Thursday, June 30, 2016
Budget "Correction" Set To Take $500,000 From Emergency Relief Fund To Pay For HB 2 Litigation
Posted By Paul Blest on Thu, Jun 30, 2016 at 4:29 PM
The budget is still being hashed out in the North Carolina General Assembly, but this tidbit from WRAL makes it seem like Republicans are doing a bit of charity work by helping Democrats write their talking points in November. Those budget technical corrections were tacked onto an unrelated bill, House Bill 805, Thursday morning in the Senate Appropriations Committee. Among the dozens of provisions, it transfers $500,000 from the state's Emergency Response and Disaster Relief Fund to Gov. Pat McCrory's office in order to handle litigation over House Bill 2. "The governor asked for it," Senate Budget Chairman Harry Brown,...
The Morning Roundup: N.C. Budget Happening Now
Posted By Jane Porter on Thu, Jun 30, 2016 at 8:56 AM
Buenos dias, mis queridos amigos. In Raleigh, the sunflowers bloom. 1. Here it comes. The state budget is available for viewing. I have nothing further to add. ...
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools Names Interim Superintendent
Posted By Danny Hooley on Thu, Jun 30, 2016 at 7:22 AM
On Wednesday night, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education unanimously chose retired Johnston County Superintendent Jim Causby as interim superintendent, as the school system searches for a permanent replacement for Tom Forcella, who is leaving at the end of July. The decision to hire Causby was also announced in a CHCCS news release on Wednesday night. An excerpt: "In considering several people for an interim superintendent, we were pleased to hear how Dr. Causby’s deep understanding of the interim superintendent role and emphasis on working with all staff fit with CHCCS and this board,” said Board of Education Chair James Barrett. “That will...
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Did House Majority Leader Mike Hager Leak the HB 2 ‘Fix’ to Try to Doom It?
Posted By Paul Blest on Wed, Jun 29, 2016 at 11:40 AM
You may have heard yesterday that there may be some changes to HB 2. WBTV in Charlotte posted "draft legislation" of something called the "Privacy, Dignity, and Safety for All Act," which the station says was dreamed up by the House leadership. The bill creates "a certificate of sex reassignment" that trans people would have to carry around instead of a birth certificate—which definitely isn't unconstitutional, weird, or reminiscent of Nazi Germany at all. The bill, as presented, would also restore the state cause of action required to sue for employment discrimination, although it puts the power for that in the hands...
The Morning Roundup: Crunch Time in the Legislature
Posted By David Hudnall on Wed, Jun 29, 2016 at 9:07 AM
Getting closer to that sweet, sweet, holiday weekend. News for you: 1. N.C. Senate close to approving budget. WRAL notes: Senators on Tuesday took the first of two votes needed to approve a $22.34 billion state budget for the fiscal year that starts Friday. The bill passed 33-16, and a final vote is set for Wednesday. The final budget adopts a Senate plan to expand the personal exemption, income on which North Carolinians pay no taxes. For a married couple filing jointly, that personal exemption expands from $15,500 to $16,500 for the current tax year and then to $17,500 for the...
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Senator Fletcher Hartsell Indicted In Wake County Court, Under Federal Investigation
Posted By Paul Blest on Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 1:29 PM
Senator Fletcher Hartsell (R-Concord), the longest-serving legislator currently in the Senate, has been indicted by a Wake County grand jury, on three counts of knowingly certifying incorrect campaign finance documents. From Lynn Bonner and Anne Blythe at the N&O: The state Board of Elections voted about a year ago to forward results of its lengthy examination of Hartsell’s campaign-finance expenditures to state and federal prosecutors on the belief that he had used campaign money to pay personal expenses. A federal investigation is pending. A News & Observer investigation of Hartsell’s campaign spending triggered the state’s extensive review. The state investigation...
Light Rail Funding Once Again Jeopardized by State Budget
Posted By David Hudnall on Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 12:07 PM
You'll recall that, last year, the Durham to Orange Light Rail Transit project was derailed by a sneaky, last-minute provision inserted into the state budget that capped state spending on light-rail projects at $500,000. The D-O LRT funding plan called for the state to contribute $400 million. Because of the way the budget process works, it's difficult to know who was responsible for slipping the provision into the budget, and because the Republican leadership is spineless and secretive, not a single GOP official stepped forward to claim authorship of it. Democracy, baby! Some Republicans, including Gov. Pat McCrory (who pushed...
The Morning Roundup: Are You Ready for Buck Newton, Immigration Czar?
Posted By Danny Hooley on Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 8:47 AM
Good morning. Let's get right to it. 1. Republican leaders have come to an agreement on the state budget. From WNCN: Budget-writer Rep. Nelson Dollar says average pay raises for teachers will be 4.7 percent, with the increases weighted toward mid-career and veteran instructors. Rank-and-file workers would get at least 1.5 percent raises and small bonuses. There’s also money for merit-based raises. More personal income wouldn’t be subject to taxes this calendar year and next. Democrats say they were shut out of the process entirely: “We did not get to help shape the final bill and we did not...
North Carolina House Advances Body Camera Bill That Defeats Purpose of Body Cameras
Posted By David Hudnall on Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 5:08 AM
Communities across North Carolina (and the entire country) have spent a great deal of time over the last year trying to iron out thoughtful policies regarding how accessible police body camera footage should be. It's tricky business, a balancing act of transparency objectives and privacy concerns. But the entire reason these conversations are taking place is because people want more accountability from their police departments; they want evidence that what officers write in their reports lines up with what actually happened on the street. They don't want what happened with Laquan McDonald to happen in their cities and towns. Both...
Monday, June 27, 2016
Supreme Court Will Consider N.C. Redistricting Case
Posted By Paul Blest on Mon, Jun 27, 2016 at 10:46 AM
The Supreme Court's last batch of opinions for this term are flooding out, including a 5-3 decision against Texas' draconian abortion law. The Court is also deciding which cases to take up for the next term, and it turns out North Carolina's awful Congressional redistricting back in 2011, which was ruled unconstitutional earlier this year, will be on the docket. A decision against the North Carolina General Assembly could signal a huge blow against gerrymandering. From Politico: The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether North Carolina's 2011 Congressional redistricting plan violated the Constitution by relying too heavily on...
State Senate Candidate: Did Orlando Victims Deserve It?
Posted By Paul Blest on Mon, Jun 27, 2016 at 10:22 AM
Bob Diamond is a pharmacist from Charlotte who's running for state Senate. Diamond fancies himself as a guy who tells it like it really is, and ask the questions everyone else is afraid to, such as: did the 49 victims who were pointlessly and tragically murdered in an Orlando gay nightclub "deserve it?" Over the weekend, the North Carolina Democratic Party dug up a Google Plus post that Diamond made in the wake of the shooting. The post links to a blog on ncpastors.net written by Dave Kistler, president of the North Carolina Pastors' Network, who in the past...
The Morning Roundup: The Final Stretch
Posted By Paul Blest on Mon, Jun 27, 2016 at 8:30 AM
Good morning. Let's get to it. 1. The General Assembly could ajourn this week. Rep. Chuck McGrady says that the House and Senate's budget compromise will probably be online tomorrow night. Republicans tell Colin Campbell that the GA will probably be out this week. Moore, the House speaker, said the House still hoped to end the session by the Fourth of July, “but we’ll just have to see what progress we make.” Moore put the odds at adjourning the session before the holiday at “50-50.” [Senator Harry Brown responded: “I think it’s better than that.” “We’re going to be gone...
Friday, June 24, 2016
N.C. Court of Appeals: Wake Prosecutor Whose Father Was Kidnapped Knowingly Suppressed Evidence in Armed Robbery Case
Posted By Jane Porter on Fri, Jun 24, 2016 at 9:15 AM
If the name Colleen Janssen sounds familiar, it's because she's been, tangentially, in the news lately. On Tuesday, a federal jury found gang leader Kelvin Melton guilty of masterminding the kidnapping of Janssen's father, Frank Janssen, in April of 2014. Colleen Janssen, the prosecutor in a 2012 case that sent Melton to prison for life for attempted murder was the intended target in the botched kidnapping, federal prosecutors successfully argued. But on the same day Melton was found guilty, three North Carolina Court of Appeals judges found that Colleen Janssen committed prosecutorial misconduct in another, unrelated case that she was...
Durham County / national / news / politics / Wake County
The Morning Roundup: Anarchy in the U.K.
Posted By Jeffrey C. Billman on Fri, Jun 24, 2016 at 8:18 AM
So, there is some news this morning from across the pond. By a 52–48 margin, the United Kingdom—swept up in the same sort of economically illiterate, racism-laced populism that gave rise to Donald Trump—voted yesterday to leave the European Union. From The New York Times: Britain has voted to leave the European Union, a historic decision sure to reshape the nation’s place in the world, rattle the Continent and rock political establishments throughout the West. Not long after the vote tally was completed, Prime Minister David Cameron, who led the campaign to remain in the bloc, appeared in front...
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Tillis: I'd Arrest Sit-In Participants "If That's What's Necessary"
Posted By Paul Blest on Thu, Jun 23, 2016 at 2:48 PM
Yesterday, Congressman Mark Walker (R-Greensboro) called the House sit-in to force gun control votes organized by Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), civil rights legend who was beaten for organizing nonviolent protests, a "disgrace to Woolworth's." But this afternoon, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) did Walker one better by straight up advocating for the police to just start arresting sitting members of Congress. From Talking Points Memo: “The business of the House is more important than the antics that we see going on there, and if it were my chamber, it would be cleared and people would be arrested, if that's what's necessary to...
The Morning Roundup: Rallies in Raleigh
Posted By Jane Porter on Thu, Jun 23, 2016 at 8:15 AM
Good morning, folks. Here's your news for Thursday. 1. Hillary Clinton spoke at the N.C. State Fairgrounds on Wednesday for nearly an hour, outlining her plans for the economy, including paid family leave and raising the minimum wage. Other salient points: she wants free tuition at public universities, infrastructure and clean energy spending, collective bargaining rights for unions and for companies to share their profits with employees and avoid sending jobs overseas. The crux of her argument? That Trump has no credible plans for creating jobs or rebuilding infrastructure "except for his wall." Clinton also took some jabs at Governor...
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
N.C. Congressman Explains Sit-Ins to Civil Rights Legend Who Has Been Beaten for Organizing Sit-Ins
Posted By Paul Blest on Wed, Jun 22, 2016 at 5:51 PM
You may or may not have heard, but the House Democratic caucus (and several Democratic Senators), led by U.S. Representative John Lewis (D-Georgia), are staging a sit-in today on the floor of the House to force a vote on the gun control measures rejected by the Senate. Republicans have been completely embarrassed by this all day. Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the plug on the House's TV cameras, cutting off access to C-SPAN for Americans to see the protest as it unfolded. (C-SPAN is currently streaming a Periscope video of the House floor from California Congressman Scott Peters, in lieu of...
N.C. GOP's New Spokeswoman is #NeverTrump
Posted By Jane Porter on Wed, Jun 22, 2016 at 4:08 PM
The North Carolina Republican party announced Tuesday that it hired a new communications director, the winsome, yet approachable, Kami Mueller. Mueller worked formerly for the North Carolina Values Coalition's #KeepNCSafe campaign trying to drum up support for HB 2. Mueller is not a fan of likely GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump as a series of her Tweets, sent out by the N.C. Democratic party today, makes clear. To be fair, Mueller asks some pretty darn good questions. ...
The Morning Roundup: Hillary's Here, Sextortion, Abortions, and More
Posted By David Hudnall on Wed, Jun 22, 2016 at 9:15 AM
Wednesday the 22nd. Your news: 1. Hillary's in town. Clinton will speak in Raleigh today. From the News and Observer: Clinton’s event, scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at the Fairgrounds Expo Center, is her first campaign stop in North Carolina since becoming her party’s presumptive nominee. Her campaign says she will “discuss her vision for an America that is stronger together and her commitment to build an economy that works for everyone.” The state's two biggest Democratic down-ballot candidates, Roy Cooper (governor) and Deborah Ross (U.S. Senate), will not be in attendance, the N&O reports. 2. Melton found guilty. Following a...
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Area Governor Embroiled In Public Records Lawsuit Unaware What Irony Means
Posted By Paul Blest on Tue, Jun 21, 2016 at 4:03 PM
Governor Pat McCrory's campaign attacked Attorney General Roy Cooper's lack of accountability in a campaign stunt today, setting up a hotline for people to report "missing" Roy Cooper. When one calls this hotline, they're greeted by a woman saying, "Have you seen Attorney General Roy Cooper? He's supposed to be at work, but he doesn't release his public schedule, so no one knows where he is or what he's doing all day. Last seen running away from reporters trying to ask about his plan to raise taxes on North Carolina families, he may have fled to Hollywood or Washington D.C....
Welcome to the INDY's Raleigh City Council Live Blog
Posted By Jane Porter on Tue, Jun 21, 2016 at 1:21 PM
It's that third Tuesday again. While not quite at capacity, council chambers has got a lot of visitors, including firefighters and their supporters who are still fighting for that raise, even though the council approved the budget—sans raises for first responders—yesterday afternoon. 1:14: Mayor Nancy has called the meeting to order. Alfred Leech, chair of the board of directors of Passage Home, is here. The nonprofit aimed at "breaking the cycle of poverty" in Raleigh is here; it gets grant money from the city of Raleigh. It restores buildings, builds new housing etc. in southeast Raleigh. 1:17: Mayor Nancy says...
The Morning Roundup: Senate Deadlock on Guns Continues, Perhaps for Eternity
Posted By Danny Hooley on Tue, Jun 21, 2016 at 8:35 AM
Happy Tuesday, everybody. This just in: the U.S. Senate still sucks. 1. That moment you know you're going to Hell when you die. Many Senate Republicans already experienced this epiphany when they endorsed Donald for president, of course. And some in particular are so bigoted and hateful that they seem to have sold their souls for a spot in the "whites-only" section of eternal damnation, if all they need to do in return is keep defending that endorsement, for whatever fleeting earthly reward it may bring. But if any of them glimpsed a future of torment for the very first...
Monday, June 20, 2016
Raleigh Council Considering Re-Appointing Board Member With Low Attendance Record
Posted By Jane Porter on Mon, Jun 20, 2016 at 4:01 PM
Serving on one of Raleigh's myriad boards or commissions can surely be thankless but board members play a crucial advisory role to the city council, and if you're appointed to serve, you are pretty much expected to show up to meetings just like at your real job. When considering whether to re-appoint members to the city's Convention and Performing Arts Centers Authority two weeks ago, Council member Dickie Thompson—the liaison to that board—noted that one member had a 57 percent attendance record and said he would like to talk with her to see what's going on before re-appointing her. "I...
Civil Rights Icon Ann Atwater, July 1, 1935 - June 20, 2016
Posted By Danny Hooley on Mon, Jun 20, 2016 at 1:06 PM
On Monday morning, Durham learned the sad news that legendary civil rights activist Ann Atwater had died at the age of eighty. Her lasting legacy includes her longtime work with the poverty-fighting Operation Breakthrough. Born in Hallsboro, N.C. in 1935, Atwater came to Durham as a married teenager. She witnessed and experienced, poverty and discrimination in Durham. She didn't like the way she saw welfare office workers treated recipients. So she confronted them. She was active in the Durham business boycott of 1968. And things changed. Back in the 1960s and seventies, Atwater was not above, say, thumping some...
N.C. Republican Delegates Would Pay a Price, Literally, to Dump Trump
Posted By Danny Hooley on Mon, Jun 20, 2016 at 11:37 AM
So it seems a bunch of Republican Never-Trumpers — like, a thousand — got on a conference call Sunday night to plan a strategy for untethering themselves, as delegates, from ol' Fuckface Von Clownstick. From ABC News: Organizers say more than 1,000 people, including GOP delegates, alternates and other supporters, dialed in for a conference call on Sunday night to hammer out details for a last-ditch, sweeping rules change that would unbind delegates at the Republican National Convention and deny Donald Trump the presidential nomination. This was the group's second conference call in four days, following a Thursday night call with about three dozen delegates....
You forgot to mention anti-Semitic Deborah Friedman. Remember your talking points.
by Zane Kuseybi on Durham Activists Want the City to Become the First in the U.S. to Condemn Exchanges Between Local Cops and Israeli Security Forces (News)
Unbelievable. No justice for either woman he murdered.
by Urth Creature on No Plans Friday? Michael Peterson is Talking to Dateline NBC (News)
It would be ironic and sad if Durham became the first city in North Carolina to experience the horrors of …
by Allyn Feinstein on Drawing Accusations of Anti-Semitism, Durham City Council Passes Statement on Police Exchanges (News)
If someone receives training like that, you can fully expect them to use it. If that's the kind of city …
by MichaelEdits on Drawing Accusations of Anti-Semitism, Durham City Council Passes Statement on Police Exchanges (News)
Mayor Bill Bell would NEVER have let that such a divisive and unnecessary resolution be considered and harm our City.
…
by Harris Tweed on Drawing Accusations of Anti-Semitism, Durham City Council Passes Statement on Police Exchanges (News)