Opinion Roundup: Remapping the legislature

Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017 -- A roundup of opinion, commentary and analysis on an outside expert's proposals for new N.C. legislative maps, a facility that shows the rise of solar power, a rural hospital set to be lifted out of bankruptcy and more.

​TRAVIS FAIN: Expert proposes legislative maps in NC redistricting case (WRAL-TV analysis) -- A number of districts look significantly different under the plan, though, including districts in Guilford County.

​Special master offers draft maps for N.C. Legislature (AP analysis) -- An outside expert appointed by a federal court to help draw some North Carolina legislative districts that judges worry remained unconstitutional has suggested changes.

​Special Master Nate Persily Issues Maps to Cure N.C. Gerrymander, Sets Deadline for Comments (Election Law Blog) – Read the court order and see the proposed maps.

​Asheville has spoken loud and clear. Will Raleigh listen? (Asheville Citizen-Times) -- Asheville’s voters have spoken loudly and clearly. They do not want City Council members elected from districts. Unfortunately, Chuck Edwards remains deaf to their desires.

​ANDREW DUNN: Is Charlotte’s Republican Party dead? (Charlotte Agenda analysis) -- All three of the party’s endorsed candidates for citywide office — mayoral candidate Kenny Smith and City Council at-large candidates John Powell and Parker Cains — were soundly defeated at the polls despite the perception that they were in close races. That means Charlotte is now nearing a decade without a Republican in a citywide elected office. Party leaders now worry that it could be several decades longer until their influence is again felt in local government.

​D.G. MARTIN: What Virginia wins mean for N.C. (Winston-Salem Journal column) -- North Carolina is not Virginia. And 2017 is not 2018 or 2020.

​SARAH KRUEGER: Groups protest speech by former Trump assistant at UNC-CH (WRAL-TV analysis) -- A former aide to President Donald Trump caused controversy on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus, as protesters chanted outside.

​LUCAS RISINGER: Former Trump advisor speaks at UNC amid protests (Daily Tar Heel analysis) -- First-year Alex Stephens was quick to answer what she expected from the event. “Radicalism,” she said. Sebastian Gorka, a former Trump administration adviser and current Fox News contributor, visited UNC to speak about U.S.-Israel relations and the Middle East. Students voiced frustrations and concerns surrounding Gorka’s political positions during and after the event. Social media posts and civil protests — organized by J Street, CHispA and One Voice — took place both outside Genome and in the Campus Y.

​GLENN KESSLER, MEG KELLY, NICOLE LEWIS: President Trump has made 1,628 false or misleading claims over 298 days (Washington Post analysis) -- For some reason, our year-long project analyzing every false or misleading claim by President Trump seemed like quite a burden in the past month. Well, the numbers are in and now we know why.

​Stop jailing people for being poor (Charlotte Observer) -- Justice should depend on the law, not on a defendant’s ability to pay.

​JENNIFER BOWMAN: Wanda Greene under investigation for fraud (Asheville Citizen-Times analysis) -- A federal criminal investigation focusing on former Buncombe County manager Wanda Greene has found the county used gift cards to make questionable purchases worth thousands of dollars, among other "inappropriate financial transactions."

​NC REP. STEINBURG: “LET’S KEEP NC OPEN FOR BUSINESS (Chambers for Innovation opinion) -- As many states vie to be selected as Amazon's second headquarters, local chambers from across North Carolina - where Amazon has already invested in a wind farm - gathered last month to discuss how local chambers and state legislators could work together to attract investments from corporations that are increasingly demanding renewable energy. Here are a few highlights.

​STEVE DeVANE: Bladen facility shows solar’s rising influence (Fayetteville Observer analysis) -- Duke Energy expects to get about a third of its new energy from solar power, a company official said Monday. The other two-thirds of Duke Energy’s new energy likely will come from natural gas, according to company spokesman Randy Wheeless.

​Protect our coast (Winston-Salem Journal) -- Our state must do better at confronting global warming and rising seas.

​DUSTIN GEORGE: Cooper announces studies into Neuse, Tar, Cashie and Lumber rivers (Kinston Free Press analysis) -- Gov. Roy Cooper announced that studies will be conducted on the Neuse, Cashie, Lumber and Tar rivers to help prevent future flooding in Eastern North Carolina. The four rivers flooded last year following Hurricane Matthew, causing damages to homes, roads and businesses across the region. Studying the four rivers could help the state learn more about the sources and severity of flooding in the river basins and reveal ways to minimize flooding in the future.

​ADAM WAGNER: Beach nourishment could return during short session (Wilmington Star-News) -- A quartet of coastal lawmakers said they will continue to push for state funding of beach nourishment, possibly as soon as the short session that begins in January. Sen. Harry Brown, R-Onslow, was joined on a panel by Rep. Frank Iler, R-Brunswick; Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover; and Sen. Norm Sanderson, R-Carteret. House Bill 56 received headlines for its efforts to study GenX and Gov. Roy Cooper’s overturned veto. It also created a coastal storm damage mitigation fund that would be used for beach nourishment, but no appropriations were provided in the bill. “The next challenge,” Lee said, “really is going to be figuring out is there a funding source or sources that we can identify -- and it may be multiple sources -- so there’s no inordinate impact on a revenue source that currently exists.”

​TRISTA TALTON: Paddling Black River: Park Study Underway (Coastal Review analysis) – Reaction to a proposal earlier this year for a new state park along the Black River prompted legislators to revise the measure to instead call only for a study of the idea.

​MARY BAGGETT MARTIN & ANN COLLEY: A commonsense response to GenX (Wilmington Star-News column) -- Last February, DuPont and its spinoff Chemours agreed to pay $670 million to settle thousands of lawsuits related to their decades-long release of tons of C8, a toxic chemical used in the production of Teflon, into the Ohio River. In June of this year, North Carolinians learned that Chemours had been releasing GenX, a similar chemical, into the Cape Fear River for 37 years. It seems that every week brings another report of chemical substances in the Cape Fear.

​HEALTH

​​JASON DEBRUYN: UNC Health Care To Acquire Bankrupt Eden Hospital (WUNC-FM analysis) -- UNC Health Care will acquire Morehead Memorial Hospital out of bankruptcy. In July, the nonprofit hospital in Eden filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and sought bids to be acquired.

​ROSE HOBAN: With Opioid Overdoses Rising, Medical Cannabis Gets a Second Look (N.C. Health News analysis) -- Advocates say cannabis could play a role in pain reduction, and they’re getting help from lawmakers at the federal and state levels.

​Let the president run the university (Greensboro News & Record) -- The UNC Board of Governors usually makes news only when it hires or fires the system’s president.

​Congress must restore teacher tax deduction (Wilson Times) -- Pop quiz: When teachers dig into threadbare pockets and purses to buy essential supplies for cash-starved classrooms, should the federal government demand a cut of what they spend?

​KATHARINE SHUSTER CORRELL: We need to provide teachers the luxury of time (EdNC column) -- In teachers, we are sitting on a goldmine of talent: They are adept at quick problem-solving. They take dry content and make it engaging for distracted minds. They navigate the politics of changing leadership and new policies. They form bonds and learning communities with co-workers they are distant from most of the day, and they work outside their contracted hours to meet the needs of their work environment and “clients.” The problem? They are not provided the time or opportunity to lift their heads up from the task at hand and both contribute to systems-level improvements or receive quality learning that pushes their competencies forward.

​LAURA LESLIE: Duke U. students seek end to alleged hazing at black fraternities, sororities (WRAL-TV analysis) -- A Duke University student group is calling on school administrators to do more to stop alleged hazing activities that students seeking admission to black fraternities and sororities are forced to undergo.

​CULLEN BROWDER: Former UNC-CH professor duped by drug cartel says phony evidence used to convict, fire him (WRAL-TV analysis) -- A former professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is fighting to get his job back after a trip to meet his dream girl landed him in prison.

​TAMMY GRUBB: Your child’s next role model? Duke Olympian is newest Barbie (Durham Herald-Sun column) -- Ibtihaj Muhammad is making history again – as a new role model for young girls. The 2007 Duke University graduate and fencer became the first Muslim woman to win a national title in 2009, and in 2012, she was named the Muslim Sportswoman of the Year. In 2016, she was the first U.S. athlete to wear the hijab – a headscarf worn by Muslim women – during the Olympic Games. This week, toymaker Mattel unveiled a new “Barbie Shero” inspired by Muhammad’s achievements at the 2017 Glamour Women of the Year LIVE Summit. The Barbie Shero line reflects the company’s effort to offer more diverse dolls, while recognizing women who break boundaries.

​Fitzsimon leaving NC Policy Watch to spread effort elsewhere (AP) -- The founder of a liberal-leaning think tank that's developed into a media outlet following North Carolina state government is leaving his job to try to replicate the effort in other states.