Opinion roundup: Judges, embarrassing politicians, unfunded education mandates, TVA luxuries, darkness on Hatteras

Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Republican judge chopping, a bitter class-size fix, embarrassing politicians, darkness falls on the Cape Hatteras lighthouse and more.

MICHAEL WINES: Judges Say Throw Out the Map. Lawmakers Say Throw Out the Judges (New York Times analysis) -- In North Carolina, the Republican Party is working on sweeping changes to rein in state courts that have repeatedly undercut or blocked laws passed by the legislature. In Pennsylvania, a Republican lawmaker unhappy with a State Supreme Court ruling on gerrymandering wants to impeach the Democratic justices who authored it. In Iowa, a running dispute over allowing firearms in courthouses has prompted bills by Republican sponsors to slash judges’ pay and require them to personally pay rent for courtrooms that are gun-free. Rather than simply fighting judicial rulings, elected officials in some states across the country — largely Republicans, but Democrats as well — are increasingly seeking to punish or restrain judges who hand down unfavorable decisions, accusing them of making law instead of interpreting it.

TRAVIS FAIN: Cooper tells Amazon there's 'an embarrassing uncle or two' in NC politics (WRAL-TV analysis) -- "Like every family with an embarrassing uncle or two, we have a few politicians who want it to be 1957 instead (of) 2017," Cooper wrote.

Lawmakers Bungle Class Compromise (Southern Pines Pilot) -- Growing up, most of us had that one kid at the playground who owned the ball and knew how to leverage it.

SUSAN LADD: Unfunded educational mandate was a strategy, not an oversight (Greensboro News & Record column) -- After creating a crisis with the class-size mandate, the General Assembly provides a fix loaded with partisan objectives.

LAURA LESLIE: Lawmakers leave town after passing class size fix measure (WRAL-TV analysis) -- State lawmakers adjourned their latest special session after sending a bill that would phase in caps to elementary school class sizes to Gov. Roy Cooper.

ALEX GRANADOS: Class size fix passes House (EdNC analysis) -- The state House voted to approve a bill solving the class size crisis that has been the focus of controversy, conflict, and complaints over the last year. But Democrats say extra provisions in the bill put the class size fix in peril.

GARY ROBERTSON: After Democratic hand-wringing, class-size fix gets final OK (AP news analysis) -- A proposed solution to a North Carolina public school class-size crunch received final legislative approval, with most House Democrats backing the Republican bill despite unrelated provisions within it that target Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

JEFF TIBERII: Legislators Pass Class-Size Mandate, Delay Action on GenX (WUNC-FM analysis) -- State legislators have adjourned until May after voting to fix a long-standing issue over mandated class sizes, while delaying further action on the GenX water contamination issue.

A troubling perception (Winston-Salem Journal) -- As quaint as it sounds in these times, we still believe politicians should avoid even the perception of impropriety. Democratic Gov. Cooper didn’t pass that test with the hiring of his new legislative affairs director, who once lobbied Congress for the controversial natural gas pipeline.

COLIN CAMPBELL & PAUL A. SPECHT: McCrory sees ‘culture of corruption,’ calls for investigation of pipeline fund (Charlotte Observer analysis) -- Former Gov. Pat McCrory called for an ethics investigation of his successor on Monday as legislative Republicans sent Gov. Roy Cooper’s aide a long list of questions about a $57.8 million pipeline fund.

Cooper unveils workforce development plans (AP news analysis) -- Gov. Roy Cooper says upgrading North Carolina's workforce is a big deal for his administration, so he's laying out how he wants to make citizens ready for jobs today and prepared for future industries.

TRAVIS FAIN: Cooper says legislature endangering pipeline fund (WRAL-TV analysis) -- "This can potentially be a job killer," Cooper says of bill, but he doesn't promise a veto.

MARK JURKOWITZ: Horserace in the N.C. House (Outer Banks Sentinel analysis) -- In what could set the stage for an unusual political rematch, Democrat Tess Judge has announced she is running for the N.C. House District 6 seat currently held by Republican Beverly Boswell, who launched her re-election bid this past week. Judge is the widow of longtime Dare County Commissioner Warren Judge, who ran against Boswell in a hard-fought 2016 race and died just days before the election.

KAY MCSPADDEN: Education’s newest ‘innovation’ in poor schools is just moving chairs on the Titanic (EdNC column) -- It didn’t work in Louisiana, Tennessee, or Michigan – taking local control from low-performing school districts and creating special “turnaround” districts operated by charter companies. Yet North Carolina has assigned Robeson County’s Southside-Ashpole Elementary School as the first to be included in the state’s new Innovative School District (ISD), a concept that is faltering in Louisiana’s Recovery School District, Tennessee’s Achievement School District, and Michigan’s Educational Achievement Authority.

ECU announces collaboration with SAS to boost research (Greenville Daly Reflector analysis) -- The Cary-based data analytics giant SAS will join an effort by East Carolina University to address economic, educational and health disparities in rural America,

STEVE DEVANE: School board ends sex ed program (Fayetteville Observer analysis) -- The Cumberland County school board voted unanimously to discontinue a sex education program that some parents had criticized last year. Five speakers during the public forum section of the meeting indicated opposition to the "Get Real" program.

THOMAS GOLDSMITH: NC’s Older Population Burgeons, While Services Lag, Legislators Hear at Panel (N.C. Health News analysis) -- By 2030, one in five North Carolinians will be older than 65, and that population will have a lot of needs. Who will be the caregivers?

JENNIFER HENDERSON: Why Folwell is calling for a $1B assurance from UNC Health Care (Triangle Business Journal analysis) -- Ahead of the massive proposed combination of UNC Health Care and Carolinas HealthCare (recently renamed Atrium Health), State Treasurer Dale Folwell is calling for a $1 billion assurance from UNC Health Care.

TYLER DUKES: DEQ requires Chemours to cut more GenX sources (WRAL-TV analysis) -- State environmental regulators issued new orders against Chemours, requiring the chemical firm to cut air emissions and other sources of GenX and other unregulated compounds contaminating ground- and surface water near its Bladen County plant.

GenX Bill Stalls; DEQ Orders Chemours Action (Coastal Review analysis) -- House leaders declined to take up the Senate’s version of a bill to address GenX contamination as DEQ ordered Chemours take new steps to halt emissions of the compound.

NEEL KELLER: Key vote looms on commercial fishing (Outer Banks Sentinel analysis) -- A high stakes meeting of the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission) includes a proposal that advocates say could devastate the state’s commercial fishing industry by redefining the requirements for a license.

Hyde Sees Costs Rise in Passenger Ferry Plan (Coastal Review analysis) -- As the state prepares to launch its first passenger-only ferry service to Ocracoke Island, plans for transporting riders once they arrive are in flux, with Hyde County now facing costs higher than expected.

Group Wants Probe of TVA's Jets, Luxury Helicopter (AP news analysis) — The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy called for an investigation Tuesday after finding that the Tennessee Valley Authority bought two corporate jets, a luxury helicopter and another plane in recent years. The utility says its inspector general is already reviewing the matter. Debbie Dooley, who helped found the ongoing national Tea Party movement and is president of Conservatives for Energy Freedom, said the purchases show TVA CEO Bill Johnson needs to be replaced.

JEFF HAMPTON: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse gone dark Norfolk Virginian-Pilot column) -- “It’s almost like replacing a part on one of the most rare cars in the world,” said Coast Guard spokesman Nathan Cox. “They’re not available off the shelf.”

Hey, NC lottery winners, 48 of you were shortchanged. Here’s how to win a bit more (Charlotte Observer analysis) -- The N.C. Education Lottery says 48 Carolina Cash 5 game winners received $4 less than they actually won.