Opinion Roundup: GOP complains, election boards confused, athletes investigated and a rock legend is a flu victim

Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Hyper-protesting GOP, election boards confusion, sports investigations, electric rate hikes and the flu takes a Rock & Roll legend.

SUSAN LADD: I am one of you forever (Greensboro News & Record column) -- As many of you know, this will be my last column for the News & Record. I was among a handful of staff members laid off last week in an effort to restructure the business in an increasingly challenging marketplace. I have loved this newspaper and the staff that brings it to life day after day for 34 years, and I still do.

GARY ROBERTSON: N.C. Democrats protest call, GOP alleges intimidation (AP news analysis) -- A North Carolina Democratic Party leader has asked the state to investigate her Republican counterpart, alleging he made an automated phone call that violates the law.

TRAVIS FAIN: NC GOP blasts Attorney General's Office inquiry (WRAL-TV analysis) -- The director of the state Republican Party says the Attorney General's Office threatened to seize GOP phone records, but that's not what an inquiry letter says.

Judges weigh NC Supreme Court elections board ruling (AP news analysis) -- A three-judge panel is pondering what to do after a North Carolina Supreme Court ruling last month favored Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in litigation challenging the law creating a combined state elections and ethics board.

Congressional candidates allowed to live outside district (New Bern Sun Journal analysis) -- By law, there’s nothing wrong with a congress candidate living outside of the district they hope to represent. One such candidate is running for office in 2018 and hopes to represent Onslow County.

Linda McMahon Gets a Ringside Seat for TrumpMania (New York Times analysis) -- Wrestling was already the family business on Vince McMahon’s side. The couple had met in church in North Carolina, when Linda McMahon, the tomboy daughter of a budget analyst and a shop foreman, was 13. She was 17 when they married, joining him at East Carolina University and graduating early to match his exit year. Once out of school, Ms. McMahon worked as a paralegal in Washington, where Mr. McMahon’s father had founded a regional wrestling company, Capitol Wrestling, enlisting his son as a promoter and television announcer.

SAMMY BATTEN: Trinity Christian’s Dennis Smith Jr. named in federal NCAA investigation (Fayetteville Observer analysis) -- Several current and former Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball players may have received impermissible benefits from sports agents amounting to minor NCAA violations, while others were given cash payments or loans, according to a report by Yahoo. Among those named is Fayetteville’s Dennis Smith Jr., who allegedly accepted thousands of dollars in loans from the sports agency ASM while still a student at Trinity Christian School. Trinity is North Carolina’s largest recipient of taxpayer-financed private school vouchers. Smith’s name was listed on a balance sheet obtained from ASM during a federal investigation showing accounts through Dec. 31, 2015.

When will NCAA be done exploiting athletes? (Charlotte Observer) -- A Yahoo report on college basketball says more about the NCAA than it does about the players.

MOLLY WORTHEN: The Misguided Drive to Measure ‘Learning Outcomes’ (New York Times analysis) -- Producing thoughtful, talented graduates is not a matter of focusing on market-ready skills. It’s about giving students an opportunity that most of them will never have again in their lives: the chance for serious exploration of complicated intellectual problems, the gift of time in an institution where curiosity and discovery are the source of meaning. That’s how we produce the critical thinkers American employers want to hire. And there’s just no app for that.

TAFT WIREBACK: Budd says assault weapon ban won't work (Greensboro News & Record analysis) -- U.S. Rep. Ted Budd told his Rotarian audience that banning assault weapons was just a “feel better” strategy that ignored the nation’s real ills and would not solve its persistent problem with mass killings. People have an ingrained tendency to “blame the device” behind tragedies while ignoring the root causes of America’s recurrent spate of killing sprees, said the first-term Republican congressman from Advance during a luncheon address.

Moore steers divisive gun debate toward school safety (Wilson Times) -- From where we sit, securing schools with retired cops is a better option than either arming teachers or relying on security workers. “This avoids some of the other debate,” Moore said. “These are actually sworn law enforcement officers.” N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore is right. North Carolina is already a step ahead of other states, and lawmakers ought to continue working across the aisle to make our schools — and our children and teachers — safer.

MATTHEW BURNS & TRAVIS FAIN: Duke Energy rate increase partly approved by state regulators (WRAL-TV analysis) -- State regulators approved higher electricity rates Friday, saying past coal ash removal costs can be passed on to Duke Energy customers, but the decision may be appealed.

Pipeline squabble (Greensboro News & Record) -- A project that could provide economic benefits to North Carolina has triggered a political spat between Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican legislative leaders. It makes our state look very bad.

JEFF HAMPTON: At Cape Hatteras National Seashore, business booming in 2017, best in 14 years (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot analysis) -- The number of visitors to Cape Hatteras National Seashore reached 2.4 million, the most since 2003.

BARE, SHOOTS & FLEES: Naked man fires gun, flees after crash (AP news analysis) – Authorities say a man crashed his vehicle into another car, got out, stripped naked, fired a gun into the air and ran off into the woods in North Carolina.

MARK PRICE: Lead singer of influential ‘60s group The Crystals lived in Charlotte, just died of flu (Charlotte Observer obit) -- The name Barbara Ann Alston may not ring a bell for younger generations, but she was among the most influential singers in rock and roll music in the ‘60s, according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Alston – who died Feb. 16 in Charlotte at age 74 – was the lead singer for Phil Spector’s girl group The Crystals, which had a string of hits including “Da Doo Ron Ron” and “Then He Kissed Me.” Her death comes as part of the nation’s ongoing flu epidemic.