Opinion

Opinion Roundup: Absentee ballots, election board changes, recycling industry crisis and more

Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: N.C.fraud scandal casts shadow over the primary, man at center of 9th District investigation had hundreds of ballots, lawmakers go back to future with proposed changes to elections board, Gov. Cooper discusses Finish Line grants and expanded eligibility, what seismic blasting off the coast would be like and more.

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North Carolina Resists Trump Administration Demand for Voting Records
Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: N.C.fraud scandal casts shadow over the primary, man at center of 9th District investigation had hundreds of ballots, lawmakers go back to future with proposed changes to elections board, Gov. Cooper discusses Finish Line grants and expanded eligibility, what seismic blasting off the coast would be like and more.
REAL VOTER FRAUD?
VALERIE BAUERLEIN: N.C. Republicans Open to New Election in Disputed Congressional Race (Wall Street Journal reports) -- Republican legislators said they were open to a new congressional primary and general election, citing mounting evidence of fraud in a race where the GOP candidate had previously declared victory.
ALAN BLINDER & RICHARD FAUSSET: N.C.Fraud Scandal Casts Shadow Over the Primary, Too (New York Times reports) -- As state officials look into suspicious voting in a general election House race, they are also examining this year’s Republican primary for signs of fraud.
DAHLEEN GLANTON: In North Carolina, it's Jim Crow part two (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot column) -- N.C. officials are looking into whether hundreds of absentee ballots were illegally collected from unsuspecting voters in the midterm congressional election and destroyed or altered to benefit the Republican candidate.
ZACH MONTELLARO: GOP worries Harris is ‘damaged goods’ in NC-09 (Politico reports) -- We’re getting closer to a new election in NC-09 amid allegations of election fraud committed by an independent contractor for Republican Mark Harris’ campaign. “Although I was absolutely unaware of any wrongdoing, that will not prevent me from cooperating with this investigation,” Harris said in video on Friday, noting that he hoped he would be certified as the winner after the investigation. “However, if this investigation finds proof of illegal activity on either side to such a level that it could have changed the outcome of the election, then I would wholeheartedly support a new election.” There have been no allegations of fraud leveled at Democrat Dan McCready’s campaign.
ZACH MONTELLARO: N.C. GOP says fresh misconduct allegation should trigger new House election (Politico reports) -- The N.C. Republican Party said Tuesday that a new election should be held in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District if a new allegation regarding the leak of early-voting results before Election Day is proven.
LAWRENCE MOWER: Vote-by-mail scandal in N.C. exposes Florida’s lax laws (Tampa Bay Times reports) -- A contested election. Accusations of election fraud. Widespread attention from the national media. No, it's not in Florida, which has had its fair share of election hijinks over the decades. It's in N.C., where a Congressional race might get a rare election do-over after allegations surfaced that a political operative helped the Republican candidate win by illegally collecting absentee, or vote-by-mail, ballots. The case highlights a notable difference between the two states, however: North Carolina has much tougher laws than Florida when it comes to voting by mail.
TRAVIS FAIN: Affidavit: Man at center of 9th District investigation had hundreds of ballots (WRAL-TV reports) — Kenneth Simmons said in a signed affidavit that he and his wife saw McCrae Dowless with the trove of ballots, which would be a felony. Simmons signed the affidavit Tuesday in front of a reporter for WECT News, the station reported.
TRAVIS FAIN: Calls mount for new election in NC's 9th District (WRAL-TV reports) — The likelihood that NC will have a new election for the contested 9th Congressional District ratcheted up again Tuesday, with top officials for the state Republican Party openly suggesting it. The latest straw seemed to be word that Bladen County ran its early voting totals earlier than allowed by state law and the suggestion that results were leaked to unknown parties before they should have been public.
GARY ROBERTSON: GOP chairman: Vote tally sharing would warrant new election (AP reports) — The state Democratic Party gave the affidavit of Agnes Willis, a Bladen County precinct worker and registered Democrat, to the elections board two weeks ago. Willis wrote that vote tallies were printed out at Bladen's in-person early voting site after the site closed for good on the Saturday before Election Day and were reviewed by people who were not election judges.
BRIAN MURPHY, PAUL SPECHT & ELY PORTILLO: NC GOP ‘pretty certain’ vote totals leaked in Bladen County and would back new election (Charlotte Observer) — Documents released by the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement show that early voting tabulations were run several days before the Nov. 6 election in Bladen County. A witness who signed that vote tabulation wrote in a sworn affidavit that the totals were “viewed by officials at the one-stop site who were not judges.”
LYNN BONNER: A proposal for a new 9th District congressional primary dies as elections bill advances (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — A proposal for a new primary in the 9th Congressional District was stripped from an elections bill Tuesday after the sponsor said he could not get enough legislators to go along. Rep. David Lewis, a Harnett County Republican, wanted a new primary if the State Board of Elections orders a new election in the 9th District.
POLICY & POLITICS
MATTHEW BURNS: Lawmakers go back to future with proposed changes to elections board (WRAL-TV reports) — After repeated lawsuits and court fights, Republican legislative leaders rolled out a proposal Tuesday to undo all of the changes they have made to the state elections board over the past two years. The plan could be voted on as early as Wednesday in both the House and Senate.
COLIN CAMPBELL: Redistricting provision (The Insider reports) -- The election board bill rolled out Tuesday also has a redistricting component. A provision in the conference report would give the legislature more time to redraw election maps if ordered to do so by a court.
LYNN BONNER: A proposal for a new 9th District congressional primary dies as elections bill advances (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- The bill would also keep campaign finance investigations secret and have county District Attorneys bring charges in most cases, rather than the Wake County prosecutor. The bill also gives a new role to the Ethics Commission. If asked by the elections board, it would make confidential recommendations on criminal referrals. Bob Hall, who has asked the state elections board to investigate suspected campaign finance violations, said making the investigations confidential and sending cases to the candidate's home county to consider for prosecution were both bad ideas.
COLIN CAMPBELL: Pipeline Investigation (The Insider reports) -- A legislative committee is planning to hire a private investigation firm to probe Gov. Roy Cooper's $58 million mitigation agreement with the developers of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The chairmen of the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations's Subcommittee on Atlantic Coast Pipeline announced Tuesday that they're considering hiring Eagle Intel Services LLC, a firm led by a retired FBI agent and two former Internal Revenue Service special agents.
JOHN MURAWSKI: UNC Health Care boosts the pay of 9,000 employees as it raises minimum wage (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — UNC Health Care is promising a $15 million thank-you to thousands of employees. The Chapel Hill health care organization said Tuesday it will increase its minimum wage to $15 an hour in the Triangle, a move that will ultimately boost the pay of some 9,000 employees, nearly a third of its total workforce. The organization owns or operates 13 hospitals and employs about 30,000 people.
The Farr debacle (Greensboro News & Record) — Thomas A. Farr was a woefully bad choice to be a federal district judge in NC. Thank goodness Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, stood up for principle over blind party loyalty and announced that he would oppose Farr’s nomination.
We’re Fed Up On Gas Prices (Southern Pines Pilot) — It’s been almost three years now since the Moore County Board of Commissioners asked the state Attorney General’s Office to investigate why we seem to have some of the highest gas prices in the state.
CANDACE SWEAT: Businesses fear losses as snow forced holiday shoppers to stay home (WRAL-TV reports) -- Nearly everything came to a screeching halt during the snowstorm Sunday and Monday, meaning several local businesses were forced to take a loss.
Potential closure of this downtown Durham street casts cloud over light rail plans (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- Light rail in downtown Durham: What NCDOT, others say about GoTriangle plan to close Blackwell Street by DPAC, Bulls ballpark
MICHELLE WAGNER: Steinburg aide to pay back $25,000 to KDH restaurant (Outer Banks Sentinel reports) -- Diana London, legislative aide to N.C. State Rep. and State Senator-elect Bob Steinburg, accepted a plea agreement in Dare County Superior Court on Dec. 5 by pleading guilty to misdemeanor larceny and agreeing to pay $25,000 in restitution to her former employer, Pigman’s Bar-B-Que in Kill Devil Hills.
EDUCATION
RUPEN FOFARIA: Community colleges find RDS uneasy fit for their students (EdNC reports) — This is Part Two in a series examining the residency laws of NC, the new RDS system in place to process applications in compliance with the laws, and the experiences of community colleges who feel the RDS system has become a barrier to their students.
NATION HAHN: Governor Cooper discusses Finish Line grants and expanded eligibility (EdNC reports) — We checked in with Governor Cooper this week regarding the status of the Finish Line grants program, including a number of changes they hope will lead to more students participating.
CANDACE SWEAT: St. Aug's regains accreditation (WRAL reports) — Saint Augustine's University in Raleigh is no longer under probation by its accreditation agency.President Everett Ward said Tuesday that the university was removed from probationary status by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which last year cited financial and enrollment problems at the school. That probation threatened the university's accreditation status.
JOHN NEWSOM: Bad news for Bennett College, School faces the loss of its accreditation (Greensboro News & Record reports) -- Bennett College has been on probation for the past two years. It won’t get a third. The private women’s college on East Washington Street faces the loss of its accreditation after years of financial and enrollment struggles and an announcement Tuesday by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
LEONEDA INGE: Saint Augustine's University Retains Accreditation, But Not Bennett College (WUNC-FM reports) -- While one of North Carolina's historically black colleges and universities learned on Tuesday it will retain its accreditation, another college 80 miles away faces the loss of its own accreditation.
SUSAN SVRLUGA: Lynching display was placed on a tree at a N.C. university. Officials say it was an art project. (Washington Post reports) -- A cloth figure was suspended on a rope hanging from a tree Tuesday at UNC Charlotte, alarming people who saw it and who then shared images of it on social media. University officials were notified of “noosed figures” hanging from a tree outside an arts building on campus. The university’s department of police and public safety investigated and found it was an art project submitted by a student of color for an end-of-semester assignment. “At this time, there is no evidence to suggest the project was motivated by racial bias,” university officials wrote in a message to campus.
ANN DOSS HELMS: In a few hours Monday, CMS launched a bold new approach to snow closings. Here’s why (Charlotte Observer reports) — For as long as anyone can remember, snow closings were an all-or-nothing deal for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. If some roads remained unsafe, the whole district canceled classes. At noon Monday, as officials checked roads and sized up options for Tuesday, the district’s chief communication officer said CMS was weeks away from having a plan to split weather closings into smaller zones.
HEALTH
YASMIN BENDAAS: What 1,472 NC teachers had to say about e-cigs (EdNC reports) — Most Millennials remember anti-smoking campaigns in health education classes, but for the current generation of middle and high schoolers, there’s a new trend replacing traditional cigarettes — e-cigarettes. The e-cigarette market boomed this year, but with the products falling into the hands of minors and resulting in what the Food and Drug Administration termed an “epidemic” among youth, schools are on alert for students puffing on these easily concealed devices, particularly the sleek-looking Juuls.
YEN DUONG: In the Final Week of Enrollment, Obamacare Marketplace Offers Many Avenues to Getting Insurance (NC Health News) — If you thought you an Obamacare plan might cost you too much, think again. In fact, you could pay nothing. As this year’s enrollment period for insurance through the Affordable Care Act draws to a close, advocates are making the point that some plans could actually cost nothing, after tax credits.
ROSE HOBAN: Advocates See Potential for Child Death Prevention in Connecting State Data (NC Health News reports) — Child welfare advocates say that to improve NC’s child death rate, there’s a need for better coordination and data collection on deaths that do occur.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
CATHERINE KOZAK: Recycling Industry Crisis Hits Coastal Firm (Coastal Review Online reports) — An ongoing crisis with U.S. recycling markets came home to roost this fall when Hatteras Recycle was informed its tipping fees would go up 600 percent as of Dec. 1. “We have had a bombshell dropped on us,” said Greg Mitchell, manager at the company that provides curbside recycling services for Hatteras Island. “This is not just a localized thing. This is (happening) on a national level.”
VAUGHN HAGERTY: Deal would require toxicity studies for 5 chemicals released at NC plant (Carolina Public Press reports) — Studies into the potential toxicity of five additional fluorochemicals that Fayetteville-area chemical maker has been releasing could result in additional state health advisories, similar to the one in place for the same company’s release of GenX, according to a scientist who researches such compounds.
What seismic blasting off the coast would be like, it isn’t pretty (Charlotte Observer) -- The Trump administration on Nov. 30 gave five companies permission to conduct seismic airgun blasting off the coast of the Carolinas and other states, a major step toward offshore oil and gas drilling. Here’s what that would look like, directly off the Carolinas’ coasts and extending over an area twice as large as California: Ships crisscrossing the ocean dragging dozens of airguns. The guns fire off blasts that can be heard underwater 2,000 miles away up to every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day for months. The five companies would have up to 208 guns in the water at a time and would fire a combined five million blasts over the first year.
ADAM WAGNER: Did drilling off NC coast just move one step closer? (Wilmington Star-News reports) — A federal agency announced last month that companies exploring for oil and natural gas in the Atlantic Ocean could incidentally harass marine mammals using seismic airguns, a process that has been widely criticized by environmental groups and leaves the door open to further activity off the NC coast.
N.C. Aquariums join coalition in opposing Atlantic seismic testing (Outer Banks Sentinel reports) -- A coalition of major public aquariums has announced that they are opposed to the federal government’s pending issuance of permits to allow seismic testing along the East Coast in search of offshore oil and gas.
Residents speak against GenX deal between Chemours, state and environmental officials (Fayetteville Observer reports) — Residents who live around and downstream from the Chemours plant told state officials Tuesday that they don’t like a proposed agreement between the company, a state agency and an environmental group. The proposed consent order was signed Nov. 21 by the state Department of Environmental Quality, Chemours and Cape Fear River Watch. It requires the company to pay a $12 million penalty and $1 million in investigative costs to the state. Chemours also must provide drinking water to homes near its Bladen County plant that have elevated levels of GenX.
KEMP BURDETTE & GEOFF GISLER: Why we support the Chemours consent order (Wilmington Star-News column) -- Officials with Cape Fear River Watch, Southern Environmental Law Center lay out their case for settlement over GenX contamination. For Cape Fear River Watch, Wilmington is our home. We and our families drank contaminated water and we share the worries about what GenX and similar chemicals have done to our health. We hear the questions raised about the proposed consent order reached as a result of our lawsuits and we understand the concerns. Here’s why Cape Fear River Watch believes this is the best path forward:
BETSY LILLIAN: Duke Energy Receives Strong Response From Carolinas Solar RFP (Solar Industry Magazine reports) -- Duke Energy has announced the results of its request for proposals seeking solar energy in the Carolinas. The RFP opened to market participants in July. In the first tranche, Duke Energy sought 680 MW of solar capacity for the Carolinas, comprising 600 MW in Duke Energy Carolinas (DEC) and 80 MW in Duke Energy Progress. The bids received totaled more than four times the target amount for DEC and 15 times the amount for DEP. In total, there were 78 total projects that bid – representing more than 3,900 MW of renewable energy.
… AND MORE
John Drescher named deputy editor of national politics investigations team (Washington Post reports) -- John Drescher, former executive editor of the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., is joining The Post as a deputy editor on our National Politics Investigations team. John's arrival adds additional editing firepower to this distinguished group, which is led by Matea Gold and whose members have won Pulitzer Prizes three out of the last four years. In his new position, John will focus on federal government accountability coverage while also working on stories about President Trump's business interests, the Russia inquiry and other core subjects for the team.

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