Opinion roundup: Guns, politics, cabinet pay, coal ash, offshore drilling and health

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: guns and politics; candidate filing closes; latest N.C. polling; pay hikes for Cooper's cabinet; who pays for coal ash and more.

JULIE CRESWELL: Dick’s Sporting Goods Will Stop Selling Assault- Style Rifles (New York Times analysis) -- One of the largest U.S. sports retailers said that it would immediately end sales of all assault-style rifles in its stores, and that it would not sell any gun to anyone under 21. The announcement is one of the strongest stances taken by corporate America in the national gun debate.

An idea to reject (Greensboro News & Record) -- Perhaps because of the resonant and persistent voices of teenagers, conversations about protecting our children from mass murder appear this week to have become more than hollow points, even if theory is a long way from reality.

JOHN DEEM: Is Budd on target? (Greensboro News & Record column) -- Congressman Ted Budd talks gun-control debate during visit to Central Elementary in Statesville.

North Carolina legislative, Congress candidate filing ending (AP news analysis) -- Candidate filing for this year's congressional and legislative elections has attracted lots of newcomers to North Carolina politics, as well as former lawmakers seeking to return to the halls of power.

MATTHEW BURNS: NC officials propose ways to beef up election security (WRAL-TV analysis) -- The State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement is asking lawmakers to tweak various laws when they return to session in May in order to provide more security to voting systems.

Elections board wants more money, new laws to help security (AP news analysis) -- North Carolina election administrators are asking state lawmakers for additional money and changes in the law to improve the security of registration and balloting from external and internal threats.

MARK JURKOWITZ: Boswell fundraiser generates bag-ban protests (Outer Banks Sentinel analysis) -- In another sign of what is likely to a hard-fought and divisive race for the N.C. House District 6 seat, a band of protestors gathered outside a Feb. 23 fundraiser for incumbent Republican Beverly Boswell to voice their opposition to her role in overturning the Outer Banks’ plastic bag ban.

N.C. workers aren't getting raises, and they still don't like the president (High Point University Poll) -- Only a third of people say they’re paying lower taxes under a new tax bill signed into law by President Donald Trump, according to a High Point University Poll. And speaking of the president, most folks still don’t like him, according to a second HPU Poll.

Anonymous group calling for removal of 'Silent Sam' will 'stand down for the present' (WRAL-TV analysis) -- An anonymous group that threatened to remove the controversial "Silent Sam" Confederate statue from the UNC-Chapel Hill campus by Thursday said they would "stand down for the present."

TRAVIS FAIN: Cooper cabinet members get 10 percent raises (WRAL-TV analysis) -- Gov. Roy Cooper's cabinet secretaries each got 10 percent raises – or more – at the first of the year. WBTV in Charlotte was the first to report on the increases. The raises kicked in Jan. 1, and they were in addition to the $1,000 increase each state employee received through the annual state budget. The Governor's Office defended the increases saying it can be difficult to keep top talent in government jobs when the private sector pays better.

C. J. CHIVERS, LARRY BUCHANAN, DENISE LU & KAREN YOURISH: With AR-15s, Mass Shooters Use Infantry-Level Firepower (New York Times analysis) -- When a gunman walked into a Florida school on Feb. 14, his rifle let him fire in much the same way that many American soldiers and Marines would fire M16 and M4 rifles in combat.

AMANDA LAMB: Should teachers carry guns? NC education officials say no (WRAL-TV analysis) -- Should teachers carry guns at school? The answer at the state level in North Carolina is a resounding "no." Pretty much everyone from the state superintendent to the chairman of the state school board to leaders with the North Carolina Association of Educators say it is a bad idea. They are opposed because they say teachers are not in favor of it, and too many things can go wrong.

Local action vital on school safety threats (Wilmington Star-News) -- We were pleased to learn that Board of Commissioners’ Chairman Woody White has convened a meeting of New Hanover County leaders this Thursday to discuss school safety. With emotions understandably running high and political posturing in overdrive, it’s vital that community members and leaders remain committed to one goal: protecting our students. No amount of rhetoric or finger-pointing will achieve that goal -- especially in the short-run.

HBCUs and the Trump Administration (Inside Higher Ed analysis) -- Groups that represent historically black colleges have pursued a highly public, if controversial, strategy of courting influence with the White House and Republican lawmakers. As presidents of HBCUs from across the country assembled at the Capitol this week for meetings with members of Congress, the architects of that strategy say they’re getting results.

VALERIE BAUERLEIN: Duke Settles Student Lawsuit Over Sexual-Misconduct Case (Wall Street Journal analysis) -- Duke University has reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed in 2014 by a former student who said he was wrongfully expelled for sexual misconduct.

JOHN DOWNEY: Regulators decided Duke Energy’s coal-ash issue, but that’s not the end of it (Charlotte Business Journal analysis) -- Opponents demanding Duke Energy pay to make coal-ash operations comply with stronger environmental rules will make the argument again in the upcoming Duke Energy Carolinas rate case.

Fish kill on the beaches of Kill Devil Hills (Outer Banks Sentinel analysis) -- Thousands of dead menhaden washed up on the beaches of Kill Devil Hills on Monday, February 26, following a similar fish kill in Corolla about a week ago.

Energy plans need common sense, not politics (Fayetteville Observer) -- If anyone has a workable strategy to move energy policy from the world of politics to the ever-shrinking world of common sense, please let us know. We’d love to publicize it. Instead of logical discussion, we get scenes like the one that played out in Raleigh Monday as federal officials came to town for a hearing on President Trump’s plan to expand offshore oil and gas drilling to just about everywhere off the American coast (except Florida, whose Republican governor apparently has magical powers of persuasion).

NEEL KELLER: Inside the ‘Rally for Raleigh,’OBX residents oppose offshore drilling (Outer Banks Sentinel analysis) -- The atmosphere was festive aboard the 56-passenger EcoStyle motor coach that pulled out of the Soundside Event Site parking lot in Nags Head on Monday afternoon. Lively conversation aboard the packed bus was punctuated by laughter. Children played games on their tablets. Adults checked their cell phones for emails and texts.

STEPHANIE ARMOUR: State Health Policies Show Stark Divide Along Party Lines (Wall Street Journal analysis) -- Democratic and Republican states are moving in opposite directions on health policy, leaving Americans with starkly divergent options for care depending on where they live.

THOMAS GOLDSMITH: Beware Scammers as New Medicare Cards Arrive (N.C. Health News analysis) -- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will start sending out new Medicare cards in April with a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier in place of a Social Security number. But that's it. Recipients don't have to do anything more than start using the card.

CATHERINE KOZAK: New Painting Brings Surfmen’s History to Life (Coastal Review column) -- The James Melvin painting honoring Capt. Richard Etheridge and his African-American crew of the U.S. Life-Saving Service Station at Pea Island was unveiled Sunday during a special performance of “Freedmen, Surfmen, Heroes” in Manteo.

RICK SMITH: Why Cynthia Marshall is the person to right the wrongs within Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks (WRAL-TV/TechWire analysis) -- Virtually anyone who knows Cynthia Marshall – cancer survivor, filled with a passion for equality and diversity – is aware she has the moxie, the fortitude, as well as the iron resolve to confront – and beat – any challenge.

EY picks Charlotte for 375 jobs for 'wavespace' innovation center (WRAL-TV/TechWire analysis) -- EY is going to add 375 jobs in various technology fields with an average salary exceeding $75,000.