire) -- Amazon nixed Charlotte’s $270 million economic incentives package, snubbing the Queen City in the process. But with the announcement of four major economic development initiatives in the past four weeks that are set to add as many as 2,715 good paying jobs to the economy, the Queen City intends to cultivate a strong workforce to attract and retain companies and skilled individuals.

RICHARD CRAVER: Altria-Juul partnership puts additional pressure on BAT, Reynolds (Winston-Salem Journal reports) — The if-you-can’t-beat-them-acquire-them strategy of Altria Group Inc. has sent tremors through the tobacco industry once again. Altria, owner of top-selling traditional cigarette Marlboro, said Thursday it will spend $12.8 billion to gain a 35 percent ownership stake in Juul Labs Inc., which makes the controversial and top-selling electronic cigarette Juul.

TIM WHITE: Let’s put some great American freedoms under the tree (Fayetteville Observer column) -- You know what I’d love to have as a Christmas gift this year? A ceasefire in the culture wars. I’d like for all of us to respect each other and our individual beliefs and embrace our differences. Our Declaration of Independence says we’re all created equal and endowed by our Creator with “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

MATT LECLERCQ: Here’s a scary thought: No local journalists (Fayetteville Observer column) — Why can’t I read an article without y’all sending me to pay for a damn subscription. RUUDE.” These are some of the comments I’ve read recently on the Observer’s website and our social media pages. The newsroom’s digital team tries to reply to each person to explain that people can read a few free articles per month on fayobserver.com, before the site asks you to subscribe to continue reading.

BEN STEELMAN: ‘Faces of Poverty’ shows another NC (Wilmington Star-News reports) — To hear Gene R. Nichol tell it, Ebenezer Scrooge is alive and well in NC. Nichol, a law professor at the University of NC at Chapel Hill, surveys the Tar Heel State’s poor in “The Faces of Poverty in NC,” and he is distressed by what he finds.

TIM BUCKLAND: Wilmington senator-elect ‘learning the ropes’ of state Senate (Wilmington Star-News reports) -- Harper Peterson preparing for Raleigh.

TIM BUCKLAND: Carson Smith ready to serve Pender, Columbus residents (Wilmington Star-News reports) -- Issues, constituent service on Pender representative’s agenda.

NC groups to support in-state tuition for all immigrants (AP reports) — Groups that support in-state tuition rates for students who are undocumented or with DACA held a protest where actors portraying Mary and Joseph are turned away by innkeepers who are NC politicians. The groups say NC isn't among the 18 states that allow undocumented students and those who are among the deferred action for childhood arrivals to pay in-state tuition for public universities and community colleges.

ANN DOSS HELMS: NC lawmaker says he’s spent almost a year trying to get public records from CMS (Charlotte Observer reports) – Republican state Rep. Scott Stone started seeking records of Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools correspondence in February. As he prepares to leave office, he says he’ll keep pushing for answers.

ALLEN JOHNSON: Brilliant move by UNC athletes in fight against 'Silent Sam' (Greensboro News & Record column) -- The long fight to banish “Silent Sam,” forever, from the UNC-Chapel Hill campus took one encouraging step forward — and one troubling step back — as the fall semester ended.

AMELIA HARPER: More students study engineering at NCC (Rocky Mount Telegram reports) -- Nash Community College’s Associate in Engineering degree program, which began in August 2017, is gaining momentum. “Last year, we only had about 10 students in the program, but interest in the program has grown quite a bit since then,” said Shilo Lawrence.

With late surge, Affordable Care Act enrollment in NC closes in on last year’s total (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- More than 500,000 people enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans for 2019, and the federal government is still counting people who signed up. Big rate cuts by Blue Cross helped push up enrollment totals.

TAYLOR KNOPF: Navigating the holidays while in recovery from addiction (NC Health News reports) — Everyone knows holidays can be stressful. And if you’re in recovery from addiction, that just adds to the stress. Here are some ways to make your holidays - and those of folks you love - a little smoother.

No solar tariffs for N.C. (Winston-Salem Journal) -- Earlier this month, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina released a statement to remind us that the Trump administration’s tariffs are hurting a significant part of North Carolina industry: the solar energy market that has been providing jobs and essential income for North Carolineans.

ADAM WAGNER: How are your favorite N.C. beaches getting repaired after Florence? (Wilmington Star-News reports) — In the state’s southeastern corner, beaches in Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties suffered more than $119 million in damage from Hurricane Florence’s battering winds and harsh storm surge, according to damage estimates provided to the N.C. Department of Water Resources. Still, there is a sense that many of the beaches did their jobs during Hurricane Florence, preventing the Atlantic from damaging other forms of infrastructure.

Herring, joins N.C. and 7 other state attorneys general in lawsuit to block seismic testing (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports) -- Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said seismic testing and possibly offshore drilling in the future would endanger both the coastal environment and the main segments of Hampton Roads' economy.

DERECK LACEY: Family makes a new home in Fletcher after Camp Fire (Hendersonville Times-News) -- The Pero family learned Aug. 23 that Angelo Pero’s request to be transferred to N.C. from Chico, California had been approved, and the wheels of a cross-country move started turning. But the Camp Fire threw a wrench into those plans. What should have been a smooth transition to Sierra Nevada Brewing’s Mills River location instead began with a nightmare, as the massive wildfire advanced on their town of Magalia and claimed their home. The family lost nearly all of their belongings, forced to start over in more ways than one.

BEN STEELMAN: UNCW professor studies the mythology of UFOs (Wilmington Star-News reports) -- Oxford University press is publishing “American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion and Technology” by Diana W. Pasulka of UNCW’s philosophy and religion department.