Opinion Roundup: Masks in court; GOP money blues; reparations; childcare shortages; and more

Friday, July 17, 2020 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on:  masks at courthouses; COVID data questions; GOP convention turmoil; GOP fundraising worries; Asheville reparations; overlooked Black businesses; nursing home immunity deal; childcare shortage; and more.

Face mask requirement begins in NC courts as cases grow (AP reports) -- Jury trials in North Carolina courtrooms will be delayed for at least another two months because of the coronavirus pandemic, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley announced on Thursday while also instituting a face covering requirement in courthouses.

Change in federal COVID-19 data collection ‘abrupt,’ doubles the work, Cohen says (N.C, McClatchy reports) -- The Trump administration’s new mandate that hospitals must send information about coronavirus hospitalizations and equipment directly to a new federal database, rather than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, caught North Carolina health officials off-guard, Dr. Mandy Cohen said Thursday. Cohen, secretary of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, called the decision “abrupt” and unexpected. She said it has increased the workload of health officials at a time when the state is trying to remain transparent with the public on COVID-19 information. “We will continue to be transparent at the state level, but I think it always helps for us to be able to compare to what’s going on in other states and understand where we fit into the national landscape,” Cohen said Thursday in a press conference.

NC officials balanced risks, benefits of bringing students back to school before picking 'Plan B' (WRAL-TV reports) -- N.C. officials thought long and hard about the risks of putting children back in public schools before settling on a mix of in-person and remote instruction as the statewide guideline, State Health Director Dr. Betsy Tilson said Thursday.

Gov. Cooper’s schools plan may not work for districts with high COVID-19 rates (N.C. McClatchy column) -- Gov. Roy Cooper deserves credit for trying to satisfy parents, teachers and business leaders who are divided on how to approach this school year. And local school officials are making a game effort to draw up hybrid plans. But faced with a high level of teacher resistance and daunting logistics, a simple “let’s wait” on in-person classes where infections are high would avoid a lot of angst in a year already much too full of it.

Reopening schools is a hot political issue in NC. How will that play out in November? (N.C. McClatchy reports) -- Gov. Roy Cooper says his decision this week to open North Carolina schools with a mix of in-person and online classes is an attempt to give individual communities across the state some basic guidelines, but also some flexibility. Cooper’s school decision was quickly criticized by Republicans, including the state’s top lawmakers and Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, who’s running for governor against Cooper this year.

Officials considering allowing some visits at NC nursing homes (WRAL-TV reports) -- Officials with the state Department of Health and Human Services said they are still working out the details of relaxed nursing home visitation rules, but Lauren Zingraff, executive director of the advocacy group Friends of Residents in Long-Term Care, confirmed that a resolution under consideration would allow some outdoor, in-person visits.

Fort Bragg medical troops go to Texas to help healthcare workers deal with COVID-19 outbreak (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- Soldiers from 44th Medical Brigade’s 16th Hospital Center left Wednesday.

Emails show false alarms, concerns as NC emergency managers prepped for pandemic (WRAL-TV reports) -- Emails from the state Department of Public Safety provide a peak behind the curtain as the state ramped up for the arrival of the new coronavirus. The correspondence shows the work behind the scenes and multiple false alarms leading up to the state's first case in early March.

After leaving Charlotte, Republicans now scaling back plans for a full RNC in Florida (Charlotte Observer reports) -- Republicans are scaling back their convention in Jacksonville, Fla., weeks after leaving North Carolina because they couldn’t be guaranteed a full-sized gathering in Charlotte. In a letter to delegates, national GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel said public health concerns will limit attendance in Jacksonville. Only delegates — about 2,500 people — will be allowed on each of the first three days, from Aug. 24-26. Only about 7,000 will be in the arena when President Donald Trump accepts the nomination on the fourth day. The party still plans to hold the “business” part of the convention in Charlotte before gathering in Jacksonville.

GOP Convention to Limit Attendance as Florida Coronavirus Cases Rise (Wall Street Journal reports) -- Attendance at the Republican National Convention in Florida next month will be limited, and events will be held in indoor and outdoor spaces, organizers said Thursday as coronavirus cases continued to rise in the state.

Cunningham's Big Cash Haul Signals Perilous Tillis Reelection Bid (AP reports) -- U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina was outraised nearly 3-to-1 by his Democratic challenger in the last quarter, according to campaign reports that signal a more precarious reelection bid for the Republican in the presidential battleground state.

‘Respect the people that feed America’: Tillis slammed for suggesting Hispanics don’t wear masks or social distance (Washington Post reports) -- As cases of the novel coronavirus surged nationwide this week, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) suggested that North Carolina’s Hispanic population may be harder hit by the potentially deadly virus because they are not practicing social distancing or wearing masks as frequently as other groups.

Reopening schools is a hot political issue in NC. How will that play out in November? (N.C. McClatchy reports) -- It’s an election year, and the fall semester will be well underway by the time voters go to the polls in November. As with many other parts of the state’s coronavirus response, the debate over schools is yet another factor that could determine which way North Carolina — a key swing state in national races for president and control of the U.S. Senate — will vote in the fall.

Democrats—and Some Republicans—See Signs of Political Realignment in the South (Wall Street Journal reports) -- Population growth in liberal-leaning cities, diversifying suburbs and growing support for protests against racial injustice in several Southern states have Democrats hopeful they can improve on their 2016 performance there.

Confederate monument should not be a symbol of Gaston County (Gaston Gazette editorial) -- A monument honoring the Confederacy should never have been placed in front of the most public building in our county back in 1912. And certainly, that monument honoring the Confederacy should never have been moved to its current location when a new county courthouse was opened in 1998. But the monument, highlighted by a statue of a Confederate soldier, needs to be moved now. Not destroyed, not desecrated, but moved to a more appropriate place. Why? Because as Worley noted, “Symbolism is important.” And that statue, honoring a government which was based on the perpetuation of human slavery, is not a symbol that should greet all who enter the Gaston County Courthouse.

Experts weigh in on Asheville's historic reparations vote (Asheville Citizen-Times reports) -- With a historic July 14 vote Asheville joined a tiny cadre of government entities enacting reparations for Black residents. Will this be the model?

Mocksville Police department employee on leave after George Floyd post (AP reports) -- An employee at the Mocksville police department has been placed on administrative leave following a social media post about George Floyd, officials said Thursday.

Paid to protest? Raleigh's Bandwidth offers employees time off to hit picket lines (WRAL-TV/TechWire reports) -- After global protests over police brutality and racism erupted in June, Raleigh-based communications software company rolled out a new work policy supporting individual activism and community service.

UNC trustees approve new policy to rename campus buildings that have ties to racism (N.C. McClatchy reports) -- The UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees voted Thursday to adopt a policy for renaming campus buildings and public spaces. That set in motion the process of considering the renaming of the Daniels Building, Carr Building, Ruffin Residence Hall and Aycock Residence Hall, whose namesakes are tied to white supremacy and racism. “In this moment in the history of our university, our state and our nation, I believe that we are called to be a light in the dark corners in which racism has festered for far too long,” board member Gene Davis Jr. said at the meeting. The policy and process “will expose and condemn racism and other forms of hate, will educate so we may all learn from the past, such that it is never repeated, and will play a role … in the healing of our state and our nation,” Davis said.

Black businesses miss out (Triangle Business Journal reports) -- North Carolina doles out billions each year in annual construction and purchasing contracts. But minority-owned businesses aren't receiving their fair share of work. And the issue continues despite well-documented disparities, a long list of legal orders and a state office dedicated to fighting against it.

FERREL GUILLORY: Schools decision comes amid uncommon moments in a governorship (EdNC column) -- The disparate ways governors have dealt with the confluence of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement offer students, not to mention adult voters, real-life civics lessons. In a sense, this is a Thad Beyle moment — to apply his research to assessing how governors, as well as certain big-city mayors, used their decision-making in shaping the nation’s course through a stressful and painful period. ... In North Carolina as in its sister states, the unexpected pandemic and the renewed attention to the history of racism have shed light on gubernatorial leadership, while also requiring the often-uncelebrated work and initiative of mayors, governing boards, superintendents, teachers and principals, public health and social workers, research scientists and others in the array of state and local public institutions. Only the federal government, to be sure, has the fiscal capacity to buffer state and local governments from the imminent  economic hit to their budgets. Still, Thad Beyle would appreciate this stressful moment for its lessons for students and citizens — that their own state and local governments matter and they can’t look only to Washington for solutions in their own states and communities.

Nursing homes mostly immune from COVID-19 liability due to NC relief bill (Carolina Public Press reports) -- A few paragraphs tucked into the middle of a 70-page coronavirus relief bill, which legislators passed unanimously and Gov. Roy Cooper signed in May, grants broad immunity to nursing homes against civil lawsuits for injuries and deaths incurred during the COVID-19 health emergency. The legislation covers a wide range of measures that lawmakers wanted to support for adjustment to the state’s health emergency, including provisions for schools, unemployment claims and personal protective equipment. Several measures in the bill mention “nursing homes” by name, such as one section that alters the rules for witnesses to a natural death.

Senate leader on school reopening, masks, COVID-19 (WRAL-TV reports) -- NC. Senate leader Phil Berger, sitting in front of a mounted animal with a protective face mask over its face, says all families should have the option of full in-person schooling, says "blanket" COVID-19 solutions have missed the mark.

Child care shortage isn't new. Pandemic has worsened problems for parents and providers (USA Today network in NC reports) -- Despite millions of dollars in public relief to child care centers, more than 1,500 North Carolina programs — one in four — remain closed, according to data from the state Department of Health and Human Services. Others now operate at reduced capacity. This shortage arrives at a moment when many parents — eager to return to work as their unemployment benefits run out — desperately search for placements. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein joined a coalition of attorneys general Tuesday to urge the United States Senate to approve $50 billion in funding for child care centers across the country.

NCHSAA commissioner 'cautiously optimistic' about playing fall sports, but unsure when it will happen (WRAL-TV reports) -- N.C. High School Athletic Association Commissioner Que Tucker said the association is doing everything it can to make sure fall sports happen in North Carolina, but a lot of things must fall into place for that to happen.

Support our troops (Greensboro News & Record editorial) -- What does the Trump administration have against veterans? You have to wonder. Twice now in two months the administration has sided with the for-profit universities instead of veterans who need protection against unscrupulous schools.

1,000+ dead fish: DEQ releases more troubling details on hog lagoon spill (N.C. Policy Watch reports) -- The breach of a hog lagoon that spilled 3 million gallons of feces and urine into streams, ponds and wetlands in the Cape Fear River Basin killed at least 1,000 fish — and occurred because of neglect and mismanagement. The NC Department of Environmental Quality released more details yesterday about a June 12 spill at B&L Farms, north of Spivey’s Corner in Sampson County. Investigators found that Bryan McLamb, who raises hogs form Smithfield Foods, had allowed the level of waste to reach the top of the lagoon berm “for a prolonged period of time.”

When World War II Was On the Outer Banks (Coastal Review reports) -- Once the United States entered World War II, the battles fought in the Atlantic off the North Carolina coast changed the way of life for those that called the Outer Banks home.

Newborn baby found alive in trash can in Wilmington (WECT-TV reports) -- A newborn infant was found alive inside a trash can Thursday afternoon.