Opinion Roundup: UNC Health Care responds to confidential report, Supreme Court to decide on gerrymandering case and more

Monday, June 3, 2019 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: UNC Health Care responds to confidential report, legislature reaches bill crossover stage with budget negotiations under way, Duke Energy's power play could cost NC consumers, Supreme Court to decide on gerrymandering case, Wake school board sets diversity goal and more.

Candidates need to assert Congress' role in Iran (Elizabeth City Daily Advance) -- It’s disheartening but not really surprising that both Republicans seeking their party’s nomination in this fall’s 3rd Congressional District special election are willing to pass on demanding Congress exercise its constitutional role as a check on presidential power

Medicaid expansion now (Winston-Salem) -- Senate leader Phil Berger is the reason the N.C. Senate budget includes no provision for Medicaid expansion, which could provide health care coverage for the hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians who currently have none.

ALEX GRANADOS: Game of budgets -- The plot thickens (EdNC reports) -- The Senate budget plan for the next two years passed its chamber last week, which means the negotiation, machination, deliberation, and calculation can now begin. While some of you may simply be feeling resignation, here are a few things for your consideration. The Senate and the House are pretty far apart on teacher pay and principal pay, but in different ways.

COLIN CAMPBELL: Buried in a big budget, some petty cuts (Durham-Herald Sun column) -- “It’s petty, y’all” was how Sen. Don Davis, D-Pitt, described part of the state Senate’s budget proposal last week. He’s right, but it didn’t have to be that way.

GINGER LIVINGSTON: ENC senator said Senate wants Vidant governance changes resolved (Greenville Daily Reflector reports) -- Reported discussions among Senate leaders about building a teaching hospital for the Brody School of Medicine, independent of Vidant Medical Center are just “chatter,” said one eastern North Carolina legislator. Sen. Bob Steinburg, R-Chowan, whose 11-county district is served by three of Vidant Health’s eight hospitals, said legislators were concerned when Vidant leaders and Pitt County commissioners ended the UNC Board of Governors’ ability to appoint members to the hospital’s board of trustees.

GINGER LIVINGSTON: Vidant, UNC make their cases with the public (Greenville Daily Reflector reports) -- UNC Health Care and Vidant Health are offering differing interpretations of a 2018 confidential report examining the state’s health care marketplace. Vidant said the report shows a “behind the scenes” attempt to take over its facilities. UNC said such studies are routine and the health care system has no plan to acquire Vidant Health. Meanwhile, the state Senate on Friday took its final vote on its $24 billion budget which includes cuts to Vidant Health related to its dispute with the UNC System.

UNC Health Care responds to confidential report (WITN-TV reports) -- UNC Health Care says there is "no plan, secret or otherwise" to takover Vidant Health. The hospital system released a statement a day after WITN aired confidential documents showing that the system had conducted research on what a takeover of Vidant Health might look like.

RICHARD CRAVER: Legislature reaches bill crossover stage with budget negotiations under way (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- With state House and Senate budget writers engaged in compromise negotiations, the 2019 legislative session has reached the crossover stage. It’s the time when bills that cleared one chamber weeks, if not months ago, begin the committee process in the other.

Democrat Ben Clark votes with Republicans for NC budget (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- State senator cites money in the budget for Hoke, Cumberland County projects.

Reports of the 'born alive' abortion scenario are rare (PolitiFact reports) -- We found that there’s some evidence suggesting that infants occasionally survive abortion attempts, but reports are rare. There’s even less hard evidence to suggest that, when infants do survive those attempts, they’re viable but killed by medical professionals or allowed to die. N.C. tracks infant deaths but doesn’t know how many infants died after being born alive during a failed abortion, said SarahLewis Peel, spokeswoman for the NC Dept. of Health and Human Services. "In 2017, there were zero deaths with an underlying cause of death of "Termination of Pregnancy," she said.

SHARON MILLER: Duke Energy’s power play could cost NC consumers (Durham Herald-Sun column) -- Duke Energy is pushing a Trojan horse – which, while disguised as legislation to give state regulators more flexibility, would permit Duke to earn excessive profits at customers’ expense without the comprehensive scrutiny it currently receives from regulators. Far from helping regulators – or anyone else other than Duke – Senate Bill 559 is an attempt to pocket additional money for Duke Energy, the chief driver of the bill. SB 559 opens the door for Duke to be allowed to raise its rates annually to collect from ratepayers an estimated $10 billion in coal ash clean-up costs and $13 billion in grid modernization costs over the next decade. But like the mythical Trojan horse, SB 559 appears harmless from the outside.

Goodwin eyeing Inner Banks trial ferry in fall (Elizabeth City Daily Advance reports) -- A state legislator says he's looking for his colleagues' support for a trial run of an Inner Banks ferry this fall. Rep. Ed Goodwin, a Republican from Chowan County and former head of the state’s Ferry Division, said he hopes the trial run would lead to a project to link waterfronts across the Albemarle Sound.

In Virginia Beach, a tragedy we didn't deserve (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot) -- It is an awful thing that this happened anywhere and difficult to square this with the peaceful setting of the Municipal Center, one of the more peaceful, lovely places in Virginia Beach.

CHRIS WARSHAW: Supreme Court is deciding gerrymandering case. Here’s the social science justices need to know (Washington Post reports) -- the U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule on partisan gerrymandering in the coming weeks. One of the key questions facing the court is whether judges can reliably detect the most egregious gerrymanders and avoid a flood of new litigation. It is increasingly clear that social science provides straightforward metrics to detect the most extreme gerrymanders. Moreover, social-science evidence suggests that reining in gerrymandering would improve democratic representation in the United States.

MARGARET DICKSON: NC needs real, lasting reforms for legislative redistricting (Fayetteville Observer column) -- North Carolinians know something is badly amiss with our elections system and suspect that our votes may not count, but we do not always know why that is. I submit to you that a significant problem with our process is gerrymandering.

THOMAS MILLS: North Carolinians don't like their senators (Greenville Daily Reflector column) -- North Carolinians don't generally like their US Senators. Almost every election cycle starts with some incumbent Senator with a favorability rating somewhere in the mid-30s. We routinely throw out Senators after one term. Only two Senators, Jesse Helms and Richard Burr, have been re-elected in the state since 1972. This year, it's Thom Tillis who looks embattled. His approval rating is upside down and according to poll commissioned by the conservative group Club for Growth, only 45 percent of Republicans approve of Tillis. The Club wants to push Sixth District Congressman Mark Walker into a primary. Walker hasn't said no. Tillis has already drawn one opponent, Garland Tucker. Tucker is an old school, pre-Trump conservative.

As Trump threatens Americans, guess whose senators are silent? (Charlotte Observer) -- It’s a good thing that when the president announces a bizarre policy that’s bad for Americans, they have senators are willing to stand up for them. It would be better thing if one of those senators were from North Carolina. That’s apparently wishful thinking. … While Sen. Richard Burr is apparently content to meekly serve out his final term, Sen. Thom Tillis is in a difficult position these days. He’s a Republican in a moderate state, which means he’s facing the anger of Democrats and wariness of independents who don’t support President Donald Trump. He’s also facing a GOP primary challenger who says Tillis isn’t sufficiently in the president’s corner. The result is that Tillis, who has comically wavered between standing up and cowing to the president, now appears to be fully at Trump’s side.

NANCY MCLAUGHLIN: Asheboro woman has spent two years in Greensboro church to avoid deportation (Greensboro News & Record reports) -- Some days she slips outside, finds a rocking chair and spends the morning watching birds at play and bees buzzing from flower to flower — while on the lookout for strange vehicles. Juana Luz Tobar Ortega, who has been in the country illegally for more than two decades, escaped to the sanctuary of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church to prevent the U.S. government from deporting her two years ago. She was the first undocumented immigrant in North Carolina to seek sanctuary at a church and doesn’t know when, or if, she’ll be able to leave this place for the freedom that exists for everyone else outside these walls.

EMILY WEAVER: Hungry people in Swain County and those who help (Carolina Public Press reports) -- Hundreds of families in Swain County regularly seek help with food and other needs from Living Waters food pantry and The Giving Spoon meals agency.

NIA HARDEN: 100 deadliest days: Why NC teen drivers are at risk (WRAL-TV reports) -- The span of time between Memorial Day and Labor Day is referred to as the 100 deadliest days for young drivers, and teenagers in N.C. are at risk.

SARAH STACKE: New book of photographs offers penetrating look at segregated South during Redemption and Jim Crow (Washington Post book review) -- Photographer Hugh Mangum was an uncanny portraitist. Maybe it was because of the professional hypnotist training he received as a young man. His good-humored nature and fondness for quirk, his own and others, probably enabled his clients to be both at ease and aware of themselves in front of his camera. Mangum worked in North Carolina and the Virginias at the turn of the 20th century, setting up temporary studios in towns along the railroad lines.

RICHARD CRAVER: Amazon plans quick hiring program once Kernersville fulfillment center is ready (Greensboro News & Record reports) -- The hiring process won’t start until next year at the forthcoming Amazon fulfillment center in Kernersville, though the online retailing giant has already confirmed its plan to have 1,000 full-time employees at the 1 million-square-foot center.

Centric is a coup for Gateway Center and Greensboro (Greensboro News & Record) -- As it turns out, not one, but two apparel makers with new names, famous labels and shared roots soon will be located on opposite ends of downtown Greensboro.

MYRON PITTS: Late historian’s legacy informs debate over Civil War history center (Fayetteville Observer column) -- If I had a wish for the N.C. Civil War & Reconstruction History Center, it is that for everyone to have heard Hari Jones on the subject of the Civil War, and African-Americans’ contributions to that conflict. I know it cannot happen. Jones died at age 59 in July of last year.

T. KEUNG HUI: ‘Resegregation will not happen on our watch.’ Wake school board sets diversity goal (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- In the face of growing school resegregation, leaders of N.C.’s largest school system made a commitment Saturday to try to make school enrollments more diverse. The Wake County school board agreed to set a goal of trying to reduce the vast socioeconomic diversity gaps that exist where 40% of the district’s elementary schools are either extremely affluent or extremely high poverty. It’s a decision that will test the school system’s political will at a time when families who don’t like their school assignments can opt for alternatives such as charter schools, private schools or homeschooling.

Camden's Rosenwald school to get historic marker (Elizabeth City Daily Advance reports) -- Since 1996, the Rosenwald Community Center has been a place where Camden County residents gather with guests for family reunions, wedding receptions, senior citizen birthday parties and assorted public meetings.

50 years later, black alumni reunite to recall their beloved, bulldozed high school (Charlotte Observer reports) -- As 71-year-old Minnie Thompson twirled her pom-pom and shuffled across the stage, she tried — if only for a moment — to rebuild what had been torn down when Second Ward High School was shuttered half a century ago. “Gimme that old Second Ward spirit,” she chanted with the other cheerleaders. “It’s good enough for me.” For a while, that spirit seemed good enough for everyone else too. Hundreds of 60- and 70-somethings had returned to keep the spirit of their school alive — long after the building had been demolished.

ANNE BLYTHE: Dental therapy might not be what you think, but is it for NC? (NC Health News reports) -- A Minnesota dental therapist tries to show North Carolinians how her job might ease oral health care access in NC rural areas.

DR. MELINA KIBBE & DR. STEPHANIE DUGGINS DAVIS: UNC Children’s Hospital provides high-quality care (Durham-Herald Sun column) -- First and foremost, we are physicians who have dedicated our lives to caring for and caring about patients. We celebrate with families the joys of curing illness; and we are deeply impacted by any death, particularly that of a young child. We lead our respective areas of surgery and pediatrics with the mindset of always doing what is right for children and families. Caring for these children is a privilege. Children and families are always our top priority. Our mission is to provide the best care for all children across North Carolina. We and our colleagues live this mission every day.

MIKE SHUTAK: NCCF wraps up wetlands restoration at preserve (Carteret County News-Times reports) -- About 20 years of restoration work on about 6,000 acres of farmland is almost complete, and the finishing touches should be done by October at the latest. This is what N.C. Coastal Federation staff had to say Thursday while hosting a tour of the nonprofit organization’s North River Wetlands Preserve, a restoration project at the former North River Farms in Down East Carteret County.

JESSICA PATRICK: Woman finds alligators in surf at North Topsail Beach (WRAL-TV reports) -- A woman from Ayden, NC told WRAL News she was shocked to find alligators in the surf on North Topsail Beach on Saturday. JoAnn Groeger, who said she has been visiting North Topsail Beach for 20 years and has never seen an alligator gator there, said the sight was amazing and shocking.

BEN STEELMAN: Tornadoes rare, but not unknown in Southeastern N.C. (Wilmington Star-News reports) -- Residents can be thankful that tornadoes are relatively rare in Southeastern NC, but when they hit, they can be deadly. A 1,000-foot-wide tornado with winds approaching 200 mph struck the eastern Columbus County community of Riegelwood early on the morning of Nov. 16, 2006, plowing through a mobile home park. Eight people were killed, including two children, and 20 were injured.

Pitts named opinion editor of the Observer (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- Myron B. Pitts, a longtime Fayetteville Observer columnist, has been named opinion editor and will take over responsibilities for institutional editorials, community op-eds and reader engagement. Publisher Bob Gruber announced Pitts’ promotion this week.

The men who changed history, 75 years ago (Fayetteville Observer) -- We tend to pay more attention to, and view as more significant, those anniversaries that happen to fall on years ending in zero — 10 years of marriage — or the silver and gold milestones — 50 years since the Moon landing. This week, generations of Americans and Europeans be paying closer attention to a particular 75th anniversary of events that changed the course of human history: The D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944.

JOE MARUSAK: Remains of century-old schooner done in by a hurricane emerge on Outer Banks (Charlotte Observer reports) -- The charred remains of a century-old schooner that wrecked in a 1933 hurricane can be spotted in the sand of a popular Outer Banks island for now. But there’s always a chance nature could cover the remains again.

WE2019 Festival brings original Woodstock performers to NC (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- The soundtrack of the 1960s came to life 50 years ago at Woodstock. “Going Up the Country,” by Canned Heat. “Somebody to Love,” by Jefferson Airplane. “Dance to the Music,” by Sly and the Family Stone. Those “three days of peace and music” in Bethel, New York, were a watershed moment in American culture. It was an intersection of the idealism of a prior generation and the reality of a world full of injustice. It played out in song. Musician and promoter Kenn Moutenot chased the dream of recapturing the spirit of 1969 all the way to Saloon Studios in West Jefferson, N.C. That’s where he’ll help stage the WE2019 Festival with original members of some of the greatest bands from the Woodstock Festival five decades ago. The three-day WE2019 festival runs Aug. 9-11 and each day features a 10-band lineup. Headliners include Canned Heat, Jefferson Starship and Ten Years After.

$345M Powerball jackpot ticket sold in Hope Mills (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- Someone who was shopping in Hope Mills just got very rich. North Carolina lottery officials say a winning $344.6 million Powerball ticket was sold at the Carlie C’s IGA on North Main Street.

JESSICA PATRICK: Winning $350 million jackpot ticket sold at grocery store in Hope Mills (WRAL-TV reports) -- The winning ticket from Saturday's almost-$350 million jackpot drawing was sold in Cumberland County, according to the N.C. Education Lottery.

Mills showcases tiny house hotel (Rocky Mount Telegram reports) -- George and Cathy Wilson's son was in Rocky Mount and the family needed something to do late last week. So the Wilsons on Friday morning decided to attend the official opening of the River and Twine Tiny House Hotel at the Rocky Mount Mills campus.