YOU DON’T SAY

“The importance of using these funds is to help ensure our athletic programs are not operating in a deficit … which for many of our institutions is a financial Achilles’ heel.”

UNC System Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Haygood, on the impact of sports betting revenue. (WUNC Radio, 7/29/24)

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Sports Betting

Brianna Atkinson, WUNC Radio, 7/29/24

Most of the state’s public universities will split $10.7 million in sports betting revenue this year. The money, which comes from taxes placed on bets, is more than twice as much as university athletic directors thought they would receive.

Sports betting has been legal in North Carolina since March. According to the North Carolina State Lottery Commission, gamblers spent over $1.9 billion in bets from March to June. Combined with promotional funds, the state’s total wagering revenue has topped $2.2 billion.

State law requires sports wagering companies to pay an 18% tax on their gross wagering revenue. The proceeds are split among several state agencies and organizations including the state Lottery Commission, Department of Health and North Carolina Amateur Sports.

Thirteen of the state’s public universities are set to receive 20% of the remaining tax revenue plus a base amount of $300,000. They are: Appalachian State, East Carolina, Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State, NC A&T, NC Central, UNC Asheville, UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro, UNC Pembroke, UNC Wilmington, Western Carolina and Winston-Salem State.

University athletic directors were expecting to receive around $300,000 for the first year of sports betting. Instead, they will get about $820,000 each. This money will be a much-needed boost for several of the universities, where small athletic departments struggle to financially support themselves.

“The importance of using these (sports betting) funds is to help ensure our athletic programs are not operating in a deficit,” UNC System Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Haygood said at a Board of Governors meeting in July. “And to improve the financial sustainability of the athletic programs, which for many of our institutions is a financial Achilles’ heel.”

The athletic departments at N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill are not receiving any money from the sports gambling taxes as it was determined that their athletic departments had multiple sources of revenue not available to smaller programs.

That provision may have changed if the legislature had passed a budget update this year, as one proposal included a 5% tax revenue provision for N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill. The two universities would have received $930,000 next year.

The General Assembly estimates it will send over $26 million of sports betting proceeds to the UNC System next year. This means each of the 13 schools will receive at least $2 million each.

Haygood said the UNC System would be “putting some mechanisms in place” to monitor how university athletic departments are spending the funds. In January, the UNC System updated its intercollegiate athletics policy to add special requirements for university athletic departments receiving money from the state.

University chancellors must send UNC System President Peter Hans a five-year budget plan to show how their athletic departments will use the betting tax revenue to correct deficits, decrease reliance on non-athletic trust funds and prevent “significant” increases to student fees. [Source]

 

Transgender Protections

T. Keung Hui, The News & Observer, 7/30/24

More than 200 North Carolina public schools are exempt from a new federal rule meant to expand discrimination protections for transgender students. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Kansas issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Biden Administration from enforcing a new rule that bans discrimination in schools based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The injunction covers any school in the nation that has members of Moms for Liberty and two other groups who are opposing the rule change.

Moms for Liberty announced Monday it had submitted to the court a list of more than 2,000 schools in 45 states. The list includes 205 North Carolina schools, including 54 in Wake County.

The conservative group opposes what it calls indoctrination of students by schools. Last year, the Southern Poverty Law Center labeled Moms for Liberty as an “anti-government extremist group.”

The new rule from the U.S. Department of Education expands sexual discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students. The rule broadens the scope of Title IX, the landmark 1972 law that prohibited sex discrimination in educational programs with federal funding, The News & Observer previously reported. School districts across the nation, including Wake County, have updated policies to comply with the change before it goes into effect Thursday, Aug. 1.

“Our agency has not issued guidance on Title IX before, as implementation lies with the districts,” said Blair Rhoades, a spokesperson for the state Department of Public Instruction. “We have encouraged districts to work with their legal counsel on next steps as we know there is ongoing litigation around the matter.” The litigation has resulted in multiple federal judges blocking enforcement of the new rule in 21 states, The Associated Press reported.

North Carolina is not among those 21 states. But some individual North Carolina schools are covered by a July 2 injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge John Broomes, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump.

Broomes’ injunction covered schools attended by members of Moms for Liberty. the Young America’s Foundation and Female Athletes United. Broomes gave Moms for Liberty until last Friday to submit a list of schools attended by children of its members. Broomes rejected Moms for Liberty’s request to cover every school in a county attended by its members. The injunction remains in effect unless it’s lifted by Broomes or a higher court.

Republican officials seeking to roll back transgender rights have framed the issue as protecting the privacy and safety of girls and women in bathrooms and locker rooms, according to the AP.

The rule change doesn’t specifically cover athletics. But critics have argued the rule is a ruse to allow transgender females to play on girls’ and women’s sports teams, according to the AP.

During the heated Wake County school board debate, board chair Chris Heagarty said the new rule would not overrule a new state law that requires athletes to play on the school team that matches their biological sex. School administrators also said it’s the “law of the land” in North Carolina that transgender students can use their preferred restroom based on a 2020 ruling from the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. The 4th Circuit covers North Carolina. [Source]

Stein Ad

Colin Campbell, WUNC Radio, 7/30/24

A new TV ad from Attorney General Josh Stein’s campaign highlights scathing inspection records from a childcare center that Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson operated with his wife nearly two decades ago. The ad features a video that recreates violations found by state inspectors at the Robinsons’ Precious Beginnings facility in Greensboro between 2005 and 2007.

“State documents show it was unsanitary and endangered children,” the narrator says in the ad. “The Robinsons were officially cited for lack of supervision and uncovered electrical outlets around the one-year-olds. Inspectors found falsified staff credentials and no criminal background checks. Documents showed the childcare center even operated at times without lights, heat or running water.”

Some of the records from the childcare center inspections were reported recently in The News & Observer. Robinson’s campaign spokesman said in response to the N&O that the report was “just another attempt by liberals to dig up old news – some of it even by decades – to smear Mark Robinson.” He accused the lieutenant governor’s opponents of “cherry-picking a few minor violations and clerical errors to grind a political ax while ignoring visits that include ‘superior’ ratings.”

The inspection records show that the Robinsons failed to cover electrical outlets in a classroom used by one-year-olds in 2005. The inspector wrote that the center operators claimed the outlets had a safety feature that didn’t require a cover to keep kids safe, but the inspector found that the outlets had no such feature.

An inspection from the same month found that 1- and 2-year-olds were not being properly supervised while they slept because their caregiver was “sitting outside on the porch talking to visitors.” The inspector also found the center in violation of required staffing levels because only two caregivers were responsible for 18 children. And the report said bottles of baby formula weren’t properly labeled or refrigerated.

A 2006 inspection found that the center wasn’t following requirements that children have their hands washed after their diapers were changed. And it found that “beds, cots and mats were not in good repair, properly handled, stored, or clean and sanitized between users.” And in 2007, state regulators received a complaint claiming that Precious Beginnings “has been using the oven for heating as the gas had been cut off for a period of time. The lights in the daycare have been cut off several times. It is unknown if the daycare has running water at this time.” It’s unclear from available records if any state inspections found problems with water, heat and lighting at the center; there’s no mention of it in the inspection findings.

Robinson wrote in his 2022 book that he enjoyed running the childcare center but it “was hard at times to operate effectively because there were so many regulations and red tape,” and that’s one of the reasons he and his wife, Yolanda Hill, sold the business later in 2007.

Hill went on to start a nonprofit, Balanced Nutrition, that worked with childcare center operators to secure federal funding for meals. She shut down that nonprofit in April amid an N.C. Department of Health and Human Services investigation that last week declared the organization “seriously deficient” and ordered it to repay the state more than $130,000. [Source]

VP Pick

The Associated Press, 7/30/24

A day after confirming he wouldn’t be a candidate for Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday at a public event that he’s excited that Democrats “have a lot of great options for her to choose from.”

Speaking in coastal Brunswick County with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan to celebrate federal funding for land conservation, Cooper reiterated his Monday message by saying “this was not the right time for our state or for me to potentially be on a national ticket.”

Cooper, barred by term limits from seeking reelection this year, had been among roughly a dozen potential contenders that Harris’ team was initially looking at for a vice presidential pick. He’s been a surrogate for President Joe Biden’s reelection bid and now for Harris.

“I am going to work every day to see that she is elected,” Cooper told WECT-TV. “I believe that she will win, and I look forward to this campaign because she has the right message and she is the right person for this country.”

In making his decision, Cooper confirmed Tuesday that he was concerned in part about what Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson could do if he left the state to campaign as part of the Democratic ticket. The state constitution says that “during the absence of the Governor from the State … the Lieutenant Governor shall be Acting Governor.” Robinson is running for governor this fall.

“We had concerns that he would try to seize the limelight because there would be a lot, if I were the vice presidential candidate, on him, and that would be a real distraction to the presidential campaign,” Cooper said.

Cooper pointed to when he traveled to Japan last fall on an economic development trip. As acting governor at the time, Robinson held a news conference during his absence to announce he had issued a “NC Solidarity with Israel Week” proclamation after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack inside the country.

Cooper withdrew from contention well before Harris’ vetting process began, according to two people familiar with the matter and who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive search process.

Tuesday’s event at Green Swamp Preserve celebrated a $421 million grant for projects in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Maryland to reduce climate pollution. The money will be used to preserve, enhance or restore coastal habitats, forests and farmland, Cooper’s office said. [Source]

Harris Support

Avi Bajpai, The News & Observer, 7/29/24

Rallying a virtual convening of Kamala Harris supporters on Monday, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper hammered the top of the GOP’s ticket for what he said was a clear “disrespect of women.” Cooper spoke early on during the “White Dudes for Harris” virtual call, the latest of several fundraising and organizing calls that Harris campaign supporters have quickly arranged since last week.

Cooper used his prime speaking slot to blast former President Donald Trump, his recently selected running mate J.D. Vance, and Republican N.C. Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is running to replace Cooper in the executive mansion.

“Real men respect women, their decisions, their careers, and it’s pretty clear that Donald Trump and J.D. Vance don’t,” Cooper told the online gathering of tens of thousands of viewers. “From Trump’s sexual assaults, to Vance’s misogynistic comments, it’s pretty clear that disrespect of women permeates Donald Trump land, and MAGA Republicans,” he said.

Cooper spoke on the call less than an hour after The New York Times and other media outlets reported Monday evening that he had taken himself out of consideration in the search for Harris’s running mate.

In the virtual call, Cooper did not address his decision on the race for Harris’s running mate. Instead, he went on to say that disrespect of women is “like that all over the country,” and turned to address Robinson. He referred to several past comments by Robinson, who has generated controversy and outrage throughout his time in office as lieutenant governor for rhetoric that has included referring to homosexuality as “filth” and saying women should “keep your skirt down” to avoid abortion.

Cooper also blasted other Republicans in Congress who, since Harris began her presidential campaign just over a week ago following President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out, have called Harris a “DEI hire,” implying that she has advanced in politics due to her race and gender.

“You’re talking about a woman who was a great prosecutor, who got elected by the people of California to serve as the chief law enforcement officer and attorney general of the state, and got elected by the entire state of California to represent them in the United States Senate, and who has been vice president of the United States for the last three-and-a-half years,” he said.

“Here’s what they’re saying,” Cooper continued. “That women, and people of color, don’t deserve to lead.”

Cooper, like other speakers on Monday’s call, also made a plea for more white men to join the Democratic coalition and help elect Harris in November, telling the audience that “we can hold the key.”

Other high-profile speakers during Monday’s call included U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, all of whom are reportedly also under consideration for running mate by the Harris campaign, as well as actor Jeff Bridges and singer Josh Groban. [Source]

 

Secret Service Oversight

Danielle Battaglia, McClatchy, 7/30/24

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis narrowed his focus to a 30-second time frame during the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where former President Donald Trump was giving a speech. He was listening Tuesday morning in a Senate hearing to testimony — which included a timeline of events from the attempted assassination on Trump in Butler — from both Ronald Rowe Jr., acting director of the Secret Service, and Paul Abbate, deputy director of the FBI.

Seventeen days earlier, a gunman identified by law enforcement as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, shot at Trump and in the process killed a retired firefighter and seriously injured two others.

In the two weeks since, members of Congress and the public have learned local law enforcement had been suspicious of Crooks and that two officers had followed him to a building’s roof where he positioned himself to shoot at Trump. One officer hoisted the other onto his shoulders to get a look over the roofline and found Crooks pointing his gun back at him.

“What actually happened in the 30 seconds where a law enforcement officer knew that a gun was pointed in the direction of the president from a fairly short range?” Tillis asked. “What actually did those folks who did have knowledge of exactly what was happening and could probably infer with what was about to happen, what did they do?”

Abbate told the North Carolina Republican that after the officer jumped down to avoid being shot, Butler County law enforcement and Pennsylvania State Police began to react.

Tillis cut off the testimony, saying there was a clear operational problem because there was enough time to get word to the counter snipers of a problem. In earlier testimony during the hearing, senators learned that even though local law enforcement knew Crooks had a gun, that information never made it to federal officers.

“I love law enforcement,” Tillis said. “I wear the “Back the Blue” pin every day. They do great work. The Secret Service did phenomenal work on the stage. But they failed, because their job is to protect the public, and they needed to put themselves in harm’s way to stop him.”

Tillis was one of nine senators to immediately request Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin hold a hearing regarding the events that led to the attempted assassination of Trump.

The Judiciary Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee held the hearing together Tuesday morning. It was the first public hearing for senators, though a classified briefing had previously been held.

The shooting led to the resignation of Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle, but that didn’t spare Rowe from facing some tongue lashings, accusations and calls for employee terminations during the hearing. “I have taken and will continue to take immediate steps to ensure we do not repeat those failures, since my appointment as the acting director one week ago, identify gaps in our security on July 13 and have implemented corrective actions,” Rowe told the senators.

Abbate testified that the FBI has not identified a motive for the shooting, any co-conspirators or anyone with advance knowledge, though the investigation remains ongoing. He said the FBI recently uncovered a social media account and is working to authenticate that it belonged to Crooks. He said it contains 700 posts from 2019 to 2020 that “appear to reflect antisemitic and anti-immigration themes, to espouse political violence and are described as extreme in nature.”

Tillis called the event “a massive failure.”

Tillis cautioned his colleagues from believing that Rowe and Abbate had not been forthcoming in their testimony, saying that anybody who believes that local law enforcement doesn’t have problems with communications needs to spend some time in local government. [Source]

Protest Plea Deals

Tammy Grubb and Korie Dean, The News & Observer, 7/30/24

All of the protesters who were charged at an April pro-Palestinian demonstration on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus have been offered plea deals, their attorney said Tuesday. Now they have to decide whether to take them.

District Attorney Jeff Nieman has offered plea deals ranging from deferred prosecution to a conditional discharge, said attorney Gina Balamucki. That would dismiss the defendants’ charges after they complete roughly 24 to 36 hours of community service and pay any fines.

UNC police have charged 39 people since April when a four-day “Gaza solidarity encampment” was shut down on Polk Place, including six who were arrested and taken to the Orange County jail.

Three UNC students were among the six people arrested and charged with trespassing and other offenses, including resisting, delaying and obstructing and assault on a law enforcement officer. At least 30 demonstrators were cited for trespassing and were released on campus. The defendants are still discussing whether to accept the deals, Balamucki said, adding there’s “a really strong desire to not leave people behind with higher charges.”

During a rally ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, organizers read a statement that said, in part, they wanted to use a “collective defense” and leverage their power as a group to support each other through the court proceedings. “Everyone feels that they were engaged in First Amendment-protected activity and that any assault charges, any higher-level charges are bogus,” Balamucki said.

Balamucki said she was “a little surprised” that Nieman had not offered to dismiss any charges, saying the move is “unlike many other cities in the country.” Balamucki said all of the protesters will appear in court again on Aug. 26 in Hillsborough. At that time, those charged can choose to accept the deal or ask for a trial date. [Source]

 

Traffic Deaths

Ely Portillo, WFAE Radio, 7/30/24

Despite spending millions of dollars on traffic safety, Charlotte is falling short of its ambitious goal of zero traffic deaths by 2030, according to a new audit. When the city of Charlotte adopted Vision Zero five years ago, officials acknowledged getting to zero traffic deaths would be a stretch. But they said it was possible. Now, a scathing internal audit released last week and first reported by the Charlotte Observer finds the problem is getting worse. There were 125 deaths on Charlotte streets in 2022, up from 81 in 2020.

“The City is finding it difficult to undo decades of automobile-focused development to increase all road users’ safety. Although safety spending has increased, there hasn’t been a significant decrease in crashes resulting in deaths and/or suspected serious injuries,” the report found.

The audit said:

• The city hasn’t implemented many of its own recommendations, like rapidly studying and modifying streets where serious crashes occur.
• The city also hasn’t designated a single person to oversee and coordinate the Vision Zero program, creating a lack of accountability. “Clear ownership of actions has not been established nor are stated goal owners held accountable for not meeting performance targets,” the report said.
• While Charlotte has identified the high-injury roads that account for most fatal crashes, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police traffic enforcement doesn’t focus on those routes. Instead, traffic enforcement is scheduled and distributed evenly throughout the city. “Enforcement operations are evenly scheduled and distributed around the City by CMPD Division without regard to the severity of each corridor’s crash history,” the report said.
• City vehicles often block sidewalks and bicycle lanes, contributing to unsafe conditions.
• Police often don’t correctly record data about crashes, making it hard to track progress. Moreover, the Charlotte Department of Transportation doesn’t track the effectiveness of traffic-calming and other infrastructure improvements and it doesn’t publish annual metrics that people could use to understand how traffic safety enforcement and other measures are working. “CDOT and CMPD are not accountable for setting and meeting specific traffic safety performance goals,” the report said.
• The state controls about half of the major routes in Charlotte, meaning the city can’t implement the changes it wants like more bike lanes. In some cases, the N.C. Department of Transportation actively opposes such measures, and asks for them to be removed.

Charlotte earmarked $75 million for Vision Zero and road safety improvements in fiscal 2023, up from $15 million the year before Vision Zero started. [Source]

Fort Liberty Water

Evey Weisblat, CityView, 7/29/24

Fort Liberty and the U.S. Army Environmental Command officials announced in a press conference Thursday they’d tested 12 private wells within one mile of the military installation’s perimeter. The result: four had levels of PFAS higher than allowed under the Environmental Protection Agency’s new rules, which will go into effect nationally in 2029.

Garrison Commander Col. Chad Mixon said the Army was dedicated to providing up-to-date, accurate information to the public about the PFAS contamination.

“The Army remains committed to taking care of our people in the communities in which we serve,” Mixon said. “We’ll remain responsible with this as the Army, in conjunction with our partners, Army Environmental Command. We’ll remain transparent. We’ll continue to get information.”

The chemicals identified originated from the firefighting foam AFFF, Paul Humphrey of the U.S. Army Environmental Command said on Thursday. AFFF, or aqueous film-forming foam, is a fire suppressant that is made with toxic PFAS chemicals. Developed by the U.S. Navy and chemical company 3M in the 1960s, AFFF results in PFAS remaining in the environment and contaminating waterways, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Humphrey said AFFF has been used on post since the 1970s. Fort Liberty began testing for PFAS in Spring Lake wells surrounding the installation in 2023 after finding contaminated groundwater in areas on post.

The announcement comes three months after the EPA announced, in Fayetteville, unprecedented rules to regulate the levels of PFAS public water utilities can have in their drinking water. Now, the Army is hoping to test more wells in Spring Lake and generate public interest. “We want to be in front of this with transparency on all of the information that we have available,” Humphrey said, referring to the Army’s efforts to get into compliance with the EPA’s rules. [Source]

 

Energy Rebates

DJ Simmons, WFDD Radio, 7/30/24

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality is looking for feedback on two home energy rebate programs. The state was allocated more than $208 million to assist low- and middle-income families in cutting energy costs through select home improvement projects. The federally funded rebates come as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act.

The first of two programs is called Homeowners Managing Efficiency Rebates, which includes projects like heat pump installations. Incentive levels will vary based on an applicant’s income and could supplement up to 80% of costs.

Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates is the second program. It could help cover the purchase of things such as electric stovetops and clothes dryers. The state will hold a virtual public session this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. to receive community input. The feedback will be used to determine priorities in implementing the programs. [Source]

 

Shooting Lawsuit

Makiya Seminera, The Associated Press, 7/30/24

The mother of a 17-year-old who was killed while driving a reportedly stolen car in a central North Carolina city can continue to pursue claims against the police officer who shot her son, a federal court has ruled.

A three-judge panel for the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, unanimously reversed on Monday a previous decision by a lower court to dismiss civil claims — including use of excessive force in the shooting death of the Black teenager, Nasanto Crenshaw — against Greensboro city police officer Matthew Lewis Sletten.

The lawsuit against the officer now returns to the U.S. District Court in Greensboro, where it may go to trial. The panel, meanwhile, upheld the dismissal of other claims against the city contained in the lawsuit. After responding to reports of a stolen car in August 2022, Sletten followed the vehicle, which Crenshaw was driving, until they reached a dead end in the parking lot, according to the appeals court’s ruling. Sletten attempted to block off the car with his patrol vehicle, which Crenshaw swiped while trying to park, according to the plaintiff.

The lawsuit said Crenshaw tried evading Sletten by driving off when the officer shot at the vehicle several times, fatally hitting the teen. Sletten told the court that Crenshaw drove “directly toward” him and caused him to shoot, according to the court ruling.

The teen’s mother, Wakita Doriety, sued the city and Sletten for wrongful death, battery and assault, in addition to claims against the officer for federal civil rights violations. She sought financial damages and other relief for his estate.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles dismissed Doriety’s claims in July 2023 against both the city and Sletten after reviewing video footage of what happened. Calling the video “integral” to granting the officer’s motion to dismiss, Eagles ruled that the footage indisputably showed the car driving at Sletten, according to the appellate opinion.

The appellate panel only partially disagreed with Eagles’ ruling. Circuit Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, writing the court’s opinion, said the video didn’t clearly refute the plaintiff’s “plausible allegations” of excessive force at this stage in the litigation. Keenan wrote that the video lacked “critical details” such as where the officer was located, the trajectory of the allegedly stolen vehicle and distance between the car and Sletten when he fired his gun.

“Courts must be mindful not to short-circuit at the motion to dismiss stage a plaintiff’s plausible claim of excessive force based on a video that does not blatantly contradict those allegations,” she wrote. Circuit Judges James Wynn and DeAndrea Gist Benjamin joined in the opinion.

The plaintiff’s attorney, Harry Daniels, said in a statement that Sletten was not in danger when he shot Crenshaw, adding that he hopes Crenshaw’s mother will “get to have her day in court” because of the appellate ruling. Attorneys from a Greensboro law firm representing Sletten declined to comment Tuesday. The ruling can still be appealed. [Source]

Mission Purchase

Joel Burgess, Asheville Citizen Times, 7/30/24

An independent monitor has said that the for-profit owner of Mission Health violated the 2019 deal it signed when it bought Western North Carolina’s main health care provider, then a nonprofit. Affiliated Monitors Inc. in a July 12 report cited issues under HCA Healthcare involving the emergency and oncology services, Medicare and Medicaid compliance and charity care.

One of those issues, the ER and cancer care, is currently being fought over in a lawsuit brought against HCA by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein. Affiliated Monitors acknowledged that the ultimate issue of compliance would best be decided in court. While the monitor couched its findings in terms of “potential” non-compliance it ultimately recommended that Dogwood Trust, the entity formed with HCA’s $1.5 billion payment for the health system, find that the company was violating the deal.

“The independent monitor recommends to Dogwood Health Trust that HCA Healthcare be found to be not in compliance with the Asset Purchase Agreement for reporting year 2023,” AMI said in its report. [Source]

 

Burial Sites

WTVD News, 7/30/24

North Carolina Department of Transportation and N.C. State University have partnered to map unmarked burial sites belonging to historically marginalized groups. Unmarked burial sites have been at risk as the state’s population keeps growing leading to commercial and residential development. Experts are also concerned that more frequent storms could make it more difficult to identify and preserve these burial sites.

“This partnership is important as it will help in preserving and honoring the heritage of these communities, ensuring that their stories are not forgotten,” Tunya Smith, director of NCDOT’s Office of Civil Rights, said.

The research project will focus on identifying and mapping Indigenous burial sites, graves of formerly enslaved individuals, and historic African American cemeteries. It is set to commence this summer and continue through 2026.

“Family histories are not confined to county lines. If you have roots in eastern North Carolina, you may find that you have a story to share with this project team,” Smith said. Researchers will begin their work in Edgecombe County to locate and identify cemeteries. [Source]

 

Discrimination Award

Chase Jordan, The Charlotte Observer, 7/30/24

A Wells Fargo supervisor who had been fired by the banking giant won a disability discrimination lawsuit against it and was awarded $22.1 million by a federal court jury in Charlotte.

The decision for Christopher Billesdon was handed down on Friday after a week-long trial in the U.S. District Court for Western North Carolina. His case against the San Francisco-based bank began in March 2023 when he sued it over claims of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

Billesdon has a paralyzed colon and bladder that impacted the working conditions he needed and had associated side effects of taking medicine, according to his suit. Billesdon’s disability began in 1990 after an accident fractured his spine. Billesdon said in court filings he was let go because he wanted to work from home as Wells Fargo started to have employees return to the office after the height of the COVID pandemic. But the bank told Billesdon he was being terminated because of “cost-cutting,” according to the claim made in his suit.

“We are so grateful for the jury, who courageously sent a loud and clear message that willfully refusing to follow the law is unacceptable in the community,” said Billesdon’s lawyer, L. Michelle Gessner in a statement to The Charlotte Observer. “We enforce our laws, even against offenders like Wells Fargo.”

When asked for comment from the Observer, Wells Fargo said in a statement: “We are disappointed by and disagree with this decision. Wells Fargo’s policies provide equal employment opportunities for all employees, regardless of disability or any other status protected by law, and we provided these opportunities in this situation.” [Source]

 

Development Amendments

Jalyn Baldwin, Port City Daily, 7/29/24

Brunswick County staff, commissioners, and developers met in private Monday to discuss hotly debated text amendments that will affect guidelines on trees, greenspace and buffers. While they were meeting inside the Brunswick County Government Center, a handful of protesters stood outside before moving into hallways in solidarity, demanding their right to be included in the meeting.

“It’s excluding a whole portion of the public,” Jill Brown said. Brown is running for a seat on the North Carolina House of Representatives for District 19, which includes parts of Brunswick and New Hanover counties.

“The problem is: What is this meeting about? What are you discussing in there, and why is it a secret?” she asked.

North Carolina General Statute 143‑318.10. only requires government meetings to be public when there is a quorum, meaning a majority of the elected body is present, and the meeting is to conduct official business. Only two commissioners, Chairman Randy Thompson and Vice Chairman Mike Forte were in attendance — three or more would’ve made a quorum. Daralyn Spivey, clerk to the commissioners, confirmed staff, developers and relevant stakeholders were present and it was not open to the public.
The meeting was to garner feedback on changes to text amendments in the unified development ordinance that, if approved, will guide developers. One is about preserving trees and greenspace by adjusting the requirements for tree quantities, open space distribution, and recreation area sizes.

Another focuses on transportation overlay zoning, which requires developers to install street buffers along major highway corridors; it also increases minimum buffer depth from 50 feet to 100, strengthens opacity standards, and updates the list of approved landscaping species.

Protesters were in favor of the amendments but against being excluded from having a seat at the table.

Tom Simmons, running for commissioner,  thought asking for developers’ concerns over residential concerns was counterproductive. He suggested it is unwise to let developers — who might benefit from less restrictive regulations — have a significant role in shaping the directives.

“To ask the developers to come out here and give recommendations for the amendment of the UDO — well, that’s just like giving the fox the keys to the hen house,” Simmons said. “The developers certainly aren’t going to go in there and say: ‘Well, let’s make it tougher on ourselves.’” [Source]

Unemployment Rates

Business NC, 7/30/24

Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) increased in 98 of North Carolina’s counties in June 2024 and remained unchanged in two. Unemployment rates remained at or below 5% in 86 counties, compared to 94 in May, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce.

Scotland County, southwest of Fayetteville, had the highest unemployment rate at 7% while Buncombe County in the mountains had the lowest at 3.2%. All 15 of the state’s metro areas experienced rate increases. Among the metro areas, Rocky Mount had the highest rate at 5.5% while Asheville had the lowest at 3.3%. The not-seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 4.1%.

When compared to the same month last year, not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates increased in 97 counties and decreased in three. All 15 metro areas experienced rate increases over the year.

The number of workers employed statewide (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in June by 25,712 to 5,075,390, while those unemployed increased by 29,658 to 215,106. Since June 2023, the number of workers employed statewide has increased 1,805, while those unemployed increased 26,148. Employment estimates are subject to large seasonal patterns; therefore, it is advisable to focus on over-the-year changes in the not-seasonally adjusted estimates, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce. [Source]

 

School Summit

Mebane Rash, Education NC, 7/30/24

The Center for Safer Schools is holding its annual RISE Back to School Safety Summit from July 29-Aug. 2, 2024, at Union Station Conference Center at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, according to a press release by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (DPI).

The Center for Safer Schools promotes safe learning environments in the more than 2,500 public K-12 schools across North Carolina, according to DPI’s website, by serving as a hub of information and providing technical assistance on school climate, school discipline, and emergency preparedness.

The Center has six areas where it focuses its work: mental health; physical security and emergency preparedness; school climate and discipline; substance use; gang intervention; and school resource officers (SROs). The Center distributes grants for school safety. In January 2024, it announced $35 million for these schools.

Karen Fairley is the executive director of the Center for Safer Schools. In a message on the website, Fairley says, the primary goal of the Center “is to maintain our schools as centers of learning and not fear.”

“The Center’s staff has more than doubled in size since last year’s RISE,” she said. “We hope school staff and law enforcement engage with … our Regional School Safety Specialists. The specialists will have the closest interaction with School Safety Directors going forward, so RISE 2024 is a great opportunity to make meaningful connections.”

State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said the larger staff will allow the Center to be a better resource in all matters of school safety. “The Department of Public Instruction is excited to have regional liaisons available for school safety,” she said. “RISE sessions not only will help our public school personnel gain knowledge in various aspects of school safety — including legislative requirements — but they will also give them an opportunity to foster relationships with the Center staff who will help guide their efforts.” [Source]

 

Nursing Program

The Washington Daily News, 7/29/24

East Carolina University’s College of Nursing has received a significant investment of $3 million from the state of North Carolina to increase the number of entry-to-practice nurses who graduate from the college’s undergraduate program.

Of the nine UNC System schools that applied for, and received, funding increases to support their baccalaureate nursing programs, ECU received more than any other program.

“This is a huge investment in our program, and I think it will be a turning point in the history of Pirate nursing,” said Dr. Bim Akintade, dean of the College of Nursing. In the current fiscal year, the college will receive $1,125,000 to expand the undergraduate program, with a further $1,875,000 projected to be transferred by May 2025.

In 2023, the college graduated 231 entry-to-practice nurses who achieved a 99.57% first-time pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), which nursing school graduates must take before becoming licensed to practice. College leaders are working on details about the number of new students who will be admitted and the number of faculty needed to support that growth but acknowledge that more students will require more teachers. [Source]

 

CMPD Shooting

Julia Coin, The Charlotte Observer, 7/30/24

His mother was waiting on police to take him away for treatment. She’d just finished filing paperwork that would allow them to get him help — even if he didn’t want it. Then Sanrico Sanchez McGill grabbed a gun. He shot it outside their apartment. Then he pointed it at his brother. Two Charlotte police officers responding to McGill’s mother’s calls shot the 34-year-old on Dec. 16, 2023.

He probably would have survived the shot to his hip. It was the shot to his chest that killed him, Mecklenburg District Attorney Spencer Merriweather wrote in a Tuesday letter reviewing the shooting. McGill died inside the home in north Charlotte’s Lincoln Heights. The gun, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers later found, wasn’t loaded, and an empty magazine was on the sidewalk in front of the steps where McGill died.

“As you know,” Merriweather wrote to Brandon Blackman, the special agent in charge at the State Bureau of Investigation’s Harrisburg office, “this letter specifically does not address issues relating to tactics, or whether officers followed correct police procedures or CMPD Directives.” CMPD has the power to review and change their policies, Merriweather said, but he does not.

Merriweather wrote that the officers were “entirely reasonable” in shooting McGill. Any charges brought against them wouldn’t hold up in court, he said. Merriweather continued: “If no criminal charges are filed, that does not mean the District Attorney’s Office believes the matter was in all respects handled appropriately from an administrative or tactical viewpoint. It is simply a determination that there is not a reasonable likelihood of proving criminal charges beyond a reasonable doubt unanimously to a jury.”

Officers Benjamin DeVries, Sean Wercheck, Tymel Carson, and James Fisher didn’t know the firearm wasn’t loaded, Merriweather said. They only knew McGill was posing an imminent threat to his brother. [Source]

NC Insider Legislative Report

LB: LEGISLATIVE BUILDING. LOB: LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BUILDING

HOUSE CALENDAR

Wednesday, July 31, 2024

House Convenes at 11 a.m.

SENATE CALENDAR

Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024

• Senate Convenes at 9:30 a.m.

HOUSE & SENATE: Reconvening allowed under provisions of SB 916, if no sine die adjournment previously adopted.

• Monday, Sept. 9 to Wednesday, Sept. 11
• Wednesday, Oct. 9
• Tuesday, Nov. 19 to Friday Nov. 22
• Wednesday, Dec. 11 to Friday Dec. 13

N.C. Government Meetings and Hearings

BOLD ITEMS ARE NEW LISTINGS

Wednesday, July 31

• 10 a.m. | North Carolina State Board of Education meets, 1 South Wilmington St, Raleigh.

Thursday, Aug. 1

• 6 p.m. | The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality Public Hearing on Moriah Energy Center Draft Air Quality Permit, Vance-Granville Community College, 200 Community College Road, Henderson.

Friday, Aug. 2

• 10 a.m. | The Energy Policy Council  – Energy Assurance Committee, 217 W Jones St, Raleigh.

Monday, Aug. 5

• 9 a.m. | The Board Development Committee of The North Carolina Partnership for Children meets, The meeting will be held via Zoom. You may contact Yvonne Huntley at 984.221.1242 or email at [email protected] for additional information.

Tuesday, Aug. 6

• 9 a.m. | The Council of State meets. 1 South Wilmington St, Raleigh.
• 9 a.m. | North Carolina Board of Transportation Meeting, 1 S Wilmington St, Raleigh.
• 1 p.m. | NC Coastal Resources Commission meets, 400 Commerce Ave, Morehead City.
• 1:30 p.m. | The North Carolina Local Government Commission – August Meeting, 3200 Atlantic Ave, Raleigh.

Wednesday, Aug. 7

• 12 p.m. | North Carolina Commission for Public Health meets, 1101 Gorman St, Raleigh.
• 1:15 p.m. | North Carolina Board of Transportation Meeting, 1 S Wilmington St, Raleigh.

Thursday, Aug. 8

• 9:30 a.m. | North Carolina Taskforce for Offshore Wind Economic Resource Strategies (NC TOWERS), ECU’s Coastal Studies Institute 850 NC 345, Wanchese.
• 10 a.m. | Quarterly Meeting of the State Ethics Commission, 424 North Blount St, Raleigh.

Tuesday, Aug. 13

• 11 a.m. | Economic Investment Committee  –  Regular Meeting, 301 N. Wilmington St, Raleigh.

Wednesday, Aug. 14

• 9 a.m. | North Carolina Real Estate Commission Meeting, 1313 Navaho Drive, Raleigh.

Monday, Aug. 19

• 2 p.m. | The Executive Committee of The North Carolina Partnership for Children meets, The meeting will be held via Zoom. You may contact Yvonne Huntley at 984.221.1242 or email at [email protected] for additional information.

UNC Board of Governors

23 S. WEST STREET, SUITE 1800, RALEIGH

Wednesday, Sept. 11

• Meeting of the Board of Governors, TBA.

Thursday, Sept. 12

• Meeting of the Board of Governors, TBA.

Thursday, Oct. 17

• Meeting of the Board of Governors, TBA.

Wednesday, Nov. 13

• Meeting of the Board of Governors, TBA.

Thursday, Nov. 14

• Meeting of the Board of Governors, TBA.

N.C. Utilities Commission Hearing Schedule

DOBBS BUILDING, 430 NORTH SALISBURY STREET, RALEIGH

Tuesday, Aug. 13

• 10 a.m. | Public Hearing – Annual Review of Gas Costs | G-5 Sub 675

Wednesday, Aug. 14

• 7 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Application for General Rate Increase for Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. | G-9 Sub 837

Tuesday, Aug. 20

• 6 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Application for Transfer of Public Utility Franchise and Approval of Rates of HISCO East, LLC in Carteret County to HISCO I in Carteret County | W-1297 Sub 17, W-1344 Sub 0
• 6 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Application for Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and for Approval of Rates to Provide Sewer Utility Service to Currently Served Cape Ponte Village Subdivision, Additional Phases for the National Park Service, Harkers Island RV Park and a Fe | W-1344 Sub 1

Wednesday, Aug. 21

• 7 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Application for General Rate Increase for Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. | G-9 Sub 837

Thursday, Aug. 22

• 7 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Application for General Rate Increase for Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. | G-9 Sub 837

Other Meetings and Events of Interest

BOLD ITEMS ARE NEW LISTINGS

Wednesday, July 31

• 9 a.m. | PRESS CONFERENCE: Representative Maria Cervania, Press Room LB.
• 11 a.m. | Gov. Roy Cooper to deliver remarks highlighting expanded access to the oral contraceptive Opill for NC Medicaid beneficiaries, Walgreens, 1106 Environ Way, Chapel Hill.

Friday, Sept. 27

-2024 Lumbee Powwow, Lumbee Tribe Cultural Center, 638 Terry Sanford Drive, Maxton.