Opinion Roundup: Special elections, voter ID, transgender rights and more

Tuesday, March 12, 2019 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: NC hopefuls sign up for open congressional seat, voter ID measure would delay requirement until 2020, Democrats gain 6-1 majority on NC Supreme Court, state sued again over transgender rights, huge gains in reducing ozone gasses, battling GenX pollution and more.

NC hopefuls sign up for open congressional seat (AP reports) — Candidates are signing up to run for a NC congressional seat after November's election was deemed tainted and needed a do-over. Candidate filing for the 9th Congressional District runs Monday through Friday.

JIM MORRILL & ELY PORTILLO: Surprise Union County candidate shakes up the 9th District Republican primary (Charlotte Observer reports) — Former state Sen. Fern Shubert of Marshville, a maverick one-time gubernatorial candidate, joined Union County commissioner Stony Rushing of Wingate as the first Republicans in the race.

Voting begins soon in district attracting over 25 candidates (AP reports) — Voters can soon begin to pick from among over two dozen candidates who have filed to run for an eastern NC congressional seat empty since last month's death of GOP Rep. Walter Jones Jr.

Federal investigators issue subpoenas in NC-9 investigation (WBTV-TV reports) -- The Department of Justice has issued at least three subpoenas – including to the State Board of Elections -- for a federal grand jury investigation into allegations of election fraud in the 9th Congressional District.

Voter ID measure would delay requirement until 2020 (AP reports) -- Surfacing legislation would essentially delay requiring photo identification to vote in North Carolina until the 2020 elections, because of concerns about the deadlines to finalize ID rules and as previously unscheduled congressional elections approach.

RICHARD CRAVER: Berger's latest Medicaid expansion opposition targets 'Carolina Cares' bill (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- Senate Leader Phil Berger took aim at provisions in Rep. Donny Lambeth’s bill to expand Medicaid in the state, saying it represents a tax that ultimately will be passed on to patients.

Let teachers teach (Greensboro News & Record) -- There is no other way to put this: Arming teachers in North Carolina classrooms is as bone-headed an idea this year as it was last year. And the year before.

DAVID LIGHTMAN: This is where House Democrats are searching for evidence of voter suppression (McClatchy DC reports) -- Congressional Democrats plan to expand their probe into possible voter suppression to North Carolina and probably Kansas, said the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. “We’re looking at the most egregious situations,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat. Cummings said his committee could wind up examining at least four or five states as it digs into whether voting rights were routinely suppressed. The committee could hold hearings, subpoena witnesses and use its findings to champion legislation to remedy whatever problems it found.

GARY ROBERTSON: Cooper elevates Court of Appeals Judge Mark Davis to Supreme Court (AP reports) -- Gov. Roy Cooper added a sixth Democrat to the seven-member state Supreme Court on Monday, elevating a current Court of Appeals judge to a vacancy created when Cooper recently named Cheri Beasley the chief justice. Cooper, also a Democrat, announced he's appointing Judge Mark Davis as an associate justice. He'll begin serving next month and will run for election to an eight-year term in November 2020.

WILL DORAN: Democrats gain 6-1 majority on NC Supreme Court as Roy Cooper names a new justice (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — Mark Davis will become NC’s newest Supreme Court justice, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper announced Monday as he appointed Davis to fill the seat vacated when he named Cheri Beasley as the court’s newest chief justice.

JONATHAN DREW: State sued again over transgender rights (AP reports) – N.C. is being sued again over its treatment of transgender people, as state employees argue that their health plan violated federal law by dropping coverage of medically necessary procedures.

Mark Meadows blasts HR1, ‘For the People Act’ (Hendersonville Times-News reports) -- Congressman Mark Meadows Friday voted no on House Resolution 1, or “the For the People Act,” coming out against the House Democrats’ first major legislative priority because he believes the bill in reality does the opposite of its stated purpose of giving power back to the people. He also laid out three amendments he proposed to address his concerns.

TEO ARMUS: Undocumented immigration is falling nationally, but it’s up in Charlotte. Here’s why. (Charlotte Observer reports) — As the number of immigrants living illegally in the U.S. continues to decline, Charlotte has gone in the opposite direction. About 100,000 unauthorized immigrants were living in the Charlotte metro area in 2016, according to a Pew Research Center report.

JOSH SHAFFER & SIMONE JASPER: ‘My faith has gotten stronger.’ Four months after ICE arrest, supporters speak out (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — More than 50 people rallied Monday in support of Samuel Oliver-Bruno, a Durham father who was deported to Mexico after taking sanctuary in a church basement. Supporters included 27 people who blocked a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement van during Oliver-Bruno’s arrest last fall. They called Monday for his return, for ICE to be abolished and for the Wake County district attorney to drop the charges against them.

Apollo 11 now (Winston-Salem Journal) - We’re a few months away from the 50th anniversary of one of America’s — and mankind’s — greatest achievements: The flight of NASA’s Apollo 11 spacecraft, which carried human beings from Earth to the moon for the first time in history, landing on July 20, 1969.

KELLY HINCHCLIFFE: NC has no regulations governing substitute teachers (SUNSHINE/WRAL-TV reports) -- Substitute teachers are not regulated by the state, and rules vary among school districts. Some don't require a college degree. Some don't require a high school diploma.

VALERIE STRAUSS: Story of school segregation in N.C. - Private white-flight academy is turning public charter (Washington Post column) – Justin Parmenter and educator Rodney D. Pierce are telling a new story of school segregation in North Carolina, this time a private white-flight academy that is being allowed to turn itself into a charter school and operate with public funds. The story is about Hobgood Academy, which was founded in 1969 as desegregation efforts were underway in the city and private “white flight” schools were established to maintain segregated education.

Slavery game at Codington prompts district investigation (Wilmington Star-News reports) -- Fourth grade teacher reportedly had students play game called “Escaping Slavery”

NOAH FEIT: School apologizes after teaching students black history with ‘Escaping Slavery’ game (Charlotte Observer reports) — A board of education has apologized after students at a NC elementary school played a game called “Escaping Slavery” to learn about black history. Fourth-grade students at Codington Elementary School in Wilmington participated in the role-playing game that was supposed to teach them about the Underground Railroad, WECT reported.

WILL DORAN: Claiming transgender discrimination, university employees are suing NC (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — State officials are intentionally and unlawfully discriminating against transgender people who need medical care, a new lawsuit claims. The lawsuit was filed Monday by half a dozen state workers who are transgender themselves, or who have transgender children.

NICK STEVENS: NCISAA finds Village Christian Academy violated rules, school will forfeit wins and faces probation (WRAL-TV reports) -- The N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association investigation into Village Christian Academy's football program found that students were recruited to play football and offered impermissible benefits to student-athletes.

JACLYN SHAMBAUGH: Village Christian loses state championship over NCISAA violations (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- The association found Village Christian’s football program guilty of recruiting violations.

RICHARD ADKINS: In six months since Florence, Pollocksville in Jones County spends time cleaning up, waiting for help (WRAL-TV reports) -- It has been six months since hurricane Florence and many homes in eastern North Carolina are still uninhabitable. Jones County was hit hard by the storm.

State, federal disaster response must get better than this (Fayetteville Observer) -- Hurricanes Matthew and Florence are disasters that just won’t quit. The flood waters from the two extraordinary storms receded long ago. But for some people who suffered through the historically high water, the recovery hasn’t even begun. How can that be? And how do we improve?

GREG BARNES: State makes huge gains in reducing ozone gasses (NC Health News reports) — In the 1990s and early 2000s, summers in NC were dominated by red or orange ozone days from the mountains to the coast. Back then, more than 30 NC counties failed to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s air quality standards. Not anymore.

CATHERINE KOZAK: Iconic Apollo 9 Image of NC Coast Turns 50 (Coastal Review reports) -- Stark, artfully angled and shockingly skinny, the Outer Banks of North Carolina gained a whole new visual perspective of its fragile geology in a photograph taken 50 years ago by the Apollo 9 spacecraft. he shot, taken from an altitude of about 120 miles at 10 a.m. on March 12, 1969, during the spacecraft’s 136th orbit of the Earth, was the clearest depiction of the delicate string of barrier islands and the expansive estuarine system it geographically embraces.

Are we losing momentum on battling GenX pollution? (Wilmington Star-News) — The headline was deja vu: “Test wells show high levels of GenX”. How many times have the Observer’s Page 1 headlines heralded such a discovery in the past nearly two years? Dozens? Hundreds? There are plenty of reasons for anger, much of it rightly directed toward the government institutions that have failed to protect us.

N.C. Coastal Land Trust buys Reaves Chapel (Wilmington Star-News reports) -- The N.C. Coastal Land Trust has bought Reaves Chapel near Navassa, with plans to restore the church as a community center and cultural landmark.

NATHANIEL POPPER: How a N.C. Bitcoin Evangelist Made Himself Vanish, in 15 (Not So Easy) Steps (New York Times reports) -- In October 2017, a SWAT team descended on Jameson Lopp’s house in North Carolina. Someone — it still isn’t clear who — had called the police and falsely claimed that a shooter at the home had killed someone and taken a hostage. Mr. Lopp, a self-described libertarian who works for a Bitcoin security company, had long been obsessed with the value of privacy, and he set out to learn how thoroughly a person can escape the all-seeing eyes of corporate America and the government. But he wanted to do it without giving up internet access and moving to a shack in the woods. Many celebrities and wealthy people, wary of thieves, paparazzi and other predators, have tried to achieve Mr. Lopp’s vision of complete privacy. Few have succeeded.

RICHARD CRAVER: Novant Health names ex-Charlotte Observer publisher new foundation president (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- Novant Health Inc. has hired Ann Caulkins, former publisher of The Charlotte Observer, as a senior vice president and president of Novant Health Foundation.

MAXIM TAMAROV: 7th grader named Marine Military Child of the Year (Jacksonville Daily News) -- Jacksonville 7th grader Jaxson Jordan, 13, son of Master Gunnery Sgt. Christopher Jordan and Rebecca Jordan, has been named as a Marine Corps Military Child of the Year.