NC Politics in the News

January 19, 2016

Pardon Our Dust

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Economy & Economic Development

NEWS & OBSERVER: Proposed CSX container hub in Johnston County would have a broad economic reach in NC
The economic impact of a $272 million cargo facility proposed for Johnston County would extend from central North Carolina to the coast, state and localleaders said Thursday.

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: Wells Fargo laying off 39 Charlotte technology workers
Wells Fargo is eliminating 121 technology jobs nationwide, including 39 in Charlotte, as a part of an efficiency initiative, a bank spokesman saidThursday.

NEWS & OBSERVER: Push for NC Crowdfunding law persists despite new federal regulations
Even though new federal regulations hold out the promise of opening up crowdfunding to the masses, advocates of this new source of funding for startups andother small businesses say a state crowdfunding law is still needed.

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: NC Legislators mull expanding sales taxes, cutting income taxes
Legislators heard a call Tuesday to further expand sales taxes and eliminate the capital stock tax – a conservative think tank’s proposal for continuingthe state’s tax code overhaul.

Education

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: NC official will add charter school awards to ‘negative’ report
If you want people to notice a data report, try having a public official object to it.

NEWS & RECORD: Local college leaders make pitch for Connect NC bond
So what would the state bond mean for Guilford County’s three public colleges? Plenty, say the leaders of Guilford Technical Community College, N.C.A&T and UNC-Greensboro.

Energy & Environment

NEWS & OBSERVER: Solar panels permanently “ruin” farmland, NC senator says
N.C. Sen. Bill Cook, a Beaufort County Republican, says the state needs to tackle the growth of solar farms on agricultural fields because the land that’sused is “pretty well ruined” for future farming.

WRAL: DEQ tired of waiting on EPA for coal ash permits
A top state environmental regulator said Wednesday his agency is considering issuing permits to remove water from coal ash ponds without federal approvaldue to long delays by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Health Care

WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL: Medicaid expansion may fall on deaf ears in Congress, N.C.
North Carolina would have the opportunity to expand its Medicaid program with 100 percent federal financing for the first three years, according to aproposal unveiled Thursday by the White House.

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Medicaid overhaul chief says work on track to meet deadlines
With North Carolina’s path to overhauling Medicaid finalized last fall, the race is on for state health officials to meet a tight schedule so a newmanaged-care system can take effect by 2018 or 2019.

WILMINGTON STAR-NEWS: Bird flu scare over in North Carolina, vigilance continues
North Carolina officials ended a ban on public bird shows and sales in the state because they said it’s no longer needed to prevent the spread of a deadlybird flu virus.

In the Courts

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Judge refuses to halt voter ID requirement in March election
A federal judge refused to block North Carolina’s photo identification requirement to vote in person from taking effect with the March 15 primaryelections.

WRAL: Groups seek to overturn NC ‘ag-gag’ law
A group of animal rights and consumer protection organizations filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday seeking to have a state law that allows employers to sueworkers who conduct undercover investigations to expose questionable or illegal activity declared unconstitutional.

Transportation

ASSOCIATED PRESS: N Carolina board officially Oks more road project funding
North Carolina’s transportation governing board has officially approved funding for scores of additional road, bridge and maintenance projects over thenext 10 years and speeding up others already on the construction blueprint the board approved last year.

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: Charlotte City Council votes 7-4 to back I-77 toll lanes; some cite “threats”
Charlotte City Council voted 7-4 Monday to support toll lanes under construction on Interstate 77, a decision that will likely allow the controversialproject to continue.

WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL: Business 40 design-build work going to bid
State transportation officials are inviting contractors to take the first step toward winning the design-build contract for the long-planned major overhaulof Business 40 in downtown Winston-Salem.

NEWS & OBSERVER: With meters and zippers, NCDOT separates Early Mergers from Late Mergers
What’s the best way for drivers in two lanes to merge into one lane? Ask any two traffic engineers – or any two experienced drivers, for that matter – andyou’ll get three or four answers strung together with: “It depends.”

Personnel Changes

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Former Sen. Kay Hagan to work for Washington-based law firm
Former U.S. Sen Kay Hagan of North Carolina is now working for a high powered Washington law firm about a year after she left Capitol Hill as an electedofficial.

PRESS RELEASE: Governor McCrory Announces Appointments
The Office of Governor Pat McCrory announced the following appointments today.

Public Safety

WRAL NEWS: Lawmakers weigh expanding DNA collection
For the last five years, the state has taken DNA samples from suspects charged with violent felonies, and some lawmakers now want to expand that to allfelony arrests.

WRAL NEWS: Perry: Threats thwarted at US Open
North Carolina fended off dozens of threats during the U.S. Open golf tournaments in Pinehurst in 2014, Public Safety Secretary Frank Perry told lawmakersThursday.

CITIZEN-TIMES: Crime and employment: Asheville “banning the box”
Wanted: Worker who is qualified, self-motivated and experienced. Criminal history? We’ll talk about that later.


CONTACT US

HarryKaplan
Senior Vice President
hkaplan@mwcllc.com 

JeffBarnhart
Senior Vice President
jbarnhart@mwcllc.com 

Franklin Freeman
Senior Vice President
ffreeman@mwcllc.com 

Bo Heath
Senior Vice President
dbheath@mwcllc.com 

John Merritt
Senior Vice President
jmerritt@mwcllc.com 

JohnnyTillett
Senior Vice President
jtillett@mwcllc.com 

Kerri Burke
Vice President
kburke@mwcllc.com 

JillianTotman
Assistant Vice President
jtotman@mwcllc.com 

Sarah Wolfe
Assistant Vice President
swolfe@mwcllc.com