Opinion

Opinion Roundup: Democrats have advantage in General Assembly, close congressional races, moving factory farms out of floodplains and more

Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Durham students get to start day late to allow for Election Day crowds, N.C. Democrats have advantage in vote for General Assembly and U.S. House, Wake DA looks at House speaker's roles as private attorney, calls to hotline for sex assault victims spike after Kavanaugh hearings, Christine Blasey Ford nominated for UNC award for her 'courage' and 'inspiration,' lawmakers leery of handing money out to farmers and more.

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Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Durham students get to start day late to allow for Election Day crowds, N.C. Democrats have advantage in vote for General Assembly and U.S. House, Wake DA looks at House speaker's roles as private attorney, calls to hotline for sex assault victims spike after Kavanaugh hearings, Christine Blasey Ford nominated for UNC award for her ‘courage’ and ‘inspiration,' lawmakers leery of handing money out to farmers and more.
CAMPAIGN 2018
In N.C., Democrats Have Advantage In Vote for General Assembly and U.S. House; Earls Leads for NC Supreme Court (Survey USA) -- A polarized North Carolina electorate has 4 weeks to return a ballot in what may be the most contentious midterm election ever, according to SurveyUSA research conducted for Spectrum News North Carolina. When likely voters are asked how they will vote in their local contest for NC general assembly, 47% say they will vote for the Democratic candidate, 42% say they will vote for the Republican candidate. When likely voters are asked how they will vote in their local contest for U.S. House of Representative, 48% say they will vote for the Democratic candidate, 43% say they will vote for the Republican candidate. In both cases, moderates break decisively for the Democrat.
ALBERT HUNT: It's center versus right in N.C. (Bloomberg News column) -- There’s an unusual political commercial running these days around Charlotte, showing a candidate being baptized with water from the Euphrates River while serving as a U.S. Marine in Iraq. The candidate is Dan McCready, who’s running for the U.S. House of Representatives as a newcomer and moderate Democrat against Mark Harris, a Baptist pastor and Christian evangelical leader. One of the stars of the Democrats’ class of challengers for Republican-held House seats in the November midterm election, McCready is inoculating himself against the customary charge from the religious right that Democrats are anti-faith left-wingers.
JIM MORRILL: In a close NC congressional race, VP’s wife makes a pitch for the women’s vote (Charlotte Observer reports) — With two high-profile events, supporters of Republican congressional candidate Mark Harris are taking aim for what’s likely to be the largest group of voters in next month’s elections: Women.
MYRON PITTS: Unused voting power does not disappear, it’s transferred (Fayetteville Observer column) — There is power in voting. I know we hear that expression so much it’s become cliche. What is said less often but still is true is that there is power in not voting, too. When an eligible voter refrains from voting, that power he or she gives away does not disappear into the ether. It goes to someone else. Namely, to someone who voted.
Want political change? Then you’ve got to vote (Fayetteville Observer) — It’s hard to imagine how the political noise could get louder, how left and right could be more at odds. But we might have said that two years ago too, and now we know the answer: Yes, it could get worse. Hard to believe that only a few years ago, people had reasonable political disagreements, which they discussed rationally and civilly.
Durham students get to start day late to allow for Election Day crowds (WRAL-TV reports) — Given that 21 Durham schools serve as polling locations and higher-than-normal traffic expected at those locations for the mid-term elections, the Durham board of education voted in favor of a delay for classes to eliminate some congestion.
POLICY & POLITICS
TRAVIS FAIN: Wake DA looks at House speaker's roles as private attorney, public legislator (WRAL-TVreports) — The Wake County District Attorney's Office is probing some of House Speaker Tim Moore's legal dealings in what the chief prosecutor stressed Monday is "not at the level of a criminal investigation."
DAN KANE: Prosecutor asks SBI to review allegations raised about House speaker Moore (Charlotte Observer reports) -- House Speaker Tim Moore says he received $40,000 in legal fees from KNOW Bio, a company headed by Neal Hunter, a developer he previously aided with legislation. Moore said the work had nothing to do with his lawmaking. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman seeks more details.
SCOTT SEXTON: Swastika posted on neighborhood lawn leaves Holocaust survivor hoping for teachable moment (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- At first blush, on a quick pass via automobile, the small signs that sprouted in a lawn on a quiet dead-end street didn’t look to be much more than one guy expressing his opinion.
COLIN CAMPBELL: Executive boards (The Insider reports) -- Gov. Roy Cooper issued executive orders to re-establish six state boards and commissions after he won a court victory in a long-running battle with the legislature over his appointment powers.
COLIN CAMPBELL: Prison healthcare (The Insider reports) -- The state's prison system could save millions of dollars on inmate healthcare costs under draft legislation proposed by the General Assembly's Program Evaluation Division. The reports and draft bills -- presented Monday to the Joint Legislative Program Evaluation Oversight Committee -- show the prison system is missing opportunities to cut prescription drug costs, use telemedicine, and get cheaper contracts for medical services.
AMANDA LAMB: Calls to hotline for sex assault victims spike after Kavanaugh hearings (WRAL-TV reports) — As divisive as the confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh were, advocates for sexual assault victims say there may be some good that comes out of it.
Donald Trump is probably a tax crook. The response to it might be worse (Charlotte Observer) — When faced with the New York Times investigation, did Donald Trump fight back with ferocity, as any normal public official might do? No. He called the report “boring.” America apparently agrees. The response to the NYT investigation has been muted, and that might be the most alarming news of all.
REP. DAVID PRICE: ‘Extremely partisan’ Kavanaugh confirmation disappoints (Durham-Herald Sun column) — From the start, we’ve known Brett Kavanaugh was an extremely partisan judge, handpicked by ideological interest groups hellbent on undermining voting rights, unions, environmental protection, and reproductive freedom. In addition, his views on executive authority underscore the urgent need for Congress to protect the special counsel investigation.
CHARLES DUNCAN: Kavanaugh accuser Ford nominated for UNC award for her ‘courage’ and ‘inspiration’ (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — A group of faculty, students and alums at UNC-Chapel Hill are nominating Christine Blasey Ford for a Distinguished Alumna Award after she testified before a Senate panel about her sexual assault allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Congratulations to Justice Kavanaugh (Winston-Salem Journal) — Our politics today have caught a fever; they’re angry and bitter. It falls to our leaders, especially those who have power, to walk us back from the brink and heal our divisions. But too many of them push and promote our divisions instead.
HURRICANE FLORENCE RECOVERY
MATTHEW BURNS: Lawmakers leery of handing money out to farmers after Florence (WRAL-TV reports) — State agriculture officials pressed lawmakers Monday for financial assistance to NC farmers reeling after Hurricane Florence, but some members of an oversight committee expressed reservations about handing money directly over to farmers.
GARY ROBERTSON: N.C.ag chief makes $300M-plus request on Florence aid (AP reports) – N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler has asked state legislators Monday for over $300 million to address cleanup and recovery after Hurricane Florence, with most going toward direct payments to farmers who lost crops and livestock to help them stay in business.
Court blocks tree removal company after price-gouging claim (AP reports) — A NC judge is shutting down a tree-removal company temporarily after the state's attorney general accused it of price gouging after Hurricane Florence.
Governor redirects $25M to repair schools hit by Florence (AP reports) — Gov. Cooper is taking hold of state lottery profits and sending $25 million to repair schools with immediate needs after damage caused by Hurricane Florence.
ADAM WAGNER: Over Flo: Florence caused slew of sewage spills (Wilmington Star-News reports) — More than 23 million gallons of sewage were spilled in Brunswick and New Hanover counties as Hurricane Florence affected the area, including a Carolina Beach spill that is NC’s fourth-largest since 2000.
JENNIFER ALLEN: Coastal Communities Grapple With Debris (Coastal Review Online reports) — Weeks after Hurricane Florence, communities along the N.C. coast are still dealing with vast amounts and various types of storm debris, bringing in contractors to help clear the roadside piles.
LISA PHILIP: After Florence, Wilmington Teacher Looks To Support Students Through Their Loss - And Her Own (WUNC-FM reports) -- Since the day Hurricane Florence began battering the North Carolina coast, WUNC’s education reporters have been following staff and families in New Hanover County Schools, as they first weathered the storm, and now work to put their classrooms and schools back together.
JASON DEBRUYN: FEMA Sets Up Hurricane Relief HQ in Research Triangle Park (WUNC-FM reports) -- That FEMA even has a statewide headquarters comes thanks to IBM, the software company with a long history in Research Triangle Park. Gov. Roy Cooper's office called to ask for space. And two days later, IBM provided both office and warehouse space in a six-month rental agreement that serves as the statewide response headquarters.
DANA SARGENT: Move factory farms out of floodplain (Wilmington Star-News column) -- More than three weeks after Hurricane Florence made landfall near Wilmington on Sept. 14, flood waters in some areas continue to linger. Our hearts are with the those who lost loved ones, and those who have suffered property losses.
HEALTH
EMERY DALESIO: Recovering addicts sue rehab boss for unpaid labor (AP reports) — A federal lawsuit contends the operators of a NC drug rehab program farmed out recovering addicts to work in adult care homes and restaurants and pocketed the wages for the labor they performed.
EDUCATION
‘She was legend’ — Duke professor, physician and activist Brenda Armstrong dies at 69 (Durham Herald-Sun obit) -- Dr. Brenda Armstrong, a professor and dean at Duke University School of Medicine, died Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018. Part of the university’s fabric since she was an undergraduate, Armstrong left a legacy of advocacy, inclusion and service.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
MARK PRICE: ‘Explosively breeding’ frogs are literally dropping from above in NC, experts say (Charlotte Observer reports) — A population explosion of tens of thousands of frogs and toads has emerged on NC’s coastal plain, leading to social media reports of frogs found hopping on kitchen counters, crawling in beds and even falling on people as they step outside.
ANNA JOHNSON: ‘Unhealthy levels’ of chemicals likely in thousands of Wake County wells (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — After testing hundreds of wells, Wake County estimates about one in five wells in eastern Wake County exceed the safe drinking-water standards for uranium and radium. Some test results show levels 10 to 20 times higher than the standard.
AND MORE…
JEFF HAMPTON: Hungry bears are trashing N.C. community. Special garbage bins may be the answer. (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports) -- Manns Harbor lies next to a refuge with a heavy population of black bears that love trash.

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