Opinion Roundup: Moving forward after Florence, N.C.'s chronically absent school children, farmers in peril and more

Monday, Sept. 24, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Hurricane blurs lines between leading and campaigning, paying attention to mental heath after natural disasters, Congress considering nearly $1.7B relief package, groups banding together to oppose all 6 amendment questions, adviser on Kavanaugh nomination resigns and more.

AMANDA FOSTER: Charlotte Soldier returns from Florence relief, finds house ransacked (WBTV reports) - A Charlotte soldier returned home from the Carolina coast Friday morning to find his Grimes St. home ransacked. National Guardsman Luis Ocampo was working in New Bern for 10 days, assisting with Hurricane Florence relief, where he only got a few hours of sleep per night.

RICK DOVE: I saw Florence sending millions of gallons of animal feces flooding across N.C. (Washington Post column) -- I’ve been watching with alarm from the air.

VALERIE BAUERLEIN: When a Hurricane Ravages Your Hometown (Wall Street Journal reports) -- “I kept thinking the dateline should read ‘Memory Lane.’” A reporter surveys Florence’s damage in Wilmington, N.C., the town where she grew up.

ALISSA SKELTON: In N.C. Hurricane Florence is a "Katrina-like event" where thousands of homes are still underwater (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports) -- The Virginian-Pilot spent two days following emergency responders from Hampton Roads who have been in Pender County working with the county's emergency workers to plan how to restore normalcy back to the region.

PAUL WOOVERTON: Hurricane blurs lines between leading and campaigning (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- Disasters bring out the politicians. We saw that in Fayetteville and across eastern N.C. with Hurricane Florence the past two weeks. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and GOP House Speaker Tim Moore have been traveling to disaster-afflicted areas, and Republican President Donald Trump visited this past week. That’s by design — we elect our officials to lead. It’s their job to step up, to make the tough decisions. Of course, in a fierce election season such as this year’s, the lines may blur between leading and campaigning.

The worst of Florence is not over (Winston-Salem Journal) -- Now that Hurricane Florence has dissipated, it’s easy to think that the worst of this disaster is over. But for many residents of North Carolina and our neighbors in South Carolina, the disaster will be with them for some time to come, as flood waters linger and they do their best to recover.

JIM WARREN: Duke Energy leaders share blame for Hurricane Florence devastation (Winston-Salem Journal column) -- The latest in a string of monster storms of recent years, Hurricane Florence punctuates the fact that the cost of climate pollution is accelerating.

State should not tolerate coal ash spills (Wilmington Star-News) -- Duke Energy says there’s nothing to worry about at Sutton Lake. We’re not buying it.

YEN DUONG: Pay Attention to Mental Health After Florence (N.C. Health News reports) -- As clean-up commences after a disaster such as Hurricane Florence, it's important to keep mental health needs in mind.

ALEX GRANADOS: Hurricane Florence and the politics of calendar flexibility (EdNC reports) -- Hurricanes wreak havoc but they also spark political fires. What flames will lawmakers rush to extinguish in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence? A first indication comes in comments from both State Superintendent Mark Johnson as well as House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland. Both have talked about the need to allow school districts to be forgiven for the instructional days missed due to the hurricane.

JOHN MURAWSKI: Duke Energy says coal ash isn’t contaminating Cape Fear River; state awaits its own tests (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- Hurricane Florence flooding did not contaminate the Cape Fear River by washing coal ash into the Cape Fear River, Duke Energy says. The state’s lab results will be out this week.

ALAN BINDER & RICHARD FAUSSET: Hurricane Florence Has Gone, but Challenges for the Carolinas Have Just Begun (New York Times reports) — It will not be easy drying out, fixing up and rethinking whole ways of life in a region drenched and deeply shaken by more than eight trillion gallons of rain.

Congress considering nearly $1.7B Florence relief package (AP reports) — Congress is starting to consider almost $1.7 billion in new money to aid recovery efforts from Florence. Lawmakers already are facing a deadline this week to fund the government before the start of the new budget year Oct. 1, and members of Congress will try to act on the disaster relief along with separate legislation to fund the government.

RICHARD STRADLING: NC supplies the nation’s sweet potatoes. Florence has put this year’s crop in doubt (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — NC is the largest sweet potato producer in the country, accounting for well over half of the national harvest. Last year, the 90,000 acres of sweet potatoes grown here were worth $346.5 million, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, trailing only tobacco, soybeans and corn.

Farmers need extra help with Florence losses (Fayetteville Observer) — Every farmer knows this, and so does everyone who’s ever lived in farm country: Agriculture lives in a boom-or-bust economy. One year, corn prices are high. The next year, the bottom falls out. Soybeans are going great until the international market sours, and then they’re a loss-leader. Milk? Pork? Eggs? Same thing. Every industry has its ups and downs, but in agriculture, the inclines are often much steeper.

ROSE HOBAN: Medical and Other Supplies Fly Their Way to Florence Flooded Areas (NC Health News reports) — For the past week, squadrons of pilots have descended onto the tarmac at the general aviation portion of Raleigh-Durham Airport, bringing their small planes and a willingness to ferry essential supplies to a coast isolated by flooding.

Recovery must reflect our new normal (Fayetteville Observer) — When the legislature next convenes, it also needs to look hard at recovery initiatives. In the past, hurricane recovery has meant simply rebuilding what was there before the storm hit. That’s no longer good enough. We need to rethink what’s allowed to happen in flood plains.

State should not tolerate coal ash spills (Wilmington Star News) — Storing coal ash in low-lying areas and close to a river that obviously can flood doesn’t sound like a wise strategy. Why hasn’t Duke (which absorbed the old CP&L/Progress Energy in 2012) been doing more to clear out that coal-ash pit? And why hasn’t the state been prodding it to do so?

MILES O’BRIEN: Connecting Climate Change, Storms (Coastal Review Online) -- We now know that warming oceans evaporate more water into the atmosphere, fueling stronger storms like Florence. Early estimates are that, due to climate change, Florence was almost 50 miles larger in diameter and dropped about 50 percent more rain in the most intense parts of the storm. It is important for the media to make these connections in order to jumpstart conversations about solutions.

N.C. voters show uptick in interest in 2018 elections (Outside The Box blog, Capitol Broadcasting) -- Even without a marquee statewide race at the top of the ballot, North Carolina voter registration is at an all-time high and, for an "off-year election," requests for absentee ballots is running ahead of 2014 numbers.

BILL HARRISON: Consider what Sen. Meredith really did on education issues (Fayetteville Observer column) -- In eight years in office, state Sen. Wesley Meredith, R-Cumberland, has starved our public schools of the resources needed to succeed. Adjusted for inflation, per-student funding remains 5 percent below pre-recession levels. Under Sen. Meredith’s watch, our schools are now getting fewer teachers, assistant principals and teacher assistants. Funding for textbooks and classroom supplies is about half of where it was before the recession. And over a period where school shootings are becoming distressingly more frequent, Sen. Meredith has reduced funding for school nurses, psychologists and counselors by 9 percent.

Groups banding together to oppose all 6 amendment questions (AP reports) — Several election advocacy and civil rights groups often critical of NC Republican legislative policies are working to fight all six constitutional referendums GOP lawmakers put on fall ballots.

JIM MORRILL: Ex-governor’s daughter faces a powerful NC House incumbent in District 103 race (Charlotte Observer reports) — It matches a governor’s daughter against one of the most powerful men in the NC House. Little wonder the race for House District 103 has become one of the highest profile and costliest in the state.

Senate Judiciary Aide Resigns Amid Sexual Harassment Allegation (NBC News reports) – Garrett Ventry, formerly a key aide to N.C. House Majority Leader John Bell, and most recently leading the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s response to a sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, has stepped down amid evidence he was fired from a previous political job in part because of a sexual harassment allegation against him. Ventry, 29, who served as a communications aide to the committee chaired by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, had been helping coordinate the majority party's messaging in the wake of Christine Blasey Ford’s claim that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her 36 years ago at a high school party. In a response to NBC News, Ventry denied any past "allegations of misconduct." Ventry also resigned Saturday from the public relations company where he had been on a temporary leave of absence to work for the Judiciary Committee, a company spokesman told NBC News. Ventry worked as a social media adviser in 2017 in the office of North Carolina House Majority Leader John Bell, who fired Ventry after several months.

JULIE BYKOWICZ & SIOBHAN HUGHS: Adviser on Kavanaugh Nomination Resigns (Wall Street Journal reports) – A former N.C. state legislative aid, working as a communications adviser temporarily hired to help Senate Republicans advance the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh has resigned following allegations of sexual harassment in a previous job.

BILLY BALL: Feds owe explanation for subpoenas (Wilson Times column) -- Best-case scenario: Robert Higdon and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement owe North Carolina a lengthy explanation. Worst-case scenario: They owe us all an apology Such is the confusion surrounding this month’s hailstorm of subpoenas from Higdon and ICE, a sweeping intrusion by federal officials that has state election officials bewildered and incensed.

DAVID GAUTHIER-VILLARS & DION NISSENBAUM: Hopes Rise for Release of U.S. Pastor Being Held in Turkey (Wall Street Journal reports) -- Turkish authorities are sending signals that an American pastor facing terrorism charges could be released next month, raising fresh hopes in the U.S. that the polarizing dispute will soon be resolved.

RICHARD GROVES: Signs of healing surpass the memories of war (Winston-Salem Journal column) -- It is a sign of hope that on the person-to-person level relations between peoples — in this case the United States and Japan — cannot long be defined by the bitterness of war.

JOHN HAWLEY: Cooper's Hometown Strong to focus on 3 goals in Pasquotank (Elizabeth City Daily Advance reports) -- In Pasquotank County, Gov. Roy Cooper's “Hometown Strong” initiative will focus on three goals: building a nearby part of Interstate 87, growing Elizabeth City State University, and revitalizing Elizabeth City's waterfront.

BRIAN MURPHY: Give DACA recipients a pathway to citizenship, NC leaders say (McClatchy D.C. Bureau reports) -- A survey of N.C. leaders found nearly all support a path to citizenship for DACA recipients, but there are conditions. Congress has been unable to reach consensus on the issue.

STEPHANIE CARSON: Report: 64,000 NC School Children "Chronically Absent" (Public News Service reports) — While NC school systems work to make the most of limited funding, a new report highlights another vulnerability in education – not showing up for classes.

MICHAEL BRAGG: Forsyth County school board expected to vote on one-time bonus Tuesday (Winston-Salem Journal reports) — Conversations around teacher pay in Forsyth County have taken an upturn as the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education is expected to vote on a one-time bonus Tuesday. But several educators feel shortchanged with no immediate action on teacher supplements.

Rain, rush are no excuse (Hendersonville Times-News) -- It’s a shame Tryon International Equestrian Center’s hosting of the World Equestrian Games has been marred by controversy over water pollution. It’s an even bigger shame that Polk County streams got fouled with mud in preparing for the event. The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has issued Tryon Equestrian Partners numerous notices of violation for allowing construction runoff to pollute creeks near the center. Center officials blamed the pollution on very rainy weather during the rush to get the facility prepared for the WEG, which began Sept. 11 and concludes today.

JEFF HAMPTON: World's rarest sea turtle nests in record numbers on Outer Banks (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports) -- The rarest sea turtle on Earth has nested in record numbers on Outer Banks beaches this year. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore reports there are eight Kemp’s ridley nests. That may not seem like a lot, but only two nests of the critically endangered turtle have appeared on the Hatteras seashore in the last 10 years, in 2016 and in 2011. There were 12 reported on the entire N.C. coast, also a record for the state.

North Carolina Wins N.W.S.L. Championship in a Rematch (WRAL SportsFan reports) -- Jessica McDonald scored twice to lead the Courage in a game that set an attendance record for a U.S. women’s pro soccer final.