Your weekly North Carolina political news report.

The Raleigh office of McGuireWoods Consulting would like to wish you a happy and safe Fourth of July. Due to the holiday we will not be sending out a Week In Review this week.

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Education

WRAL NEWS: 40 state education staffers laid off, 21 vacant positions eliminated
State Superintendent Mark Johnson announced Friday that the Department of Public Instruction is eliminating 61 positions – 40 employees and 21 vacant positions. The layoffs are in response to $5.1 million in budget cuts lawmakers made to the agency.

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Economic rel=”noopener noreferrer” Development

TRIAD BUSINESS JOURNAL: Duke Energy taps two Triad sites for economic development
Duke Energy Corp. has chosen two sites in the Triad – one at Piedmont Triad International Airport and another in High Point – rel=”noopener noreferrer” for its 2018 Site Readiness Program.

THE COURIER TRIBUNE: N.C. Scores Top Economic Award
North Carolina has received Area Development magazine’s 2018 Gold Shovel Award, recognizing the state’s success in winning high-impact economic development projects last year. In 2017, North Carolina experienced one of its best years for new job recruitment in over a decade.

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Elections

WRAL NEWS: North Carolina judicial elections all but set as filing ends
Judicial elections in North Carolina are all but set for November rel=”noopener noreferrer” with the candidate filing period over for trial and appeals courts.

WRAL NEWS: Voter ID amendment goes to voters
North Carolina voters will be asked this fall to add a photo rel=”noopener noreferrer” identification requirement for voting to the state constitution.

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Environment

WECT: GenX found in fish in lake near Chemours plant
GenX was found in fish in a lake less than a mile from the Chemours plant in Bladen County, rel=”noopener noreferrer” according to a new study conducted by the Department of Environmental Quality.

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General Government

NEWS & OBSERVER: With an eye on the election, lawmakers wrap up work. Here’s what they did at a glance
The 2018 North Carolina General Assembly short session saw heated debates over hog farms, almond milk, school segregation, voting rights, and the powers of a governor who handed down a record-breaking number of vetoes.

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: Senate leader chief of staff, strategist leaving legislature
The longtime top staff member for North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger who was also the political strategist rel=”noopener noreferrer” who helped Republicans take over the chamber for the first time in 140 years is resigning from his General Assembly job.

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Healthcare

THE REFLECTOR: New law helps streamline mental health management
A law that took effect this month creates a pathway for some people who suffer from serious and chronic mental rel=”noopener noreferrer” health-related issues to work through a single agency to manage state funded services for both mental and physical health.

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In the Courts

NORTH STATE JOURNAL: U.S. Supreme Court throws out lower ruling against NC Republican election maps
The U.S. Supreme Court threw out a lower court’s ruling that North Carolina Republican lawmakers drew congressional district boundaries to ensure lopsided electoral victories for their party against rival Democrats.

WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL: Duke law graduate is on Trump’s list for Supreme Court pick
Duke University rel=”noopener noreferrer” law school graduate occupies a spot on President Donald Trump’s list of two dozen candidates he’s thinking of nominating to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Justice & Public Safety

ASSOCIATED PRESS: North Carolina prison violence stats show four assaults per day
About four assaults take place in North Carolina’s prisons every day, according to new data collected by officials working to address violence in the state system.