Opinion Roundup: NC concert safety concerns, Medicaid expansion, saving local journalism and more

Wednesday, June 19, 2019 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Medicaid expansion shades state budget talks, 3 sheriffs to speak out against detainer bill, leaders meet in Raleigh to discuss safety at NC concerts, Harvard case offers reminder of perils of online misbehavior, UNC study links opioid crisis to labor force drop and more.

MICHELLE COTTLE: The G.O.P.’s Other Gender Gap (New York Times column) -- A new group, Winning for Women, arose to support “free-market conservative women running for federal office.” The group’s political action arm is spending six figures in a primary runoff next month in North Carolina, where its pick, Joan Perry, is facing a state lawmaker, Greg Murphy, who is backed by Representative Mark Meadows, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. All 13 Republican congresswomen are supporting Ms. Perry, and the race is seen as an early gauge of the party’s diversification strategy.

GARY ROBERTSON: Medicaid expansion shades state budget talks (Ap reports) -- Medicaid expansion is a significant point of contention in budget negotiations, even though neither spending proposal approved by House and Senate Republicans contains it.

BEN STEELMAN: Cooper pushes Medicaid expansion at Wilmington day care (Wilmington Star-News reports) -- Gov. Roy Cooper went back to school in Wilmington to teach a lesson on Medicaid expansion. Cooper visited Noah's Ark Children's Center at Masonboro Baptist Church for a roundtable discussion with early childhood educators. With two-thirds of parents in the workforce, quality day care and early childcare education is important, the governor said, yet many day care teachers and staff lack adequate health insurance. Cooper said they fall in the "doughnut hole," making too much money for Medicaid but not enough to qualify under the Affordable Care Act.

LAURA LESLIE: Cooper, GOP lawmakers play chicken on state budget (WRAL-TV reports) -- With less than two weeks before the start of a new fiscal year for state government, Republican lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper aren't close to compromising on a state budget.

3 sheriffs to speak out against detainer bill (AP reports) -- Some N.C. sheriffs who've refused to hold people who would otherwise be released from jail if federal agents say they might be in the country unlawfully are still opposed to updated legislation aiming to address the issue. Sheriffs from Mecklenburg, Wake and Buncombe counties plan to speak at a Legislative Building news conference before a Senate committee debates and votes on the bill.

TRAVIS FAIN: Deadline approaches for changes in State Health Plan with zero hospitals signed on (WRAL-TV reports) -- With a bill blocking a shift in pricing, a standoff over health insurance for state employees, teachers and retirees heads toward July 1 deadline.

COLIN CAMPBELL: Tuition Surcharge (The Insider reports) -- The House is advancing a Senate proposal this week to end the UNC System's 50 percent tuition surcharge for students who take extra time to complete their degree. Senate Bill 225 cleared the House Education -- Universities Committee without any opposition.

T. KEUNG HUI: ‘Let’s take the reins off.’ NC lawmakers back changes to help charter schools. (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- Charter schools could have an easier time getting renewed and expanding their enrollment under changes backed by some state lawmakers. The state House Education Committee backed a charter school bill that included new wording added Tuesday that says charters don't have to be outperforming nearby schools to be renewed for 10 years.

VAL STEWART RUMLEY: Legislation makes Beaufort County an excpetion to the rule (Washington Daily News reports) -- Legislation passed June 3 in Raleigh will save Beaufort County thousands of dollars in the next election. According to Kelly Hopkins, director of the Beaufort County Board of Election, Beaufort County will be one of two counties in the state that will now be able to opt out of a state-mandated 17 days of one-stop voting at satellite sites.

LYNN BONNER: UNC Health continued its children’s heart surgery program after a 2016 investigation (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- Bill Roper, now interim president of the UNC System, was dean of UNC's medical school and head of UNC Health Care when reports of problems with the pediatric heart surgery program reached his office. In an interview Roper said he and other hospital officials investigated the heart surgery program at the UNC-run Children's Hospital in 2016. "This matter, at the time it was raised in 2016, was thoroughly investigated with all of the relevant, credentialed people involved in the review, both internally and externally. And the leadership of UNC Health Care, and the medical school, and the board to which we report were satisfied with the review and we continued the program."

MONIQUE LABORDE: Small town of Hendersonville pride as picnic (NPR reports) -- The small town of Hendersonville observed LGBTQ Pride for the first time. There wasn't a parade. It was a picnic — an event that allowed some people to talk to each other for the first time.

EMMY VICTOR: Leaders meet in Raleigh to discuss safety at NC concerts, festivals and sporting events (WRAL-TV reports) -- Leaders from event venues across N.C. will meet in Raleigh to review guidelines on how to safely manage large crowds.

SLOANE HEFFERNAN: Wake sheriff pulling plug on senior well-check program (WRAL-TV reports) -- Wake County Sheriff Gerald Baker is ending a program in which deputies check daily on dozens of senior citizens.

MARCO QUIROZ-GUTIERREZ & BROOKLYNN COOPER: Ivanka Trump, Commerce secretary tour Charlotte manufacturing plant (Charlotte Observer reports) -- Ivanka Trump and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross have toured a Charlotte manufacturing plant as part of a workforce development visit.

Lemonade stands deserve protection from bureaucrats (Wilson Times) -- It’s time to follow the Lone Star State’s lead — N.C. needs a lemonade freedom law. On June 10, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill to prevent overzealous police officers, zoning administrators and health inspectors from shutting down children’s lemonade stands.

ALEXANDRA OLSON: New England newspaper owner fights to save local journalism (AP reports) -- These days, the news about local news seems relentlessly bad: Newsroom employment, down by nearly half over the past 15 years. Waves of layoffs continuing to hit both traditional newspaper chains and digital news startups. Cities and towns so denuded of coverage that they’re described as “news deserts .” But then, there’s The Berkshire Eagle. The western Massachusetts daily has an expanded investigative team. … Independently owned newspapers are becoming a thing of the past. Of the 1,200 newspapers that have been sold in the last five years, most were owned by families or small private chains, according to a study by Penelope Muse Abernathy, a UNC professor whose research on the subject gave rise to the term “news desert.”

RICHARD BURR: Cherokee Indians are bullying other NC tribes (Charlotte Observer column) -- Recently, a Native American tribe with deep historic ties to North Carolina announced its intent to purchase land across state lines for an “economic development” that could include a new casino. In order to put up a casino, the legislature would have to pass a measure allowing gambling on the site, but the legislation has already been introduced by the tribe’s political allies. The tribe is the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and the land in question is in Sevierville, Tennessee. Yet here in North Carolina, the Cherokee are doing everything in their power to prevent the Catawba Tribe from acquiring land near Kings Mountain for “economic development” (also known as a casino). The episode is only the latest example of the Cherokee’s willingness to disenfranchise other tribes in order to protect their own lucrative gaming monopoly.

'The Profit' loses city vote against his huge US flag (AP reports) -- NC city has voted against the flying of really big flags, holding its ground against a reality TV star's huge Stars and Stripes. News outlets report the Statesville City Council voted down changes to the flag ordinance Monday night. That means flags in Statesville must be no larger than 25 feet by 40 feet (7.6 meters by 12 meters).

Loss of a family pet (Greensboro News & Record) -- What a tragedy that a dog turned over temporarily to an animal shelter was accidentally euthanized. It’s a nightmare for the family — and for animal shelter personnel.

Trump 2.0 will prove a challenge for Democratic contenders (Fayetteville Observer) -- Trump 2.0 was officially scheduled to launch Tuesday night as Donald Trump prepared to kick off his 2020 campaign with a rally in Orlando, Florida. Here in Cumberland County, area Republicans set a watch party at Morgan’s Chop House on McPherson Church Road; it was one of many such events happening around the country as Trump seeks to prove his 2016 election was more than a fluke.

MARTHA WAGGONER: Harvard case offers reminder of perils of online misbehavior (AP reports) -- The racist social-media posts were originally shared only among friends — in text messages and a Google document. But someone took screenshots, which led Harvard University to revoke an offer of admission to a Parkland high school survivor. The decision serves as a reminder to aspiring college students and all young people that online comments, even those considered private, can resurface and be used against them. … Young people should stop and think about everything that has their name attached to it, said Laura Tierney, chief executive officer and founder of The Social Institute , based in Durham, North Carolina, which works with schools nationwide to teach students about the safe use of social media.

Pinecrest Rising Seniors Must Retake ACT Test, School Announces (Southern Pines Pilot reports) -- The answer sheets for the ACT tests administered to all Pinecrest High School juniors on February 20 and March 13, were not submitted to ACT for scoring, Pinecrest Principal Stefanie Phillips announced in a message to parents.

KASEY CUNNINGHAM & DEBORAH STRANGE: Moore County school loses more than 400 completed ACT tests (WRAL-TV reports) -- Officials at Pinecrest High School said more than 400 students' completed ACT tests were not submitted for scoring.

KELLY HINCHCLIFFE: Tension continues over Wake math program (WRAL-TV reports) -- The Wake County Public School System released a 17-page report Monday detailing its use of the controversial MVP math curriculum and said a separate, third-party audit will be done this fall. Some parents who reviewed the report said they were still not pleased with the school system's response and questioned the accuracy of the report.

NED BARNETT: In NC, medical malpractice victims are denied justice (Charlotte Observer column) -- A report by The New York Times on lapses in heart surgery at UNC Children’s Hospital would appear to put the hospital at serious risk of malpractice lawsuits. After all, the report included not just statistics and anecdotes, but secretly recorded comments in which the hospital’s own cardiologists said they would worry about sending their own children there for surgery. But while the report gives the hospital many reasons for concern, a flurry of malpractice suits is probably not one of them. That’s because in 2011 the General Assembly capped pain and suffering awards in malpractice cases at $500,000 when the person who died as a result of malpractice is not an income earner. That would include babies and children.

WILL MICHAELS: UNC Researcher Remembered For Work To Fight Infectious Diseases (WUNC reports) -- A doctor and former University of NC at Chapel Hill professor is being remembered for his work to fight infectious diseases like AIDS and Hepatitis C. The family of Charles van der Horst says he died from an apparent cardiac event while he was competing in a marathon swimming race on the Hudson River.

​JASON DEBRUYN: UNC Study Links Opioid Crisis To Labor Force Drop (WUNC-FM reports) -- In addition to its harmful impacts on families, the opioid epidemic has hurt the labor force. But a bright spot finds the negative effects on businesses can be reversed in areas with the political appetite for action.

LIZ CAREY: Health officials battle increase in rural STD rates (N.C. Health News/Daily Yonder reports) -- Sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis can spread quickly in rural areas, where access to medical screening is harder to find and fewer people are aware of the problem.

ROSE HOBAN: Hepatitis A outbreak in N.C. centered in Mecklenburg County (N.C. Health News reports) – N.C. is one of 22 states to declare an outbreak of the viral infection, which can produce symptoms, including fatigue, low appetite, stomach pain, nausea, and jaundice. A vaccine avoids all that.

KELLY BODIE: On Flood Control, The Dutch Are Masters (Coastal Review Online reports) -- The storm surge barrier near Rotterdam, Netherlands, a feat of engineering, is but one example of what coastal NC can learn from the Dutch about flood prevention.

Coffee shop restores interest in historic Bath building (Washington Daily News) – Three women are bringing life back to the building known as Swindell’s Cash Store on Main Street in Bath. Margaret Dixon, Jenny Mastin and Eileen Sanger have made it their mission to make the building more of a social hub by opening a coffee shop in the former general store.