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Your weekly North Carolina political news report.
2018 Elections
BURLINGTON TIMES NEWS: Campaign filing begins today despite NClegislation, litigation
Elections board offices are awaiting the first batch of candidates in NorthCarolina this November for Congress, the legislature, district attorneysand county positions.
NEWS & OBSERVER: The battleground keeps shifting under NCcandidates. Here’s how that play outs.
Voters in some of the state’s biggest counties, including Wake andMecklenburg, will see some unfamiliar names on their ballots come November.
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: Mecklenburg voters get new legislative districts –and more competition
From Ballantyne to Davidson and a lot of Charlotte neighborhoods inbetween, Mecklenburg voters can expect to see more competitive legislativeraces in 2018 than they have in years.
Education
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: Class-size fix, loaded with other changes, OK’d bySenate
Republican legislation phasing in smaller class sizes in North Carolinapassed the Senate on Friday in a measure that most Democrats begrudginglyvoted for even as they complained it contained other unrelated provisionsthat could hurt the Democratic governor.
NC HEALTH NEWS: School nurses’ new roles reflect complex health needsof NC’s students
Across North Carolina, most local school districts are unable to have anurse in every school.
WRAL-NEWS: Cooper: Business must use clout to push for educationspending over tax cuts
Gov. Roy Cooper wants North Carolina business leaders to speak up forpublic education funding by telling the Republican-controlled legislatureto block additional income tax cuts set to take effect next year
Energy & Environment
Responding to concerns of Democrats, the North Carolina Senate amended ananti-pollution bill Friday, giving more spending flexibility toenvironmental regulators and expanding their duties.
WILMINGTON STARNEWS: Could 140 ppt limit for GenX increase?
The state’s GenX safety level could change substantially in coming months,depending on the outcome of deliberations by scientists advisingregulators.
Health Care
NC HEALTH NEWS: Telemedicine holds promise for expanding rural areas
These days, no one discusses rural health without talking abouttelemedicine.
In the Courts
NEWS & OBSERVER: NC judicial primary ruling blocked temporarily by4th Circuit
Primary elections for statewide judicial races in North Carolina arecanceled again after an appeals court granted a request on Friday fromRepublican lawmakers to temporarily halt a federal judge’s ruling.
The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked a Stanford University lawprofessor’s election districts for state General Assembly seats in Wake andMecklenburg counties while leaving his maps in place in six other countieswhile lawmakers appeal a three-judge panel’s ruling.
Transportation
DURHAM HERALD SUN: Wake County does the Durham-Orange Light Rail plan abig favor
Durham Mayor Steve Schewel is feeling confident about the Durham-OrangeLight Rail project.