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Your weekly North Carolina political news report.
Economic Development
WRAL: In wooing Amazon, North Carolina offers HBCUs as diversity fix
North Carolina has a not-so-secret weapon in its hunt for Amazon’s and Apple’s new campuses – and for any other companies in a tech industry that says it is hungry to reverse a poor track record on diversity: arguably the nation’s largest system of historically black colleges and universities.
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT: N. Carolina 4.5 Percent Jobless Rate Unchanged 6 for Months
It’s more of the same for North Carolina’s unemployment rate. The state Commerce Department reported Friday the state’s jobless rate was 4.5 percent in March, above the nationwide rate of 4.1 percent.
Education
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: Gov. Cooper seeks $130 million for safer NC schools. Here’s how he’d spend it
N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper unveiled a $130 million school safety budget Thursday, offering a first glimpse at how the state might respond to the clamor for better protection in the wake of February’s mass shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school.
Elections
WRAL: Did NC redistricting affect your ballot? Find out here
A flurry of court action over the last few years has kept voting district lines in North Carolina in an almost constant state of flux.
Energy
WRAL: Supreme Court hears solar case, could set precedent
The state’s high court heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could change the solar power industry in North Carolina, allowing more small groups to do an end-around on regulated electric monopolies.
Public Safety
GREENVILLE DAILY REFLECTOR: State labor agency fines Pasquotank Correctional Institution for safety violations
The North Carolina. Department of Labor is fining Pasquotank Correctional Institution and Correction Enterprises $7,000 each for failing to provide a safe workplace to employees injured and killed during last fall’s escape attempt at the Pasquotank prison facility.
NEWS & OBSERVER: $236 million in Hurricane Matthew relief went unspent. Here’s ‘what took us so long.’
Under fire for delays in spending federal Hurricane Matthew recovery, North Carolina Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry said the timeline is “not acceptable.”
WRAL: NC prison workers usually escape time for on-the-job crimes
More than nine out of 10 North Carolina prison employees charged in the past five years with smuggling drugs and cellphones or committing other crimes escaped prison time, primarily because prosecutor dropped charges, state prison officials reported.