Opinion

Opinion Roundup: Mark Meadows harassment debacle, N.C. traffic deaths, e-cigarettes and more

Monday, Nov. 19, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Midterm elections reveal effects of gerrymandered districts, final count flips one more NC House seat to Democrats, a step we should take to curb school violence, Mark Meadows reprimanded in handling of harassment allegations, addictive e-cigarettes have sucked our kids in and more.

Posted Updated
Ethics Committee Rebukes Meadows Over Aide’s Sexual Misconduct
Monday, Nov. 19, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Midterm elections reveal effects of gerrymandered districts, final count flips one more NC House seat to Democrats, a step we should take to curb school violence, Mark Meadows reprimanded in handling of harassment allegations, addictive e-cigarettes have sucked our kids in and more.
POLICY & POLITICS
CATIE EDMONDSON: Ethics Committee Rebukes N.C.’s Mark Meadows Over Aide’s Sexual Misconduct (New York Times reports) -- The House Ethics Committee issued a rare letter of reproval to Rep. Mark Meadows, R-NC, and chairman of the hard-line Freedom Caucus, for mishandling sexual harassment allegations against a top aide, after complaints from six female staff members that his former chief of staff frequently engaged in unwanted touching and stared down their blouses.
MARK BARRETT: Meadows bungled sexual harassment charges against staffer, must pay $40,625 (Asheville Citizen-Times reports) -- The House Ethics Committee formally sanctioned U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, saying he failed to act quickly enough after learning his then-chief of staff was sexually harassing female employees. The committee ordered Meadows, a Transylvania County Republican who represents much of Western North Carolina, to repay the government $40,625 in excessive pay given to former chief of staff Kenny West after West was demoted in April 2015. West's conduct "has no place in the House of Representatives," the committee report says, calling it "inappropriate in every sense of the word."
DEREK LACEY: Meadows reprimanded in handling of harassment allegations (Hendersonville Times-News reports) -- A report from the House Ethics Committee orders U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows to pay more than $40,000 back to the U.S. Treasury for continuing to pay a former staffer accused of sexually inappropriate behavior. The investigation followed reports in 2015 alleging Meadows’ former Chief of Staff Kenny West of sexual harassment.
MICHAEL BRICE-SADDLER: House Ethics Committee sanctions N.C. Republican and Nev. Democrat over sexual-harassment-related allegations (Washington Post reports) -- The House Ethics Committee formally sanctioned Republican Rep. Mark Meadows (N.C.) and Democratic Rep. Ruben Kihuen (Nev.) for offenses related to sexual harassment.
BRIAN MURPHY: NC congressman reprimanded by panel over response to sexual harassment allegations (McClatchy D.C.) -- Rep. Mark Meadows, a Republican from western N.C., must repay the government more than $40,000 after the House Ethics Committee found that Meadows didn’t do enough to address or prevent harassment by his former chief of staff. Meadows, chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, also received a reprimand from the committee, which began an investigation in 2016 after getting a referral from the independent Office of Congressional Ethics.

DAVID LIEB: Midterm elections reveal effects of gerrymandered districts (AP reports) -- With an election looming, courts earlier this year declared congressional districts in two states to be unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders. One map was redrawn. The other was not. The sharply contrasting outcomes that resulted on Election Day in Pennsylvania and North Carolina illustrate the importance of how political lines are drawn — and the stakes for the nation because that process helps determine which party controls Congress.

LAURA LESLIE: Final count flips one more NC House seat to Democrats (WRAL-TV reports) — According to official vote totals submitted Friday, state Republican lawmakers have lost their veto-proof majorities in both the House and the Senate, as Democrats maintained their election-night gains and picked up an additional House seat in Mecklenburg County.
CULLEN BROWDER: From aggressive to passive, police chase policies vary in NC (WRAL-TV reports) — High-speed chases are high danger for officers, suspected offenders and other drivers. A WRAL News investigation found how they are handled differs greatly from department to department. Not only are the rules of engagement different, so are the rules once a chase is underway.
DAVID MENCONI: ‘A public health crisis’ — Each pair of these shoes represents an NC traffic death (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — Last year, 1,412 people died in accidents on NC roads. They were memorialized Sunday as part of the annual World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims — with pairs of shoes representing the victims.
ANTIONETTE KERR: NC Groups: Gun Violence an Everyday Concern (Public News Service reports) — Last month's deadly shooting at a NC high school made the news, but some worry that the daily threat of gun violence isn't getting enough attention.
ROBERT SMITH: A step we should take to curb school violence (Wilmington Star-News column) — When we read that more students have been killed in U.S. school shootings this year than U.S. military personnel in combat operations -- as reported in The Washington Post -- there is a wave of suggestions on how to fix the problem. Last month, a student at a high school near Charlotte was fatally shot, with bullying identified as a factor.

GARY ROBERTSON: Dems on verge of ending GOP dominance in N.C. Senate (AP reports) -- Democratic challengers expanded vote advantages in some tight state Senate races as counties wrapped up final ballot counting. That puts their party on the verge of eliminating the Republicans' veto-proof majority in the chamber.

DAVID EGGERT: GOP Legislatures try to curb Democratic governors' power (AP reports) -- With their grip on power set to loosen come January, Republicans in several states are considering last-ditch laws that would weaken existing or incoming Democratic governors and advance their own conservative agendas. In N.C., Republicans may try to hash out the requirements of a new voter ID constitutional amendment before they lose their legislative supermajorities and their ability to unilaterally override vetoes by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. In Michigan, where the GOP has held the levers of power for nearly eight years, Republican legislators want to water down a minimum wage law they approved before the election so that it would not go to voters and would now be easier to amend. Republicans in neighboring Wisconsin are discussing ways to dilute Democrat Tony Evers' power before he takes over for GOP Gov. Scott Walker.

STEVE FORD: The 2018 election is a milestone on the path to change (Greensboro News & Record column) -- The first thing Gov. Roy Cooper did after he reported for work on Wednesday, Nov. 7, was to order up a generous new supply of red ink for his veto stamp.
TIM BUCKLAND: Lee concedes to Peterson in N.C. Senate race (Wilmington Star-News reports) -- Absentee, provisional ballots boost challenger’s margin for New Hanover state senate seat
JESSIE POUNDS: Michael Garrett officially declared winner over Trudy Wade (Greensboro News & Record reports) -- Democrat Michael Garrett has officially won the District 27 state senate race against Republican incumbent Trudy Wade. The Guilford County Board of Elections certified vote totals in that race and the other November general election races following their official canvass of the ballots.
PAUL WOOLVERTON: DeViere-Meredith race for N.C. Senate remains in recount zone (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- With the vote count completed and canvassed by the Cumberland County Board of Elections in the 2018 election, Democrat Kirk deViere’s lead over Republican state Sen. Wesley Meredith in the state Senate 19 race widened but remained close enough for Meredith to obtain a recount if he desires. DeViere now leads by 433 votes out of 59,197 ballots counted. That is up from a 306-vote margin in preliminary results announced on the night of Election Day.
TARIQ BOKHARI: You might start calling me a liberal, but we Republicans need to change (Charlotte Observer column) -- Charlotte City Council Republican says the GOP must be more open to progressives to win voters in America’s cities.
What’s next for voter ID (Winston-Salem Journal and Greensboro News & Record) -- After years of trying to pass laws to require photo IDs for voting, the Republican-led legislature finally succeeded grandly on Nov. 6 when its proposed constitutional amendment requiring such passed with a solid 55.6 percent of voters approving.
AARON ZITNER: Why House Votes and Political Power Often Don’t Match (Wall Street Journal reports) -- When the last few unresolved House races are settled, the results will show whether Democrats have broken an arcane but important losing streak: In the past four elections, they haven’t translated the House votes they have won nationally into equivalent power in the House.
ELIZABETH DIAS: Evangelicals, Looking to 2020, Face the Limits of Their Base (New York Times reports) -- In the aftermath of the midterms, some social conservatives advocate a softer approach to prevent an erosion at the edges of their support.
N.C.’s October Employment Figures Released (N.C. News Release) -- The state's seasonally adjusted October unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, decreasing 0.2 of a percentage point from September's revised rate, according to a news release Friday from the N.C. Department of Commerce. The national rate remained unchanged at 3.7 percent. N.C.'s October 2018 unemployment rate decreased 0.9 of a percentage point from a year ago.
LAURA LESLIE: Highway Patrol celebrates new troopers after losing three veterans this year (WRAL-TV reports) -- The State Highway Patrol has had a rough year, from deaths in the line of duty to hiring problems. But the patrol had reason to celebrate, as 14 troopers graduated from the training academy.
ROGER CHESLEY: Skip the PR spin. When will public investments in commerce park finally pay off? (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot column) -- Camden County has struggled getting tenants for the site off U.S. 17, a few miles from the border with Chesapeake. One business has committed, but the commerce park is notable for its vacancy.
KIM GRIZZARD: In the wake of synagogue shootings, multicultural coalition seeking unity (Greenville Daily Reflector reports) -- Five days after a deadly mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, people gathered in Greenville to share their sorrow. Two weeks later, some members of that same group have come together again to show their solidarity.
Hi Raleigh. It’s Charlotte. We know what comes after the Amazon snub (Charlotte Observer) -- Hi Raleigh. It’s Charlotte. We’re sorry you didn’t make Amazon’s final cut this week for a second headquarters. We were pulling for you. Really. We’re sure you were a little disappointed, but you also were part of a group of 20 finalist cities, which was quite an accomplishment. Now you join the 200-plus other cities who were certain they were No. 21. Welcome to the HQ2 Losers Club.
TIM WHITE: Let’s toast a true hero whose cause is civility (Fayetteville Observer column) -- Dan Crenshaw is my new hero. It could be about his heroic service as a Navy SEAL, which caused him to suffer the loss of one eye and other physical problems that will be with him for life, thanks to an IED explosion in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan in 2012. The retired lieutenant commander earned a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star and a Navy Commendation Medal. He left the Navy with a medical discharge in 2016.
And now we’ve got BoozeGate (Fayetteville Observer) — Call it a tempest in a gin mill. Or call it Cumberland County BoozeGate. Whatever we name it, it renews our question about what state and county government are doing in the liquor business anyway.
Deborah Maxwell: Empty promises about oil and gas (Fayetteville Observer column) — Drilling applications are granted in a discriminatory manner, and the most dangerous infrastructure, including refineries, are often placed closest to communities of color. As a result, long-term health risks caused by refineries and other aspects of drilling operations are especially prevalent in these communities.
CELIA RIVENBARK: I feel your pain, Ted Cruz (Wilmington Star-News column) Believe it or not, I now have something in common with Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz and two more prominent Republicans, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and former EPA chief Scott Pruitt. No, I don’t collect the fresh tears of Hispanic children separated from their parents and encase them in Pandora charms, although that WAS a good guess.
EDUCATION
MICHAEL BRAGG: ‘ENTER AND WIN!’ says NC superintendent’s offer of $250 in school testing survey (Winston-Salem Journal reports) – Superintendent Mark Johnson is hoping to learn more about what parents think of testing in schools and is doing so through an email survey. Johnson sent the email out, with the subject line, “Too much testing in school? Tell the State Superintendent for a chance to win $250.”
New Rhodes scholars include N.C. student at Duke (Inside Higher Ed reports) -- The Rhodes Trust named 32 new winners of Rhodes Scholarships – including Duke University’s Ariel Kantor of Chapel Hill -- which cover two or three years of study at the University of Oxford. The new class has more women (21) than any prior class. Almost half of the class consists of immigrants or first-generation Americans. The class also includes one person in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. This is the first year that DACA students were eligible. Elite private institutions in the East tend to do particularly well in the competition for Rhodes Scholarships. Duke, Princeton and Yale Universities each had three winners.
3 Duke seniors named Rhodes scholars (Duke U. News) -- Three Duke University seniors were among the 32 recipients selected this weekend for prestigious Rhodes Scholarships. UNC beats Maryland 2-0 in NCAA field hockey championship (AP reports) -- Megan DuVernois and Erin Matson scored first-half goals, Amanda Hendry made five saves and No. 1 North Carolina beat No. 2 Maryland 2-0 on Sunday to win its seventh NCAA field hockey championship.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools steps up security measures (AP reports) -- The second largest school system in North Carolina, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, is increasing its security measures in light of a fatal shooting at one school and incidents at three separate schools this week.

HUNTER INGRAM: With SpaceX launch Monday, UNCW heading to outer space (Wilmington Star-News reports) – UNC-Wilmington could be going somewhere it’s never been before -- outer space. Years of research and work at the school will be put to the test when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches a UNCW-designed satellite -- dubbed SeaHawk-1 -- that captures images of the Earth’s oceans from space. The satellite will be one of dozens of small satellites hitching a ride into orbit on board the rocket. The purpose of the UNCW satellite, which will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, is to capture high-resolution images of the oceans that can help scientists better understand their health, their patterns and, hopefully, their future.
ALFRED CHARLES: 3 days in a row: Another threat reported at Goldsboro schools (WRAL reports) — Goldsboro High School and Wayne School of Engineering received another threat Thursday. The threat marks the third day the schools have been threatened in a row. The schools have been threatened a total of five days.
T. KEUNG HUI: NC schools chief offered a $250 prize to take a survey, and 22,000 parents responded (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- State Schools Superintendent Mark Johnson emailed parents around the state with an offer of a chance to win $250 if they took an online survey about student testing. Critics say it’s a PR scheme.
ED KITCHEN & SUSAN SHORE SCHWARTZ: Kids need to arrive in kindergarten prepared to read well (Greensboro News & Record column) -- Like others, we read with interest and disappointment the article on Oct. 18 about North Carolina’s Read to Achieve Initiative, which appears to have had little effect on reading scores for the first students exposed to the program.
HEALTH
ISAAC STANLEY-BECKER: Anti-vaccination stronghold in N.C. hit with state’s worst chickenpox outbreak in 2 decades (Washington Post reports) -- Chickenpox has taken hold of a school in N.C. where many families claim religious exemption from vaccines. Cases of chickenpox have been multiplying at the Asheville Waldorf School, which serves children from nursery school to sixth grade in Asheville, N.C. About a dozen infections grew to 28.
SAM DEGRAVE: Leader in vaccine exemption, Asheville Waldorf has NC's worst chickenpox outbreak since '95 (Asheville Citizen-Times reports) -- A chickenpox outbreak at a private school now ranks as the state's largest since a vaccine for the virus became available more than 20 years ago, health officials say. As of Friday, 36 students at Asheville Waldorf School had contracted the varicella virus, known to most as chickenpox. The school has one of the highest vaccination religious exemption rates in North Carolina.
AMY GOLDSTEIN: 3 deep red states vote to expand Medicaid (Washington Post reports) -- Citizen power propelled the biggest expansion of Medicaid in heavily Republican states since the early years of the Affordable Care Act, with hundreds of thousands of poor and vulnerable residents standing to gain health coverage as a result of Tuesday’s elections. Voters in Idaho, Nebraska and Utah approved ballot initiatives.
THOMAS GOLDSMITH: “Choice Overload” Can Cause Consumers Trouble During Medicare Open Enrollment (N.C. Health News reports) -- Consumers watch out: Open enrollment for Medicare lasts until Dec. 7, except for Medicare Advantage enrollees, who have more time.
RICK ARMSTRONG: Peanut allergy treatment born in the Triangle getting close to FDA approval (WRAL reports) — Work on peanut allergies that originated in the Triangle is now getting the attention of the Food and Drug Administration. Noah Schaffer was among the children involved in early trials, first through Duke University and later through the University of NC. When he was just a year old, Noah took a bite of a peanut butter cookie and had an immediate reaction.
GIBBIE HARRIS: In no time, addictive e-cigarettes have sucked our kids in (Charlotte Observer column) — Recently Juul Labs started running full-page ads in newspapers across the country announcing its product is for adults and it is on a mission to “improve lives.” While the Juuling phenomenon has drawn nationwide attention, our youth have been Juuling in classrooms and homes since 2015.
KATE MARTIN: Hospital sale would create massive foundation if approve (Carolina Public Press reports) — Sometime late this year or early next, N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein could decide whether Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare can buy nonprofit Mission Health’s collection of hospitals and clinics in Western NC. The sale’s value could exceed $1.5 billion, according to some estimates. That money would be used to form Dogwood Health Trust, a nonprofit focused on the health of residents in NC’s 18 westernmost counties.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Buildings drying out; can we keep them that way in next storm? (Wilmington Star News) — When we build and rebuild, standards on storm-resistance need to be higher and designs smarter. The good news is that there are resources out there to do just that.
First Phase of Interim Cleanup Completed at CTS Superfund Site in Asheville (EPA News Release) -- A significant milestone was reached this week in the cleanup of the CTS of Asheville, Inc. Superfund Site. The first phase of the interim cleanup to address contaminants beneath the former CTS plant has been completed – removing approximately 5,600 pounds of trichloroethene and over 12,000 gallons of light non-aqueous phase liquid safely from the subsurface.
VAIL STEWART RUMLEY: Stricter guidelines to direct solar farm construction (Washington Daily News reports) – The Beaufort County ordinance sets more stringent guidelines for the siting, construction, installation and operation of solar energy facilities, including presentation of a maintenance plan and an abandonment and decommissioning plan before a permit to build the facility is issued by county. The decommissioning plan requires facility owners to provide the county a guaranteed way to pay for decommissioning the site, such as a bond or cash that will be placed in escrow.
AND MORE…
LIZ BIRO: Our Coast’s Food; Mac and Cheese (Coastal Review column) -- Liz Biro explains why you should add a baked macaroni and cheese, served at many southern tables during Thanksgiving, to your holiday dinner table.
LIZ BIRO: Our Coast’s Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup (Coastal Review column) -- The best Thanksgiving recipes also tell N.C.’s food story.
Ode to a store-ied past (Winston-Salem Journal) — It’s not really the end of an era, but another sign of changing times that Sears Holdings, the parent company of Sears and Kmart, recently declared bankruptcy, leading to the imminent closing of the Sears department store at Hanes Mall. As we head into the holiday season — emphasized by Thanksgiving for some and Black Friday for others — let’s remember what once was America’s largest retailer and is still an American icon.

Related Topics

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.