Opinion Roundup: Newsrooms take a stand, N.C. sees second highest increase in opioid deaths, improving local healthcare and more

Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: US newsrooms tell President Trump "we're not enemies of the people," N.C. judges skeptical of challenges to proposed amendments, NC sees the nation’s second highest increase in opioid deaths, counties gear up for accreditation tests by looking at local health needs, filtering GenX at the cost of the ratepayer and more.

DAVID BAUDER: US newsrooms to Trump, ‘We're not enemies of the people’ (AP reports) -- The nation's newsrooms are pushing back against President Donald Trump with a coordinated series of newspaper editorials condemning his attacks on "fake news" and suggestion that journalists are the enemy. The Boston Globe invited newspapers across the country to stand up for the press with editorials on Thursday, and several began appearing online a day earlier. Nearly 350 news organizations have pledged to participate, according to Marjorie Pritchard, op-ed editor at the Globe. The Fayetteville Observer said it hoped Trump would stop, "but we're not holding our breath ."

‘Fake news’ and all the president’s taunts (Fayetteville Observer) -- If, like many readers, you worked your way back to these opinion pages from Page 1, you saw a lot of news — national, international, state and local. And not a word of it was made up or invented to serve one political cause or another. Newspapers deal in fact. We have to — if we lose our credibility, we go out of business. Publishing fantasy labeled as truth is a fast way to get there.

The press defends freedom of speech. The press defends you. (Greensboro News & Record/ Winston-Salem Journal) -- America’s latest war of incivility, launched by the president on the media, is not really about the White House or any newspaper, TV station or digital news outlet covering it. This is a disagreement between the president and you, the citizens of the United States.

ROSE HOBAN: First For a Reason (N.C. Health News) -- NC Health News proudly contributes to a national effort organized by the Boston Globe to remind readers of the importance of the First Amendment's guarantees of a free and independent press.

Trump’s attacks on press go too far (Wilmington Star-News) -- We use this space under the newspaper’s name -- the “masthead” -- to express the views of the StarNews as an institution. Views in this spot are intentionally unsigned and called “editorials” (in contrast to signed opinion pieces by columnists or letter writers). The Editorial Board is tasked with formulating these views.

Assault on free press hurts U.S. and democracy (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot) -- A recent poll found that almost a third of Americans — 29 percent — agree with the notion that “the news media is the enemy of the American people.”

President Trump, we’re not ‘enemies of the people.’ End your war on our free press. (McClatchy Newspapers) -- The president’s attacks on a free press are so egregious that nearly all McClatchy papers are joining a national effort to run editorials calling for an end to it.

The real enemies of the people (Washington Daily News) – If you’re reading this editorial right now, chances are you do not consider the Washington Daily News to be an enemy of the American people. Thank goodness.

Harmful rhetoric puts journalism in jeopardy (Sanford Herald) -- A free press is one of the first freedoms our Founding Fathers guaranteed when they penned the Constitution, but that doesn't mean our nations' leaders have always seen eye-to-eye with the media.

We are not the enemy (Rocky Mount Telegram) -- Cooke Communications N.C. today joins newspapers across the nation writing in response to President Donald Trump’s regular attacks against journalism and the press.

President’s dangerous rhetoric (Hendersonville Times-News) -- “Enemy of the people” mantra is harmful to the nation.

We are not your enemy. And we aren't going away (Asheville Citizen-Times) -- We are not your enemy. We didn’t think we had to say it. We trusted that our friends and neighbors standing in line with us at Ingles, watching Tourist games next to us and standing in the overflow rooms of City Council meetings alongside us knew that. We hoped that after nearly 150 years of fighting alongside you to build a better Western N.C., you knew the journalists in your community were on your side.

CAMPAIGN 2018

MATTHEW BURNS & LAURA LESLIE: Judges skeptical of challenges to proposed amendments (WRAL-TV reports) — A panel of three Superior Court judges ordered state elections officials to hold off printing ballots for the November election until the courts could weigh in on challenges brought by Gov. Roy Cooper to two proposed constitutional amendments.

EMERY DALESIO: N.C. governor seeks referendums blocked as misleading (AP reports) — A three-judge panel heard from lawyers arguing whether two amendments should be blocked before voters see them because their goal is to diminish the governor’s power.

LYNN BONNER: Courts have no role in constitutional amendments, argues lawyer for NC legislators (Charlotte Observer reports) — The courts don’t have a role in determining what constitutional amendments appear on the ballot, a lawyer representing legislative leaders told a three-judge panel.

Legislature Cannot Mislead Voters to Entrench the GOP In Power (Brennan Center & Democracy NC) -- The Brennan Center and Democracy North Carolina today filed a friend-of-the-court brief to stop North Carolina’s legislature from using misleading language on two ballot initiatives to amend the state constitution. The proposals going before voters this fall would substantially reorganize state government in favor of the GOP-dominated legislature, which has repeatedly engaged in gerrymandering and other anti-democratic tactics to cement the majority party’s power.

Voters should listen to 5 governors (Burlington Times-News) -- In a most-remarkable event, the five living former governors gathered Monday to stand against two of the proposed constitutional amendments offered up in the November election. It was a bi-partisan gathering, with three Democrats and two Republicans, and the message was clear: two of the six amendments undercut balanced government in North Carolina.

MARTHA WAGGONER: Panel to decide whether to move 3 NC Confederate monuments (AP reports) —A committee tasked with deciding the fate of three prominent Confederate monuments now located at the State Capitol grounds will announce its plan next week.

ANNA DOUGLAS: People are winning — and losing — big at this hot NC arcade trend. But is it legal? (Charlotte Observer reports) — Twelve years after North Carolina’s ban on video poker machines, fish game tables are flourishing across the state. Arcade operators maintain they’re following state law because they say the money a person can win is based on skill, not luck.

SCOTT SEXTON: Rosenstein remains low key in speech to law-enforcement officers (Winston-Salem Journal column) -- Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — yes, that Rod Rosenstein — only mentioned President Donald Trump a couple of times Wednesday afternoon during a speech to a roomful of cops. Rosenstein, increasingly maligned and targeted recently for impeachment by a gang of conservatives led by U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., strode confidently to a short lectern on a long dais in the renovated Benton Convention Center.

JOHN HINTON: U.S. Deputy AG says public confidence in law-enforcement officers still high (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- The public’s confidence in law-enforcement officers remains high, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told a gathering of law-enforcement officials and prosecutors in Winston-Salem. But, Rosenstein said, there are people who are fearful of police.

PAUL EGGERS: Visiting Madison County, Meadows downplays voter interest in Russia investigation (Asheville Citizen-Times reports) -- Back in the mountains for August recess, Rep. Mark Meadows said the economy and foreign policy were on the minds of voters in the 11th District. But it took awhile for Russia to come up.

ANALISA SORRELLS: How hungry is N.C.? (EdNC) -- Despite an economy rooted in agriculture, North Carolina is one of the hungriest states in the country. In 2016, there were over 1.5 million food insecure people in North Carolina.

BEN LEDBETTER: One disaster or two? Federal decision looms for damaged counties (Carolina Public Press reports) -- After heavy rains in May that caused flash flooding, mudslides and other damage, multiple Western N.C. counties are waiting to see whether they will receive federal assistance with their recovery. They also hope that, if federal authorities do not grant assistance, they will receive help from the state.

VIRGINIA BRIDGES: Judge denies Duke lacrosse accuser’s request for new murder trial, release from jail (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — Crystal Gail Mangum walked into the Durham County courtroom wearing a dark sweater, skirt and handcuffs and shackles. “I shouldn’t be here today filing for summary judgment or the malicious prosecution complaint because the charge should have never reached the jury for deliberation,” Mangum told Superior Court Judge Carolyn J. Thompson.

MACON ATKINSON: What 13 Months Hiding from Immigration Officials Inside a Durham Religious Facility Has Taught Jose Chicas (IndyWeek reports) — For Jose and Sandra Chicas, a year in sanctuary has provided a front-row seat to President Trump's strict immigration policies. But it's also taught them that a sense of security comes from more than just a locked door.

JULIE ZAUZMER & KAREEM FAHIM: Why an American pastor’s imprisonment is at the center of the U.S.-Turkey dispute (Washington Post reports) — His body hollowed out by more than a year behind bars, his memory and his eyesight faltering, the prisoner listened to two hours of testimony claiming he had tried to undermine the government of Turkey. And then, it was his turn to speak.“My faith teaches me to forgive. I forgive all those who testified against me,” he said at a hearing in July. “I leave these people to God.” The prisoner is North Carolina evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson, who has become a flash point in the rapidly worsening relationship between the United States and Turkey.

KELLY HINCHCLIFFE: Racist threats, Nazi graffiti, Trump feuds - Records reveal racial tension in Orange County schools (WRAL-TV reports) -- Orange County Schools recorded 70 racial and election-related incidents at their middle and high schools during the 2016-17 school year. WRAL News discovered the school system was tracking the incidents and requested the records.

GILBERT BAEZ: Fayetteville Tech on road to delivering more truckers (WRAL reports) — The U.S. needs thousands of commercial truck drivers to meet the growing demand from Amazon, Walmart and other companies, so students at Fayetteville Technical Community College are climbing into big rigs for training to help fill that gap.

MARILYN PAYNE: UNC's Fedora on high school football: 'It's something they need (WRAL SportsFan reports) — North Carolina coach Larry Fedora firmly voiced his opinion on both the importance and decline of football last month at ACC Kickoff. For the high schools geographically around Fedora, there is at least a consistent truth to his belief that the verve for the sport is shrinking.

Our schools, our ideas (Fayetteville Observer) — Marvin Connelly Jr., Cumberland County’s new superintendent of schools, said he wanted to hear what people think about our school system. So he scheduled a “listening tour” with six stops at venues around the county. If he keeps getting the turnout he got at Fayetteville State University’s Shaw Auditorium Monday, he’s going to come away with quite an earful.

MARSHA BASLOE: We must focus on the early childhood workforce (EdNC column) -- When businesses consider expansion or relocation, they look for thriving communities with a strong social infrastructure that promotes a good quality of life. A key component of this social infrastructure is early care and education. Research tells us that high quality early learning opportunities both foster children’s development and facilitate parents’ employment.

JOHN MURAWSKI: NC sees the nation’s second highest increase in opioid deaths (Charlotte Observer reports) — Drug overdoses in N.C. surged in 2017 faster than every other state in the nation but one, as the potent and cheap fentanyl and its derivatives flooded the state.

THOMAS GOLDSMITH: NC Counties Gear Up for Accreditation Tests by Looking at Local Needs (NC Health News reports) — When leaders in Anson County looked at public health needs recently, childhood obesity emerged as one of the most troubling trends among the county’s 26,000 citizens. Statistics show that more than a third of adults are obese in Anson, located about 60 miles southeast of Charlotte.

STEVE DeVANE: Lawyers want to stop Chemours’ communication with clients (Fayetteville Observer reports) — Lawyers representing residents who are suing Chemours over GenX contamination in their wells asked a federal judge this week to keep the company from communicating with their clients.

Chemours cuts off bottled water for some families (AP reports) -- The company that makes a chemical that's been found in private wells near its N.C. plant will stop providing bottled water to residents whose wells meet the state's health goal.

TIM BUCKLAND: CFPUA: Filtering GenX can be done, but will cost customers (Wilmington Star News reports) — The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority may move to spend $46 million to upgrade the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant to filter -- as much as possible -- contaminants like GenX and other material that the Wilmington plant can’t filter from water drawn from the Cape Fear River. But the cost would ultimately be borne by ratepayers.

MANDY MITCHELL: Raleigh Special Olympics athlete selected for World Games (WRAL reports) — Raleigh swimmer Bryan Henry is one of four North Carolina Special Olympics athletes who have been chosen to represent the United States in the upcoming Special Olympics World games. Henry is fresh off a trip to the United States Games in Seattle, where he took home three gold medals.

JEFF HAMPTON: Blackbeard was killed by an unlawful act of a Virginia lieutenant governor before he could get a pardon (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports) -- The pirate might have taken the King's pardon as did his mentor, Benjamin Hornigold.

KRISTEN HAMPTON: New info reveals NC woman may be the oldest living person in the US (Charlotte Observer reports) — Hester Ford was born in 1905 in Lancaster County, South Carolina. The youngest daughter of a farmer, she grew up learning the value of family and hard work. She raised 12 children with her husband in Charlotte. She has 58 grandchildren and more than 120 great-great grandchildren