Opinion Roundup: Gov. Cooper talks re-election, FBI probes Fayetteville councilman, flu death toll, baseball fans tuning out and more.

Friday, March 30, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Gov. Roy Cooper addresses guns and re-election, FBI probe involving Fayetteville councilman, dinosaur eggs found by NCSU, flu death toll reaches record number, interest in baseball declines and more.

TRAVIS FAIN: Cooper talks guns, Amazon, re-election at Duke (WRAL-TV reports) -- Gov. Roy Cooper told a university crowd Thursday that he would back a federal ban on assault weapons. The governor also reiterated his support for a series of gun law changes at the state level, including new permit requirements for AR-15s and similar rifles, as well as an increased age requirement for purchases, up to 21 years old.

Judge to N.C. prisons: Humanism is a faith group (AP reports) -- The N.C. prison system must recognize humanism as a faith group and allow its adherents behind bars to meet and study their beliefs, a federal judge has ruled in an order.

FERREL GUILLORY: Teaching that confronts the legacies of slavery (EdNC column) -- The weekend of Easter and Passover seems a suitable moment to reflect on the nation’s “original sin.’’ The United States asserted its independence in 1776 by declaring “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights…” And yet, the Constitution written in 1787 accepted that slavery would continue and that black men and women would not enjoy unalienable rights.

TYLER DUKES: Media groups ask judge not to seal records in Harnett sheriff lawsuit (WRAL-TV reports) -- Five North Carolina media companies told a federal court this week that they oppose a move to keep records secret in a lawsuit against the Harnett County Sheriff's Office over excessive use of force.

​​​​​​​MATTHEW BURNS: Lawsuit: Marine Fisheries Commission violates open meetings law (WRAL-TV reports) -- Commercial fishermen's ongoing beef with state regulators has taken a new turn: a lawsuit alleging repeated violations of North Carolina's open meetings law.

BRIAN MURPHY: John Bolton’s pro-Tillis spending in 2014 violated election laws, complaint claims (McClatchy Washington Bureau reports) -- A group headed by the man President Donald Trump has picked as his next national security adviser violated federal election law in its production of pro-Thom Tillis ads during the 2014 election, a federal complaint alleges.

BRIE JAMDGRAAF: Wiggins appointed to Fitch’s superior court seat (Wilson Times reports) – Lamont Wiggins, a Rocky Mount city councilman and lawyer was appointed Thursday to replace retired Superior Court Judge Milton F. “Toby” Fitch Jr.

GREG BARNES & PAUL WOOLVERTON: Council meets over FBI probe involving Tyrone Williams (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- The FBI has been investigating allegations against Fayetteville City Councilman Tyrone Williams concerning a matter involving Prince Charles Holdings LLC, the Durham-based group investing $65 million in development next to the future baseball stadium.

What’s going on with Councilman Williams? (Fayetteville Observer) -- We don’t know whether City Councilman Tyrone Williams is trying to weave a tangled web or if he’s just gotten himself into a complicated batch of business dealings. Whatever it is, it’s time for him to take a deep breath, get his story straight and then share it with his fellow council members and with the voters and taxpayers who elected him and who pay his salary.

ADAM OWENS: 'Here for education, not target practice': Florida massacre survivors join UNC rally (WRAL-TV reports) -- More than a dozen groups from across central North Carolina met at the University North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Thursday evening for a rally to continue the nation's conversation about preventing gun violence, ending mass shootings and protecting schools.

LIZ SCHLEMMER: NC School Board Members Want to Make Threats Against Schools a Felony (WUNC-FM reports) -- Educators and education policy leaders are weighing many options when it comes to improving school safety in an age of mass school shootings and other threats of violence. Add to that list strengthening penalties for anyone who threatens a school and its students. The N.C. School Boards Association recently took an internal poll and nearly 300 school board members responded: 99 percent support increased funding for mental health services; 94 percent support increased funding for school police officers and also state funding for capital improvements at schools such as fencing, bullet proof glass or locks; 90 percent support increased state funding for school counselors; 84 percent support making it a felony to threaten mass violence on a school property; 70 percent oppose allowing designated teachers to carry guns to school; 57 percent oppose employing the National Guard in schools.

MOLLY OSBORNE: Research on optimal school district size provides few answers for district division committee (EdNC reports) -- “We know enough to know that we don’t really know.” That is how Representative Bill Brawley (R-Mecklenburg) summarized the third meeting of the Joint Legislative Study Committee on the Division of Local School Administrative Units. The committee met Wednesday to hear evidence on whether or not school district size impacts fiscal efficiency and student outcomes. There was no definitive conclusion about the effects of district size. Researchers Eric Houck and Kevin Bastian, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, testified to the committee about the research findings on school district size, fiscal efficiency, and student outcomes. The full presentation is embedded below.

JESSIE POUNDS: Brown Summit alumni lead effort for 'Rosenwald' school recognition (Greensboro News & Record reports) -- In the history of the Southern United States, and especially the history of race and education, skipping from the Civil War to the civil rights era means missing so much of the story. On Wednesday, alumni of Brown Summit High School and others gathered at what is now Brown Summit Middle School Center for Advanced Academics. They were there to unveil a historical marker remembering their school and its past history as a “Rosenwald” school.

MATTHEW BURNS: Dinosaur eggs found by NCSU paleontologist now at Museum of Natural Sciences (WRAL-TV reports) -- A researcher at North Carolina State University has recovered a clutch of rare dinosaur eggs from cliffs in Utah.

After the ACA, Fewer Uninsured Students (Inside Higher Ed) -- Since health-care reform was enacted, the number of students without health insurance has dropped, but they remain the largest cohort of uninsured Americans. The analysis comes from the Lookout Mountain Group, a collection of university health officials and other experts who came together after Barack Obama’s first election. They anticipated changes to student insurance plans with Obama’s pledge to reform health-insurance law, and wanted to investigate the effects.

THOMAS GOLDSMITH: Legislators Delay – Again – On NC School Nurses Report (N.C. Health News reports) -- North Carolina schools need more nurses to deal with a variety of student health problems and treatment, according to a far-reaching report commissioned 18 months ago. The document will be back before legislators when fully presented to a legislative committee next month.

Death toll from flu in North Carolina reaches record of 342 (AP reports) -- Health officials in North Carolina say the death toll from the flu for the 2017-18 season has increased its record-setting total to 342.

Addressing the opioid crisis (Hendersonville Times-News) -- A broad look at the most effective strategies nationwide suggests the answer is both, along with increased public education about the highly addictive nature of opioids. “The fundamental problem driving the crisis is abuse of both prescription opioids and the system used to obtain them,” states a report from American Action Forum. Medical professionals must prescribe less-addictive alternatives when possible. Law enforcement must crack down on the flow of illegal drugs. Health insurers should cover medication-assisted treatment, which has been shown to be effective in ending drug abuse. And communities should coordinate their efforts, just like the folks in Henderson County who are leading the way.

EMERY DALESIO: New owner of NC dams wants power sale forced on Duke Energy (AP reports) -- The new owners of North Carolina dams that were the prize in a long-running fight with the state asked on Thursday that Duke Energy Corp. be forced to buy the hydropower generated. Cube Yadkin Generation asked the North Carolina Utilities Commission to declare that Duke Energy must buy electricity from the Yadkin River dams for 10 years. Duke Energy is required to buy its electricity under a 40-year-old federal clean-energy law, the division of Maryland-based Cube Hydro Partners said. The hydropower company said the state Utilities Commission should order Duke Energy to pay what it would spend to generate the power itself.

OPENING DAY: Interest in Baseball Declines (The Marist Poll) -- The proportion of Americans who say they are baseball fans matches its lowest in nearly ten years. 44% of Americans currently say they watch baseball a great deal (7%), good amount (8%), or a little (29%). A majority (56%) do not watch America’s so-called pastime at all. Americans who live in the Northeast (52%) and Midwest (51%) are more likely than those in the South (39%) and West (39%) to call themselves baseball fans The proportion of baseball fans is down from 50% in April 2016. In 2009, 44% of U.S. residents were baseball fans.

D.G. MARTIN: More public intellectuals identified (Wilson Times column) -- Who would be on your list of North Carolina public intellectuals? I asked that question recently in a column about some of our state’s influential people who could take the places of the late UNC president William Friday, Duke professor John Hope Franklin and other smart, public-spirited and influential people who helped shape our opinions and inspired public action.

F.T. NORTON: Charges pending against woman allegedly hoarding ducks (Wilmington Star-News) -- Charges are still pending against a local woman who allegedly kept more than 150 Muscovy ducks in unhealthy conditions, according to the New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office. Cynthia Huber, 56, was arrested Dec. 29 on nine misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, one count of failing to vaccinate a dog/cat/or ferret and one count of misuse of 911. In North Carolina class 1 misdemeanors such as these carry penalties of 120 days in jail and a discretionary fine. Huber is charged with nine misdemeanors in the seizure of more than 150 Muscovy ducks and 11 feral cats.

YUNTE HUANG: The Amazing American Story of the Original Siamese Twins (Wall Street Journal column) -- Few newcomers to the U.S. have crossed more daunting barriers than Chang and Eng Bunker.