Opinion Roundup: N.C. revenues flat, rural economy struggles, gerrymandering turmoil and no drilling off the beach

Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018 -- A roundup of opinion, commentary and analysis: N.C. revenues flat, rural economy struggles, gerrymandering turmoil and no drilling off the beach.

N.C. revenues not far off midpoint target (AP news analysis) -- North Carolina government revenues halfway through the fiscal year are a little behind what lawmakers projected in the state budget passed last summer. The General Assembly's top staff economist said that taxes, fees and other revenues through Dec. 31 were $43 million short of the nearly $11 billion expected.

VALERIE BAUERLEIN: North Carolina Struggles to Draw Businesses to Countryside (Wall Street Journal analysis) -- In North Carolina, the economic challenges are geographic: The state can readily lure business to its fast-growing cities but struggles to sell its vast rural territory.

RICHARD RUBIN: States Grapple With Federal Tax Cut That May Raise State Taxes (Wall Street Journal analysis) -- Over the next several months, state legislatures across the U.S. will be wrestling over how to respond to federal income-tax cuts that, paradoxically, could raise tax bills at the state level.

ARIAN CAMPO-FLORES & CAMERON MCWHIRTER: Unlike the North, Many in the South See the New Tax Plan as Good News (Wall Street Journal analysis) -- Southern states expect the new tax code, which caps federal deductions of state and local taxes for taxpayers, to be a boon for the low-tax region and accelerate a trend of Northern workers and businesses migrating South.

GARY ROBERTSON: House-Senate panel looking at judicial maps meets again (AP news analysis) -- Potential changes to North Carolina's judicial election districts considered by House and Senate members are taking a backseat for now to pending litigation over the General Assembly's own districts,

MATTHEW BURNS & LAURA LESLIE: Democrats irked by proposed judicial district maps (WRAL-TV analysis) -- Democratic lawmakers lobbed questions and criticisms Monday at Republican colleagues pushing changes to how judges are selected in North Carolina.

JEFF TIBERII: Judicial Redistricting Hits Another Roadblock (WUNC-FM analysis) -- It appears that judicial redistricting is again stalled in the North Carolina General Assembly. That comes after a recent show of confidence from leading state Republicans that the issue might pick up momentum.

TINA ROSENBERG: Putting the Voters in Charge of Fair Voting (New York Times column) -- Sophisticated misuse of data has made gerrymandering a peril to democracy. Now voters are fighting back for their right to equal representation.

Confederate monuments to get at least 1 public hearing (AP news analysis) -- At least one public hearing will be held before a group of historians, preservationists and business people recommend whether three Confederate monuments can or should be moved from North Carolina's old Capitol grounds.

ALAN BLINDER: Wary, Weary or Both, Southern Lawmakers Tone Down Culture Wars (New York Times analysis) -- State bills on lightning-rod social issues are getting noticeably less impetus this year, as elections loom and state leaders try to attract business investment.

Government is open again, but the reason for the shutdown remains (Charlotte Observer) -- The government shutdown happened in part because Republicans have mastered gerrymandering and partisan voting laws, leading to dysfunction in Washington

D.G. MARTIN: Make and keep a resolution to read a black history book (Winston-Salem Journal column) -- Here is a New Year’s resolution you should have made: During the upcoming Black History Month I will read at least one book that helps me better understand the challenges African-American people have faced and are facing.

SARAH KRUGER: Amazon clarifies, It's Triangle, not just Raleigh on HQ2 shortlist (WRAL-TV analysis) -- The Triangle area submitted multiple bids to host the new Amazon headquarters, and we don't know which of those bids made the online retailer's cut. But the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce asked and found out 'Amazon confirmed what we had anticipated and it was, in fact, the entire region (including Durham) that was selected to advance.'

TRAVIS FAIN: Cooper: NC will sue if it has to over offshore drilling (WRAL-TV analysis) -- "If that's the reason to exempt Florida then it's the reason to exempt North Carolina," the governor said.

JENNIFER ALLEN: Cooper Promises Lawsuit Over Exemption (Coastal Review analysis) -- Gov. Roy Cooper in Wrightsville Beach reiterated his opposition to the Trump administration’s plan for drilling for oil and gas off the coast and vowed a lawsuit if the state isn’t granted an exemption as Florida recently received.

HIROKO TABUCHI & TIM WALLACE: Trump Would Open Nearly All U.S. Waters to Drilling. But Will They Drill? (New York Times analysis) -- President Trump’s offshore oil drilling plan upends a decades-long effort to balance the nation’s energy needs with protecting ocean ecosystems, and it is meeting stiff resistance from governors up and down the coasts.

Duke Energy Proposes Solar Rebate Program (Coastal review analysis) -- A typical rooftop solar array would be eligible for a $4,800 rebate under a program Duke Energy has proposed to help its North Carolina customers offset the cost of installing solar panels on their property.

How the federal tax overhaul might affect your Duke Energy bill (Charlotte Observer analysis) -- The North Carolina Utilities Commission says it’s looking at how Duke Energy will benefit from the federal tax overhaul signed by President Trump.

TAYLOR KNOPF: N.C. Rural Health by the Numbers (N.C. Health News) -- As rural hospitals close and lawmakers debate the future of health care policy, NC Health News takes a look at the basics of rural health care.

STEPHANIE CARSON & SHAINE SMITH: Smoking is Cheap in NC, but Costly in Long Term (Public News Service analysis) -- North Carolina is the third cheapest state in the country for smokers - but the habit comes at a cost. That's according to a report from survey giant WalletHub. The analysis - "The Real Cost of Smoking by State" - estimates the habit comes with a $1.1 million price tag over a smoker's lifetime.

KELLY HINCHCLIFFE: Need for school nurses growing in NC, could cost $79M a year (WRAL-TV analysis) -- The need for nurses in North Carolina public schools is growing, but the state would need to dedicate up to $79 million a year to meet the recommended school nurse-to-student ratio, according to a new study released Monday by the General Assembly's Program Evaluation Division.

Education’s newest ‘innovation’ in poor schools is just moving chairs on the Titanic (Charlotte Observer column) -- Achievement school district concept bound to fail in North Carolina if it doesn’t address poverty.

Support the film industry (Winston-Salem Journal) -- Sylva, Dillsboro, Black Mountain, Asheville and Maggie Valley. No movie stars will be found there, but perhaps a residue of glitter is still in the air. These are the Western North Carolina locations being touted by the state’s tourism division as part of a three-day trip planner.

JEFF HAMPTON: Gates Co. sheriff and deputies indicted, another deputy appointed interim sheriff (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot analysis) -- Sheriff Randy Hathaway and three of his officers were indicted on charges related to taking income from the local school system under false pretenses.

Will technology finally end DWI? (Greensboro News & Record) -- In the future, your car might not start if you’ve had too much to drink.