Opinion Roundup: Hundreds protest Trump immigration policy, gerrymandering fight continues, contaminated drinking water and more

Thursday, June 21, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Raleigh events protest Trump's immigration stance, proposed income tax cap amendment advances in House, Governor signs debt bill for road-building boost, N.C. may be next in gerrymander fight at Supreme Court, taking ownership of GenX and more.

‘MOSTLY FALSE:’ States with voter ID laws have seen 'zero decrease' in turnout, Tim Moore claims (PolitiFact analysis) – House Speaker Tim Moore’s claim that there has been "zero decrease" in voter participation is a misleading exaggeration. We rate his claim Mostly False.

Berger nips bipartisanship in bud (Charlotte Observer column) -- A bipartisan group in the NC House proposed studying Medicaid expansion. Senate leader Phil Berger is making sure that doesn’t happen.

GARY ROBERTSON: GOP presses ahead with constitutional amendments (AP reports) -- Republicans pressed ahead with proposed constitutional amendments for the November ballot, bidding to push favored issues and boost turnout by like-minded N.C. voters in an election with key races for the legislature and Congress.

Photo ID mandate headed to House panel debate (AP reports) -- A bill asking voters to decide in November whether presenting photo identification to vote should be enshrined in the state Constitution is getting its first formal debate.

TRAVIS FAIN: Proposed income tax cap amendment advances in House (WRAL-TV reports) -- If voters approve, legislation would cap income taxes at 5.5 percent.

Republicans complete veto overrides on 2 election-bills (AP reports) -- Two election-related bills became state law despite Gov. Roy Cooper's formal objections, as lawmakers completed overriding his vetoes.

MATTHEW BURNS: Vetoes on judicial, elections bills fall (WRAL-TV reports) -- Two more of Gov. Roy Cooper's vetoes fell by the wayside following override votes in the House.

Governor signs debt bill for road-building boost (AP reports) -- Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper says a method for borrowing up to $3 billion to keep road building robust for the next several years is a good example of both major parties working together to help the state's economy.

SARAH KRUEGER: Raleigh events protest Trump immigration stance (WRAL-TV reports) -- At least two different rallies were held in Raleigh amid outrage over a policy by the Trump Administration to detain and separate parents and their children who are attempting to enter the U.S. illegally.

ADAM WAGNER: Hundreds protest Trump immigration policy (Wilmington Star-News reports) -- About 300 residents stood outside Rep. David Rouzer’s New Hanover County office protesting an immigration policy being enacted in their names on the U.S.-Mexico border more than 1,300 miles away. “The Trump Administration justifies this inhumane separation of families and detention of babies because they are simply ‘enforcing the law.’ Law is a social construct, created and enforced by those in power. As such, law often, in fact, is not what is right or just,” Vanessa Gonzalez, a Wilmington immigration attorney, told the crowd. Gonzalez also noted that family separation is a matter of administration policy, not law.

Trump’s policy reversal (Winston-Salem Journal) -- Finally giving in to political pressure from all sides, President Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order intended to reverse his policy of separating children from their parents at the border. It remains to be seen whether the order will be effective.

Donald Trump's push for a whiter America (Charlotte Observer) -- Trump is backing down on his border policy on children, but a tweet defending it hints at something that should especially trouble Americans. (It's not the tweet you think.)

No more breaking up families at the border, but issues remain (Fayetteville Observer) -- President Donald Trump’s administration took steps to end a controversial policy separating families suspected of illegally crossing the southern border. It was a dramatic and welcomed reversal for a president who often ignores public opinion — no matter how outraged — to set his own course. The move also seemed to contradict statements by Trump and members of his team that claimed his hands were tied,

What will our leaders do next about those immigrant families? (Greensboro News & Record) -- President Trump says he didn’t like the video and photographs that he saw of parents and children being separated after they were caught trying to sneak into the United States, so he did what he had said for days that he couldn’t do: He signed an executive order to end that process.

JIM RIEGER: Trump administration changed its story no fewer than 14 times before ending the border policy (Washington Post reports) -- First it was a deterrent. Then it wasn’t. It was a new Justice Department policy. Then it wasn’t. The administration was simply following the law. Then it said separations weren’t required by law. It could not be reversed by executive order. Then it was.

THOMAS KAPLAN: Senate Rejects White House Plan to Cancel Unused Funding (New York Times reports) -- Two Republicans, Richard M. Burr and Susan Collins, broke with their party to oppose the plan, which was intended to broadcast fiscal responsibility.

A Spending Embarrassment (Wall Street Journal) -- Republicans have had a rough week, mostly of their own making, and on Wednesday they added to their self-punishment with a spending fiasco in the Senate. Two GOP Senators blocked the Trump Administration’s rescissions package that would claw back $15 billion, much of which wasn’t even likely to be spent under current policy. A Senate procedural vote to move the rescissions package failed 48-50 after defections from Susan Collins of Maine and Richard Burr of North Carolina. Mr. Burr revolted over a line item about the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a rescission he wanted stripped from the package, and so he blocked even a debate.

N.C. may be next in gerrymander fight at Supreme Court (Fayetteville Observer) -- The U.S. Supreme Court recently considered two major cases that might have settled whether majority political parties have a nearly unlimited right to draw voting districts that favor their candidates. The lawsuits to challenge gerrymandering were brought against Republicans in Wisconsin and Democrats in Maryland. The Wisconsin decision in particular was expected to have implications on the gerrymandering fight here in North Carolina.

JUSTIN LEAVITT: Fight to end partisan gerrymandering far from over (Greenville Daily Reflector column) -- Add one to the growing list of disappointments. The Supreme Court had the opportunity to take a massive step toward more reasonable elections — and punted. The decisions postpone a national reckoning with the escalating pace of partisan warfare. But just because the court kicked the can of partisan gerrymandering down the road does not mean those who hope for change are at a loss. In fact, there are plenty of other opportunities for victory on the horizon.

MIKAYA THURMOND: Two attacks in two days at Central Prison attributed to same group of inmates (WRAL-TV reports) -- The two attacks in two days on staff members at Raleigh's Central Prison are attributed to the same group of inmates, according to prison officials.

BRIE HANDEGRAAF: On summer break, some families struggle to feed children (Wilson Times reports) -- Patricia Whitley isn't a stranger to getting services from the Salvation Army of Wilson. When her own children were younger, she received assistance.

School psychologist: Shortage prevents us from providing comprehensive care (Hickory Daily Record column) -- My name is Amber Gibson. I am a practicing school psychologist in North Carolina and a regional representative for the N.C. School Psychology Association. There is currently a shortage of school employed mental health personnel (including school psychologists) and in order to fully meet the needs of our students and their families, we need to increase the mental health workforce not only in the community, but also in the schools. Students are more likely to seek the help that they need if they know that there are supports available at school.

LISA SORG: Susan Wind had reason to press state officials about possible cancer cluster near Lake Norman. Her daughter had the disease (N.C. Policy Watch reports) -- The state’s Central Cancer Registry statistics show that for the past 22 years Iredell County has reported statistically higher incidences of thyroid cancer than the state average — even double or three times greater. But only this week was it revealed that in May state and county health officials designated two zip codes near Lake Norman — 28115 and 28117 — as suspected cancer clusters.

ANDREW HALL: Protesters rally near Cooper homestead (Wilson Times reports) -- In a bid to shake Gov. Roy Cooper’s support for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, opponents took their fight to the Nash County native’s backyard. Roughly 50 concerned citizens rallied in the Elm Grove community south of Nashville to oppose construction of the 600-mile natural gas pipeline. Advocacy group Nash Stop the Pipeline planned the event with assistance from the N.C. Alliance to Protect Our People and the Places We Live.

CATHERINE CLABBY: Timing, Scope of GenX Response Not Yet Clear (N.C. Health News) -- A proposed DEQ court order and unsatisfied community members want chemical company Chemours to move faster to clean up pollution.

Taking ownership of GenX (Fayetteville Observer) -- Chemours, the company whose chemical GenX has polluted hundreds of wells in Cumberland and Bladen counties, says it is willing to pay the steep costs of installing filters at people’s homes. Good. The company also says it is evaluating whether to cover costs of connecting residents in the area to municipal water lines. Even better

DEE LANGSTON: Currituck County OKs Grandy Solar Farm (Coastal Review reports) -- Currituck County commissioners voted, following court-ordered instructions, to approve a permit for Ecoplexus Inc. to turn the site of the old Goose Creek Golf Course into a solar farm.

THOMAS A BETTS: Pipeline means jobs, opportunity for region (Rocky Mount Telegram column) -- 've been supportive of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline for a number of years, and I'm thankful that this important project is officially becoming a reality. There have been questions about how this pipeline will positively impact Eastern N.C. Will it really bring jobs? Will it really lead to economic development opportunities, specifically manufacturing? It is really the opportunity of our time for our communities, for Eastern N.C., and for our entire state? Yes. I am confident that it will bring all these benefits and more.