Opinion Roundup: Legislative super-majority broken, turkeys pardoned, anti-semitism on Duke campus and Ft. Bragg prepares for Thanksviging

Democrat win in state Senate 19 seat breaks GOP super-majority (AP reports) – Kirk deViere, Democratic challenger for state Senate District 19 in Cumberland County has won the seat after Wesley Meredith, the Republican incumbent, failed to request a recount prior to the deadline to do so.

PAUL WOOLVERTON: Kirk deViere officially wins state Senate seat (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- Democrat Kirk deViere officially became the winner of the state Senate District 19 race when Republican state Sen. Wesley Meredith did not request a recount. DeViere’s lead grew to 433 votes when the vote count was completed and canvassed by the Cumberland County Board of Elections.

Stats show extent of gerrymandering’s political power (Fayetteville Observer) -- The tale of two states is fascinating and telling. Electoral districts drawn fairly by professionals tend to produce results that reflect the political makeup of the state’s voters, and the way they actually vote. Self-serving electoral districts, drawn by politicians with the aim of keeping themselves in control, tend to produce results that bear little resemblance to the state’s real political balance or the way voters cast their ballots.

Congressmen urge Duke to act before time runs out for Durham-Orange light rail (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- GoTriangle is working with Duke University to finalize the Erwin Road corridor before seeking federal money for the Durham-Orange light-rail project. Duke also needs to decide whether to donate land to the project.

LAURA LESLIE: State weighs changes to bail system to reduce burden on the poor (WRAL-TV reports) -- Members of the N.C. Courts Commission are gathering information about the need for changes to the state's pretrial release laws. The state is one of several weighing reforms of the cash bail system.

JONATHAN DREW: Innocence commission advances murder case to judicial review (AP reports) -- A man serving a life sentence for killing a N.C. college student has earned the chance to ask a judicial panel to set him free after a special state commission found evidence of his innocence, the state announced.

BRYAN MIMS: DOT readies supplies, trucks for winter's snow (WRAL-TV reports) -- While most North Carolinians are preparing this week for the Thanksgiving holiday, the state Department of Transportation is preparing for winter storms.

YESENIA JONES: N.C. tree takes place of honor at White House (WRAL-TV reports) -- A North Carolina Christmas tree arrived Monday in Washington, D.C., where it will be the center of an elaborate holiday celebration in the White House.

RICHARD CRAVER: Burr, Tillis push back against tighter FDA tobacco restrictions, particularly menthol cigarette ban (Winston-Salem Journal) -- Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis issued statements last week questioning the strategy of FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, especially considering that a Democratic-controlled Congress created a legal exemption for menthol cigarettes in 2009.

Protect special counsel Robert Mueller (Greensboro News & Record) -- It’s time for Republicans of principle — and we hope that includes North Carolina’s U.S. senators — to step up and put the Constitution and the good of the country ahead of party loyalty

JOSH DAWSEY & PAUL SONNE: After criticism, Trump considers visiting troops in Iraq or Afghanistan (Washington Post reports) -- The president has described the missions as “a total shame,” according to advisers. He also cited the long flights and potential security risks as reasons he has avoided combat-zone visits, they said.

State funding dries up so Apple Country Transit ending Edneyville bus route (Hendersonville Times-News reports) -- Apple Country Public Transit will discontinue its Edneyville bus route at the end of the month after a loss in state funding. On Dec. 1, Apple Country Public Transit will no longer offer the “green route,” which provided service to more 100 people in the Edneyville.

MYRON B. PITTS: Zany tradition of turkey pardoning takes flight in NC (Fayetteville Observer column) -- Is there a political tradition more silly than the annual White House turkey pardoning? Don’t answer, rhetorical question. There is not. First, what is really going on is more of a rescue, not a pardon. The turkey has not (usually) done anything wrong that would require a pardon.

LAUREN HORSCH: Pardoning turkeys, Cooper isn’t NC’s 1st governor to save animals from the dinner table (N.C. Insider/Durham Herald-Sun reports) – Gov. Roy Cooper, who was joined by first lady Kristin Cooper, pardoned two turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving.

Listen to the voters on four-year City Council terms (Charlotte Observer) -- Charlotte’s City Council is moving toward lengthening their terms from two years to four years. They should hold a referendum on staggered terms if they do anything at all.

Tillis to be featured speaker at Charles Taylor's annual holiday dinner (Asheville Citizen-Times reports) -- U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., will be the featured speaker at this year's Charles Taylor Holiday Dinner, an annual gathering of primarily Republican activists and officials put on by the former congressman and his family. Tillis is to be recognized for his support for confirming Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh and his work toward the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson.

SARAH KRUEGER: Swastika painted over mural on Duke's popular 'graffiti bridge' (WRAL-TV reports) -- An anti-Semitism symbol of hate was found was on the Duke University campus for the third time this semester.

Swastika painted on Duke mural honoring synagogue victims (AP reports) -- Duke University officials say someone painted a Nazi symbol on a mural honoring victims of last month's Pittsburgh synagogue massacre.

ALEX GRANADOS: The efficacy of Read to Achieve (EdNC reports) -- Recently, the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation published a report on the state’s Read to Achieve program, a state initiative pushed by the Republican-led General Assembly to make sure children are reading on grade level. The Friday Institute report has examined the first cohorts to go through the program and found no improvement as a result of Read to Achieve interventions.

EMERY DALESIO: Lawsuit continues against novelist Sparks, school he started (AP reports) -- The former headmaster of a private Christian school founded by novelist Nicholas Sparks can continue to sue the school, the author and the foundation Sparks created to support the school, a federal judge said.

YEN DUONG: State Health Officials Seek Input on Early Childhood Action Plan (N.C. Health News reports) -- The plan is aimed at producing better health and social outcomes for children in the state. DHHS is taking public input on the plan until the end of November.

Lawsuit says Atrium Health cheated workers out of benefits (AP reports) -- A federal class action lawsuit alleges Atrium Health falsely claimed to be a government entity and cheated employees out of retirement benefits.

N.C. commission latest to approve utility merger (AP reports) -- The N.C. Utilities Commission has approved the proposed merger of troubled South Carolina utility SCANA with Dominion Energy.

Duke Energy Begins Final Phase of Mt. Sterling Solar Project (Waynesville Mountaineer reports) -- Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that Duke Energy will remove utility poles and overhead power line along a 3.5-mile utility corridor that extends from the park boundary at Mt. Sterling Road (Hwy NC284) to the Mt. Sterling Fire Lookout Tower. The overhead power line is no longer needed due to the installation of a microgrid solar and battery facility to provide electrical power to park radio equipment.

JENNIFER ALLEN: State Law Dictates Displaced Boat Response (Coastal Review reports) -- There were hundreds of derelict, abandoned and displaced vessels found in coastal North Carolina waterways after Hurricane Florence, and about half remain where they were found, though the hazardous material was removed. Seven vessels of the 362 flagged by the U.S. Coast Guard were relocated because the vessels were in environmentally sensitive areas and 126 were moved or handled by the owner or a third party, such as a salvage company or through insurance, according to information provided by state Emergency Management, part of the state Department of Public Safety.

Out of the fire (Winston-Salem Journal) -- Among the many blessings for which we in the Triad can be thankful this week is the fact that we’re not suffering the kind of inferno that has devastated the lives of some of our neighbors in California.

YESENIA JONES: Fort Bragg dining halls prepare to serve hundreds on Thanksgiving (WRAL-TV reports) -- On Monday, 15 dining halls on Fort Bragg began preparing for one of the largest meals of the holiday season, Thanksgiving.

Edward Taylor ‘Ed’ Harper (Southport Pilot obit) -- Charles Edward Taylor "Ed" Harper, 71, of Southport passed away on Nov. 14. Harper took his first job with The News Reporter in Whiteville. In 1972, he returned to Southport and took over as editor of The State Port Pilot newspaper from his father, Jim, which he held until his death. He served as president of the N.C. Press Association, and his mother Margaret served as secretary-treasurer for several years.