YOU DON’T SAY

“I believe they’re being held back from the people of North Carolina when they could be providing a great deal of value here in the buckle of the Barbecue Belt.”

Kody Kinsley, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, on the availability of some weight loss medications. (WUNC Radio, 8/01/24)

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Committee Position

The Associated Press, 8/01/24

The current longest-serving North Carolina House member is back at her former position leading a prominent committee more than three years after she was removed during an intra-party dispute in the chamber over tax legislation.

Republican Rep. Julia Howard of Davie County was elevated Wednesday by Speaker Tim Moore to a senior chair position on the House Finance Committee. The announcement and traditional handing of the gavel to Howard happened quickly during a floor session.

Howard, now in her 18th two-year term, had been a senior chair on the committee in 2021 when Moore and other GOP chamber leaders took the post away from her. They said Howard hadn’t moved a tax measure related to COVID-19 loans used by businesses as “expeditiously” through her committee as the House Republican Caucus expected. At the time, Howard defended her actions, saying she was trying to rework the bill so that it stood a better chance of Senate passage. She also expressed concerns because colleagues who received the loans could also benefit from the legislation.

Howard’s standing improved in 2023 when Moore placed her on the second tier of the finance committee’s leadership — labeled a chair. She now will serve as a senior chair — four other members hold the title — through at least the end of the year. General Assembly work will be limited through December.

Howard, who turns 80 later this month, is running for reelection this fall in the 77th House District. Moore decided to run for Congress and won’t return to the state House in January.

Wednesday marked other comings and goings within the General Assembly. House Appropriations Committee senior chairman Jason Saine of Lincoln County gave a farewell address on the floor. Saine announced on July 15 that he would resign from the House effective Aug. 12.

It also marked the last floor session for Democratic Rep. Ashton Clemmons of Guilford County, who has announced plans to resign in August because of a new university position. Clemmons has been the deputy leader for House Democrats. She’s being replaced for that position by Wake County Rep. Cynthia Ball. And House Republicans voted Wednesday for GOP Rep. Matthew Winslow of Franklin County to become their conference chair, succeeding Saine.

In the Senate, Bob Brinson of Craven County was sworn in Wednesday to serve out the remainder of the two-year term of Jim Perry, who resigned from the Senate last month.

Brinson, the choice of Republican activists in Beaufort, Craven, and Lenoir counties, is an Army veteran and has been a New Bern city council member. He is already the Republican nominee for the 2nd Senate District, as Perry had already announced last year that he wasn’t seeking reelection. [Source]

 

Hurricane Relief

Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi, The News & Observer, 8/01/24

Nearly 2,000 North Carolinians are still waiting on repairs to their homes following flooding and damage from hurricanes Matthew and Florence, which struck the eastern part of the state more than five years ago. But the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency — the agency tasked with these recovery efforts, which has faced the brunt of public scrutiny — has been making progress in comparison to past years, according to data shared by the agency.

To aid with rebuilding and repairing many of the homes damaged by the hurricanes, the state received $236.5 million for Hurricane Matthew and $542.6 million received for Hurricane Florence from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

However, aid was slow to materialize, and many people and families remained homeless for years after the storms. Florence hit the state in 2016, followed by Matthew in 2018. HUD approved the state’s spending plan for Florence and Matthew in 2020.

The application period for aid under the Homeowner Recovery Program opened in June 2020 and closed in April 2023.

Hurricane recovery efforts in the state span various organizations and officials. NCORR — which is also called Rebuild NC — was established in 2018 by the legislature, and is overseen by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. It resides within the Department of Public Safety, led by Secretary Eddie Buffaloe Jr., who is part of Cooper’s cabinet.

Cooper this year also assigned Pryor Gibson to monitor NCORR’s operations, NC Newsline reported.

Last year, Richard Trumper, former executive director of disaster recovery with the Office of State Budget and Management, joined DPS as senior advisor for disaster recovery. Asked for a comment from Cooper on the recovery efforts, a spokesperson, Jordan Monaghan, said in a statement that the “Cooper Administration has overseen the repair and rebuilding of more than 13,600 homes along with hundreds of roads, bridges, and public buildings in the wake of these devastating hurricanes.”

“Despite many federal bureaucratic obstacles, NCCORR has made significant progress getting families back into stronger and more resilient homes and has outperformed other states that received this same federal grant in 2018. They will continue the effort to help families and communities rebuild,” he said.

According to data shared by NCORR spokesperson Bridget Munger, 2,459 applicants have had their cases completed. Of those, 2,319 had their homes repaired or replaced and 140 were reimbursed for repairs, Munger said. But 1,895 applicants remain waiting, according to Munger.

These applicants are in different stages of the application process, which has eight steps and begins at intake and ends with completion: No applicants are in steps 1 through 3, which are intake, eligibility determination and duplication-of-benefits review. 7 applicants are in step 4, inspection and environmental review. 120 applicants are in step 5, award determination. 1,078 applicants are in step 6, the contracting and bidding process. Of those, 972 projects are awarded to contractors and 106 are in the bidding phase. 690 applicants are in step 7, the construction phase. The remaining applicants are the 2,459 families that have reached the completion step.

Janet Kelly-Scholle, an NCORR spokesperson, said that the agency “anticipates having all awards in the hands of homeowners by the fall of 2024.”

For years, state lawmakers have pressed leadership tasked with recovery efforts on delays, expressing concerns about the lack of accountability and transparency with companies contracted for repairs and rebuilds.

Data presented to state lawmakers by Laura Hogshead, chief operating officer of NCORR, at the September 2022 hearing showed that 789 applications had reached completion. During that presentation, she attributed delays to supply-chain challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and federal red tape associated with using the HUD funds.

On Dec. 14, 2022, she presented data showing that 889 applications out of 4,313 had been completed. This meant that since the September meeting, 74 construction projects had been completed, while 26 families chose a reimbursement option, Hogshead said in December 2022. The average application completion rate was at 17 at the end of November 2022, Hogshead said.

Things are running faster now, according to Kelly-Scholle, who said that between August and December of 2023, NCORR completed an average of 64 homes per month. NCORR has averaged more than 100 homes completed per month since January, and in June, 117 families moved into the completion step, Kelly-Scholle said.

Previously, North Carolina was labeled a “slow spender” by HUD. It no longer is, according to recent reports. “NCORR is completing more homes per month than any grantee in the nation,” said Hogshead in an email statement to The News & Observer. Kelly-Scholle said this calculation was made by comparing HUD reports and contacting other states to verify and that NCORR agency anticipates “helping every eligible applicant” and spending funds before deadlines set by HUD.

“NCORR is working with local municipalities and with nonprofit organizations to resolve these issues. The complexity of resolving these applications is part of the reason that HUD” gives states years for funds to be spent, Hogshead wrote. Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Disaster Recovery Project has been assisting survivors of the hurricanes with legal issues they face with NCORR.

Emily Smiley, supervising attorney with the group, told The N&O that “many of our clients still awaiting construction have faced some hurdle along the way, mostly related to NCORR policies such as proving ownership.”

Of the $236.5 million received for Hurricane Matthew, just over $231 million has been disbursed. NCORR has until Aug. 15, 2025, to spend the money and anticipates spending it by the fall of 2024, Kelly-Scholle said. Of the $542.6 million received for Hurricane Florence, just over $434 million has been disbursed. NCORR has until Aug. 17, 2026, to spend these funds and anticipates spending them by the fall of 2025, said Kelly-Scholle. [Source]

 

Radon Response

Matthew Sasser, State Affairs Pro, 8/01/24

Twenty school districts in North Carolina have not reported data from a General Assembly-mandated carbon monoxide alarm and radon testing survey. 

The Department of Public Instruction projects $85 million will be preliminarily needed to complete the project. 

Nathan Maune, director of the Department of Public Instruction’s Office of School Facilities, said his office received an 83% response rate from public school units, except charter schools, and a 47% response rate from agency, lab, regional and statewide schools. 

“We hope to give you a further update and complete the report once we’ve obtained as much data as we reasonably can,” Maune said, adding his office is working with Department of Public Instruction regional directors to get more data. 

The provision, added to the 2023 state budget, stated that the State Board of Education should report the survey findings to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by Dec. 15, 2023. The report should include the number of school buildings without adequate carbon monoxide detectors and the cost of radon testing equipment for all classrooms. The legislation is meant to bring public schools into compliance with Section 915 of the North Carolina State Building Code’s Fire Prevention Code. 

Over 2,500 school campuses and 7,300 individual school buildings have been surveyed so far. Though each facility was designed and constructed to the standards at the time, Maune said the legislation recognizes that building codes change every several years.

A draft report that Maune’s office submitted to the State Board of Education on Wednesday outlined preliminary findings of $40 million for nearly 38,000 carbon monoxide alarms and $45 million for radon testing in every classroom. Maune said that characterizing the statewide cost was difficult and that the district-by-district table should not be taken verbatim because it’s still in draft form. 

Board members agreed they’d like to initiate a similar survey for charter schools. Maune said the survey link could be made available to those schools.

 

Robinson Probe

Laura Leslie, WRAL News, 8/01/24

The state health secretary says an investigation by his department into the nonprofit run by the wife of Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson wasn’t politically motivated, rejecting Robinson’s claim that it was. “These are normal, routine business for us across these programs,” Kody Kinsley, who oversees the state Department of Health and Human Services, told WRAL.

The state says Balanced Nutrition, a nonprofit run by Robinson’s wife, Yolanda Hill, must pay back more than $132,000 in what investigators say are invalid claims.

Balanced Nutrition helped childcare centers get federal food aid funding to pay for meals for low-income children. Hill closed Balanced Nutrition shortly before DHHS was set to review its records. Agency investigators say the nonprofit submitted duplicate claims, inflated claims, and even claims for expenses they didn’t pay. They say that federal money now has to be paid back.

Robinson is the Republican nominee for governor. On a radio talk show Wednesday, he told WTKK-FM host KC O’Dea that the investigation is pure politics. “This is a state agency being weaponized against somebody for political purposes,” Robinson said.

Robinson denied that any federal funds were misused and said he and his wife will fight the allegations. “We want to stop this unlawful, this immoral use of taxpayer dollars to try to strike at people over political means. That is something that you saw — we used to see — in communist countries,” Robinson said.

DHHS records show agency reviewers found some issues at the nonprofit before Robinson’s time in the political spotlight. DHHS reviewed Balanced Nutrition in 2018, 2021 and 2023. Each time, they found issues, though not rising to the level of serious deficiency. DHHS spokeswoman Summer Tonizzo said the 2024 review was initiated because of the 2023 findings.

Kinsley denied that the reviews — or their findings — were politically motivated. “It’s important to remember that these investigations, these program reviews really are federally required, that the standards by which we do the reviews are set by the federal government, and that we do between 150 and 200 of them a year,” he said. [Source]

 

Weight Loss Drugs

Bradley George, WUNC Radio, 8/01/24

Starting Thursday, North Carolina Medicaid will cover weight loss medications like Wegovy and Ozempic. Known as GLP-1s (Glucagon-like Peptide agonists), they’ve become the world’s best-selling prescription medications, but they’re also some of the most expensive.

Kody Kinsley, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, says people who could benefit the most from GLP-1s can’t get them because of the cost.

“Frankly, it’s so frustrating to me that they are so incredibly expensive relative to what we see in other countries,” Kinsley told a legislative committee in March. “And, I believe they’re being held back from the people of North Carolina when they could be providing a great deal of value here in the buckle of the Barbecue Belt.”

Kinsley told lawmakers that the drugs would help prevent health conditions associated with obesity, such as heart attack, stroke and diabetes. According to NCDHHS, all Medicaid beneficiaries over the age of 12 are eligible.

According to the NCDHHS statement, which was issued to WUNC on Thursday, “…the current estimate to cover GLP-1s is approximately $16 million annually. For comparison, the current cost to cover Dupixent, which is commonly used to treat eczema, is about $28m.”

While NC Medicaid recipients are now able to access GLP-1s, the medications are no longer covered under the State Health Plan for state government employees. “This one drug has the potential of torpedoing the finances of the State Health Plan,” said State Treasurer Dale Folwell, who administers the plan. Folwell has issued a request for information on ways to reduce the costs of the drugs. [Source]

Emissions Testing

Richard Stradling, The News & Observer, 8/01/24

The state is moving to eliminate vehicle emissions testing in Wake, Durham, Johnston and 15 other counties, but first it needs approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The change would mean that only residents of Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte, the state’s largest city, would still be required to have annual emissions inspections for their cars and trucks. The state’s proposal would reduce the number of vehicles tested each year in Mecklenburg until the program is eventually phased out in about 2037.

Cars and trucks in all 100 counties would still be required to get annual safety inspections when their registration is renewed with the Division of Motor Vehicles. The fee for a standard safety inspection is $13.60. The combined safety and emissions inspection costs $30.

The N.C. Division of Air Quality says emissions inspections are no longer needed to help the state comply with federal air quality standards. Cars and the fuels they burn have become much cleaner, the agency says, producing far less pollution. Newer models also have onboard diagnostics that tell drivers if their emissions systems need repairs, which is the function of inspections.

North Carolina’s emissions inspections program began in 1982 and was eventually expanded to 48 of the state’s 100 counties. The goal was to identify vehicles with unusually high emissions of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides that cause ozone, the main ingredient of smog.

In recent years, the effort has been scaled back as air quality has improved. The EPA allowed the state to end inspections in 26 counties in 2019, and three more — Lee, Onslow and Rockingham — in 2022.

Last fall, the General Assembly authorized the state to eliminate inspections in 18 of the remaining 19 counties through the state budget. The state expects to submit its proposal to the EPA this fall and is seeking public feedback through Sept. 4. The EPA would have up to 18 months to review the state’s proposal.

Only when and if it approves will the inspection requirement be dropped. In the meantime, emissions inspections remain in place in the 18 counties: Alamance, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Cumberland, Davidson, Durham, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Johnston, Lincoln, New Hanover, Randolph, Rowan, Union and Wake.

Vehicles that are more than 20 years old are exempt, as are ones less than three years old, as long as they have less than 70,000 miles on the odometer.

Under the state’s proposal, inspections would still be required in Mecklenburg County for vehicles that are less than 20 years old but earlier than the 2017 model year. That window would grow smaller every year until it closes in about 2037. [Source]

Judicial Rent

Dan Kane, The News & Observer, 8/01/24

The state Office of Administrative Hearings has been paying rent to one of its judges for its Triad-area office since losing space in a Guilford County courthouse a year ago. The office conducts hearings on proposed state rules, state personnel disputes and other administrative matters, and has four satellite offices across the state.

All four had been in county buildings until last year, when Guilford County officials told OAH that commitments to other government agencies meant the agency could no longer rent space at the High Point courthouse. Guilford County gave the office notice on May 15, 2023, and said Administrative Law Judge Jonathan Dills and his law clerk had to be out by Aug. 1.

Records show OAH Chief Administrative Judge Donald van der Vaart told Dills that he could relocate to the building that formerly housed Dills’ legal practice in downtown Winston-Salem.

The annual lease began that day. “With such short notice, the Chief asked me to house our offices in my former firm offices on a trial basis,” Dills wrote in an email on May 17, 2023, to an OAH staffer. “We need to schedule moving furniture and equipment as soon as possible.” Dills is charging the state the same rate as Guilford, $416.50 a month, for two offices with a combined 390 square feet, plus access to a conference room and a break room, the records show.

That averages out to $12.82 per square foot, which was about $5 less than the $17.88 average square foot asking rate for office space in Winston-Salem’s central business district at that time, according to the commercial real estate investment and services firm CBRE.

There are no state laws or regulations prohibiting agencies from leasing property from their employees, said Julia Hegele, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Administration, which includes the State Property Office. But officials there are not aware of any instances where that’s happened, she added.

The state allows individual agencies to negotiate leases that are $5,000 or less a year, or for no longer than three years. The annual lease struck with Dills is just under that, at $4,998. But the state requires agencies to notify the State Property Office to make sure there is no state-owned or leased property available. Agencies are also supposed to send a copy of the lease to the State Property Office. Hegele said officials there did not have a copy.

Van der Vaart, a former secretary for the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality for Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, could not be reached. He was appointed chief judge by N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby in July 2021. Evans was van der Vaart’s chief deputy at DEQ. Dills was hired as an administrative judge in September 2021. He referred The N&O’s questions to Evans. [Source]

 

Transit Plan

Mary Ramsey, The Charlotte Observer, 8/01/24

Some Charlotte-area elected officials say they’re frustrated about being left out of negotiations to overhaul the region’s public transit system, creating friction that could stall progress on long-awaited projects.

The Charlotte City Council is expected to vote in early September on the city’s purchase of railroad tracks for the Red Line commuter rail project and in support of a ballot referendum for a sales tax increase to pay for transportation needs, according to a July presentation to some city leaders. The presentation indicates the City Council will discuss transit in open and closed meetings in August. But the presentation also included information on “draft legislation” creating a new transit authority for the Charlotte region, something that took City Council member Tariq Bokhari by surprise.

Bokhari, one of only two council members in the meeting, spoke out on social media after seeing the presentation, claiming Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones told him previously “governance would be figured out later.”

Bokhari told The Charlotte Observer that elected officials are “generally frustrated” they’re not more involved in negotiations, too. Now, he’s willing to “make sure” the upcoming votes don’t go through without assurances that elected officials will play a major role in crafting a new governance model for transit, he said.

Sen. Vickie Sawyer called elected officials being left out a “structural deficit” in the plan, one that could further jeopardize vital support from a Republican-led state legislature already reluctant to give Charlotte what it needs to get its transportation plan in motion.

Bokhari said he likes “almost everything” that was presented, “except the fact that a governance model has been put in.” “Right now the governance model is not going to fly with a lot of different parties, because it’s clear that a couple of bureaucrats put it together,” he said.

Sawyer, R-Iredell, says she’s stayed out of transit negotiations and hasn’t looked at draft legislation reported on by news outlets because “it’s not a finished product.” But she also believes local elected officials need to be involved directly in transit negotiations because they’re the ones who are “going to have to answer to the people.”

“It is a political process, and keeping electeds out of the room is really a structural deficit of the deal from the beginning,” she said.

Sawyer’s District 37 includes parts of southern Iredell and northern Mecklenburg counties. The Republican is also one of three Senate transportation chairs. Earlier this summer, she worked with fellow Iredell Republican Rep. Grey Mills to get legislation passed requiring Charlotte to get approval from affected counties, cities and towns if it acquires “any portion of an existing railway line” beyond Mecklenburg County. That was in response to concerns from Mooresville and Iredell County leaders about Charlotte getting tracks in their jurisdictions for the Red Line. [Source]

 

Cherokee Marijuana

Will Hofmann, Asheville Citizen Times, 8/01/24

Those looking to purchase recreational marijuana in North Carolina might not have to wait much longer.

The Great Smoky Cannabis Co. in Cherokee announced on social media on Aug. 1 that they will soon open adult-use recreational marijuana on Sept. 7, making it the first recreational marijuana dispensary to fully open to those over the age of 21 in North Carolina. The dispensary — which is run by the Eastern Band of Cherokee-backed Qualla Enterprises — had opened on April 20 for medical marijuana sales.

Until fully opening in September, only those over the age of 21 with a tribal ID or medical marijuana card are able to purchase products at the dispensary. The dispensary sells a wide variety of cannabis products, including marijuana concentrates, flowers and edibles. It is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

The EBCI nation is located on the Qualla Boundary. It is a sovereign nation that has its own elections, laws, government and institutions that are self-governed and autonomous. It lies primarily in the Western North Carolina mountain counties of Swain and Jackson, with smaller parts in Cherokee, Graham and Haywood.

The marijuana market has been seen as a huge economic boon for the EBCI, even as the drug remains illegal in North Carolina. Dispensary officials have previously estimated the total marijuana market could be around 80,000 pounds at the dispensary, though the amount sold was suggested to be limited by tribal investments in the dispensary and grow farm.

In total, 24 states have legalized recreational marijuana, but North Carolina has held out as state legislators have not legalized the drug for medical or recreational purposes, despite some proposals to do so. President Joe Biden in May moved to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug, meaning it could become federally legal to prescribe marijuana as medication.

Republican U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards recently told the Citizen Times that he will “remain steadfast” in his opposition to legalizing recreational marijuana in WNC, frequently claiming that data supports the drug being dangerous to youth. He had introduced the “Stop Pot Act,” which threatened to remove 10% of federal highway funding from states and tribes that sell legal marijuana. The bill failed to pass a referral to a subcommittee under the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

His skepticism on marijuana has been shared by the state’s two Republican U.S. senators, Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, who sent a March letter questioning the EBCI’s practice of opening the dispensary.

At the same time, Caleb Rudow, an Asheville Democratic N.C. General Assembly member challenging Edwards in the Nov. 5 election, has recently stated to the Citizen Times that the actions have shown a lack of respect for tribal sovereignty and personal liberties over what one may safely put in their body. [Source]

 

Campaign Plans

Avi Bajpai, The News & Observer, 8/01/24

As Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign prepares for the final three-month stretch before Election Day, expect North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to be an “active” surrogate for her, both throughout the state and the country.

In the 10 days since Harris took over as the presumptive Democratic nominee and launched her search for a running mate, several high-profile Democrats, including those who are reportedly under consideration for her vice-presidential pick, have fanned out to different swing states and appeared on national TV almost daily, promoting the party’s new standard-bearer.

Cooper has ramped up his efforts as a campaign surrogate as well, joining MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” the day after Harris began her campaign to tout her, holding a campaign event in Raleigh on Thursday, and rallying campaign supporters during a virtual “White Dudes for Harris” fundraising call Monday night.

In the coming weeks, Cooper is expected to expand those efforts to include traveling to different swing states across the country to campaign for Harris and continuing to make the case for her on national TV and in other media, on top of traversing the state to “make sure that we turn North Carolina blue,” Morgan Jackson, a longtime political adviser to Cooper and other Democrats, told The News & Observer.

Cooper was previously mentioned as being in the mix of vice presidential contenders that the Harris campaign was considering, but he formally took himself out of the running on Monday, saying it “just wasn’t the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket.”

Jackson said that the swing states Cooper visits will depend on the requests that come in from the Harris campaign, but suggested that Cooper could travel to a variety of states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and even potentially Arizona and Nevada in the southwest. Cooper has already begun receiving those requests, and was asked to go to Michigan and Wisconsin in the last few weeks, but was not able to go due to scheduling conflicts, Jackson said.

Matt Mercer, a spokesman for the N.C. Republican Party, said that Cooper “has demonstrated repeatedly he has failed to move the needle for Democrats.”

“His record as a surrogate has resulted in delivering legislative supermajorities for Republicans and 22 vetoes overridden in the General Assembly,” Mercer said in a statement. “Democrats should beware of his promises to win for other candidates, he did famously tell Joe Biden that he would get him and failed Senate candidate Cal Cunningham ‘over the finish line’ in 2020.”

On Thursday  Cooper said that former President Donald Trump is “showing us who he is” by questioning Vice President Kamala Harris’s racial identity. Responding to Trump’s comments after speaking at a Harris campaign event about abortion rights, Cooper compared them to Trump falsely claiming for several years that former President Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States. “He’s showing us who he is, he’s trying to divide us,” Cooper told reporters following the event, in Durham.

Cooper also said that Trump is claiming to have moderated his position on abortion, and said he doesn’t believe it. “They will say anything to get elected, and Donald Trump, or J.D. Vance, would sign a federal abortion ban in a New York minute,” Cooper said.

In April, Trump said he wouldn’t sign a national abortion ban if one was passed by Congress, reversing his previous stance on the issue as a candidate in 2016 and during his first term in office, CNN reported.

Cooper and other speakers also said Trump would implement the policies laid out in Project 2025, a proposed overhaul of the federal government published by the Heritage Foundation.

Matt Mercer, spokesman for the N.C. Republican Party, referred The N&O to a statement from the Trump campaign in which it said that the campaign has “made it clear that only President Trump and the campaign, and NOT any other organization or former staff, represent policies for the second term.”

Mercer also referred The N&O to a statement regarding abortion policy in which Karoline Leavitt, the campaign’s national press secretary, said that Trump “has long been consistent in supporting the rights of states to make decisions on abortion.” [Source 1] [Source 2]

 

Safety Training

Korie Dean, The News & Observer, 8/01/24

Nearly one year after a fatal shooting that left a professor dead and sent the UNC-Chapel Hill campus into an hours-long lockdown, the university now expects all faculty to complete active-shooter and emergency training. Faculty were informed of the new expectation in an email from Provost Chris Clemens Tuesday afternoon, according to the message obtained by The News & Observer.

The email said the online training would be available beginning Wednesday. In an interview with The N&O Thursday, Darrell Jeter, the university’s emergency management and planning director, confirmed that faculty are being asked to complete the training ahead of the fall semester beginning in mid-August.

“The expectation is that the training is completed before the first day of class,” Jeter said. “And the expectation that is being conveyed there is that all faculty, particularly faculty that are instructors-of-record for the fall semester in classrooms on campus, will complete that training.”

The move to implement new training comes about two months after a post-shooting “after-action report,” issued by an independent agency to the university in May, recommended such training be required for all faculty and staff, among other recommendations.

The university has not previously required training for faculty, despite receiving a recommendation in a 2020 internal audit to do so, as The N&O first reported. [Source]

 

UNC Chancellor

Korie Dean and Emmy Martin, The News & Observer, 8/01/24

More than four months into the process, the search for UNC-Chapel Hill’s 13th chancellor is moving along quickly, with several candidates interviewing for the job this week.

Search committee chair Cristy Page, executive dean at the UNC School of Medicine, confirmed Thursday that a two-day meeting held this week involved candidate interviews. “We’ve had two long days of multiple interviews,” Page told reporters. She would not provide the number of candidates the committee interviewed, but said the committee spent a “long time” with each one over the two days it met in closed session, without the public or media present.

Most of the candidates interviewed in person in Chapel Hill, Page said.

Page said the committee anticipates forwarding a slate of at least three finalists to the UNC Board of Trustees for its consideration “sometime in the upcoming weeks,” marking the next step in the search as outlined in UNC System policy.

But the public can’t know who the candidates are. That’s because the system policy keeps searches confidential and dictates that none of the names and identities of the chancellor candidates, semi-finalists or finalists may be released to the public — even after the search is over. The only name officially available to the public will likely be the one who is chosen to become chancellor by UNC System President Peter Hans and is approved in a public meeting.

The policy is not new, with the UNC System Board of Governors adopting it in 2018. And search leaders, including Page and Laurie Wilder, president of Parker Executive Search, the firm leading the effort, have said keeping candidates confidential will attract high-quality applicants who would otherwise be wary of their names becoming public. But the secretive process is raising eyebrows among some members of the UNC community as they wait to learn who its next leader will be — particularly after the search committee last month nixed plans to gather more input from students, faculty and staff in listening sessions this fall.

Even before the Board of Governors made searches confidential in 2018, many campuses chose to keep the names of candidates private. But two “problematic” searches led the Board of Governors to make the efforts confidential system-wide in 2018, The N&O reported.

Those searches included one at Western Carolina University, in which a board member forwarded a candidate’s application materials to an outside firm, which in turn uncovered what the board member contended was a misrepresentation on the candidate’s resume.

Advocates for confidential searches, including Wilder and Page, say that such processes can quell candidates’ fears about entering a search, particularly for sitting university leaders.

“We’re all hoping to find the very best candidates, and that is the big picture,” Page said. “The very best candidates, the quality candidates, care deeply about confidentiality.” [Source]

New Hanover Fundraising

Peter Castagno, Port City Daily, 8/01/24

Several local candidates are on track to break campaign finance records as they vie for positions in one of the state’s most competitive battlegrounds. Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover, is the county’s top fundraiser at $801,127 to secure Senate District 7. Last month, the North Carolina GOP cited the New Hanover County race among its top focuses for the campaign and announced plans for a record-breaking spend of over $2 million on advertisements for the incumbent.

Lee — a development attorney with Wilmington-based law firm Lee Kaess — received support from a broad range of industries, including healthcare, development and education.

Around $6,400 came from the North Carolina Home Builders Association PAC and $5,000 from North Carolina Realtors PAC. Prominent local contributors in the development and real estate industries include long-time supporters Adam and Quinn Sosne of Wilmington-based McAdams Homes, who donated a total of $25,600 from 2023-2024.

The senator received a cumulative total of $34,000 from Cape Fear Commercial partners, $10,400 from Cameron Management executives, $19,200 from Zimmer Development, and $3,000 from Trask Land owner Raiford Trask. The senator also received $18,600 from executives of Florida-based real estate investment firm M Group.

Lee is chair of the Senate’s Appropriations/Base Budget and Education/Higher Education Committees. He has pushed to expand the state’s private school voucher program, including adding $463 million in additional funds in May. Lee has received $11,000 from Charter Schools USA founder John Hagee including a $6,000 donation in January. Florida-based education technology entrepreneur Edward Buckley and Jeff Patterson — founder of California-based student surveillance software firm Gaggle — donated $6,400 each to the senator this year.

Lee’s Democratic challenger David Hill — a pediatrician and a former leader of the STOP Titan Action Network — has brought in the county’s second-highest figure with $375,540 in total donations. The North Carolina Democratic Party has supplied $72,962 of the first-time candidate’s campaign haul.

Hill received $12,200 from Pamela-Hurst Pietra — chair of the medical nonprofit Children and Screens — and $12,200 from Liz Simons, chair of the Heising-Simons Foundation, a childhood education and science nonprofit. Simons is the daughter of billionaire hedge fund manager and prominent Democratic donor James Simons.

Hill’s notable donors include $6,400 from North Carolina-based billionaire Fred Stanback, $2,500 from Wilmington-based attorney Gary Shipman, and $2,500 from Robert Zaytoun, an attorney for local nonprofit Heal Our People’s Endowment. HOPE was created by former District 7 Senator Harper Peterson in March to petition Attorney General Josh Stein to intervene in the New Hanover County Endowment.

Democratic candidate and former U.S. Department of State foreign service officer Jon Berger brought in the third-highest total to challenge Rep. Ted Davis Jr.’s, R-New Hanover, District 20 position. Berger has so far outraised the incumbent with $119,110 in donations compared to Davis’ $80,133.

Rep. Deb Butler, D-New Hanover, does not face a challenger for New Hanover County’s District 18 position. She’s raised $20,197 this election cycle, almost half of which came from a $10,000 NC House Democratic Caucus donation. [Source]

 

Arena Renovations

Luke DeCock, The News & Observer, 8/01/24

In the year since the historic agreement to renovate PNC Arena and develop its surroundings was reached, discussion of what the updated arena might actually look like has been mostly theoretical.

The Centennial Authority, which oversees the arena, spent that time working through its budget, changing architects and finalizing the myriad legal documents that extended the Carolina Hurricanes’ lease through 2044, secured $300 million in tourism tax money and will allow Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon to turn 80 acres of parking lots around the building into a mixed-use development.

Thursday, finally, it started to get real. Deep inside PNC Arena, authority members and the general public got their first look at what Gensler Sports and Raleigh-based LS3P — the new architecture firms it hired in February — have cooked up to refresh the 25-year-old arena.

Demetra Thornton, the co-managing director of Gensler’s Raleigh office, led the authority through a presentation of more than 80 slides that showed the various concepts Gensler developed for the arena over the past five months, The architects identified 10 projects in all, from behind-the-scenes infrastructure few fans will ever see to a new, modern facade that will change the face of the building.

“It’s extraordinarily exciting to see the ideas that Gensler has proposed to us,” authority chairman Philip Isley said.

New Hurricanes CEO Brian Fork reaffirmed Wednesday that Dundon envisions likely approaching or exceeding $1 billion. The first phase is slated for $200 million in investment on a 20-acre plot that includes 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 150,000 square feet of office space, a 150-room hotel and 200 residential units, 10 percent of that classified as affordable housing. One other early priority is a $40 million, 4,300-seat live music venue managed by national promoter Live Nation. [Source]

 

Deadly Force

Makiya Seminera, The Associated Press, 8/01/24

Law enforcement was justified in using deadly force against a gunman in North Carolina who fatally shot four officers and wounded four others in April, a prosecutor concludes in a report released Thursday.

There is “no question” that the officers who killed Terry Clark Hughes Jr. did so to defend themselves and others, Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather says in the report. Before he was killed, Hughes, 39, opened fire on officers serving arrest warrants at his home in the city of Charlotte, the deadliest attack on law enforcement in the U.S. since 2016.

“If law enforcement officers had not responded to an imminently deadly threat with lethal force, as difficult as it is to imagine, the outcome could have been even more catastrophic,” Merriweather says.

The district attorney’s office interviewed law enforcement officers who were at the shooting, including 12 Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers who fired their guns, to determine if the use of deadly force against Hughes was warranted. Authorities also compiled body camera footage and physical evidence, such as how many rounds were discharged during the shooting: 29 by Hughes and 340 by officers. [Source]

DEI Repeal

Rebecca Noel, The Charlotte Observer, 8/01/24

When the University of North Carolina System repealed its diversity, equity and inclusion policy in May, Valerie Kinloch was disappointed — but not surprised. At Johnson C. Smith University, where Kinloch is entering her second year as president, she says equity, diversity and inclusion have been “part of the fabric” from the beginning.

While the school was founded for Black Americans, students of any race and ethnicity are welcome to attend. “Universities in this state and around the country have banned diversity, equity and inclusion without understanding fundamentally that diversity, equity and inclusion should be seen as cornerstones to everything we do,” she told The Charlotte Observer. “I think it’s a disservice.”

Launched in 1867, JCSU is a private school and not part of the UNC system. It is among the country’s 100 historically Black colleges and universities. While its policies are not affected by the decision. Kinloch says the decision is misguided. “I’m disheartened that many universities are erasing, banning or disarming any kind of critical perspective when it comes to diversity equity and inclusion,” she said. “Diversity is not about just Black people … Diversity is about understanding that we form a collective of critical, conscious individuals who pursue equity and justice because we have racial, ethnic, linguistic and gender differences.”

The policy that was repealed at UNC system schools required the employment of a diversity and inclusion officer at each of the system’s 17 schools and the creation of a UNC system diversity and inclusion council, among other provisions.

Attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, often referred to simply as “DEI,” began picking up steam in early 2023. That’s when conservative politicians from states, such as Texas and Florida, targeted policies intended to attract and retain candidates of color at universities, corporations and government agencies. Since then, 85 anti-DEI bills geared toward programs at colleges have been introduced in 28 states, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. [Source]

 

Fayetteville Med School

David Mildenberg, Business NC, 8/01/24

Methodist University is receiving an $8 million grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation to pay for equipment and other costs as it creates Fayetteville’s first medical school in partnership with Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine. The Golden LEAF board announced the grant today at its regular meeting. The school is expected to create 260 jobs and eventually graduate 120 doctors per year. Many are expected to enter residencies in southeastern North Carolina counties that are considered the most needy economically under the state’s rating system.

“Research has shown that resident doctors trained in rural areas are more likely to practice in rural areas,” Golden LEAF Board Chair Ralph Strayhorn said in a release. “The funding to Methodist University will not only help build hundreds of jobs throughout southeastern North Carolina, but also increase the number of physicians serving the region. This project will substantially move the needle for rural healthcare in North Carolina.”

Formed in 1999 with proceeds from the national settlement with tobacco companies, Golden LEAF has funded 2,292 projects totaling $1.3 billion, mostly in rural, tobacco-dependent, and economically distressed communities. The fund had assets of $1.4 billion as of June 30 and net investment income of about $155 million in the past fiscal year. [Source]

Deaths

WBTV News, 8/01/24

The mayor of Belmont died on Wednesday, July 31, his wife announced Thursday. Richard Turner was described by his wife of 33 years, Marie, as a “man of strong faith, was a loving husband and father and a friend to all.”

“Mayor Turner loved Belmont and enjoyed his time serving the citizens as a City Councilman, and most recently as Mayor. We ask that you continue to pray for Mayor Turner’s family and friends as we all mourn his loss,” a statement released by the city read in part.

Richard spent two terms on the Belmont Planning and Zoning Board and the Park and Recreation Advisory Board. He spent the last 12 years serving on the Belmont City Council and as mayor.

According to Marie, he recently had a massive stroke in addition to gallbladder issues and pancreatitis. “Our family’s hearts are completely broken,” she wrote.

Richard had lived in Belmont for the last 22 years. During his time in public office, he was nominated to serve on the Gaston, Cleveland, Lincoln Metropolitan Planning Organization and aided in the development of Ebb Gantt Park on Brook Street. [Source]

 

COVID Cases

Santiago Ochoa, WFDD Radio, 7/31/24

A summertime rise in COVID-19 cases brought on by increased travel and extended time spent indoors has caught the attention of health care workers in the Piedmont Triad. On Tuesday, Dr. Christopher Ohl, an infectious disease expert at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, held an online press briefing to address the issue.

He said his colleagues have noticed an uptick in cases across the health system’s six emergency departments. Despite this, Ohl said cases remain relatively low.

“These numbers are up, here in our Triad, but they’re not up as high as they were last December or January, which was the height of our respiratory viral season,” Ohl said. “And actually in some areas here in the Triad, they seem to be declining now after reaching a peak about a week or two ago.”

According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’  COVID-19 dashboard, instances of the virus in Winston-Salem’s wastewater increased 100-fold in the last month. [Source]

 

Sheriff Lawsuit

Ryley Ober, Asheville Citizen Times, 8/01/24

The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office and former District Court Judge Emily Cowan are asking a federal court judge to dismiss a lawsuit claiming they violated the civil rights of a Flat Rock resident.

Pro se plaintiff Mackenzie Brown, 26, alleges the defendants violated her First, Fourth and 14th Amendment rights, among others, in part by arresting her and posting a handcuffed picture of her on social media after she wrote “12 SUX” on a sheriff’s cruiser. She also claims her rights were infringed upon when a warrant against her abuser “mysteriously disappeared,” she said.

Her markings, which mean “law enforcement sucks,” were written on a specialty-wrapped sheriff’s vehicle donated by Advent Health in October 2021. The public was invited to sign or write notes on the car during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Brown first filed the lawsuit in September 2023 with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in Asheville. She names five members of the sheriff’s office, a Henderson County Detention Facility officer and a magistrate in her lawsuit alongside the judge and sheriff’s office as a whole. In an amended complaint on May 13, Brown lists multiple new claims of rights violations, bringing the total to 15. New motions for dismissal complicate whether the defendants legally violated her rights. [Source]

 

Firearms Profits

Richard Craver, Winston-Salem Journal, 8/01/24

Consumer demand for Sturm, Ruger & Co. firearms continued to slump during the second quarter, contributing to the manufacturer reporting Wednesday that there was a 49% decline in net income to $8.2 million. Diluted earnings were 47 cents a share, down from 91 cents a year ago. Sales were down 8.4% to $130.8 million.

However, it’s likely Ruger will experience a sales uptick in the third quarter in the aftermath of the failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

Some analysts call the response a “gun cycle” that dates back to the two-term presidency of Republican George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009. In many instances, speculation of enhanced firearms control regulations under a Democratic administration will serve as the impetus for increased sales of either a first-time purchase or stockpiling. Conversely, a Republican administration committed to the status quo or loosening firearms regulations tends to cool consumer demand.

Ruger responded to the sales downturn by eliminating 80 job positions — or 4.4% of its workforce — during the first quarter. Killoy told analysts the restructuring involves manufacturing, new product development, engineering, and customer and product services. Prior to the first-quarter report, Ruger said that as of Feb. 1, about 490 of its 1,820 employees were at its production hub in Mayodan. [Source]

 

Soccer Investment

Chris Roush, Business NC, 8/01/24

A group of 11 Charlotte women business and civic leaders have bought a 25% ownership stake in Charlotte Ascent FC, the professional soccer team that kicks off play later this month. “We are thrilled to become founding investors in the team and look forward to our meaningful contribution to the growth and success of Carolina Ascent FC for many years to come,” said Maryann Bruce, managing member of the investor group, Empower HER Fund. She is a former Wachovia executive.

The group includes Andrea Smith, interim CEO of Charlotte Regional Business Alliance and retired Bank of America executive. Others involved in the ownership stake are Margot Brinley, Elizabeth A Fleming, Lucia Zapata Griffith, Kimberly Katherine Lewis, Robin Milo Mermans, Valerie Mitchener, Katie Morgan, Susan Maureen Shaw, and Jordana Snider.

The soccer club is owned by former Nucor CEO Dan DiMicco (40%) of Ascent FC and managing partner Jim McPhilliamy and his wife, Kelly, (35%). McPhillamy is a longtime soccer club backer in Charlotte.

The women’s group views its investment as a long-term project and is still in discussions with other investors. “We believe in the potential of women’s soccer, the USL Super League and Carolina Ascent; we encourage others to join us as investors and in growing a strong fan base,” says Griffith.

The team is the first professional women’s sports team in Charlotte since the WNBA Charlotte Sting played its final game in 2007. The Super League plays a fall-to-spring schedule, while the unaffiliated National Women’s Soccer League plays from spring to fall. The NWSL includes the North Carolina Courage based in Raleigh.

Ascent’s first match will be Aug.17 at the recently renovated American Legion Memorial Stadium. [Source]

NC Insider Legislative Report

LB: LEGISLATIVE BUILDING. LOB: LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BUILDING

 

LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS:

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE HOUSE

Thursday, August 1, 2024

• Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
  • HB 155 (Sossamon) TITLES FOR OFF-ROAD VEH./LOW SPEED VEH. INSP
  • HB 556 (Wheatley) TENANCY IN COM./E-NOTARY/SMALLCLAIMS CHANGES
  • HB 690 (Warren) NO CENTRL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY PMTS TO STATE
• Veto Received from House
  • HB 155 (Sossamon) TITLES FOR OFF-ROAD VEH./LOW SPEED VEH. INSP
  • HB 556 (Wheatley) TENANCY IN COM./E-NOTARY/SMALLCLAIMS CHANGES
  • HB 690 (Warren) NO CENTRL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY PMTS TO STATE

HOUSE CALENDAR

Monday, Sept. 9, 2024

House Convenes at 12 P.M.

SENATE CALENDAR

Monday, Sept. 9, 2024

Senate Convenes at 12 P.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

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

Friday, Sept. 27

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